The Love of God -John 3:14-21

Pastor has been in the Book of Revelation but this week we are going to be somewhere else. This week we will be going over a passage that includes one of the most recognizable and quoted verses in the Bible. John 3:16. Raise your hand if you have ever heard this verse before:

John 3:16 LSB

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

This is such a beautiful verse! In just this verse alone we have the message of the Gospel. We can go to anyone, rich or poor, old or young, educated or not. And we can tell them with confidence: God loves you! God gave us His Son Jesus, His only begotten Son. And if you believe in Him, you will have eternal life!

For someone who already knows the love of God, this verse gives us encouragement and assurance! We hear this verse and say, "Thank you, my God! Thank you!" And that's all we can say because there aren't enough words to describe the gratitude we have! And because we know God's love, I can tell one believer "God is good!" And they will respond with an "Amen!" I can tell another believer, "God’s grace is amazing!" And they will tell me, "Yes it is!" With just a few words, we understand each other because we know God's love. Because we are part of God's family.

But if you tell someone who doesn't know the love of God, "God is good" or "God's grace is amazing!" Or you even quote John 3:16 to them, they might say, "What are you blabbering about?" or "Get that stuff away from me and leave me alone!" Perhaps in a more colorful way at times. Have you seen videos of the street evangelist like Ray Comfort or Cliffe Knechtle. People can be mean when they are confronted with the word of God, with the truth.

But every once in a while you might have someone with a sincere heart and will say, "Tell me more about God's love because I don't feel loved," or "I don't understand what that means, but I'd like to know more."

What do we do now? What are will willing to do? What must we do? We have to be prepared to provide them with an answer! We must be willing to invest ourselves in this person and take them by the hand and tell them about God's love. Tell them what God did for them, for all of us.

Because God loves them just as He loves us. Jesus died for this person just as He died for us. And God has put them in our path.

We have an example of this here in John 3 in the story of Jesus and Nicodemus. When Nicodemus went to speak to Jesus at night. To inquire about his ministry that was raising eyebrows. Nicodemus was curios, Nicodemus had a sincere heart. Jesus did not turn him away and told him to come back in the morning. Jesus made time and walked Nicodemus through some heavy stuff. Jesus was well prepared to tell Nicodemus about God's love.

But before we continue, let's pray.

Thank you for your Love

and your Patience

Lead us

Prepare us

Equip us

I want to continue by providing more information about Nicodemus and what it meant to be a Jew. Nicodemus was a very prominent, very important Jew. He was a great teacher among the Jews. He had all the honors! Another thing is that the the Jews believed they would enter the kingdom of God through their lineage and their ability to keep the law; this is what made them righteous. This is what Nicodemus believes. This is what Nicodemus teaches. This is what Nicodemus has dedicated his entire life to. Nicodemus was the example of what it meant to be a good Jew. And what did Jesus do? Was Jesus impressed by this? No, He turned Nicodemus’ world upside down! John 3:3. And this is how he did that:

John 3:3 LSB

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus didn't ask Nicodemus to show him his family tree. Jesus didn't say, "Good job keeping the commandments." No, Jesus spoke to him about the new birth. Something that was foreign to Nicodemus. Nicodemus didn't understand this. He should have known, especially since he was a teacher and this new birth was in the Old Testament Scriptures. This birth comes from faith, not from lineage or works. And Jesus will continue to explain to Nicodemus about this new birth of faith and the love of God.

Lets read John 3:14-21

John 3:14–21 LSB

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”

Amen!

In verse 14, when Jesus speaks of the serpent, he refers to Numbers 21:5-9. This is something Nicodemus does understand. And it's something we need to understand to understand the passage below. Let's go to that passage:

Numbers 21:5–9 LSB

And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” So Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you; pray to Yahweh, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people. Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; and it will be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it, will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it happened, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

Let's explain this passage a little to understand how Jesus uses it to explain to Nicodemus what was happening. These are the Israelites that have been wandering in the desert for almost 40 years now, being led and sustained by God. But the Israelites complained about their situation and they sinned against God and Moses in such an ungrateful way! It’s almost incredulous what they said! How can they speak to God like that? To the God of the universe, the Creator and Giver of life! To the God who rescued them from slavery and kept them alive in the desert? It seems incredible to me!

God responded to this sin by sending poisonous snakes to bite them! Many people died from this! I have a friend who grew up in South Africa, where the black mamba lives. He told me how some of his dogs were bitten by a black mamba and the pain they suffered before dying. He says that when a black mamba bites you, two things are certain: you're going to die, and it's going to be painful. This is what was happening to the Israelites.

At first glance, this may seem cruel. Why did God do this to His people? But let's look at what was accomplished. This made the Israelites recognize that they had sinned against God and against Moses. They repented of their sin and asked God, through Moses, to remove the snakes. God listened to them, but He didn't remove the snakes. Instead, He gave them a way to heal and live when they were bitten by a snake. The consequences of their sin remained, but God provided a way for them to heal. And it all depended on their faith. Look to the bronze serpent and you will live.

God had every right to destroy them for their sin! But He gave them mercy. He didn't want to destroy them; He loved them. He wanted to turn their hearts back towards Him. Also showing them that He is sovereign and just. Now we need to take all of this and apply it to what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus. When Nicodemus heard Jesus say:

John 3:14–15 LSB

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

He had the whole event in the desert in mind, piece by piece. The bronze serpent was lifted up so that everyone who looked at it would be healed and live.

And why did they need to be healed? Because they were dying...

And why were they dying? Because they were bitten by poisonous snakes...

And why were they bitten by poisonous snakes? Because God had sent the snakes to bite them...

And why did God send the snakes? Because they sinned against God...

And now Nicodemus had to apply this whole event in the desert of the serpent being lifted up... to Jesus being lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him would be healed and have eternal life.

What does this mean?

We! All of us! We are dying, and it is certain death... because we are bitten by the poisonous snake of sin. All of us have sinned against God.

Romans 3:23 LSB

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And the only way to be saved and have eternal life is to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Now, having what happened in the desert in mind, let's read verses 16-17 of John 3:16-17 again.

John 3:16–17 LSB

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Just as God loved the Israelites in the desert, God loves the world. Despite the sin they committed against God, God provided them with the bronze serpent so that upon seeing it they would be healed and live. And God, despite the sins the world has committed against him, has provided us with his Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

And what makes God's love deeper is that we know the way God gave His Son. He gave the life of his Son to provide us with salvation. The price of our salvation was the blood of his Son; His death on the cross.

A few weeks ago, my wife was listening to a short documentary on her phone. In the Philippines, people are using Facebook Market Place to sell their babies. For $180, someone can buy a newborn baby. Many do it because they can't afford another baby. Others do it because they want something better for the baby. And some do it because they want the money. It made me feel so sad. For $180, someone can buy a precious baby; a life.

At what price were we bought by God? $180? A priceless price! The life and blood of His Son, Jesus. And in what condition were we in when God bought us? We were sinners. We were broken and dying.

Romans 5:8 LSB

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

What I find incredible is that God not only paid the price for us in the ruined condition we were in, but He was the one who determined the price for us in the first place, He determined our value and said “ I will pay that for you, I love you that much!” That's how great the love of God is for everyone!

Verse 17 tells us what God wants for us. God sent His Son to save us, not to judge us! The Book of First Timothy tells us that God desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

The reality is that we have already been condemned to death for our sin. And the only thing left for us is to die or be saved by Jesus. There are no number of works we can do to save ourselves from the condemnation we have plunged ourselves into.

The only thing we can do is cry out to Jesus to save us. Let Jesus do something He wants and desires to do for us because He loves us! Jesus is telling us “Let me do what I came to do. To save you.” And whoever says, "Yes, I believe in you, Jesus," is no longer condemned; he is saved not by anything we have done but by what Jesus has done through the cross and the resurrection.

But this way of believing in Jesus is not just about believing that He exists, but about believing that Jesus is who He says He is. It's not about believing in His existence and continuing to live apart from Him. Believing in Jesus existence and not submitting to Him as Lord makes us no different than the Devil and the Demons.

The life giving way of believing in Him is to submit to Him as Lord, Savior, and King. To submit to His rule and authority over our entire lives. 24/7, 365. One of the verses that should make us reflect on our relationship with God is found in Matthew 7:21-23.

Matthew 7:21–23 LSB

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

These people believed in Jesus, but they did not submit to Him as King of their lives. Their motives were evil, and that cost them their salvation.

We were saved not to continue in our old lives, but to have a new life in Jesus doing God's will. And how blessed we are to have such a good God. Such a good Father who loves us so much and has wonderful plans for us!

Now, those who do not believe in Jesus have already been condemned for their sins. They rejected the One who offered them salvation because they desired the things of the world more than God. Because they did not want to submit to God. “They loath the detestable things God has to offer them!”

When the light of truth shone in their lives and they saw that what they were doing was wrong, they decided to remain in darkness where they could continue their evil deeds. And they hate the light because the light shows them that they are in sin!

These people don't go to hell because God didn't love them. They go to hell because they rejected Him. They want to be separated from Him...

And unfortunalty, God gives them what they want for eternity. Because that is what hell really is, an eternity separated from God.

But he who practices the truth, he who puts his faith in Jesus and does the works of God, he who understands the love of God, comes to the Light. He hides nothing because there is nothing to hide. He does everything in the Light to give all glory to God. Matthew 5 tells us…

Matthew 5:16 LSB

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

This is what we must do. Come to the light. Remain in the light. Work in the Light and have nothing to do with darkness. So that God may be glorified! So that people see God’s love through us! “It’s not me, it’s all God and it’s all good!”

And what happened to Nicodemus after this conversation with Jesus? Did he understand the new birth and God’s love? Did he put his faith in Jesus? I think so. In John 19:38-42 it tells us:

John 19:38–42 LSB

Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. And Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred litras. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

This is beautiful. Jesus gave Nicodemus a new life, and Nicodemus, in gratitude, prepared Jesus' body in His death.

A few words to conclude. God owes us nothing, but we owe God everything. The salvation we have in Christ is an act of love beyond our understanding. But it is not up to us to understand that love, but to receive it, to reciprocate it, to depend on that love just as we depend on it as we depend on air, and to share that love with others because this is the good work that the Father has given us.

Lets pray.