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8th May 2024
WednesdayReflection
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Jennifer Slattery shares
What Does it Mean that
"God So Loved the World"
in John 3:16?
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John 3:16 can easily run through our brains without much cognizant thought, but have we paused to consider what it truly means?
Have we contemplated the depth of truths packed within this verse, preserved by God Himself, throughout countless generations?
Most importantly, how do we live in the reality that John 3:16 presents - that God, who is love, actively demonstrated His love through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, and through Him, offered salvation to all mankind.
There's so much to unpack in those words, but first, we need to understand the historical and literary context surrounding them.
One night, presumably after many of his colleagues were home in bed, a Pharisee named Nicodemus from the Jewish ruling council came to Jesus.
"Rabbi," he said, "we know that You are a teacher who comes from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him".
This statement suggests a few things:
Nicodemus was familiar with Jesus, most likely respected Him, and recognized that He indeed came from God.
Nicodemus obviously knew of the miracles Jesus had performed.
He'd probably heard many truths Jesus spoke as well, all of which seemed to have triggered a driving question: Who are you?
Perhaps you've asked God that yourself.
Beneath his words of affirmation, of wonderment, Nicodemus appears to be investigating Jesus' identity.
To which Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again".
You see, we must remember whom Christ was speaking to, what kind of life he lived, and how Nicodemus was accustomed to relating to God - through religious works.
Can you imagine how confusing Jesus' statement must have been?
I'm not just talking about the whole rebirth analogy, but consider as well the message conveyed to this well-educated, well-trained, and presumably "righteous" man.
Jesus, in essence, told Nicodemus that all his years progressing in Judaism, all the time he spent reciting prayers and participating in festivals, accounted for nothing.
Oh, they laid the groundwork, a foundation, if you will, for the truths Jesus was presenting. But they didn't have the strength to carry Nicodemus to salvation.
Why Did Jesus Use an Old Testament Reference to Explain His Point?
'Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.'
To illustrate the point further to Nicodemus, Jesus referenced the bronze snake Moses raised in the wilderness, back when the Israelites wandered in the desert vacillating between rebellion and repentance.
As recorded in the Book of Numbers, a book Nicodemus would have been extremely familiar with, the Israelites chose rebellion and were punished for it in the form of venomous snake bites.
To receive healing, they had to look at a bronze snake on a pole.
Looking at the snake on the pole was an act of faith, and when they looked they were healed by God.
The Israelites knew this was the only way they could be saved from this certain death by venom.
To get the full extent of this picture we need to remember Israel's pattern when they left Egypt:
the people would rebel, the Lord's judgment would come, Moses would intercede on their behalf, and the Lord responded mercifully.
In Jesus' earthly days the people of Israel were still rebelling, but this time there was a different intercessor . . . this time Jesus was the One whom the Lord would lift up and grant mercy through.
The words Jesus spoke likely didn't make much more sense to Nicodemus than Jesus' talk of rebirth.
After all, he likely had no idea Jesus was planning to die - for him (and us).
He didn't understand that Christ would, quite literally, be lifted on a pole, just as the snake had been, and that Christ's death and resurrection, not well-spoken prayers or good deeds, would bring life.
But we do have that knowledge, thanks to Scripture.
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This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request
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