Day 819: Everyone who calls - John 3 vs 13 - 21

13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14-15 And 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. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17-18 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. 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.

19-20 And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:13-21 English Standard Version

Jesus was speaking to a Pharisee named Nicodemus and had told him that to understand heavenly things, and to see the Kingdom of God, there needs to be a new birth in a person's life brought about by God's Spirit. And vs 13 implies that the reason Jesus could talk about such things is because He was the one who had come down from heaven. But though this new birth was something brought about by God's Spirit – we can't manufacture it ourselves – Jesus goes on to teach how this new life is formed in a man or woman. What does verse 16 say is the doorway through which men and women must enter God's Kingdom?

It is through believing in Jesus Christ. But not just believing that there was such a person who lived 2000 years ago, but believing in where He came from, what He did, and why He did it. What do vs 14-15 tell us about what Jesus was going to do?

In the Old Testament book of Numbers we read how the Israelites who'd come out of Egypt grumbled against God and He caused a plague of serpents among them. The bite of the serpents was deadly. When the people repented of their grumbling God instructed Moses to make a bronze replica of a serpent and put it on a pole which was lifted up in the camp where all could see it. Word went out that anyone bitten by a serpent need only to look towards that uplifted serpent, and they would be healed. In a similar way, Jesus was going to be lifted up on a cross, and all who were doomed to eternal death through sin, but who looked in faith to Him, would be saved.

What about where Jesus came from, and why He did what He did? (vs 17-18)

He came from God. He is the beloved Son of the Father. And the Father sent Him on a mission, not of destruction - but of salvation. It was an act of amazing and abounding love. The world was full of sin and people were doing so much of what God hates. Yet, unlike the days of Noah when God sent a flood of judgment, He was now sending a flood of mercy. So to believe in Christ involves believing that He is the Son whom God sent, and believing that He gave His life on the cross so that our sins can be forgiven. The name Jesus is the Greek for a Hebrew word which meant 'the Lord saves.' To believe in His name, therefore, is to believe in the salvation that God has provided for sinners.

One would think that such wonderful news would be embraced by everyone who hears it. But what was the outcome in those days, and still happens in our generation? (vs 19-20)

Many people prefer the darkness of this world's sinful ways to the wonderful light of heaven's glory which Jesus brought into the world. Evil deeds lead to guilty consciences, and guilty consciences make people afraid of the light. And by not turning to Jesus for salvation, sinners show that Gods judgment is already upon them. We can't make ourselves 'born again' – but God's word calls us to come to the light, and to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter quoted God's promise through the prophet Joel that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)