This morning, we are going to dig into John 10:10, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. We must get into the Greek to get the most accurate understanding of what Jesus is communicating with this “life” and “abundance”. We will be using www.blueletterbible.org to get into the Greek. If you have never used this resource, you need to check it out. In the Greek NT, there are three different words for life: G979 bios, G5590 psychē, and G2222 zōē. We use numbers to search for the particular uses of each word in the NT. Zōē is the most common, with 135 times in 127 verses. Bios is the least used, only 10x. We care about this because we want to know what “life” Jesus references in John 10:10.
Knowing the particular Greek word allows us to drill down and study each and every instance where the word is used, first in John, then in 1-3 John, and finally in Revelation. And we can study its uses in the synoptic gospels. In Matthew, zōē is found seven times and always refers to eternal life. In Mark four times, and again always eternal life. In Luke, there are two exceptions. And in John zōē is found thirty-six times and always for eternal life. Additionally, we can search in the reverse. In other words, are there any cases where eternal is paired with bios or psychē? No. Zōē is the NT word for the life believers receive from God through faith in Christ and His cross-work for their sins. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal zōē in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). The Book of Life is the book of zōē and the Tree of Life is the tree of zōē.
I do not think the life in John 10:10 is life on this earth now as a believer. I do not think Jesus is saying that he laid down his life (psyche) on Calvary’s cross so that my life on earth could be full of spiritual or physical abundance. Jesus is communicating that the eternal zōē we received from Christ our Lord is eternal life having abundance. Eternal life is not just living forever and ever. It is all that and abundantly more. The word abundantly is translated as “more” or “greater” in the majority of the instances. The zōē we have in Christ Jesus is eternal and more, or the zōē we have is eternal and greater. The life we enter into as believers is superfluous (2Co 9:1) or running over with more. The NET Bible footnote on “abundantly” is excellent. “That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.” Wow! That is incredible. Jesus is telling me the eternal life He secured for me is more than anything I could anticipate. The language is literally “zōē and has abundance.”
