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A Solemn Proclamation of the King of Kings

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19)

These are the words of Jesus of Nazareth – on whose life all human history hinges. In this proclamation from the man who was executed for his claim to be God incarnate, we see history’s central figure point to himself, claiming to be the light that has come into the world, and decrying the fact that, while he certainly had followers all over Galilee and Judea, the people of the world had rejected his appearing in the world – because people prefer to remain “in darkness” rather than let him reveal to them that their works are evil. While this Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant influence on Western Civilization, we are just as certainly judged as a people who fail to honor Jesus as we ought, preferring evil (defined biblically as disregard of God’s authority over us) rather than the light that is this Holy One who has come into the world.

Condemned! Is there hope? If there’s a way out, what if I refuse it?

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18)

Many among us are confused about our default standing before the God who has revealed himself through the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. Because we belong to the God-hating lineage of humanity, stretching all the way back to the very first man, we stand justly condemned – and with only a moment’s reflection, we know why. Our own thoughts are such a horrible stew of good and evil, kindness and meanness, good intentions as well as bad ones, and a toxic blend of high-minded plans and corrupt actions. The good that we would do, we cannot seem to pull off – even on the smallest personal level. Intuitively knowing what a man or a woman should really be, we quite properly look upon our lives and tell ourselves, “Yeah, the one thing I know is that I am NOT all that I was made to be.”

And in this proclamation of Jesus, we see that we are by default condemned, doomed, destined for judgment – unless we “believe” in “the name of the only Son of God.” There is exactly one way out of the horrifying penalty we know we truly deserve. Since all our deeds are corrupt, we cannot make our own way out. We need God to make a way for us; otherwise, we remain justly condemned.

Only God’s loving action for us can avert our condemnation.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

This part of the proclamation includes some of the best known and least understood words of the whole Bible. Christian athletes and their fans love to reference the above statement by emblazoning “John 3:16” on their faces and on banners, but as with any powerfully concise statement, it cannot communicate truth properly as long as the meanings of the powerful words of the statement are not properly understood. Let’s examine this statement, then, one word at a time…

God

When Jesus used the word “God,” Jesus meant the God of the Hebrews. God is the creator, the lord, the lawgiver – and as such, God is the reason anything or anyone exists, and the sole assignor of value. We know the true value of created mankind by God’s determination of a person’s value. And because all things spring from God, the creator, all things belong to him – including every human life. He is sovereign over all creation, seeing the end from the beginning, and judging all things according to his unlimited wisdom and power.

Loved

When Jesus used the word “loved,” Jesus meant that, although humankind stands condemned, God’s attitude toward the human race as a whole is determined by the richness of his amazing love. Attributes of kindness, mercy, grace, and justice are all intertwined in the love of God, without confusion or imbalance. There is no weakness in the love of God – his love is more tender and more severe than that of any man.

World

When Jesus used the word “world,” Jesus meant the entire doomed human race that stands condemned because of their godlessness. In the end, then, the term “world” is just as universal as you believe it to be. It includes individual souls, along with families, cities, and nations. No one is outside the scope of what Jesus refers to as the world. Therefore, all of this certainly applies to you.

Gave

When Jesus used the word “gave,” he meant the infinitely compassionate act of God’s sacrificial love for the rebellious human race. Every man or woman who has ever lived appreciates the wonder of self-sacrificial love – it is the subject of most of the world’s greatest works of literature and drama. We are drawn to rescue or war stories where we see the principle elucidated by Jesus himself portrayed in flesh and blood: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). This self-sacrificial love is what is embedded in this one word “gave.”

As the gospel of Jesus is explained throughout the rest of the Bible, we see that this self-sacrificial love is expressed in a way that is incomparably complex and beautiful. Before the creation of the world, the intent of God was to demonstrate this manner of love by God the Father sending God the Son to step into frail human form in order to display the beauty of the nature of God, including the self-sacrificing love of God, through the offering of the life of the incarnate Son of God as a sin offering for all who would receive it as applicable to them. God the Father “gave” God the Son to be this hero, this fearless soldier, this passionate advocate for those he would claim as friends, even dying for these souls while they were in fact still his enemies. This capacity for giving lies at the center of the heart of God.

We could never know what God is truly like apart from this revelation to us in the giving of God the Son. We who are condemned by default, due to our rebellious natures and commitment to holding onto our sinful ways, have been given a way to be mercifully forgiven of our rebellion, graciously accepted into the community of the friends of God, and freed of our captivity to rebellion and godlessness. This is the greatest gift of all time – the amazing gift of a rescue from God’s judgment.

Only Son

When Jesus used the words “only Son,” Jesus was referring to himself, and identifying himself as more than just a man. Much more. Here and in several other parts of the Bible, we see God referring to himself in ways that disturb our simple interpretation of other statements of God as being unique, a singularity, or simply “one God.” A passage from the Law of Moses, possibly the central passage in the life of every Jew, even to the present day, reads, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Jesus taught monotheism, the worship of just one God. But Jesus claimed to BE God incarnate – God made man. He claimed to be before Abraham, the original patriarch of Israel. He taught His disciples that he was present in the creation of all things.

From this and many other Bible passages, Christians have come to understand the nature of the one true God as three persons – God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. The acts of God done in and through Jesus of Nazareth were done by God made flesh. Even the church’s wisest theologians cannot fully comprehend this, so do not be too concerned if it doesn’t immediately “click” – did you really think the essence of almighty God would be easy to grasp?

Perish

When Jesus used the word “perish,” Jesus did not mean annihilation. Many among us take their consolation in the notion that, “well, according to John 3:16, the Christians are telling me that, in the worst case, I might just lose consciousness and disappear from existence – how bad would that be?” But this is by no means the teaching of Jesus. Nobody in human history taught more than Jesus did about the place known as Hell.

To “perish” is to go to Hell, where the judgment of God against all mankind’s sinful rebellion will be exacted on each lost soul. All will perish except for those who have cried out to God to receive the sole way out that God has provided – that being the sacrifice for sin that was provided in the death of Jesus of Nazareth, who knew no sin himself and therefore can apply his payment for sin to any that he chooses. Death is the passage into eternal condemnation, unless one escapes by the substitution of the blood of Jesus for the agony we deserve. Do not perish – this perishing lasts forever!

Eternal Life

When Jesus used the words “eternal life,” Jesus meant the state of being where one is a member in good standing of the household of the undying God who has made him or her. In God’s household, there is neither death nor dying, hence the characterization of it as “eternal life.” Every human being is subject to death – eternal life does not eliminate this reality. But it is also true that each human soul is immortal – there is no “nothingness” lying ahead for anyone. The eternal God has made us to be eternal beings, and we will either be in his eternal embrace as sons and daughters or in his eternal captivity as enemies of his kingdom.

God the Father has promised abundance to all who come to him by way of grace that he has opened up to us in the self-sacrificial giving of God the Son. The Bible goes into expansive instruction as to the nature of God’s abundance toward the people of God. It is all much more than our hearts can hold. In fact, the Bible calls it Heaven, and concludes with a vision of the glory of God in finally bringing Heaven down to Earth forevermore.

God is oriented toward merciful and gracious lovingkindness for all.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17)

Finally, we have this summary statement: condemnation is the road we are on, simply by our membership in sinful humanity, apart from the salvation that is available “through Jesus.” God has sent the Son to be for us a way out the consequences of our rebellion. His offer of complete amnesty is available to all, irrespective of the depth of depravity to which one may have dived.

The way out is “through him” – it is not based on anything we can bring in our own interest. We cannot improve our lot. We may be saved “through him” or else lost forever. Pray to God for the change of heart that only he can bring – ask him to receive your sad life of rebellion and selfishness and make you a true servant of God. He is willing and able, as we have seen in Jesus’s own words. Believe him. Believe in him!

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