Chapter Three is one of my favorite chapters and possibly for many Christians worldwide. It contains some very powerful truths and teachings that have impacted many a reader and believer. In fact, one verse in particular has changed the life of many.
The first part is about Jesus being visited by one of his enemies. Jesus, as you may remember, was not a big favorite of the Jewish ruling council. The Sanhedrin as it was known, was composed of Pharisees, scribes, priests and others. Among them was one named Nicodemus. This fellow was intrigued by Jesus' teaching and power. It may have been that Nic may have been in one of the crowds that witnessed some unexplainable thing that left many wondering about who this Jesus really was. In order to satisfy his curiosity, Nic comes at night to visit Jesus. This was a smart move by Nic to avoid being seen by others on the council. And what he tells Jesus is interesting: "Rabbi," which is interesting for Nic was a Rabbi (Teacher) calling Jesus a teacher. He then says, "We know that you are a teacher who has come from God." Hmm. Then why didn't they treat him as such? "No one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him." Jesus does not say, "Thank you, that's very sweet of you for noticing," or "Gosh, go on, tell me more!" He says, "No one can see the kingdom of God without being born again." Not what Nic expected to hear. He is befuddled. "How can a grown man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born again!"
Of course, Jesus is talking spiritual things, Nic is thinking like a human. Jesus spells it out, You must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. My having said, you must be born again should not surprise you!
The two, well mostly Jesus, talk about what Nic should and should not know. Basically Jesus is saying you and your council are the spiritual teachers of Israel and you're not catching half of what I am trying to share with you about God, shame on you! Then he reveals something that Nic doesn't quite understand about Jesus having to share the same ride as Moses' snake in the wilderness - up! But everyone who believes this will receive eternal life.
Then the most powerful verse ever shared, verse sixteen: "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." The most favorite stories of mine that I heard regarding this verse may or may not be true, but it still illustrates the power behind this sentence found in John 3:16. A man felt God's call to go into the deepest parts of Africa back in the day, to hand out Bibles in the languages of the natives of the area. He came to the chief of one tribe who had a reputation among his people for being too fond of smoking. The people of his tribe knew that if this man gave him a Bible, the chief would use the tissue thin pages of the Bible as papers for his cigarettes. The man spoke with the chief and said, "I know you are going to want this Bible because of the paper, and I will still give you this Bible if you promise me one thing; that you read each page on both sides, then you can smoke it." The chief laughed as did his people, but the chief said he would. The man walked away silently praying that the chief hold to his promise. It would be some years later at a Bible conference in another African city that the man was invited to speak. The man noticed an African in the front row waving to him and trying to get his attention. The man waved back but made no connection. After the presentation, the African rushed to the man and said, "Don't you recognize me?" The man honestly said he did not. "I'm the smoking chief! You gave me a Bible some time ago and I promised I would read each page before I read it and I did. I read Genesis and I smoked all of Genesis. I read all of the Old Testament and smoked it all too. I smoked through Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I started smoking John but when I read John 3:16, I stopped smoking."
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." What gracious and loving and powerful promises we find in these words. As the passage continues, in Jesus we find Light, and people of course, loved darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. If we love the truth and live by the truth we will come into the light of Jesus.
The disciples follow Jesus into the countryside of Judea where he spends some time with them and he baptized new believers. John, a relative, some believe cousin of Jesus, was also baptizing people and people were responding to John's preaching and invitation. In fact, some fights broke out regarding procedures and meanings of ceremonial washing versus baptism. It was as I shared earlier that some people, mainly teachers of the law, could not understand why they would need to be washed when they had been born clean.
John then addresses questions by others about what Jesus was doing and why Jesus was attracting more people. John responds faithfully that he was only fulfilling what he had been called to do. His joy had been in doing only that. John knew that he would decrease so that Jesus might increase. Jesus had, after all, come from above and is above all. Jesus is the Son and in him the Father has placed everything in his hands.
And this chapter ends with the declaration that everyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life, but those who reject him will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them. The first Methodists who joined Wesley's movement had to answer the question, "Are you willing to flee the coming wrath of God?" And if they said yes, they were welcomed in. The question still stands, though is not asked enough.
Are you willing to flee the coming wrath of God?
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