3:16
Verse 15 is usually taken as the ending of Jesus’ words with Nicodemus, and the following verses are commentary on that, but there are some who take the succeeding words as being part of the conversation as well.
This is possibly the most famous verse in John’s gospel. “For God so loved the world” is generally taken to mean the degree or extent of God’s love. However, the Greek actually implies that it means the manner of God’s love. Ie referring back to verses 14 and 15 and the lifting up of the snake. In one sense it doesn’t matter that much, as God being prepared to send His own Son does demonstrate the extent of God’s love, and the reason it can be said that God’s love is so great is that He was sending His own Son to die on the cross in order to save us.
Some of the older versions have “only begotten son”, but “one and only son” is a more accurate translation. The latter part of verse 16 is exactly parallel to the incident in Numbers. Without Christ all will perish, but if we look to Him, if we believe in Him, we will be saved. Instead of perishing we will have eternal life.
3:17
In many ways this is a tragic verse, or rather it highlights the tragedy of much of the world’s response to Jesus. The Pharisees and other religious leaders sought to kill Jesus because they feared condemnation. They knew that His words and actions showed that they were acting against God in their hypocrisy. They thought Jesus had come to condemn them, so they wanted to get rid of Him. The truth is that Jesus came to save them. He came to highlight their sin so that they could repent and be saved. If only they knew.
The same is true today. Listen to the arguments of atheists and sceptics. The speak as though God and Jesus have come to condemn them, to bring judgement. The truth is that Jesus has come to save us from judgement, but in order to receive that salvation we need to admit our sin, and this is precisely what so many refuse to do.
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