Context of the Gospel (John 3:14-21) 7:20 – 8:35
As many know, John 3:16 is the most famous line in the New Testament:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”
Many don’t realize that was early in Jesus’ ministry and it was part of conversation he was having with Nicodemus.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, educated in the law of Moses, and a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the council that governed Jewish affairs.
Early in John 3 (before today’s reading), Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and addresses him as “Rabbi” (teacher).
Q: Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus at night?
A: To avoid notice by the other Jewish leaders who were already suspicious of Jesus.
For a Pharisee, a teacher himself, and member of the Sanhedrin such as Nicodemus to address Jesus as Rabbi is kind of stunning. At the very least, it would indicate he respected Jesus and was taking his presence and teachings seriously.
In the verses just prior to our reading, Nicodemus expresses confusion over Jesus’ comment that one needs to be born anew in order to see the kingdom of God.
Reading from the Gospel of John 3:12-21
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge*, but to save it.
Whoever believes in the Son of Man will not be judged, but whoever does not believe has already been judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son.
And this is the judgment, that the light came into the world, but people prefer the darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil.
Those who do evil things hate the light and do not come to the light, because their evil deeds would be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that their works may be clearly seen as done in God.
* the Greek root can mean both judgment and condemnation. Jesus’ purpose is to save, but his coming provokes judgment; some judge (condemn) themselves by turning away from the light.
Q: How can one understand this strange statement?
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
It will take a couple of steps to connect the dots, so bear with me.
Moses lifting up the serpent on a pole is a reference to a passage during the Exodus found in the Book of Numbers. The Jews following Moses in the desert were complaining (again). This time, they are getting tired of eating the manna every day, and God has about had it with their complaining.
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no food and no water, and we detest this worthless food.”
Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it up as a sign; for whosoever was bitten shall look upon it and live.”
So Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had struck anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:5-9)
Q: Most Jews would know this story, so without question Nicodemus does. But how does this help us? Why would Jesus compare himself to the serpent on the pole?
The answer doesn’t immediately reveal itself. We have to ask, where else in the bible do we see humans who are not satisfied with the food God has given them and find themselves engaged with serpents?
Genesis, Chapter 3! So, in a way, we are seeing a kind of replay of the Fall of Man. Adam & Eve reject the food God has given them, they engage the serpent and it brings them… what? Death. The “fiery serpent” that bites the Israelites has an unusual translation – the same kind of “fiery” that describes the glow of seraphim angels, which suggests these serpents are perhaps connected to fallen angels. Yet another connection to the Fall.
In the OT, humans are fallen, correct? That equates to spiritually dead. The Jews have been praying for God to save them since the return from the Babylonian Exile, and God promised he would send them a Messiah. It is Jesus. Jesus will soon be nailed to and hoisted up on a cross. What does Jesus say to Nicodemus next?
“…so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Do you see the connection?
Said yet another way, the fiery serpents represented the sins of the people. By God having Moses nail the sins of the people to the pole, as long as they believed and looked upon their sins nailed to the pole, they would be forgiven and therefore healed.
The whole point of Jesus coming here was to take our sins away so he could re-open heaven for us. God knew we would kill him and Jesus came anyway, because that’s what love does. We nailed him to a cross, but without realizing it, we nailed our sins to the cross. That’s what the cross represents. Those who believe that God would do this and look upon Jesus with that understanding, will be healed eternally.
Yes, God could have done it another way, but He chose this “perfect storm”: the evil of the world tries to take out God Himself, and God’s allows it to happen only to show that the power of love is even greater.
Q: What is the point of this statement Jesus the makes to Nicodemus?
Whoever believes in the Son of Man will not be judged, but whoever does not believe has already been judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son.
He is making it clear that God is not judging us. We can judge ourselves. If we choose not to believe, what can He do but honor that? Like Adam & Eve, we are allowed to choose against Him.
Maranatha!
Ron
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