True Love

What is the cost of salvation? What did it cost Jesus, God’s one and only Son? What does it cost us? These are the questions we have been looking at during Lent.

Last week, we learned about how and why Jesus cleansed the temple. Jesus was moved to a righteous anger because the priests and Levites had allowed secularization to rob the nations of a place to pray. This prompted us to consider how we have done the same, in our worship, in our lives, in Maranatha.

Today, we will be looking at one of the most beloved, and concise presentations of the gospel—the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. To get the context of our passage, we have to go back to verse 1. There, Jesus receives an unlikely guest, a Pharisee, a member of the ruling leadership in Israel—the Sanhedrin, a man named Nicodemus. He comes to Jesus at night. Maybe to hide is visit, maybe because that was the only time Jesus wasn’t surrounded by people. He came to have a private conversation with Jesus.

Jesus probes Nicodemus’ faith. Nicodemus recognises Jesus’ authority and wisdom, and rightly confesses that Jesus is from God. But Jesus uncovers the truth that Nicodemus, a so-called man from God—a leader of Israel—isn’t really of God, for he not only doesn’t understand earthly things, he really doesn’t understand spiritual things. If Nicodemus can’t understand the purpose of John’s baptism, how can he understand the need for Spiritual birth?

When Nicodemus said that Jesus was from God, he was close. But Jesus says, in verse 12, that no one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. There, at that moment, Jesus claims that he is the Son of Man, the Messiah, the Son of God.

Then, referring to an event in , Jesus says that in order to save the world, he must be lifted up, just like the serpent in the wilderness was lifted up.

What in the world does this mean?

Last week, we looked at how the temple was a type of Christ, it was the place where God’s name resided, but it wasn’t the true temple, Jesus is the true temple, and all who believe in Jesus, become the temple of Christ, when, by the Holy Spirit, he takes residence in our hearts.

So in the wilderness, way back when the people of Israel were nearing the end of their time in the wilderness, in the 39th year of their wandering, they sinned against God. They grumbled and complained against God and against Moses. They were sick of the food, sick of wandering, they didn’t want to die in the wilderness, the wanted, can you imagine it, they wanted to go back to Egypt.

Because of this disobedience, God sent fiery serpents amongst them, punishing them for their sin. The snakes started biting the Israelites, and many died. Finally, the people realised their sin, confessed to Moses, that they had sinned against him and against God with their complaining. They pleaded with Moses to pray to God to remove the serpents.

Now, here’s the very interesting thing. God didn’t remove the serpents. He instructed Moses to make a fiery snake out of bronze and to affix it to a pole. Then, he raised the snake into the air, for all the Israelites to see. If any one of them was bitten by a snake, all they had to do was look at the snake and be healed.

In the same way, Jesus told Nicodemus, the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Okay, what does that mean? All of us, every one of us who is listening to this sermon, has been bitten by the fiery snake, Satan. We are all poisoned by sin, and we all, every one, deserve death. Thankfully, for those Israelites, the poison from the snakes wasn’t so fast acting—they were able to go and seeing the bronze snake, be saved—be healed.

Likewise, we all have the time to go and look upon Jesus, lifted up on the cross, and believing in him, we may exchange our eternal death with eternal life.

Why is this possible? Why didn’t God simply wipe out all the complaining Israelites, surely they didn’t deserve to enter the Promised Land? Why didn’t he just condemn the world to die? That’s what sin deserves, right?

Look at verses 16 and 17, for God so loved. Do you see this famous, beloved verse, how it connects to Jesus on the cross? Why did Jesus come? Why did he tell Nicodemus that he must be lifted up? He came, he willingly went up on the cross because of the Father’s love for the world—for sinful people. For this reason, the Father gave his only Son—just like what God said to Abraham—Take your son, your only son and sacrifice him on this mountain. Now, 2000 years later, God who provided a lamb in Isaac’s place, provides his own son, quite likely on the very same mountain, to be offered as an atoning, healing sacrifice, lifted up, to die on a cross, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Who wouldn’t want that? Who wouldn’t want eternal life? God the Father didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world, that is sinful humanity, might by saved through him.

You see, God is moved by, motivated by love. God’s love compelled him to save those whom he created in his image. Created in God’s image, fallen, lost, dead in our trespasses, enemies of God, God comes for us and rescues us, he saves us from death.

Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned. Whoever believes has been healed. Whoever doesn’t believe is condemned already. This ties right back to the fiery snakes.

This breaks my heart, because it hits so close to home for me, for my family. I can picture what it was like for the Israelites in the wilderness. They grumble and complain. Who hasn’t? They moan and groan against God and against Moses. Who hasn’t done, that? Who hasn’t moaned and groaned against God, against the leaders God has appointed over us?

And so God sends the snakes. Many die. God provides a remedy, a cure for the snake bites. All you have to do is look at the bronze snake on the pole, and God will heal you. The bronze snake itself had no power, rather it represented God’s healing power.

But here’s the kicker. I guarantee you, though having absolutely no proof, I totally believe that there were many Israelites who were bitten and died because they refused to simply look at the snake.

“What? Look at a snake? Why would I do that? A snake bit me. I’m dying here. I don’t believe that it would save me. That’s too simple. What a crazy thing to do.” And no amount of pleading, no amount of proof, “Come on, Jim-Bob, you saw that I was bit, but now I’m healed, all I did was look at the snake and I am as good as gold!” “I don’t care. I’m not doing it. It’s ridiculous. It’s just a fairy tale.”

And so it is today. The world stands condemned already. For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. All, every single human stands before God as guilty of sin. Of inherited sin, and of committing sin.

But those who believe in Jesus, they are no longer condemned. For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But for those who refuse to look at Jesus, they are condemned already. They have not believed in the name of of the only Son of God, Jesus, the messiah. They say, “I’m not going to look at Jesus as my Saviour. Christianity is rubbish. It’s just another made up attempt to explain the world. Its a system where people are manipulated. It is fine for simple thinking people. But we know better, we have science, humanism, rationalism.”

And yet you know what is causing the greatest disruption in all of that thinking? This virus. It, like sin, cares nothing about intellectualism, class, socio-economic status, it attacks without regard for who a person is, or what they may think and believe. It is nothing more than a type, too. It isn’t God’s judgement, it isn’t punishment, it isn’t a specific thing to hurt us. No, it’s a reminder. We are frail, fallen, human beings who are living under the curse fo sin: death. Death comes for us all.

This is the judgement, verse 19, the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness more than the light because their works are evil. Is this a reference to Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night? Is Jesus saying to Nicodemus, “You’re still living in the darkness, but you are not far away, for you have come to me, you are now in the presence of the light. Are you willing to let the world see your actions? Are you willing to bring your heart into the light, or are your deeds evil, and you’d rather keep them hidden.

You see, everyone who does wicked things wants to keep them hidden. This is why some people don’t want to come to church. They are not saved. They don’t believe, they like their sinful ways, they don’t want to change.

But those who do want to come to the light, as I believe Nicodemus did, by his actions with Joseph of Arimathea, he cared for Jesus’ body after he died on the cross. Those who come to the light, so that they can show that their works have been done for God’s glory.

So, what does all this mean for you, for me? Salvation is dead simple. It’s almost too easy, isn’t it? All we have to do is believe and receive? But I tell you this, if I had been bitten by a fiery snake, I would have done anything, even something as crazy simple as looking at bronze snake in order to live. Therefore I will look to Jesus, each and every day, so that I may be saved from sin.

I will strive to have my deeds done in the light. I will turn away from sin and darkness. I will do my best not to grumble and complain against God and his leaders.

What about you? Will you look to Jesus on the cross? Will you believe in him? Will you accept his salvation on your behalf? Will you allow him to remove the poison of sin and death from you, giving you everlasting life?

Do you claim to have Christ in you? Then show it by how you live. Allow Christ’s everlasting life in you transform you! Everlasting life begins now, by living now, the life you will live in eternity with Christ. It is obedient, loving, caring, self denying, God glorifying, transformed. It doesn’t look like the way the world lives.

I close with this quick story: In one of my commentaries, the author told of a man who in his “old life” frequently beat his wife and children. He neglected them while partying with other women. Weekends were drunken orgies. He finally gave into a friend who kept urging him to attend church. His friend almost angered him with his persistence! At first, he was amused by church, but then, in God’s mysterious working, he met Jesus. He was born again. He was healed of sin. He got rid of his booze. He began loving and respecting his wife and children, me made new friends. He began studying his Bible, every day at 5am. His wife said, “I don’t have a different husband. I have a new one.”

Stop settling. Stop complaining. Stop merely visiting Jesus. Look at him. Believe in him, believe that he has saved you! Trust him. Amen.

Let’s pray: Father in heaven, how deep is your love for us. That you would send your Son, your only Son, to die for us. That You Jesus, took our sins, upon your yourself, that we might be forgiven, totally and forever, no condemnation. Let us not boast in anything, but let us boast in Christ and his resurrection. Thank you, Jesus, your death has bought our ransom. Amen.