That the World Might Be Saved
Notes
Transcript
13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
It is necessary
It is necessary
John quotes Jesus hinting at the mystery of what his coming death would mean. He’s talking to a Pharisee who is on the ruling council. He came by cover of night to talk to Jesus. He’s personally impressed by Jesus but he can sense that most of his peers have a lot of questions. So he comes to be with Jesus, to listen and perhaps to question him. Of course Jesus is on it and very ready for this encounter. He keeps putting the pressure on Nicodemus. He expects him to know his Old Testament (which is of courses the Bible at the time). He refers to himself as the Son of Man, which is a hint to deep deeper into OT prophecies to understand who he is and what shapes his purpose.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
The snake represented the sins of the people and the natural consequences that followed. But the obedience to look at and acknowledge the mess they created and then to believe God could heal them, unleashed the power that healed them. It was about acknowledging the sin and believing in the healing.
It wasn’t about the healing power of snakes! No, people were dying from snake bites. It was about trusting God’s plan for healing the situation.
So there are similarities with Jesus on the cross:
John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–10 The Snake and the Love of God (John 3.14–21)
Humankind as a whole has been smitten with a deadly disease. The only cure is to look at the son of man dying on the cross, and find life through believing in him.
Again it’s about trusting that this was God’s plan. Jesus dying on the cross was a disgrace from society’s vantage point. It was a shameful way to be put to death. Hard to look at. And yet it forces us to take a look at how serious sin is. The pain we caused. The suffering involved in resolving this very deep problem. Some theologians today are wanting to tidy this up. They don’t want us to look at Jesus suffering for our sins. On the positive side they are correct that this isn’t the only thing going on in the atonement. He was also winning a victory over death and disease. He was reconciling us from broken relationships to a loving relationship with God. That’s all true and we need to remember it’s not just about sins and sacrifice. But we can’t forget that Jesus DID die on the cross. That it was necessary. That it’s actually a good thing that it’s ugly and uncomfortable and hard to look at. That’s because sin is ugly. Murder is ugly. Hate is ugly. Abuse is ugly. Stealing is ugly. Racism is ugly. Adultery and lust are ugly. One scholar put it this way:
John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–10 The Snake and the Love of God (John 3.14–21)
the evil which was and is in the world, deep-rooted within us all, was somehow allowed to take out its full force on Jesus. When we look at him hanging on the cross (or ‘lifted up’, as John says here and several times later in the gospel; the cross is an ‘elevation’, almost a ‘glorification’), what we are looking at is the result of the evil in which we are all stuck. And we are seeing what God has done about it.
It doesn’t really work with dogs. I take my dog over and go: look what you did: why did you do that? He just looks at me like: you better clean that up dude it’s gross. His brain is too small and he probably doesn’t even remember he did it at his age. Maybe he even thinks I did it, LOL. Doesn’t work with dogs.
But it does work with humans. When we see Jesus in all his suffering. When we see the costliness of sin and how far he went to redeem our lives. We finally begin to see how much God loves us. I think those who stay stuck on how could a loving God allow suffering haven’t looked into the eyes of Jesus on the cross. God sort of got involved just a little.
As long as sin and the problem of evil and human suffering remain ideas to be debated, someone can never see God’s response. It has to get real. It has to get personal. You have to own your own part in the brokenness of the world. You have to humble self to admit you’re not in the place of God. Then, if you look into the eyes of Jesus on the cross, you will find forgiveness and the healing and hope that is needed in our world.
Sure it’s a metaphor. But just realize that a real man who was also somehow God, went to a real cross and suffered for us all. Look to him. Believe in him and healing and salvation begin in you.
God did not send His Son to Condemn
God did not send His Son to Condemn
Again, people commonly try to say one of two things: that God just tries to catch people doing wrong unfairly and should just let them have fun AND that God needs to take care of all evil and set it right. Anyone who talks out of both sides of their mouth like this has not thought things through. You should keep loving them and listening to them and answering their questions when you can. But understand that it’s going to be frustrating for a while. Nothing you can say at that point will change the mind of a person who is stuck. But you can do them a lot of good by taking it seriously and listening. Try to be patient, because even God did not send Jesus to condemn. So we can take our clue from him to be loving.
But remember, all along that you already know God is long-suffering and patient, not willing that anyone should perish.
So in this season of Grace God is still actively trying to draw all men and women to himself. Christians should not be talking about taking up arms against others. That’s the opposite of what Jesus has instructed us to do.
Don’t even try to tell me that because Jesus said I didn’t come to bring peace but a sword means we should take up weapons. When Peter cut off the man’s ear, Jesus put it back on and told Peter:
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
If you want to own a gun and safely operate it that’s between you and God. But don’t think you are going to use it to usher in the Kingdom of Jesus. Jesus told us to love our enemies. Jesus told us to lay down our lives for our friends. If we take up our cross there’s not room for a lot of other things in our hands.
In these weary days our minds can get tired and we can be convinced by radio hosts and TV personalities and pushy friends that being upset about the political situation is the only thing that matters; that it’s all on the line in this election. Tell them, no. Jesus put it all on the line. He is with us always. Our job is to love others and teach them how to follow Jesus.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
You probably learned this verse by the time you were 9 years old. I pray that every 9 year old can some how come to know it in our time.
Jesus did not come to hold political office or convince people to vote. I think he’s glad if we study the issues and vote our conscience. But as I’ve mentioned before, don’t live and die with how your guy is doing in the polls. Live and die with how many people are living and dying without Jesus. Be upset that many have forgotten how much God loves them. Be upset if YOU have forgotten how much God loves you AND the person you can’t stand.
WHOEVER believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Jesus came all this way to save them. So should we.
Be very glad that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world because that would mean you were toast. Remember that one day he will come to judge the world. But right now he doesn’t need you to do it for him. Right now he’s still on a mission to save. Have you joined him?
When my kids were small at one point I was coaching two soccer teams. The 3-5 year olds were a mess. It was just a big mob scene around the ball with everyone kicking each other. It was scary. They weren’t running the plays. So I bought a bunch of books and videos and I found one great idea. Most kids at that time knew about Star Wars. I told them in practice think of it this way. This ball is precious because inside it are the rebel plans that will let them get free from Darth Vader and the Death Star. They must work together to get the ball safely to the other side of the galaxy and into the mother ship, which was the goal. Some of their faces lit up. Now they had a mission. And for at least a few minutes in one practice we looked like a soccer team.
The Word of God, the message of Jesus is precious. It lives inside everyone who has believed in and followed Jesus with their life. We have a mission to spread that message far and wide for more and more people to join us. Now we aren’t limited like a soccer team. We can have a lot more than 11 on our team. So let’s not forget what the message is for. It’s not a reason to huddle around kicking and fighting with others. It’s a reason to reach out in love.
We have to admit our brokenness and look to Jesus in humility for salvation and healing. So do our friends. But it’s real and it’s still changing lives today. Aren’t you glad that Jesus came to love and forgive? We can also be glad that he is returning to set things right and setup his forever Kingdom. In between let’s join him on his mission to love and to save. Even during a pandemic. Even in an election year. Let’s pray...