R.M. Williams was born in 1951 – so that would make him two years younger than I am – if he were still living. His great-great-grandfather was governor and senator from the State of Mississippi. His father was a senior executive of Ford Motor Company, so he grew up with both money and position. He was raised, and remained throughout his life, an Episcopalian and once wrote an article called “The Ten Top Reasons to be an Episcopalian.” In 1973 he received a full scholarship to the Julliard School of Arts in New York. He was one of twenty students accepted, and he was one of only two taught by John Houseman that year. Among the other twenty students accepted were Christopher Reeves and John Hurt. Reeves became his best friend, and people said that they were like brothers until Reeves’ death. Williams went on to become an highly successful actor, staring in television and the movies. When he died in 2014 his home in Paradise Cay, California was worth more than $35 million. As far as the world is concerned he had everything – three wives, children, religion, money, fame, etc.
And yet about 18 months ago, Williams hanged himself. It is said that he was severely depressed, despite all the trappings of worldly success. He was probably riddled with guilt, despite his religious, although, of course, his biographies say nothing about that. He was profane, vulgar, immoral and irreverent – in a word “sinful” – or with another he was “wicked.”
He also had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which seemed to have pushed him over the edge. Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease for which there have been great improvements over recent years. I know several people with Parkinson’s, most of which are doing quite well when they follow their doctors’ instructions. There is a brain stimulation treatment which many have received which greatly reduces the tremors. There are also famous people who have suffered with the disease for years, and some still carry on in their original careers. It is a bad disease – a terrible nuisance – an inconvenience – but it is not any worse than a great many other diseases. However that is not how Robin Williams saw it. He apparently believed that, despite all that this life contained, it was no longer worth living. So without the influence of alcohol or drugs – legal or illegal – he killed himself.
This story – without these specific details – could be retold about thousands of other suicides. “My life is no longer worth living. There is no earthly hope for me. I might as well be dead.” But by what measurements should we examine the value of life? Is a life of minimum education and minimum wages a life worth living? I sure hope so, because there are a lot of people living in those circumstances. Is a life of blindness, or a life in a wheel-chair, a life worth continuing? What about a life spent behind prison bars? It seems that Satan is working overtime these days to say that “no life” is better than a “tough life.” If everything isn’t perfect, then go ahead and kill yourself.
For centuries there have been unrealistic people who have extolled the virtues of suicide. As usual there is enough logic in the argument to make the idea plausible to unthinking people. Indeed, the life that a lot of people live is not APPARENTLY worth the effort to keep it afloat. But just as there is a difference between the life of an eggplant and the life of an eagle – there is a difference between the life in which we are born and the life into which we could be born again. There is a greater life than that which Donald Trump or Tom Cruise are living. The Baptist martyrs to which I referred earlier, may have lived in poverty compared to us today, but their lives were worth a great deal, and perhaps even more than ours – for testimony’s sake. The Lord may give us money, mansions and Maserati’s – but then again He might not. And yet to every child of God there is a promise of abundance in whatever life we have been given. And that abundance doesn’t have anything to do with the external things owned by Robin Williams. Because a lot of people with everything going for them are as hollow as some peanut shells.
Let’s think about four things this morning: the giver, the gift, and the greatness of the abundant life, and then we must not forget the gruesome thief who can steal it away.
Consider first of all, the GIVER of this GREAT GIFT of abundant life.
There are millions of religious people, perhaps as Robin Williams was once, who, despite their church membership, know nothing and possess nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Denomination after denomination have robbed their people of the Christ of the Bible. The Christ which is preached in most churches today is not half the man that we find in God’s Word, and He is none of the God, the Bible declares Him to be. In so many churches He is no longer the eternal Son, Virgin Born; Creator of the Universe; and the only mediator between God and men. Today, Christ is one among many – a brother of Mohammed, of Joseph Smith and even of Satan Himself. The reality is that this a soul-condemning lie. A casual glance at verse ten points out the folly of such a thought.
Consider the differences between the two words “come” which we find here. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus uses the word “thieves,” but He was thinking about the popular religions of his day. He was referring to Pharisees, Sadducees and false prophets. If he was here today, He’d be talking about Mormons, Methodists, Muslims and Millerites. In the Greek language, He said that they are constantly “coming, coming, coming.” Like waves beating upon the coastal rocks, they keep coming. Like Californians immigrating to North Idaho, they never seem to stop. But in speaking about Himself, he said “I AM come,” or “I HAVE come.”
Elsewhere in the Bible we are reminded that Christ came FROM somewhere else to enter this world. He came out of ETERNITY PAST – for he has always been; always existed. That is unlike Satan who is a created being, and unlike any of the children of men. Christ is not bound by any kind of time. The Lord Jesus once said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” It was prophesied 750 years before his birth that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. The prophet said, “But thou Bethlehem, Ephratah, though thou be little amongst the thousands of Isreal, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in lsrael, whose goings forth have been of from old, from everlasting.” Jesus came unto us out of the eternal counsel and covenant of Jehovah. In other words, it was a planned and precisely executed strategy of God. And our Lord Jesus came out of GLORY to visit us upon this planet so often full of misery.
The stories of so called “gods” coming from distant galaxies are rubbish. Confucius, Mohammed, Brigham Young didn’t “come” to earth. They were born – “shapen in iniquity and in sin did (their) mother’s conceive them.” Some people have even claimed what Jesus claimed, but no one ever delivered. “I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.” No one can lawfully make that promise but Christ Jesus. Let Jesus Christ be praised!
But what is THE GIFT that He came to give? – it was LIFE.
Of course there are different ways in which to measure anything – including gifts. Edvard Munch’s child-like painting, “The Scream” sold recently for $80 million. In 2012 a 900 year-old cereal bowl sold for $26 million. A silver cup won at the Olympics in 1898 sold in 2012 for nearly a million dollars. That cup was purchased for its history – not for the silver or its workmanship. But the Persian rug, circa 1700, which sold for $33 million, was valuable for its quality as well as its beauty. The quality of a gift often determines a large part of its value.
The gift of which the Lord was speaking here is first – life – and then ABUNDANT life. Demand has nothing to do with its value, because there is plenty to meet every need. The greatness of this gift is due to its superior quality over any other kind of life.
Please notice that Christ Jesus tells us that the giving of life was His purpose in coming to earth. Was that really His primary purpose, or was it His secondary purpose; was it an accident or what? Luke 19:10 – “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Matthew 20:28 – “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” “A ransom for many”? He came to give His life as the price to redeem the souls of others.
So what is the gift of life? It is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is called “salvation from sin” – deliverance from the judgment for our sin. It is new life in Christ, which involves a mansion in the glorious house of God much more glorious than Robin Williams’ shack. It involves a wealth which is not measured with gold or cash. It involves health beyond what Adam and Eve enjoyed on the first day of their lives. And this life is given by Christ, not as an agent, but as its source and origination. This is not the promise of preservation of old animal life, but the installation of new life – spiritual life. This is an incredible claim. Either this man is a lunatic, a blasphemer or indeed the eternal Son of God. The man who believes the Bible has no trouble discerning Who this is. “He that believeth on the Son hath life, and he that believeth not the Son hath not life, but wrath of God abideth on him.” ” In Christ is life, and the life is the light of men.” This gift is eternal life, but that is only the beginning.
Think about the GREATNESS of that Gift of Grace.
I have number of commentaries on Gospel John. Almost none of them wanted to describe or define this “abundant life.” Why? I think it’s because I am not alone in having a mind which doesn’t reach far enough. “Eye hath not seen, neither ear heard, neither have entered into heart of man he things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” This is the hem of a mystery which only some people have begun to reach out to touch. We are like blind men, standing on the beach facing an ocean for which we don’t have eyes. Commentaries don’t tell us what this abundant life is; expanded translations can’t help us. This takes unto the area of theology and bits of Bible interpretation. And in some ways it can only be experienced and not described.
The word “more” tells us that we must make comparisons to begin to understand it. But what comparisons should we use? “Lord, we need some help here.” Some might think that it means more years, compared to our short lives of seventy plus years. Now, without a doubt, the worship and service of Christ generally means a longer life. When a person quits his sins in obedience to the Lord, his body will be spared great deal of grief. Faith gives peace and a calmness of heart which extends life. This is certainly something which Robin Williams lacked. But this is not what Lord refers to here, for some of God’s greatest saints have lived short lives. The Lord is talking about the quality not the quantity of life. – in bad grammar – “a more better life” There is life in the weeds which are growing in your gardens. But should that life be compared to the life of the tomato which you planted? Then on the other hand can the life that tomato be as abundant as robin who was watching? The man whose lungs and heart are rotting in his chest because of sin, has life, but not the quality of life that a healthy person has. A baby cooing and gurgling in crib has life, but not the same life of a teenager. Would you prefer the life of a sick man or of a healthy man? Baby or adult? The prisoner in cell may have life, but not like the free and innocent person. A man suffering in extreme poverty has life, but not same quality as the man in comfortable means. A person filled with hatred and envy doesn’t have the same life as man freed from those things.
The prophet Jonah was living his life in Israel, and then for a while he was living it in the whale. But there was no joy or abundance until he came out of that whale and into the sunlight of serving the Lord. There are three kinds of life hinted at in these few words of text. There is the physical life which leads to the precipice over the lake of fire. There is eternal life in Christ which is given by the grace of God. And then there is abundant life which may belong only to some of the second group. Do you want to find out what this abundant life is all about? Then I’d recommend that you tarry at Jerusalem until you are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
I think that Peter, John, Andrew, James and the others knew the abundance of life after Pentecost. I doubt that it can be enjoyed without the filling and blessing of the Holy Spirit. Staying within context of John 10, abundance of life is following shepherd as He moves outside the fold. Jesus said, “I am door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” The abundant life of Christ is probably different in experience for different Christians, but it all boils down to following Saviour out to whatever pasturage He has planned for us. We certainly can’t have abundance by making our souls crouch down within bodies. When we to try to compare things spiritual to things earthly, we will always fail. Machintosh, Yellow Delicious and Crab apples can be compared to one another. But it is unfair to compare a regular apple to a pineapple. Abundant life has nothing to do with abundant pleasures or abundant treasures. Then too, whether or not we enjoy abundant life right now, I think that we can expect that there is more abundancy yet to come. We have not yet begun to exhaust the multitudinous, beneficent grace of our Loving Lord. But what is keeping us from it?
Consider the Gruesome thief that keeps us from this abundant life.
It is certainly it is not the Lord’s chain which keeps us from this blessing. We can’t even blame our enemy the Devil. It is our own sin as Christians which robs us of this joy.
For example most of us are simply too content with the little life that we enjoy. We have grown accustomed to the moldy bread that we eat, while ignoring the manna from heaven. Jonah had no abundant life, because of various sins. There was bigotry, rebellion, ignorance, petulance, unbelief and more. As he began to deal with these the fullness of life began, but only began return Samson had power and opportunity, unlike any other man, until sin got in the way. Moses, too, at times lost his abundancy – when he disobeyed the Lord. Sickness attacks the man who is already in poor health. I knew a man in Calgary who had tuberculosis; he actually lived in a TB sanitarium. But I had no fear walking into that place, sitting down in front of him and talking. I had no fear of catching the disease, when I shook his hand. I had no reason to fear, because I was in good health, I ate well, and I took care of my body. I wasn’t even asked to be tested for TB.
Jonah, Samson and others lacked abundant lives because of their sins. They committed these sins, because at the time they were living outside the fellowship of God. Would the eleven disciples have experienced the fullness of the Lord’s power and if they hadn’t spent so much time in prayer before Pentecost? And it wasn’t just about pleading with God for needs and “things.” It was fellowship with the Lord in a way they had never experience before. After Christ’s ascension, they were leaning on the Holy Spirit to access the blessing of God.
Do you covet more of the abundant life that Jesus implicitly promises? Then draw up closer to the Lord this morning. Confess and forsake your sins, “for he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then learn the art of fellowship with Him; joyfully enjoying the Lord and all the things which He brings into our lives.
But first, have you even met the Lord Jesus? Have you humbly and repentantly been to the cross? Do you look on Christ Jesus as the Son of God – your Saviour from sin? Is your faith and trust in Him? Without Christ Jesus, no man is much farther than a step away from where Robin Williams was when he died.