Passage
The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
John 10:10 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 10:8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
John 10:10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd.Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-12,15,22 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "thief", "only", "comes", "steal", "kill", "destroy", "came", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thief" and "only", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 9's "I am the door If anyone enters..." into verse 11's "I am the good shepherd Isaiah Ezekiel...", so "thief" and "only" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thief" and "only" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.