Whoever Believes

May 13

Ruth 3-4

Psalm 59:6-13

Proverbs 13:15-16

John 3

Whoever Believes

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  John 3:16-18  LSB

This is perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible.  It is one of the first verses we learn as children in Sunday School and one of the verses we use when we are leading someone to the Lord.  I heard a sermon a few years ago on this passage that changed my view of this verse that I thought I was very familiar with.  Translating the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek to English is difficult for many reasons.  Words in one language do not always have an exact counterpart in another language.  No matter how meticulous the translator is to stay true to the text, sometimes we miss the true meaning.  The historical and cultural context can also play a factor in our misinterpretation of passages.  If we examine John 3:16 with this in mind we can broaden our understanding of this passage.  “For God so loved the world” is often interpreted in our modern minds as “God loved us so much.”  Adding the word “so” can mean that God loved us so much that He was willing to give His Son as a sacrifice for us, but the Greek word used here can also be used to refer to the means by which He loves us and not the extent to which He loves us.  This changes its meaning.  God loved us so He was willing to give His only Son.  This interpretation takes the focus of the verse off us and puts it on Jesus.  If He loves us so much then there must be something in us that deserves His love, but if He loves us so He is willing to give His only Son then it emphasizes the value of His only Son and that sacrifice He was making to give Him up for us.  This may not seem important, but I would argue that it is very important.  We are so self-focused in our culture that we naturally want to make everything about us.  When we take our eyes off us and place them on Jesus, we understand the value of the sacrifice God made to save us.  The value is not in us, but in Him. 

Verse 17 explains that Jesus did not come into the world to judge the world, but to save it.  Jesus was in heaven sitting on His throne and could have easily rendered judgment from there.  Instead, He came to provide salvation to a lost and dying world.  The word “world” has also been debated.  Is this referring to everyone in the world, His chosen people, the Jews, or the “elect?”  I think reading the verses that follow John 3:16 gives us the answer.  God loves everyone in the world.  We are all already condemned to perish because of our sinful hearts.  Jesus came to provide the way for those who believe in Jesus and the sacrifice He made on our behalf to be freed from judgment and receive eternal life.  His desire is that all come to faith in Him (I Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9), but only those who believe in Him receive salvation and are given the gift of eternal life.