John 3:16
John 3:1-17
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Our Gospel lesson today contains one of the most recognized Bible passages outside of Psalm 23, that is John 3:16, ÒFor 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.Ó Even people who have never opened the Bible or been to church have probably heard this verse. And it is a great verse because in Jesus words He sums up the plan of salvation.
Many years ago in college I had a chance to visit the Billy Graham center at Wheaton College in Chicago. At the time we were visiting there was an art display based on John 3:16. The idea of the project was to see all the other 3:16Õs of the Bible and see what each verse said. Most of the artwork was calligraphy of the verses. What was amazing was that you got a sense of the whole of scripture, and of GodÕs love for us, out of most of these 3:16 verses.
We know what John 3:16 says but do we know the context around this verse? I would like to spend a few moments seeing what prompted these words of Jesus. We go back to verse one of chapter three and here we see a Pharisee named Nicodemus coming to Jesus. Usually when a Pharisee was coming to Jesus it was to confront Him or test Him. But I think Nicodemus was really searching and wanted to see for himself who is this Jesus. He even acknowledges that what Jesus has been doing so far shows that He is from God.
But we also see a hesitation on NicodemusÕ part. You see the text clearly says that he came at night and I think this is identified to show that Nicodemus didnÕt want others to see him with Jesus. And we also see as the conversation goes on that Nicodemus, while curious, wasnÕt opening his heart to Jesus and seeing Him for who He really was, the Messiah.
Jesus talks about being born again and instead of seeing the spiritual side Nicodemus gets caught up in an image of physical birth. He gets more confused as the conversation goes on. But I think Jesus is also planting the seeds of faith for Nicodemus to someday see who Jesus really is. Jesus now tells him that just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness so will the Son of Man be lifted up. Here Jesus is relating a familiar Old Testament story that Nicodemus should know and comparing it to what Jesus will do later.
Now we donÕt know what happened to Nicodemus. We at least know he wasnÕt quite getting it at this time with Jesus. But I would like to think that maybe his heart was open enough to receive the message of Jesus. And I also think that JesusÕ words about being lifted up may have prepared Nicodemus for seeing the truth down the road. Imagine Nicodemus being in Jerusalem a few years later and seeing Jesus being lifted up on the cross. I can imagine that he would have remembered these words of Jesus now and I hope that his heart would have broken open to see Jesus for who he was – the true Messiah.
God always plants seeds through His Word that can bear fruit in someoneÕs life. But those seeds need to be planted. ArenÕt we sometimes like Nicodemus? Not that we donÕt know who Jesus is but arenÕt we like him and come under the Òcover of nightÓ when we are confronted about our faith. We may be ready to tell someone that we go to church or that we are a Christian. But how often do we tell people what Jesus really means to us? How often do we get real specific about our faith and tell the whole truth to other people? Or do we prefer to stand back and not make waves, not stir things up, not be bold in sharing our faith.
John 3:16 and sharing our faith boldly got me thinking about an image familiar to many of us. It is the image of what I will call the ÒBanner Man.Ó This is the person who puts together a large poster that simply states, ÒJohn 3:16Ó and holds it up at sporting events. Often simple black letter on a large white banner. Very simple yet very bold. I didnÕt watch the Super Bowl this year but I am sure there were those who were there with their banners ready to lift up when a field goal was being kicked or when they saw the cameraÕs were on their section of the stands.
Many years ago there was a song with the title ÒBanner ManÓ written and sung by a Christian musician by the name of Steve Taylor (I have eclectic tastes in music). It was a tongue-in-cheek song that painted this person to be like a super hero lifting his banner at just the right time. But there is a phrase in the song that it really powerful – Òhe ainÕt going to change the world, but he knows who can.Ó Banner man, as bold as he is in sharing his faith in this public way also knows who the true source of change comes from. We need to remember this when we share out faith – God is the one who does the changing of peopleÕs hearts – we are called to plant seeds. We may never hold a sign up at a football game, but we are called to be bold in our witness of Christ and not hide in the darkness of night.
About a month ago I had you put together a pipe-cleaner person. This person was to remind you of a real person in whom you know needs to hear about Jesus. I hope that you have at least thought about this person and have someone in mind that God is calling you to share His Word with. The first step I said was to pray for this person. Pray that their hearts would be open to hear about Jesus. Pray that you have opportunities to share your story with them. Pray that they would come to know Jesus as their Savior. I hope that you are praying for this person and for yourself that God would give you the courage to speak His Word to them.
The second step was to share your story of faith with them. This step requires the strength of our God giving us courage to speak. Speaking about Jesus is what we are called to do as Christians. Not just going to church but multiplying the church. Have you had a chance to share your faith story? If not I pray that you will have the opportunity soon.
The third step was to invite someone to church. Invite them to come and see others who know about Jesus. Bring them to worship or another church activity so that they can see that the faith you shared with them is more than just one personÕs story. Have you invited someone to church yet?
I pray that God would give us the boldness to share our faith with others. Amen.