There are some verses in the Bible that are known much better than others…there are those verses that seem to have become a part of our culture…The 23rd Psalm is one of these… “The Lord is my shepherd” and there are other verses that help us to work through difficult times.
This morning we are going to look at what is arguably the most well known and most memorized verse in the Bible. John 3:16.
It’s a great summary of the Christian message that tells of God’s love and what that love did for us in delivering us from Sin and all its consequences…it tells us how we are able to receive that love.
What an appropriate verse to preach on this morning because today we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper in two ways by…remembering His victory over death and resurrection…and proclaiming His coming again to earth at the end of the age.
Whether it’s written on a sign or on a t-shirt John 3:16 is one of those scriptures that summarizes the entire Bible:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Remembering from last week the context in which this verse is set…it is from the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus…Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin…probably the most respected teacher in all of Jerusalem…he represented the elite religious group of his day…he was a highly respected teacher of the Law…and a renowned Bible teacher.
Although Nicodemus is a qualified teacher of the Old Testament, he comes to Jesus seeking answers to legitimate questions regarding Jesus’ claim of being the Messiah and wondering “How can these things be?” with respect to being born again.
This conversation is a continuation from chapter 2 where Jesus is doubting the sincerity of those who claimed to believe in Him…unfortunately for Nicodemus he’s made the example and is singled out because of his status as a teacher.
We’ve talked in previous weeks about what it means to “believe in” Jesus…the meaning in the Greek is what’s important here and not our English word believe.
When translating, the Bible translators attempt to use one English word for one Greek word but the English word ‘believe’ doesn’t give the best sense of the Greek word believe.
It’s important to realize that to believe in Jesus doesn’t mean we just accept some facts about His existence…believing in Jesus is;
…trusting in Him as your Savior (John 3:16)
…believing Jesus is God in human form (John 1:1, 14)
…believing Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
…believing that the sacrifice of Jesus is the only acceptable payment for your sins (1 John 2:2; John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
What matters is that believing in those things I just mentioned…when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior our lives are changed…we are not living for ourselves anymore…it means following Him and submitting to Him…these are the preliminary steps for admittance into the Kingdom of God.
The context of today’s passage is centered around Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus concerning that very thing…entrance into the Kingdom of God…Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus could be entitled ‘Entry into the Kingdom of Heaven 101.’
Entrance into the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with the fact that you tried to live a good life…or if you’ve tried to keep the laws of God…it doesn’t matter if you’ve been baptized…or if you’ve been going to church.
Jesus is laying the foundation for entry into the Kingdom of God…Nicodemus didn’t understand Jesus speaking of heavenly things…things that can only be believed in…things like…rebirth…the Spirit blowing like the wind…the Son of Man coming from heaven…he doesn’t understand how the new birth can happen …how it can gain a person entrance into God’s eternal kingdom.
HISTORY LESSON…to the casual reader [v 14] may have very little importance.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up
what Jesus is saying in that verse to Nicodemus is something that he would have immediately picked up on…it would have been more than obvious to Nicodemus because it’s a real event in the Old Testament…the story of Moses and the bronze serpent…so what does it mean? …what does that have to do with anything?
Reader’s Digest version: after wandering years in the desert the people of Israel had had enough…they were starved and exhausted…if you were a child when Israel left Egypt you’ve seen your parents and possibly you grand-parents die…after years of wandering…there was little promise to Moses’s promise of a ‘Promised Land.’
Almost every family had buried someone along the way—including Moses’s sister Miriam (Numbers 20:1) and brother Aaron (Numbers 20:28) —now, they’re out of water…on the surface they had every right to complain and beg Moses, “Take us back to Egypt.”
“Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? There’s no seed, or figs, or vines or pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.” (Numbers 20:3-5)
So…just as Moses had done so many times before…Moses prays for God’s mercy …and as always God answered his prayer and gave the people of Israel what they needed to continue on in their journey…water from a rock so the people and their animals could drink.
But they could only take so much water with them and they soon ran out…again, the people became impatient and began to complain:
Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; (Numbers 21:5)
This time, instead of giving them a blessing God sent a curse…all of a sudden, the people looked around them and there were snakes everywhere…not just the garden variety snakes…these were poisonous snakes that if they bit you, you died.
And that’s exactly what happened…the snakes began biting the people…men, women, children so that there were dead people piling up everywhere.
The people cried to Moses, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you…pray to Yahweh, to take away the serpents from us.
So, Moses prayed to God…God told Moses to fashion a serpent out of bronze…put it on a pole and hold it up for the people to see…everyone who was bitten by a snake, if they looked up at the bronze serpent would live…everyone who looked was cured on the spot…so, once more, God showed mercy and saved them from their sin.
Now, fast forward a couple of thousand years…here’s Nicodemus…he comes to Jesus under the cloak of darkness in search of the meaning of life…and Jesus says, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus had no idea what that meant, so he asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?” …so, Jesus took this strange story and applied it to Himself:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
Now it’s clear…Jesus is drawing a parallel between Himself and the bronze serpent that Moses held up…by dying on the Cross Jesus paid the price for our sins…look up to the crucified and risen Christ, and you will have eternal life.
Here Jesus is telling Nicodemus that all who believe…all…everyone who believes on Jesus shall be saved from the condemnation of God’s anger…and be raised up to eternal life.
Jesus is saying that God cannot just brush away sin…sin has to be dealt with… there is a penalty that must be paid…there’s that word propitiation again…God’s wrath must be satisfied…it could only be satisfied by the Son of Man who ‘must’ be lifted up to satisfy God’s wrath on behalf of sinners who believe in Him.
The word ‘must’ in the Greek is δεῖ has basically the same meaning in English…it means what was absolutely necessary…notice Jesus uses that word in [7] ‘you must be born again’ it is what is required to obtain eternal life.
This is the first time in John’s Gospel that the phrase “eternal life” appears…John uses the phrase “eternal life” more than any other New Testament writer …the term eternal life is a central theme found in John’s gospel.
The very purpose of John’s gospel is that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:31; 1 Jn 5:13).
His emphasis is not on duration…because in reality…everyone who has ever been born has eternal life…no one ceases to exist when they die…everyone lives forever.
It’s a mistake to view eternal life as simply an unending progression of years… eternal life is not really associated with “years” at all…it’s independent of time… eternal life can function outside of and beyond time, as well as within time.
The New Testament word for “eternal” (aiónios) carries the idea of quality as well as quantity…here’s the misunderstanding Christians have…eternal life can be thought of as something that Christians experience now…believers don’t have to ‘wait’ for eternal life…it’s not something that starts when they die.
John uses present tense participles when describing eternal life…it’s a present-tense possession…it’s not something that begins when we get to heaven…eternal life begins the moment a person believes in Jesus.
If the sole reason in asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins was so you wouldn’t perish in hell… (separation from God) …then you are missing out on blessing and joy of eternal life that is available right now.
If the sole reason in asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins was so you wouldn’t perish in hell…I want to talk about that for a minute…this is important…you can’t talk about God’s love without including God’s wrath.
What about this place called Hell…don’t like to give a lot of time to this discussion but it is a reality that is mentioned in the Bible…Hell is mentioned 167 times in the Bible…the Bible says more about Hell than it does about Heaven…we’re probably all familiar with the verses that describe Hell:
Matthew 25:46 eternal punishment
Matthew 13:50 weeping and gnashing of teeth
Mark 9:48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched
Revelation 14:10 They will be tormented with burning sulfur…And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night [Rev. 14:10, 11].
So here we have the verses that describe the place called ‘Hell’ …but does everyone go to the same place…NO…it’s important to remember that Jesus says that hell was originally “prepared for the devil and his angels” [Matt. 25:41].
Scripture seems to indicate that there are various degrees or levels of hell… Jesus Himself makes mention of this… [Luke 12:47-48] …He is saying that the more a person knows about Him and still refuses to do anything about it, the more they will be held accountable which is an indication that there are variations in the severity of punishment.
BUT…ultimately…here’s what hell is…it is separation from God [1 Thess. 1:9] …it is missing out on blessing and joy of eternal life that is available right now.
The emphasis of the Bible is not on the degrees or levels of hell…but on avoiding it altogether and helping others to avoid it as well…God went to great lengths to provide salvation for us through Jesus, including subjecting His own Son to a painful crucifixion…that is the emphasis of John’s gospel.
NOW…let me share with you some confusion that begins in [v 16] …starting in that verse John begins a commentary on what Jesus just revealed to Nicodemus…in this section is the most familiar verse in all of scripture…[Jn.3:16] which presents the clearest and simplest statement of the good news of Jesus Christ.
Here’s what’s interesting about this verse…Jesus didn’t say it…most theologians agree that the interview with Nicodemus closed at verse [15] … [16-21] are not the words spoken by Jesus but are the words of John.
It doesn’t take away from the fact that these words are the inspired words of the Holy Spirit…but most agree this section is John’s comments about Jesus’ words that ended at verse 15…here’s why:
1. In [John 3:16-21] much of the wording is in the aorist tense…past tense that is consistant in John’s writing…but unnatural for Jesus speaking.
2. The phrase “Only begotten” (mon-og-en-ace’) does not occur anywhere in the words of Jesus… Jesus often refers to Himself as the Son of Man but never as God’s ‘only begotten Son’…which is John’s way of referring to Jesus [John 1:14, John 1:18; 1 John 4:9]
3. Jesus does not refer to God as ‘God,’ but usually as ‘the Father’
4. The phrase ‘believe on the name’ is not used by Jesus but only in John’s writings (John 1:12 / John 2:23 / 1 John 5:13).
5. The phrase ‘practices the truth’ [3:21] occurs only in John’s writing [1 John 1:6].
Here’s what’s important about [vs. 16-18] John’s revealing a few things about God:
First…John tells us that Jesus is the Son of God…the things He did only the Son of God could do…and…being the Son of God He came to this world as a sign of God’s love.
Second…He’s a bit of a disciplinarian…He has defined certain things that people should do if they want to be accepted as His children…He set up rules for his people to live by and has consequences for those who don’t.
Thirdly…He has provided a way for us to live eternally with Him…that is the reason “that He (God) gave his one and only Son” …He came into this world for a reason.
Fourth…God is a just God…He will judge every person on their own merit.
BUT…at the same time…in [John 3:16] there arises some tension.
FIRST…the very wording ‘God so loved the world’ to a Jew would have been just plain shocking…maybe… ‘For God so loved the Jews’ or even ‘For God so loved sinful Jews’ because they knew they were God’s chosen people…BUT…God loves the whole ‘world’ …that was a stretch.
SECONDLY…this verse adds to the Arminian/Calvinist issue concerning how God chooses who is and who isn’t going to be saved…this verse creates a debate in itself.
BUT…looking at John’s commentary [16-20] he reveals additional things about God…independent of any theological issues or debates:
- People are in danger…by nature…of perishing.
- There is salvation in no other…Jesus is the only source of salvation.
- Salvation is free to all…there are no special conditions.
- Salvation is easy. It’s not something you participate in…it’s a gift from God.
So, John’ comment that ‘God so loved the world’ is inclusive…it is universal atonement…meaning any and all who believe in him shall not perish.
Unfortunately, far too many people stop at [16] because [18] conveys a message that is not in agreement with most people’s understanding of God…I would be less than a Pastor if I failed to share with you what these verses mean…although they really need no explanation.
18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
In [John 3:16] is one revelation of the nature of God…God’s love…but in [18] we also see God’s nature as well…in John’s summary of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus he’s saying…‘let me clear up a misconception’ …every person is guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23) …we have already been declared guilty (John 3:19) and deserve to be separated from God (Rom. 6:23).
John is saying…people do not have to do anything to be condemned…[18] those who do not believe are “judged already,” that word is in the present tense meaning it’s happening right now…God has already judged us…we are automatically in a state of condemnation by just being born [Rom. 3:23] …we begin our physical life in a state of spiritual death.
We’re all judged and declared guilty the day we were born…and if you’re an unbeliever you’ll remain condemned…BUT…in [18] John is saying there is a way to escape judgement.
Because God’s love is so great, He provided a reprieve…a way for us to escape judgement [2 Peter 3:9].
There’s a difference between God’s mercy and God’s love for the world.
God’s mercy is that He doesn’t treat me the way I deserve to be treated.
God’s love was displayed in sending Jesus to be treated the way I should have been treated…thus Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
Because of that…and…our faith in Jesus as our Savior…we will not see judgment but eternal life…God’s mercy is found in His universal call to salvation whereby God gives all people the opportunity to repent…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
For those who accept the invitation…He has a unique relationship with them…in addition to God not treating me the way I deserve to be treated (mercy) …God treats me better than I deserve to be treated (grace).
However [18] is clear in that there is an alternative…not everyone will be saved (Matthew 25:46) …and it’s not because of a lack of God’s mercy and love…to ignore God’s merciful love is to reject Jesus and to deny Him as Savior.
Because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God [18] …for those who don’t believe in Jesus…they cannot…and will not find eternal life living in the Kingdom of God (John 3:36).
In these verses…and particularly in [John 3:16] we see the core of John’s gospel… that God sent His only Son into this world that we might have life through him… so people “might come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” and “have life in his name.”