John 3:16, God’s Love Clearly Demonstrated

Introduction

Good evening! It is so good to gather with you this Good Friday. If you have a Bible, please open with me to John 3. We gather to remember and contemplate and even celebrate what God has done in the work of Christ on the cross. He has brought glory to Himself and joy to His people––all those who have trusted and are trusting and will trust in the finished work of the LORD Jesus Christ. For the next few minutes I want us to look together at a well known verse that many have memorized. Follow along with me as I read John 3:16 for us.

READ JOHN 3:16

PRAY

As I mentioned, we’re gathered this evening for the sake of Good Friday. It is right for it to be called Good Friday even though it is the day we remember Christ’s death on the cross. Despite the horrific nature of his death by Roman execution––horrific because of its violence and because of his innocence––you should gladly consider it Good Friday. Especially if you are a Christian. Without this day––the death of Christ on the cross––we would have no hope at all of joy-filled eternal life with God. We would not know the love of God.

Good Friday, almost two thousand years ago, was the long awaited fulfillment of God’s promise to His people that they would be delivered from the consequences for and the power of their sin. Promised in many passages throughout the Old Testament, including the one read by Bo just a little while ago. There’s one line that grabs me every time I read that passage or hear it read. Isaiah 53:10 says, “it was the will of the LORD to crush him.”

What happened to Jesus was not simply owing to the cruelty of those who crucified him. Ultimately, it was the will of the LORD. It was the will of the LORD such that it satisfied His just wrath for our sin and was also an expression of His love for His people in providing a way to be saved from His just wrath for our sin. That’s what we want to consider together this evening as we reflect on Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.

The verse we read and are considering tonight is the most well known summary of the gospel message in all the Bible. But I don’t want its familiarity to cause any sort of complacency in our understanding and appreciation of its contents. It really is an incredible verse worthy of sustained focus and concentration during our time together. This is my aim for all of us here this evening as we unpack this verse together.

MAIN POINT––Know the love of God and place all your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Context

First, let’s briefly orient ourselves to the context, particularly what has come before in John 3:1-15. There we have the account of a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night. He acknowledges that Jesus has come from God, based on the signs he has witnessed. Then, Jesus tells him about the new birth. That without being born again, no one can see the kingdom of God.

Then, in verse 14 Jesus foretells the reason he came into the world. He likens it to the events of Numbers 21, an incident in the wilderness wanderings of Israel. The people of Israel turned against Moses and so the LORD sent venomous snakes in judgment on the people. Some who were bitten by the snakes died. Some confessed their sin and pleaded to Moses to intercede for them. The LORD told Moses to “make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole.” Anyone bitten could look at it and live. In the same way Jesus, the Son of Man, would be lifted up.

It was not clear to Nicodemus what Jesus was saying at the time of this conversation. It would only become clear later on that Jesus was speaking of His crucifixion. The very reason He had come into the world. That was his mission. Jesus would be lifted up “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Then, John grounds that mission in the love of God explained in John 3:16. We see that with the word “For” at the beginning of verse 16. It serves to connect verse 16 with what came before it. Thus, the Son’s mission was a consequence of God’s love.

God’s Love Clearly Demonstrated

That is what I want to spend the rest of our time looking at for the next few minutes we have together. This one verse teaches us so much about the incomprehensible and immeasurable love of God. In this verse, God’s love is clearly demonstrated. We’ll note three things from it concerning God’s love:

Its Degree

Its Object

Its Goal

Its Degree

First, note with me the degree of God’s love demonstrated. We might phrase it as a question––“how much did God love the world?” Well, the answer is quite a lot! Now, briefly, I know there are some of you who are aware of discussions on what this verse is communicating based on the original Greek text. A lot of ink is spilled across many commentaries on how we should understand this verse and the way it should be rendered in our English translations.

Some have observed that the word translated “so” is an adverb that ought to be rendered “in this way”––thus “For God loved the world in this way.” Others note that the grammar as a whole makes the particular adverb translated “so” one that describes the intensity or degree of God’s love. Not at all trying to be funny, but I don’t think we’re really all that hard pressed to make a decision between the two. Both ideas are clearly there in the text and unified with one another.

What I mean is, in showing us the manner in which God loved the world we also clearly see the degree to which he loved the world. In other words, it is an incomprehensible and immeasurable kind of love as demonstrated by him giving of himself in the person and work of the Son. God has demonstrated his great love––that he “so loved the world” by sending his only unique Son to die for the sins of those who have rebelled against him and deserve his just punishment for all eternity. Is that not an incredible demonstration of God’s immeasurable love?

The apostle Paul tells us the same thing in Romans 5:8 where he writes that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God was in no way obligated to save us from our sin. He would have been perfectly just in condemning us all for eternity without any opportunity for reconciliation with him. But God so loved the world that he gave is only unique son. That leads us to the next observation.

Its Object

Second, we want to note the object of God’s love. The text plainly tells us “God so loved the world.” This would have caught the attention of any first century Jew. As God’s chosen people under the Old Covenant, the idea that God loved the whole world was not in their thinking. It should have been. Throughout the Old Testament there were signs and pointers to the reality that God was working out his redemptive plans and purposes for all nations.

Here it is made all the more plain for us to see. God’s love, demonstrated in the reconciling mission of the Son, was not for the Jews only, but for all mankind without distinction. The Son came, as demonstration of God’s immeasurable love for his image bearers, that he might save a people from every tribe, language, and nation. Which brings us to our third and final observation for our time together.

Its Goal

Third, what was the goal of God’s love? Its goal was eternal life for those who believe in the Son. Here you can see the tightly woven connection between the object and the goal of God’s love. While it is right to say that God loved the world, the reality is that not every person will receive this great love. Sadly, many have and will reject this love of God. God’s love, so clearly demonstrated, will only be truly realized by those who believe.

For those who believe, the reward is eternal life. For those who do not, they will perish––which is the way the Bible speaks of eternal punishment under the just wrath of God. A couple of verses later that is made all the more clear explicitly in John 3:18––“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

The implications are clear for us this evening. This is a life and death decision with eternal consequences. We dare not consider the weight and significance of what is being said here. God’s love is meant to lead us to faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. Therefore, it begs the question for all of us––“What will you do in light of God’s love so clearly demonstrated?”

Conclusion

Whenever I’m preaching I am always aware that there are two kinds of people present. There are those who already believe and there are those who do not. This well known verse must be brought to bear on both groups.

If you are a Christian, the biggest implication for you is to keep on believing. Persevere in faith all the days of your life. Humanly speaking this is easier said than done. Life in this fallen world is hard. Especially for those who call upon the name of the LORD. Who seek to follow Him in all of life. We live in a world that runs hard against the values of God’s revealed Word. Such that whenever we come up against the values of the world we are guaranteed to face hardship. And the temptation will present itself to take the easy way out and just go with the flow.

Maybe you’re here this evening just barely holding on. You’ve had a rough day; a rough week; a rough month; a rough year or many years. You’ve experienced any number or kinds of suffering. There is sin that still clings close. You doubt whether God really loves you. Does life have to be this hard? Should I just wave the white flag and throw in the towel? You need to be reminded of the immeasurable love of God displayed for you in the cross of Christ. Let that clearly demonstrated love captivate you afresh that you might be reinvigorated to persevere in faith.

The gospel is not merely a one time thing you consider merely at the beginning of your Christian life. The gospel is for all of life. The same gospel that saved you is the same gospel that keeps you fully and finally to the end. My Christian friend––brothers and sisters––behold the love of God for you demonstrated in the cross of Christ and keep going.

For those of you who are not yet committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ my hope for you is this––see the love of God displayed in the cross of Christ and come to know the love of God in the cross of Christ by believing in Him. No matter where you are in life––young or old; rich or poor; sick or healthy––my desire is that you will consider your great need for the love of God in the cross of Christ.

You see, the cross of Christ shows us the love of God. But it also shows us the justice of God. When you look at the cross of Christ you see what your sins deserve. All of us, every single human being who has ever lived or will ever live deserves the perfect justice of God for our sin. We all have sinned and fall short of his glory. We have all committed cosmic treason against God and his rightful rule and authority over us. And the just penalty for our sin is death.

But God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For those who believe in Him there is mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, eternal joy that is inexpressible. That is what I and every other believer here wants you to know and believe. If you’ve never considered your great need of salvation I’d love to tell you more. If you are one that thinks you are too far beyond the saving love of Christ, know that there is no such thing as being beyond the reach of God’s love. He sent his Son that you might have eternal life. Believe in him.

Know the love of God and place all your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.