Sermon Talkback—March 22, 2009
John 3:14-21
Nicodemus
The setting of this passage is the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus—“a Pharisee” and “teacher of Israel”—who struggles to understand Jesus’ teaching about the new birth (John 3:1-10). Nicodemus and others find it impossible to believe that one can be “born from above,” and to be “born of water and Spirit.” And even though Jesus’ life and teachings are demonstrative of the Son of Man who “ascended into heaven,” and “descended from heaven,” some people cannot move beyond “earthly things” and understand “heavenly things” (John 3:11-13).
According to John 3:14-21, their disbelief has two principal causes: misunderstanding Jesus’ mission and refusing to submit one’s life in the light of God’s love.
Jesus’ Mission
The Nicodemus’ unbelief is holding on to a wrong idea about the mission of the Son of Man which can be seen in John 3:14—“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Moses lifting up the serpent (Numbers 21:4-9) is when the people of Israel complained about their food and lack of water in the wilderness. When they spoke against God and against Moses, the Lord sent poisonous snakes that bit people and they died. After the people begged for relief, Moses made a bronze serpent on a pole and when people saw it, they lived. In a similar way, the Son of Man saves those who look on him as their Savior would live.
Jesus will be lifted up in two ways—lifted up on a cross by human authorities when they despise and reject him (John 8:28) and he will be lifted up by God that is, glorified by God through his death, resurrection and ascension (John 12:32-34).
Despite people’s misunderstanding about Jesus’ ministry, John, the Gospel writer, asserts that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish” (John 3:16). Jesus’ mission is to save, not to condemn, and whoever looks on him will be saved—whether that one is Nicodemus or anyone else.
Individual Pride
The second obstacle is the individual self that rejects the Son of Man and his mission. Once a person hears the good news about Jesus—that is, listen to the proclamation of the Son of Man who was lifted up—that individual must choose either to look at him and be saved or turn away and suffer condemnation whose origin grows out of stubbornness” (John 3:18). The explanation is “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Why? “For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed” (John 3:20).
In other words, people who disbelieve do not want their lives exposed, to learn about their real predicament or face scrutiny. Because they love darkness and their evil deeds, they would rather be left alone.
“But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (John 3:21). For this latter group, facing the light is an opportunity to acknowledge that they were saved by God when they looked on the Son of Man, who was lifted up.
What are the dark evil forces in your life and in the world that need to be exposed to the light of God?