John 3:16 - a look behind the scenes of this famous verse. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17 Gospel Reading for Sunday 20th March 2011.

The challenge this week as we look at a passage that contains arguably the world's best known Bible verse, is to see if there are any fresh insights for us. To help us get started, let's first of all note the following contextual points and observations:

1. The famous John 3:16 is delivered as part of an encounter and dialogue with Nicodemus.
2. Nicodemus is a high profile Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling Council.
3. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night!
4. Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born again.
5. What happens to Nicodemus? We don't hear from him after verse 9, although he reappears again at the end of John's Gospel 19:38-42.
6. It seems odd that the lectionary stops at verse 17. The remaining verse 18 - 21 add some interesting additional perspectives! Likewise there is a suggestion that the real starting point that informs this exchange, should be the last three verses of the previous chapter: Make your own assessment by considering the broader context of the reading  See John 2:13 - 3:25. 

OK here's my slant on this reading ...

It seems to me that the end of John Chapter 2 from verse 23 is really where we need to start. The people in Jerusalem at the time believed because they saw the signs (miracles) that Jesus was performing. But Jesus able to see inside their hearts, knew that theirs was a very thin and superficial faith that was going to hold together only as long as his actions matched their powerful, majestic and all-conquering Messianic expectations. It was time to start giving them a different picture of what they were getting.

Nicodemus comes under cover of darkness. Popular opinion suggests that he may not have wanted to be openly seen keeping company with Jesus. Another deeper line of thinking suggests that this is an intentional part of the imagery that John uses with regard to light and dark that is brought out in verses 19 and 20. (It is fascinating that Nicodemus only appears in John's Gospel.) After 3:9 he appears again briefly at 7:50 and then is significantly mentioned at 19:39 at the time Jesus body is removed from the cross and taken to the tomb. "He (Joseph of Arimathea) was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier visited Jesus at night." This certainly adds substance to the light / dark imagery and suggests that Nicodemus by this time had found the light. Nicodemus by the way brought with him an outrageous quantity of expensive substances for anointing Jesus as they laid him in the tomb.

But now to what is possibly the central point in Jesus' exchange with Nicodemus ... "you must be born again". Modern translations have invariably given us the BORN AGAIN wording with strong charismatic connotations. The original Greek word however has three equally valid English equivalents in  ... AGAIN, ANEW or FROM ABOVE. Nicodemus clearly immediately thinks in terms of the born AGAIN usage and goes off on a tangent of having to be physically reborn as a baby from his mother's womb. The translation FROM ABOVE is perhaps more helpful. In Jewish culture, who you were by birth was critical and determined your status and place of honour in society. If for example, you were not born from ancestry directly linked to Abraham you were on the outer. But Jesus is saying ... forget your line of descendants ... you need a new family of origin. You need to be born from above ... born of the spirit ... grounded firmly in God's family ... other family labels or groups that you belong to are not important.

Nicodemus as a leader in the religious structure of the time, struggles to embrace the new dimension of "God thinking" that is being placed before him. For him, everything must be painstakingly measured up in the light of past practice, traditions and procedures. Jesus reminds him  (paraphrasing if I may)... " just because of your pedigree and your status and role in the religious club don't think for one moment that you are OK with God. The reality is that none of those things are important ... what counts is that your relationship is primarily grounded in me."

 John's Gospel therefore more than subtly reminds us today that belonging to a club (Church) is not what is primarily important. Hence the insistence that the primary spiritual purpose of our Lutheran Schools is to connect young people and their families to Jesus (that they may be BORN FROM ABOVE)! Let's not fall into the trap of primarily trying to sell club membership! When people are genuinely connected to Jesus (born of the spirit), it is a natural step at some point to seek out a community in which to gather as God's people. We traditionally have called that church, but we seriously encourage the thinking that schools are already a gathering of God's people and therefore can BE or rather DO "church" in their own right.

And yes, John 3:16 remains the gospel in a nutshell, but I believe that for a deeper insight we should always read at least the next two verses. Here we meet a gracious God who has issued a universal invitation to be made OK with him. It comes through very strongly in verses 17 and 18 that God does not condemn. Human beings condemn themselves if having been introduced to Jesus they make the decision to say no to Him.

 Nev