Jesus and Nicodemus – John 3:14-21

A text – John 3:14-21

3:14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
3:16 “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.
3:17 “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.
3:18 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.
3:19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
3:20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
3:21 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.”

A reflection:

Friday’s post will have the story of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, in case you have forgotten it. The Israelites were complaining, during their wandering in the wilderness, about how God was making them suffer. Then God sent snakes to poison them, and they repented and turned back to God, asking for mercy. God had Moses make a bronze snake and set it up on a pole, so that people could merely look upon it and be cured of deathly snakebite. If they believed enough to just look at it, they would live. It was a direct and powerful gift from God.

Jesus, in this secret conversation with Nicodemus, compares how his own sacrificed body will be like the serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness; anyone who simply believes in him will live eternally. This is God’s goal, Jesus is saying – to save all who believe in Jesus by their simple faith, not a collection of works and sacrifices.

Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a member of the group who will not only NOT believe Jesus is the son of God but also will condemn Jesus to be lifted up on that pole. It is that group of leaders who are trying to uphold the law beyond anything else, insisting on works and sacrifices. Most will not even try on the idea that Jesus is the Messiah, sent from God to fulfill (make good on all humankind’s best intentions that fall short) the law they believe so strongly in. Jesus says that the light (Jesus) has come into the world, but people prefer not to acknowledge it, remaining in the darkness they are used to.

It is easier to cling to the familiar, even if it is not getting us anywhere. It is harder to look at something new as a gift, especially if the something new requires changing the way we live and act. Change is hard, but if the change is Jesus, the “hard” will be worth it. What routines that you are used to keep you in the dark? What simple change would let you spend more time in the light of Jesus?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for Nicodemus, whose honest questions and slowness to believe seem familiar and relatable to us. We have our shortcomings and our unwillingness to change, too. But help us to try on Jesus’s invitation to follow him. Amen.