St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
March 14, 2021● Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year B)
Gospel: John 3:14-21
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16 is one of the most quoted and recognized scriptures heard outside of the four walls of the church. It can also be seen featured on t-shirts, hats, journals, wall decorations, and anything that you might imagine could prominently feature the gospel message. In fact, companies, in various industries, have been known to incorporate scripture into their day-to-day practices with their customers. For years, ladies’ clothing store, Forever 21, printed a scripture verse on the bottom of their retail bags. Wouldn’t you know it, the verse is John 3:16.
Now, as a form of evangelism, utilizing this tactic in a secularized world is genius. The believer has shared the gospel for those who have the eyes to see. For those shoppers who recognize the scripture, they are reminded of God’s love for them (awesome). For those who do not recognize the verse, perhaps their curiosity leads to further research, which might eventually lead them from clueless curiosity to unwavering belief in Christ (super awesome). “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” What an overwhelmingly beautiful, powerful message for anyone—believers and non-believers alike—to receive.
John 3:16 is good news indeed, but isolating the verse from its surrounding scripture context does two things: first, it constrains the full weight of the verse’s meaning, and second, it unintentionally keeps believers from nurturing their existing belief while non-believers may not fully comprehend that the belief in Christ part is non-negotiable. Verses 16 and 17 tell of God’s salvific actions of the giving his only Son, and Verse 18 demands the action of the people to believe in his only Son, Jesus Christ. Shielding people from accountability is lazy evangelism at best and failed evangelism at worst.
Our gospel passage begins with verse 14. Jesus is speaking, but we are not informed about Jesus’ audience. Jesus’ audience happened to be an audience of one, as our passage is a continuation of a private encounter between a religious leader of the Jews, a Pharisee, by the name of Nicodemus, and Jesus. Nicodemus had come to Jesus by night—literally walking in darkness—seeking his own understanding about Jesus’ identity based on his limited awareness of Jesus’ signs.
In the first half of the dialogue, which precedes our passage today, Nicodemus struggled to understand what Jesus meant by being born of the Spirit, when he only knew about birth through the flesh of the mother’s womb. Jesus then exposed this “teacher of Israel’s” unbelief, and his inability to believe the heavenly things of which Jesus spoke in order to see beyond that which was known and visible to him in the earthly realm. What Nicodemus knew from his human perspective hindered his ability to receive the truth of Jesus’ words.
But, Jesus did not give up; he continued to speak of the heavenly things with Nicodemus, which is where our passage starts at verse 14. Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14 is not the scripture on t-shirts or hats, but it is necessary for the depth of our understanding. And, Jesus’ message was necessary for Nicodemus’ understanding. Numbers is one of the five books of Moses, so the Pharisee, Nicodemus, would have been familiar with the reference. Jesus used the Moses story that Nicodemus knew in order that he might be able to better understand, and come to believe that which he knew not—the truth of Jesus’ identity.
As we heard in our Old Testament reading in Numbers, God sent poisonous serpents among the grumbling and complaining Israelites in the wilderness, which bit and killed many of them. When the people repented of their sin of speaking against God, and Moses prayed to God on behalf of the people, God commanded Moses to make a bronze snake on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, they would not die, but live—but only if that person looked at the serpent of bronze. The interesting part is that God did not remove the serpents from the people! The poisonous serpents were still a threat to the lives of the Israelites. People were going to continue to be bitten and people were going to continue to die. But, there was a sure action on the part of the bitten person—an action that would ensure life—they were to gaze upon the serpent of bronze, as God commanded through Moses. God used the bronze likeness of the serpent, a living instrument of terror and death, to be lifted up as a reminder to God’s people of his life-saving power.
Just as the poisonous serpents posed an existential threat to the lives of the Israelites, so too does the poisonous and deadly sin of this world. Sin has not been removed from this world; people are still being bitten by evil, and souls are still dying to the poison. And, there is, as it was for the Israelites, a sure action required on the part of the suffering soul—an action that ensures life—and that action is belief.
That’s on the front end of John 3:16. On the back end, are verses 17 and 18, neither of which is popularly quoted. Both, however, are critical for the message John 3:16 to be heard and digested. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; he sent him to be our lifeline. Now that message certainly needs to get more air-time. And, Jesus follows it with, “Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (v.18).
We are called to tell people the truth—that Jesus died on the cross for the salvation of ALL people, but it is those who believe in Him, who in their belief, accept the gift of eternal life. The cross event set in motion God’s coming kingdom and the judgment of the world. And, here’s the key: humankind participates in that judgment by choosing one of two possible roles—the believer who chooses eternal life with God or the non-believer who chooses death apart from God.
Suffering and death, caused by the pandemic and man’s inhumanity toward man, is all around us. This Lent, in the midst of this broken world, fix your gaze upon the cross, lifted high. Be reminded of God’s power to transform an instrument of torture and death into an instrument of exaltation and eternal life. Fix your gaze upon the cross, lifted high. Be reminded of God’s self-giving, life-saving love, eternally poured out for humankind—poured out for you—through God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.
As you receive the sacraments of our Lord, remember that the gifts of God are for the believing people of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith (your belief) with thanksgiving.
Amen.
