John 3:1-3;16-21
Mission involves God sending His people to places for an important task. Adam and Eve were the first to be sent out of the Garden of Eden. Angels were also sent to judge Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness in Genesis 19:13. Moses was also sent to Egypt to redeem God’s people (Exodus 3). In the days of Judges, God called leaders and sent them to free Israel from the cycle of sin, punishment and oppression. Other prophets were sent to deliver God’s warning to His people. Then finally, Jesus was sent to speak in behalf of God (Hebrews 1:1-2). The word send or sent was used nearly 60 times in the gospel of John alone.
1. To win the hearts of the unbelievers: the promise of true worship. v.16
“Mission exists because worship doesn’t.” John Piper
“8These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
“16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Nicodemus knew that Jesus came from God and that God was with Him.
As a Pharisee, he was concerned about the coming Messiah that will physically rule God’s kingdom on earth.
He was waiting for a political king who will free them from Roman oppression.
Jesus explained the coming of the Kingdom of God in the individual’s life.
This will result to a meaningful worship experience as oppose to ritualistic religious observance.
2. To win the unbelievers’ mind: the promise of eternal life. vv.17-18
“17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
The human mind is part of the person where sense and logic come.
It is with the mind that we understand things.
The mind can influence our will, the capacity to make choices and decisions. Therefore, we believe in what we see and experience in life.
Thus, Jesus came to demonstrate and help us understand the will of God.
Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, separated himself from sinners. In contrast, Jesus brought Himself closer to sinners that He may save them.
“3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3
3. To win their life: the promise of quality of life. vv.19-20
“19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
“Eternal life refers not only to eternal quantity, but divine quality of life… This life for believers in the Lord Jesus is experienced before heaven is reached… It is the life of God in every believer, yet not fully manifest until the resurrection.” The MacArthur Bible Commentary, pg. 1359.
Most people thought that to have quality of life is to have all the conveniences and comfort of life.
People wants the best in life, but these things don’t necessarily mean their good for us.
We ponder these questions…
In our everyday life, what could give glory and honor to God?
How could we demonstrate eternal life in the here and now?