“The Abundant Life”
John 10:1-10

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Fourth Sunday of Easter—April 26, 2015

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus tells the parable of the sheepfold.  However, John says, “Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.  Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep.  All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

Jesus tells us he is the door in two ways: the door to eternal life in heaven, and the door “abundant” life here on earth.

After the fall of humankind into sin, the book of Genesis says, “So the Lord drove the man out, and he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”  Because of our sin, the way to paradise is blocked, the door to heaven is locked.

But, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”  Through faith in Jesus Christ the door to heaven is unlocked, the way to paradise is open. 

The hymn “There Is a Green Hill Far Away” puts it this way: “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin; he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.”  That is what Jesus did for you, by his life, death and resurrection: he paid the price of your sin, and thereby unlocked the gate of heaven to let you in.  As Peter put in beautifully in his First Epistle, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.”

In today’s Reading from the Book of Acts, just before his death, Stephen, the first Christian martyr says, “Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”  Jesus opened the door of heaven to Stephen, and Jesus has opened the door of heaven to you, too.  “I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

Jesus is the door for you to eternal life in heaven; and he is also the door for you to “abundant” life here on earth.  “I have come,” Jesus says, “that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

What exactly is the “abundant” life?  Some ministers, especially television evangelists, preach what is called the “health and wealth” Gospel.  They misinterpret the “abundant” life this way: “Jesus said his disciples will live the abundant life.  That means if you really believe in Jesus, you will have money and possessions and success.  Jesus wants you to be rich!  And he promises—if you really believe in him—you won’t have any troubles in your life.”

But, what does Jesus really say?  He told his disciples at the Last Supper, “In this world you will have trouble.”  Paul says in Acts, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”; and he tells Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

So, what does Jesus mean when he says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly”?  What exactly is the “abundant” life Jesus promises?  The Greek word translated “abundantly” means, “something extraordinary, remarkable; that which is not usually encountered among men.”  The “abundant” life does not refer to quantity but to quality: “something extraordinary, remarkable; that which is not usually encountered among men.”

There’s a wonderful example in today’s Reading from the Book of Acts.  For, when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, could die in peace even as he was being stoned to death, crying out confidently, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” that was “something extraordinary, remarkable; that which is not usually encountered among men,” that was a beautiful example of living the “abundant” life.

Not having to wonder whether God is punishing you when things go wrong in your life, because you know, as Psalm 103 says, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities,” and as Paul says in Romans, “God is working all things together for the good of those who love him,” that is living the “abundant” life.

Having peace even in the midst of suffering, as Paul says in Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”; and in 2nd Corinthians, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal,” that is living the “abundant” life.

“Something extraordinary, remarkable; that which is not usually encountered among men.” 

The “abundant” life means forgiving others because Christ forgives you, showing toward others underserved kindness, love, and patience, just like God shows toward you, as John says in today’s Epistle Reading, “Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. . .  Dear children, let us love not only with words or tongue, but also with actions and in truth”; and as Paul says in Ephesians, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”; and in Colossians, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love.”

The “abundant” life means contentment, as Paul says in Philippians, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

The “abundant” life means having a higher purpose in your life, as Paul says in 2nd Corinthians, “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.”

The “abundant” life means the hope of reunion in heaven with those you love who have departed in faith, as Paul says in 1st Thessalonians, “We would not have you be ignorant, brothers, about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

“I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep.”  Jesus is the door for you in two ways: the door to eternal life in heaven, and the door “abundant” life here on earth.  And the “abundant” life that is yours through faith in the Good Shepherd is truly “something extraordinary, remarkable; that which is not usually encountered among men.”

“I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved. . .  I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

Amen.