The Gift of the Son John 3:16-19

Whenever I come to this passage, it gives me pause. It’s one of the most well-loved passages in the Scripture and there’s a good reason. It’s the “little Gospel” and it gives us some of the most critical essentials for faith in Jesus. It’s one of the first verses that many of us learned and for some, it may be an important part of our salvation testimony.

-God invites us to believe in His Son, Jesus for salvation

I. God Loves the World v. 16a

Our passage this morning is well-loved, and there is a good reason for it. In it Jesus makes a declaration of Good News!

It may not give us all of the “how” of the Gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection

However, it does give us the “why” of the Gospel: What was God doing when He sent His Son?

This declaration begins with a consideration of God’s disposition towards us: God loves the world!

I think we need to make sure that we get this right

God is completely holy, righteous, and just

He judges sin, in keeping with His holiness

However, He loves a world that is filled with sinners and is broken by sinfulness

In the Old Testament, we see this love poured out in a particular way:

God chose Abraham out of all people to set aside a nation of people for Himself.

This is something that Nicodemus would have understood completely

Now, Jesus expands this farther than many would have suspected. God has a love that is good for the entire world

When Jesus says that God loves the world, He is talking about you, your family, your neighbors, your coworkers, and your friends

The Good News is so good because it is good news for you!

Christ did not come for the Jewish people, for religious people, or for righteous people. Jesus came as the expression of God’s love for the whole world!

This is for you!

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott The Glorious Gospel

Lord Tennyson is reported to have said to an old woman who said she’d heard “Jesus Christ came into [the] world to save sinners”: “It’s old news and it’s new news; it’s good news and it’s true news.”

II. God Sent His Son vv. 16b-17

Next, Jesus makes it clear that God has loved the world in a particular way:

He sent His Son

We believe and Jesus claimed to be the uniquely begotten Son of God

He is fully human, yet also fully divine, born of the virgin Mary in sinless perfection

He was with God from before the beginning of beginnings; He is God

God, in human form came to us, walked among us, died for sins, was buried in the grave, and lives again forever

Why did He send His Son?

Jesus is very clear about this:

Jesus does not come as an agent of condemnation, but as the vessel of salvation

Jesus did not come to condemn the world; in fact, the world was already condemned by sin

Instead, Jesus came so that there could be an eternal hope; He is the expression of God’s love for people

In Christ, God is dealing with the great problem: sin

Jesus entered into the fullness of the human experience, but with one critical distinction: He was without sin

Yet, the sinless Son submitted Himself to human death and not just death: His was a cruel and humiliating criminal’s death

His death is central to our belief. He died for our sins, as a sacrifice.

In keeping with the dictates of Old Testament law, Jesus dies in our place, paying the penalty due for our rebellion against God

In this great moment, something unexpected happens: God does not condemn the world; He condemns His Son

2 Corinthians 5:21

[21] For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)

A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on "The Love of God." As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.

III. God Invites Us to Believe vv. 18-19

This good news carries an invitation: believe!

This salvation may have universal availability, but it does not have an automatic application.

You will receive it as you believe it!

And what you receive is considerable:

You will not perish

Instead, you will have everlasting, eternal, and abundant life, the kind of life that is only available from a living Savior

It turns out, God’s judgment looks different than what you might have expected!

In our way of looking at things, God must judge us based on the things that we have done:

Unfortunately, that’s not the judgment that we would actually want

It turns out that our accomplishments are not that great and our sins are far greater than we could have ever imagined!

Instead, God’s judgment is not based on what we have done, but whom we have believed

If I am trusting in Jesus to save me, I will be saved

If I am trusting in anything else, I will not be saved!

This has practical implications. People who are trusting in Jesus begin to live differently, but we have to get things in order

If I think I believe in Jesus, but nothing in my life looks different, then I’m not really believing in Jesus

If I think I’m living a good life, but Jesus is nothing more than an accessory to that pretty good life, I’m condemned!

You see, it turns out that it can be really hard to believe:

It requires a step out of the darkness and into the light

What does it look like to “believe” in Jesus

You have to believe that when you step out of the darkness and into the light you will find mercy and grace there, from a God who loves you

It is to take a step of faith:

To admit that you are a sinner

To believe in Jesus as Savior

To commit to Him as Lord

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. 

"But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." 

"But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. 

"Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." 

"Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son.