The short, dense, gospel for March 14th, (John 3:14-21) contains one of the most “famous” passages in scripture, but there is much more to it that invites us to excavate its meaning.

The gospel opens with a mildly confusing reference; 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. If we accept Jesus’ interpretation, that he will be lifted up--crucified--like the snake and become a sign of salvation, then we also accept that Jesus compares himself with the snake. Yet the snake is often associated with the evil one in the Garden of Eden. And in the passage from Numbers, (21:8-9)… the (Israelite) people became impatient …and… spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents … and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people said to Moses, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents.” So Moses prayed... And the Lord said, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the bronze serpent and live. 

At first, it may seem strange to use this biblical symbol of evil and the cause of death as a sign of salvation.  Two aspects of the serpent, however, may explain Jesus’ self-comparison to it. The serpents in Numbers were sent as messengers from God, as was Jesus. Secondly, the reviled messengers from God…both the snakes and Jesus… would become the sign of salvation when they were lifted up.

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Jesus then links this reviled symbol directly to one of the best known passages from the gospels; 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. God’s intent in sending his Son was that so that everyone who believes in him … may have eternal life. 

Jesus does not expand, here, on what “eternal life” means. However, the overall context of the gospels suggests that it is far more than an unending version of the current form of life. In John 6:35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 10:10 hints at a lot more when Jesus says, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 14:2 reads, In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…where… I go to prepare a place for you.John’s gospel refers to life, especially eternal life as a state of abundance, free from want, but most especially a state of companionship with him.

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When Jesus said, For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…Jesus refers to himself in the third person, as his (God’s) only Son,… John’s whole gospel emphasizes the Father-Son relationship as significant to understanding Jesus and his mission.

Three references in the prologue to his gospel illustrate this. John 1:14 reads, And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John 1:18, says No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:34 quotes John the Baptist saying, And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” 

For his part, Jesus emphasizes his relationship to the Father as well. In last week’s gospel from John we read, He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” John 2:16. Slightly later, in John 5:43, Jesus says, I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me…and in 14:10 Jesus said, I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.Relationship with the father was a significant part of Jesus’ self-identification in all the gospels.

Jesus experienced it as so good and life-giving that sharing it animated Jesus’ relationship with others. He came so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:15) This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” John 6:40His relationship was also the source of his authority: Jesus said to them, “Truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. (John 5:19) Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. (John 5:23). 

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Then Jesus elaborated on the statement that God gave his only Son. He said, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. The Father’s mission for his Son was to save the world, to free it from the consequences of sin. 

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Jesus switched to a metaphor of light to explain his role. This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, He identified himself with light, the power to see clearly. By enabling moral “sight” and action, Jesus’ presence and his purpose was to elicit a positive response.  He continued the metaphor by using light’s opposite…people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.Sins derive their value from self-reference… the opposite of the self-giving of God in Jesus. They cannot stand the public scrutiny provided by the light. 

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The gospel ends with another slightly oblique sentence…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.”  The second part of the sentence… so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God…makes the light a reward. It is like putting a spotlight on a person to single them out as being in God. As the light of the world, Jesus not only enables people to understand clearly what is right and wrong, and the advantages of “doing what is true”, but he also promises to recognize that person for acting accordingly.

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  •       The traditional language of scripture speaks of “Father and Son”. If we substituted “Parent and Child”  how does this change how you relate to the gospel? Try re-reading the gospel with these alternative words.
  •      What do you think Jesus meant when he spoke of doing what is true? Is he aligning truth with how God sees the world and implying that a person acts in a way that is consistent with God’s view? Is doing what is truealways socially-oriented action? Is “truth-action” a single continuous concept?
  •       Jesus seems to imply that believing in him is binary: one believes or does not believe. Are there gradations of believing in him (Jesus)? As one works at living a faithful life does the “faith mountain” seem to grow higher? Do you look back at your younger self and realize that your faith in Christ is more profound, even as you strive to be better? 

Peace

Michael