Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-january-16-2024
John 3:16-21
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. 18 Whoever 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. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
This passage is the second part of a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish High Council. (We thought about the first part yesterday.) It probably doesn’t need to be said that this reading begins with the most often-quoted verse in the entire New Testament, John 3:16.
As you might remember from yesterday’s reading, Nicodemus came to see Jesus under cover of night. Christian commentators have traditionally interpreted this fact as evidence that Nicodemus had evil intentions. But personally, I tend to think Nicodemus came at night because he wanted to talk to Jesus without it being known to the other Pharisees. Later in Jesus’ life, when he was being condemned by the other Jewish leaders, Nicodemus spoke up to defend him.
It seems to me that one of the most important points in this passage is that the life and ministry and death and resurrection of Jesus all represent an “act of God” – it was all an action God took out of love for the world. Those who consider themselves followers of Jesus often refer to him as the ‘Son of God’ – and that’s how he’s described in this passage. But it’s very important to keep sight of the fact that this expression is a metaphor. Our theology teaches us that Jesus was and is God – the human manifestation of one of the three persons of the Trinity.
So when we say that Jesus is God’s “one and only Son,” the point is to express the idea that the relationship between the two parts of the Trinity we call the Father and the Son is personal – that they share the same substance, as the theologians say. (Maybe something like human fathers and sons share the same DNA.)
God had spoken into the world a number of times throughout history, usually by sending messengers to his people. When God sent human messengers, we call them “prophets.” When he sent supernatural messengers, we call them “angels.” But in Jesus, God came into the world and spoke to us personally. He entered human life to show us how to live that life authentically, and he went to the cross to communicate the depth of his love for us.
One part of this verse that lots of Christians tend to ignore is the part that says that God appeared in the form of Jesus out of love for the world. Lots of Christians have a kind of hostility toward the world as the enemy of God and his people. That’s an expression that comes out of the letters of Paul. But we need to be a little careful about that. When Paul is talking about the world, he’s talking about the worldly systems that sinful human powers set up. It’s dangerous for followers of Jesus to adopt rhetoric that describes the world as our enemy.
If God loved the world so much he died for it, those of us who claim to be his people shouldn’t feel justified – and certainly not self-righteous – in regarding the world as an enemy. If God loves the world, we’re called to love it, too – even though the powers of the world might not love us back.
This famous passage also talks about the subjects of judgment and condemnation. Many Christians talk a lot about how God is going to judge and condemn all those who don’t share our faith – those who reject Jesus. But this passage expresses a very different vision – that coming into the world in the form of Jesus was meant as a rescue, not an act of vengeance and condemnation.
The great Christian writer C. S. Lewis once wrote that Christians are wrong to picture God as an angry judge pointing sinners to the gates of hell. Instead, Lewis said, the truth is probably that God is brokenheartedly calling, “No, come back!” to those who reject his love and choose to walk away from his presence, basically insisting on going to hell in spite of him.
Those who come into the heavenly kingdom, Lewis said, are those who say what Jesus said, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Those who condemn themselves, on the other hand, are the ones who say, “Not your will, but mine be done.”
Which brings us to the last couple of verses in this passage, in which we get a glimpse of what the life of true discipleship looks like. Jesus has come into the world as a great light that illuminates the truth about God’s will for us. Our lives are meant to make the love of God a reality in the world. That love is expressed by taking responsibility for the flourishing of our neighbors, and of creation as a whole. We are to live out the same sacrificial love Jesus demonstrated, sacrificing of our material resources, but also sacrificing our ego, our self-interest, our time, our convenience, and even our rights and our safety for the sake of others.
We may not always agree about what the details of the life of love are supposed to look like, but Paul says that the basics, at least, are impressed upon our hearts and minds. We know instinctively that it’s wrong to exploit and abuse others. Human sinfulness leads most of us to do those things sometimes, anyway – and deep down, we know it. Some people are so consumed by their own sins that they skulk about in darkness, hiding from the light of Christ so they won’t have to see the truth about themselves.
But those who are truly committed to following Jesus are called to live more and more in his light. And when our sins are illuminated by the light of Christ, we are to confess and repent of them, then move on. Our lives are meant to be gradually transformed by that light, and to reflect the light of Christ into the lives of those around us. That’s the goal we’re all called to – to become the kind of people of the light who bring glory to God, not by judging and condemning others, but rather by living out the same love God has for the world – every day.
Let’s pray together: Lord, we pray that you will open our hearts to receive your love for the world, and move us to express that love in our daily living. Use us as instruments to reflect your light into the lives of others, so they are drawn to your Son, as we have been. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
Recent Comments