Introduction
Kingdom = God’s Rule, God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven, God’s Shalom, it is God’s dreams being realised for the world, Jesus says this kingdom rule is available now through me, so change and believe it, be part of it.
As we saw last time Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be born again - this call was issued not to a “sinner” but a bible believing, moral, godly, tithing, praying, fasting man. He needed to start all over again. Nicodemus saw God’s kingdom in terms of we’re in and the rest are out, Jesus said it was at hand and available, close to all. Pharisees saw it in terms of the ungodly getting smashed. Jesus saw it in terms of “God so loved (v.16ff) the world” not just Israel, sinful mankind not just the pure, the Romans, the prostitutes, and the tax collectors. Start again Nicodemus you re way off. You have no idea how much God loves this world that you want to see destroyed. My kingdom is not about destroying the Gentiles; it is about welcoming them in. I haven’t come to condemn the world but to save it. Some of us need to start over in our understanding in God’s purpose in the Gospel of His Kingdom. God’s goal is not condemnation, it is salvation. I listen to some Christians and the way they talk about non-Christians, about the world and it is as if they can’t wait for God to come and sort it out, destroy it, send people to hell, smash the ungodly. Listen to the words of Jonathan Edwards in his famous sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”, such was the effect that strong men held on to the pews in case they slid into hell at that very moment: The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship... Start again, be born again in your thinking, have a born again understanding of John 3:16 and the Gospel. Martin Luther called this the bible in miniature.
1. Eternal Life & the Kingdom
When we read John 3:16 we take it to mean that if a person believes the right things then they are going to heaven and those that are not are going to hell. Look again is that what Jesus is really saying? Jesus never mentions heaven or hell, nor is faith ever defined as just believing the right things. For a start “eternal life” is more than going to heaven, it is about the kingdom of God. Jesus in the Synoptics talks about God’s Kingdom, in John he talks bout eternal life/life/knowing the truth. So is the Jesus of John different? No. Remember Jesus spoke in Aramaic, the Gospels are written in Greek. The synoptics went for straight translation, John has gone for paraphrase. It’s like reading the NIV then the Message - He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. (Romans 14:6 – NIV)
What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. (Romans 14:6 – The Message) They are the same yet very different. I think John translates the idea of “Kingdom” and uses the phrase “eternal life. The kingdom of God is eternal life and vice versa.
Eternal life = life of the ages; “aionios” (eternal) does not necessarily mean everlasting but means life that is different in kind from human life. Our problem is we have been informed by the KJV and its use of “everlasting” and so we think Jn. 3:16 is mainly about going to heaven. We’ve turned the Gospel into “eternal life insurance”. But Jesus was not saying that, he was saying the main thing is finding life, a different kind of life (yes that will go on forever, but much more than that). A life under God’s rule, which is an abundant life (Jn.10:10). Look at John 17:3 and Jesus defines eternal life as knowing God, knowing the King, that is about now as well as in the age to come. It is in knowing God that we find true life, we find how we can make the most of this life we have, how we can be a blessing to others. People need to find the life, the life of the kingdom that is full of righteousness, peace and joy, love (shalom). So when we read John 3:16 we discover that God loves this world so much, he gave his Son so that we can find real, lasting life - listen to the Message on Jn. 3:16-17: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” That is the message of the Kingdom: God putting the world to right, that is real life, life of the ages.
2. Choosing Life
We find this life John says by believing. The Synoptics talk little about this and emphasise repentance and taking up our cross and following Jesus. If we put this together I think we can see that believing/faith is not merely about believing certain doctrines. It is about trusting in Jesus, following Jesus. So we need to change and trust Jesus, follow him, live life his way. The gospel is telling people that God is putting the world to right through Jesus and they can be part of that, trust in him, and follow Jesus. Failure to do that can lead to disaster, to “perish”. I am not sure Jesus was talking about hell to Nicodemus. Why do we assume perish means hell?
It may be that Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, this leader in Israel that they faced a choice, they could carry on with their vision of the kingdom where they would throw off the yoke of Rome, or they could join his new way, where the enemy was not Rome but sin generally. His way was life (shalom), abundant life, that was possible even with the Romans around. But if they didn’t they would perish. History tells us that 40 years after Jesus spoke to Nicodemus they perished. There was a rebellion and it was ruthlessly crushed, the Jewish state disappeared for nearly 1900 years and around 1 million died, it was a holocaust. They perished. Now Jesus may well also have also had in mind disaster in the age to come as well, but I am not sure that was at the forefront of his mind. Judgement before God one day is a prospect for all of us – but is that what this is about? The emphasis here is not on “you’ll perish if you don’t listen” but on God’s love and the life that is available through him. So choose life, trust and follow Jesus and you’ll find it.
I wonder if a legitimate application of John 3:16 today – not the only one – is that unless human beings are change and start living God’s way, including taking care of God’s planet, then disaster may befall us, environmental disaster. This is what is being forecast in the news this week. But if we do it his way then we may find life. That is only one application but it may be a valid one. Would Jesus have anything to say about it? Because in the end it is the poorest who will suffer the most. (Tear Fund & Christian Aid are urging action)
Conclusion
What is he saying to us then? The Gospel is about people submitting to God’s kingdom and finding life, real, lasting, fulfilling life. Knowing God’s righteousness, peace and joy. The alternative is to miss it. All around us we see the misery brought by sin and mankind going its own way. Relationships break down and families destroyed, society is in a mess, children suffer, even the planet is suffering. But God loves the world so much, he loves the people, the loves the animals, he loves the fabric and his plan is to save it not to condemn it. The stuff about the serpent is a reference to the cross, that would be the means by which salvation would come. As I read these words and see the message of Jesus, the way he dealt with people I am more convinced that more will be saved than lost. As I read his words I do not believe he has planned to send the majority of the people he created and loved to hell. He came not to condemn the world. To be sure it says it’s condemned already. But that may mean that without him the world is in big trouble. But he is patient and not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:15). Today we see wreckage of broken lives, broken by sin, greed, lust, and selfishness. The warning of the message of Jesus is that failure to live life his way will lead to disaster. Jesus is calling people to find real life, not to perish. Following Jesus is about life in all its fullness, it is about inviting people to a party.
