John 3:16 In Context
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Who wouldn’t want Nicodemus as a follower of Jesus? A member of Israel’s highest court, the Sanhedrin, made up of their elite elder statemen, he would have been a strong advocate of conservative Judaism. Such a back-ground would make him influential and schooled for high level activity as a disciple. Most of these elite rulers were offended by Jesus, eventually moving to kill him, but not Nicodemus. Surely, he was a disciple, wasn’t he?
There’s an old story told of a busy airline. The flight was cancelled. A long line of frustrated flyers waiting for the attendant to reroute them. One customer would have none of it, pushing his way to the front of the line. At the counter, red faced, he shouted at the attendant, “Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am!?” Obviously, she had faced such people before. The attendant calmly picked up the microphone and said over the loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, if anyone has lost an adult male in your party, he is at the counter and apparently does not know who he is.” The crowd cheered! The man put his head down and walked to the back of the line.
Members of the Sanhedrin might be like that. “Do you know who I am!?” At first Nicodemus does not seem to have such an approach. He makes a point to go see Jesus, and when he does, he appears to give genuine compliments. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Seems like a nice guy, somewhat objective. But is he a disciple?
Our first clue comes from the time when Nicodemus approaches Jesus, at night. It appears, at least at this initial meeting, that he does not want others to know he is seeing Jesus. As Mark Moore points out in his book Quest 52, there are 13 times in the book of John that night, dark, or darkness are used. Most of these are metaphors for spiritual darkness, for evil, ignorance, or opposition. This passage starts with John mentioning it is night when Nicodemus comes, and ends with him quoting Jesus as he says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world,
but people loved darkness instead of light.” These references place brackets around the story of Nicodemus.
Another clue is the fact that Nicodemus starts the conversation on a positive, engaged note, as mentioned above. But once Jesus confronts him with a hard truth, that a person must be “born again” to enter the kingdom of God, we hear no further response from Nicodemus, except he says, “How can these things be?” and then appears to quietly leave the scene. Maybe you and I have been guilty of not looking at this part of the story correctly. Indeed, we all need to be “born again” of the water and the Spirit, as Jesus declares; to start from ground zero in this new
covenant relationship with Jesus. But this had special, hard-hitting meaning for a man like Nicodemus. He was among the elite of Israel: he didn’t need to start over, to be born again, did he? He would have been offended, wanting Jesus to be a Messiah of the Old Covenant, not of a new one.
You see, neither fame nor fortune can substitute for submission to Jesus. For many people at the top of the food chain, this is not good news. It’s also true for many people today. “I’m successful, important, have worked hard for my status, but you expect me to bow humbly to this Jesus?” Maybe they don’t word it that way, but their response is the same. On the other hand, for the outcast of society, for the downtrodden, those already humbled by life, this is good news! Either way, we must start on equal footing as we bow at the cross and submit to Jesus as Lord. It’s good news for all when viewed correctly. Only this approach is true belief. Which brings us to John 3:16.
John 3:16 is in the middle of this text about Nicodemus. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that all who believe in him should not perish, we are told by Jesus. In context with this story of Nicodemus we see that this statement is made with him in mind. He was high and mighty, thinking status mattered to Jesus. Jesus says no, he expects us to use our background for good, but we must come to him seeking a new start, a new life, and that begins with being born of the water and the Spirit, which I believe is a reference to baptism as we die
to the old self and rise to walk as a Christian. Only a belief that drives us to such action is saving faith.
There’s an old story told of a busy airline. The flight was cancelled. A long line of frustrated flyers waiting for the attendant to reroute them. One customer would have none of it, pushing his way to the front of the line. At the counter, red faced, he shouted at the attendant, “Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am!?” Obviously, she had faced such people before. The attendant calmly picked up the microphone and said over the loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, if anyone has lost an adult male in your party, he is at the counter and apparently does not know who he is.” The crowd cheered! The man put his head down and walked to the back of the line.
Members of the Sanhedrin might be like that. “Do you know who I am!?” At first Nicodemus does not seem to have such an approach. He makes a point to go see Jesus, and when he does, he appears to give genuine compliments. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Seems like a nice guy, somewhat objective. But is he a disciple?
Our first clue comes from the time when Nicodemus approaches Jesus, at night. It appears, at least at this initial meeting, that he does not want others to know he is seeing Jesus. As Mark Moore points out in his book Quest 52, there are 13 times in the book of John that night, dark, or darkness are used. Most of these are metaphors for spiritual darkness, for evil, ignorance, or opposition. This passage starts with John mentioning it is night when Nicodemus comes, and ends with him quoting Jesus as he says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world,
but people loved darkness instead of light.” These references place brackets around the story of Nicodemus.
Another clue is the fact that Nicodemus starts the conversation on a positive, engaged note, as mentioned above. But once Jesus confronts him with a hard truth, that a person must be “born again” to enter the kingdom of God, we hear no further response from Nicodemus, except he says, “How can these things be?” and then appears to quietly leave the scene. Maybe you and I have been guilty of not looking at this part of the story correctly. Indeed, we all need to be “born again” of the water and the Spirit, as Jesus declares; to start from ground zero in this new
covenant relationship with Jesus. But this had special, hard-hitting meaning for a man like Nicodemus. He was among the elite of Israel: he didn’t need to start over, to be born again, did he? He would have been offended, wanting Jesus to be a Messiah of the Old Covenant, not of a new one.
You see, neither fame nor fortune can substitute for submission to Jesus. For many people at the top of the food chain, this is not good news. It’s also true for many people today. “I’m successful, important, have worked hard for my status, but you expect me to bow humbly to this Jesus?” Maybe they don’t word it that way, but their response is the same. On the other hand, for the outcast of society, for the downtrodden, those already humbled by life, this is good news! Either way, we must start on equal footing as we bow at the cross and submit to Jesus as Lord. It’s good news for all when viewed correctly. Only this approach is true belief. Which brings us to John 3:16.
John 3:16 is in the middle of this text about Nicodemus. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that all who believe in him should not perish, we are told by Jesus. In context with this story of Nicodemus we see that this statement is made with him in mind. He was high and mighty, thinking status mattered to Jesus. Jesus says no, he expects us to use our background for good, but we must come to him seeking a new start, a new life, and that begins with being born of the water and the Spirit, which I believe is a reference to baptism as we die
to the old self and rise to walk as a Christian. Only a belief that drives us to such action is saving faith.