John 6:1-21 "This is indeed the Prophet…"

Chapter 5 finds Jesus in Jerusalem and now in Chapter 6 He is back in Galilee. The distance between the two, as the crow flies, is approximately 130 kilometres. Jesus’ ministry is truly ‘a back and forth’ between Galilee and Jerusalem, and that without air transport, rail transport and tar roads. I hardly walk 20 kilometres a week! No wonder that there is no mention of Banting and Keto and other weight loss diets in the Bible. There is also no mention of slap chips and koek-sisters (you have to be born in Southern Africa to understand this)  in the Bible … only fish and barley loaves. We read of ears of grain harvested from the fields with the hands and eaten raw, as people were passing through them, walking to their various towns and villages. We read of no pies and a coke   at the truck-stop along the way.

  

In Chapter 5 Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath, and the Jews were angry about that. They were not concerned that a man had been made well. They were concerned that Jesus had used the Sabbath to do that.  In engaging them Jesus is beginning to assert the source of His true authority. He calls God His own Father, and in so doing they understand that He is making Himself equal with God (5:18).  Jesus is now getting into real trouble. The Jews are now persecuting him (5:16) and in fact they want to kill him (5:18).   Unbelief is written across their foreheads. Jesus uses some of the strongest language to accuse them of their unbelief with respect to Himself and His ministry in 5:39-47. They will believe every other false prophet, but they will not believe this true Prophet sent from God (John 1:11). They are hostile towards Him. For this reason, Jesus finds it necessary to go back into Galilee. This is where we find Him in this 6^th chapter. 

Outline of chapter 6

(i)               6:1-15: An account of the feeding of the 5000, recorded in all the 4 gospels.

(ii)           6:16-21: An account of  Jesus miraculously  walking across the  lake of Galilee (also known as lake Tiberias[1]), and this  during a strong wind  and  a  rough sea. 

(iii)         6:22-59: In this section He makes the first of His famous 7 “I AM” statements – I am the Bread of Life. This section, as we shall see next time, is closely related to the feeding of the 5000. It illustrates both, the divine nature of Jesus, and it illustrates the necessity of believing in Him as our only Life-giver and our true Nourisher. Here He illustrates that   “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God “(Deut. 8:3, cf. Matt. 4:4).

(iv)            6:60-71 : The 6^th chapter closes with  an account of the sad fact that many of His  disciples are now  turning away from him, because they find  His  teaching hard to believe (6:66). We shall see that only 11 of the original disciples, represented by Peter, continue to trust in the Lord Jesus.  In this chapter we shall find one of the greatest affirmations or confessions from the lips of a man, as to who Jesus is.   The central point of this chapter is contained in this last section. Humanly speaking, it is impossible to follow and to trust Jesus. We shall see that more is needed to be a Christian than a mere decision to be one.  The chapter ends with the doctrine of  sovereign election (6:63,64,65,70)

And now that you have the roadmap for the 6^th chapter, let us consider our text.

6:1-15: The Feeding of the 5000

We saw that Jesus had found it necessary to withdraw from Jerusalem, because the pressure was mounting. The first talk of killing Him was being expressed (5:18).  John tells us that this was near the time of Passover (6:4). Jesus would eventually be killed during the Passover. He was after all, as John the Baptist had  said earlier,  the Passover Lamb of God that was going to be killed  to take away  the sin of the world  (John 1:29,36).

Back in Galilee then He was again followed by a crowd, because they saw the signs He was doing on the sick (6:2). You really need to see this picture here. This was a needy, physically sick, depressed and often demon possessed crowd. Mark 6:34 tells us, “He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things…” . Did you hear that? Moved with compassion, He teaches them many things! Their greatest need at this stage was not food. They needed the Word of God – they needed perspective for Life from the God who had made them. They needed the Bread of Life. These were a spiritually needy, ignorant, sin sick people that had been in the hands of spiritual neglect and of spiritual wolves for far too long.  They needed perspective from the Word of God. He, who was the Word,  was now here – in person (John 1:1-3). This Word, full of grace and truth, had become flesh and now dwelt among them. (John 1:14). 

Jesus knew full well that these people coming towards Him (6:5) were going to be hungry. He was going to make their physical hunger an illustration of the spiritual hunger, which they ought to have.  The disciples, represented here by name were Philip (6:7) and Andrew (6:8). Jesus (by way of a testing) challenges them to find food for these many people. Frankly speaking, this is impossibility. This was not a town with a Checkers shop or a Pick ‘n Pay. This was the open country. There was nothing here.  Do you know how much food you need to feed 5000?  Philip quickly figures that it would take about 8 months’ wages (200 denarii)[2] to buy enough bread for each one to have even only a little (6:7). Given these facts then, this becomes the moment for Jesus to show who He is, once again (as if He hadn’t done it enough!)

After a brief prayer of thanksgiving to the Father (6:11) Jesus divides the few bread loaves and the few fishes (which were, incidentally, given by a boy), and now the seemingly impossible happens! The food is miraculously multiplied.  There is, incidentally a foreshadowing of this miracle in 2 Kings. Elisha told his servant to feed the people gathered there, although there was not enough food for the hundred men. One of the men said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” (2 Ki. 4:42–43) In the end, however, the men not only had enough to eat, but “they ate and had some left” (2 Ki. 4:44).  And so, in 6:12-13 we read, “And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘gather up the leftover fragments… and they filled up 12 baskets…”.  This is a true miracle. Remember, that He has done this before.  In Cana of Galilee, in 2: 1-12, not far from here, He had the jars filled with water as He turned the water into finest wine for a wedding.

What’s the point here? This is all a testimony to the divine nature of Jesus. He who was in the beginning with God, He by whom all things were created, was simply doing what was within His nature to do! As such He exercises   His authority over nature (and we shall see this just now), and over creation, over bread, over life and death, over demons and principalities – over everything! Do you know what Jesus is saying in effect here?  He is saying, I your Creator, your Sustainer and Provider (though I am veiled in this flesh- this body), I am here among you.

This story is like so many situations in our life, isn't it? Like right now, in the life of our church.  We don't have the resources to meet the many challenges we face. Many a problem is too big for us.  But our extremity is God's opportunity. Where are we going to find sufficient to do what we have to do? We look to Jesus. He has the answer.  The problems of this city, the problems of this country with its vicious drought crisis and financial crises – we look to Jesus.  For our depressions, our difficult marriage, our children and all our personal problems we look to Jesus.  Lord you know!

At the end of this story we find the people beginning to look at Jesus in a different way.  6:14 says, “When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said. This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” Something was beginning to dawn. Something miraculous had happened, and now they saw Jesus as the prophet who is to come  into the world. This is most likely a reference to Deut. 18:15 – a prophet like Moses who would appear in the last days. They will refer to Moses again in 6:30, 31. At any rate, this prophet, in their eyes was a political deliverer, which Jesus was not. He was much, much bigger than that. He was the Saviour from the tragic and horrific consequences of their sin! And so Jesus had to escape again from them. He withdrew to the mountain by Himself. (6:15) 

6:16-21 Walking on Water

While Jesus is on the mountain by Himself, the disciples take a boat to row across the lake – most likely to find a place to sleep for the night. A strong   wind comes up and they are in trouble. This is apparently not unusual. The Sea of Galilee is about 200 meters below sea level and it is surrounded by mountains up to 500 metres above sea level.  When it gets dark, the temperature suddenly changes and with that   these squall develops as cold air rapidly sinks to the low lying areas causing this strong wind. Mark tells us that  it was  during the 4^th watch of the night (i.e. from 3 am in the morning) that they were battling against this wind, when Jesus appeared  walking on the water!  [3]

Now what was this all about?  If all you had was John's version of the story, we would not have the same clarity as the gospel of Mark provides.  Mark gives us a possible reason why the disciples were experiencing this trial. He refers to the disciples’ hearts as being hardened (Mk. 6:52). Their response to the feeding of the 5000 had been a disappointment to Jesus. They did not understand who He was.

Jesus comes to these disciples, walking on the lake, in the midst of the storm.  He could have stopped this storm from wherever else.  But He walks out to them into the middle of the storm. That is the kind of Saviour we have. He did not want   to perform His miracle from a distance.   He comes to us in the storm.  He wanted to show them who He was. They thought He was a ghost (Matt. 14:26) . But He assured them with these words, “Take heart. Don't be afraid, it is I.”  And after   He took His place in the boat, the journey was soon over (6:21)

The feeding of the 5000 and the walking on the water correct our wrong notions of Jesus. He is not just a miracle worker. He is not just a prophet like Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel. He is infinitely greater. He is One whose sandals we are not worthy to untie. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the incarnate Son of God. And He has not just come to give us what we want in our physical hour of need. He has come to give us much, much more. He is the Bread of life. Look beyond the externalities. See Him for who He is.  

He has come to deliver us from the power of sin and death. He invites you now to look to  Him. May be you have never seen Jesus for who He is before.  If you do today, then repent of your hardness of heart and your unbelief.  Stop running from Him. Turn to Him while He is passing by right now.

Give Him your sin, and He, in turn will give you eternal life, and the real food  that will sustain you,  which will  not lead you to be at the mercy of the world and yourself, and all this  while you wait for  His coming.

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[1] Tiberias ( the sea of Galilee)  was  so named by Herod Antipas in about  AD  20 in  honour of  Roman emperor Tiberius, the  second Roman emperor (reigning from 14 AD to 37 AD), succeeding Caesar  Augustus.  

[2] a denarius was a day’s wage

[3] Mark  6:45-42

Genesis 25: 19-34 “The Difficult (?) Doctrine of Election“

In Chapter 25 we find  the account  of Abraham’s marriage to Keturah, following the death of Sarah. Keturah bore Abraham six more sons.  This made the promise of God first given in Genesis 12,  that he would become the father of many nations,  even more definite.  This chapter also records Abraham’s death. Whenever a great man, who has begun  a great  movement dies, there is concern for who will carry on. But this is not  a movement begun  by  a man. It is God’s movement, and God will see to it that  the work that He has begun  will be completed (Phil. 1:6). Nothing can thwart His purpose. This section of Genesis shows that God keeps His promises.

The major part of the chapter deals with the genealogies of his senior sons, Ishmael (25: 12-18) and Isaac (25:19-34).  But the focus now shifts very definitely to Isaac - the son of promise.  This does not mean that the life of Isaac will be smooth and without challenges. Quite on the contrary…

The big idea and purpose of this chapter, and indeed of the whole Bible is the establishment of   the chosen seed - particularly as seen  in  25:23. [1]   The apostle Paul cites this text in Romans 9:11-13 and he calls it there “God’s purpose of election”. So we need to think carefully about this important doctrine and how it applies to us. Let us do this with the help of our text. I want to anchor our  theme  (the doctrine of divine election) and our text in these few thoughts : 

1.     God’s Purpose According To His Choice Will Stand

2.     God’s Choice Usually Is  Contrary  To Man’s Wisdom.

3.     God’s Choice  Proceeds  From The Principle Of Grace, Not Merit.

1. God’s Purpose According To His Choice Will Stand.

God had promised to make Abraham the father of a multitude of nations (Ch. 12; 17:4).  This is how it happens. Abraham’s sons by Keturah will, in time, produce a number of nations.  Then our text lists the generations of Ishmael (25:12-18). Why? To make the same point- that God’s purpose according to His sovereign choice will stand. Abraham had previously asked the LORD that Ishmael might live before Him, in the sense that he should become the son of the covenant (17:18).  God had denied that request because He had chosen Isaac, born of his covenant wife, Sarah. This does not mean that God would not bless Ishmael in other ways.   He promised Abraham that Ishmael would become the father of twelve princes and that He would make him into a great nation (17:20).  But God had also said that the sons of Ishmael would live in defiance against all his kinsmen (16:12). We see the fulfilment of this here in 25:18.  Again we see  that God’s purpose is accomplished according to His sovereign choice.

The blessings of the covenant  however go to none of these.Our text shows that Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac (25:5). While he gave some gifts to Keturah’s sons, he sent them away (25:6). The same was true for Ishmael. He was sent away (21:8-21). Only Isaac was given the covenantal promises of blessing and the land. Thus  we read that God blessed him after Abraham’s death (25:11). 

The story  of God’s election becomes even more  fascinating  as  we now read concerning  the birth of the twin sons  of  Esau and Jacob,  the sons of Isaac.  I want to remind you that if God was going to  continue  his covenantal  promises  to  Abraham through Isaac, then Isaac needed to have children. But Rebekah the wife of Isaac, like  her mother-in-law, Sarah, was barren. Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah (25:20) and only 20 years later, when he was 60,  did she  give birth to the twins (25:26).  While Ishmael flourished and produced  12 sons, Isaac learned the patience of barrenness. He had to learn to depend on God. Struggle produces prayer, “It is time for you  to work oh Lord!”  God does all things in His time.  Isaac learned that the delays of God are not denials. [2]

Rebekah falls pregnant. Here is the fascinating part.  A disturbing problem develops in her pregnancy. "The children struggled (lit. crushed, jostled) together within her, and  she said, ‘If it is thus, why is this  happening to me?’ (25:22). The LORD reveals to her in 25:23 that there are 2 nations within her womb. The LORD tells her that these two nations shall not be at peace with one another.  Again we see that God made a choice. He tells Rebekah that two nations would come from her womb. He told her that the older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob). This was an inversion of the traditional norm. Usually the older would inherit the father’s blessing and the land. But it was not to be so in this case.  Esau would become the father of the nation called the Edomites.  Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel (Gen 32:28) would become the father of the Israelites – God’s chosen people.  In the history of the OT we discover that these two nations will be sworn enemies, even though they have the same parents, and again God’s Word is true.  

So, everything in our text makes the same point. God chooses certain people to enter into a covenant- for His own purpose. This is the difficult doctrine of election. It is difficult, because we have no control over this process. It belongs to God alone.  As indicated earlier, Paul picks up on this text in Genesis 25: 23 in Romans  9:11-13 and  comments:  “10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”    

C. H.  Spurgeon comments,  “Jacob was God’s chosen one; he had set his love upon him, and before he was born, he  had distinguished him as his elect one. Now this is a great deep, and there are many  who  argue  at and question it; I am not here to answer them. The Book says so; let  them argue  with the Book, not with me.“  

The doctrine of election runs right through the Scriptures. A.W. Pink comments:[3]

In Genesis  we see  the difference which the Lord made between Nahor and Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob  hating Esau are cases to the point.

In Exodus we behold the distinction made by God between the Egyptians and the Hebrews.

In Leviticus the atonement and all the sacrifices were for the people of God. 

In Numbers  God  used a  pagan  named Balaam to announce  the fact that Israel were “the people” who “shall dwell alone, and shall not be numbered among the nations” (23:9); 

In Deuteronomy it is recorded,  “The Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” (32:9).

In Joshua we behold the  mercy of the Lord bestowed upon Rahab the harlot, while the whole of her city was doomed to destruction.

In Judges the sovereignty of God appears in the unlikely instruments selected, by which He brought victory for Israel: Deborah, Gideon, Samson.

In Ruth we have Orpah kissing her mother-in-law and returning to her gods, and yet  Ruth cleaves to her and obtained inheritance in Israel—who made them to differ?

In 1 Samuel David is chosen for the throne, preferred to his older brothers .

In 2 Samuel we learn of the everlasting covenant  with David  (23:5).

 In 1 Kings Elijah becomes a blessing to a single widow selected from many;

In 2 Kings Naaman alone, of all the lepers, was cleansed.

In 1 Chronicles it is written “ O offspring  of Jacob, His chosen ones” (16:13); while in 2 Chronicles we are made to marvel at the grace of God bestowing repentance upon  a wicked ruler , Manasseh.  And so we might go on. The Psalms, Prophets, Gospels and  the epistles are so full of this doctrine…

2.         God’s Choice Usually Is Contrary  To Man’s Wisdom

Our text shows us that  God chooses  contrary to human  inclination. In God’s sovereignty, the Isaac’s wife was barren. His half-brother, Ishmael had not problems  in fathering  12 sons.  Isaac only  managed to have a pair of twins,  and that after 20 years of marriage, in which he pleaded with God.  Again, human  convention would dictate that the oldest would be chosen to  be the successor. But God  chose  not the manly hunter Esau but, Jacob, the mommy’s boy and the deceiver. God’s choice  is contrary  to man’s. Paul explains in 1 Cor. 1:26-30:  “26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” The logic is fairly simple. If God chose those who were strong in themselves, they would  have reason to boast in themselves and God would be robbed of His glory. If God chose those who first chose Him, they could brag about their intelligent choice. But God chooses those whom the world would never choose, those who cannot choose Him. When His purpose is fulfilled through them, He gets the glory. 

3.     God’s Choice Proceeds On The Principle Of Grace, Not Merit.

One of the most difficult truths to grasp in the Bible is that God doesn’t operate on the merit system. He doesn’t choose those who have earned it or who show the most potential. He doesn’t choose on the basis of birth order or strength. If He did, He would have chosen Ishmael over Isaac and Esau over Jacob.   And, contrary to popular opinion, God doesn’t choose those whom He knows in advance will choose Him. Many people believe that God, in His foreknowledge, looks down through the halls of history, sees who will decide for Him, and then chooses them on that basis. However, that makes God dependent on the choices of man.  This is not so  and that is what  Paul asserts in Romans 9:11. God determined that Esau would serve Jacob, before they did anything  good or bad, so that God’s purpose in election would stand. God didn’t work out His eternal plan after previewing how things would turn out. God, ahead of time  sovereignly chose those  whom He chose according to grace,  by means  of  His unmerited favour. This  thought  often  bothers people, because it supposedly takes away man’s  ‘free will’ , and strips us of all choice  and glory.  But the truth is  that no one would ever choose God  if it were not for grace. Listen again to Spurgeon,  

I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine.[4]

The idea of this  being ‘unfair‘  is  anticipated and  discussed by Paul in Romans 9: 1-26.  He asks, “Is there injustice on God’s part?”  He strongly answers, “By no means!”  (lit. May it never be!) Then he shows how God has mercy on whom He wills and hardens whom He wills. Then he anticipates  the  next objection: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’”  Listen to  the response: “But who are you  O man, who answers back to God?” (Rom. 9:14-20). 

The proper response is simply to submit to God and seek to obey what His Word clearly reveals, namely, that God’s sovereign purpose according to His unconditional choice will stand and that,  at the same time, I am responsible to submit and obey.  

Is that  so difficult to understand?

When we submit and commit ourselves to God’s purpose,  He surely blesses us. We go forward, and often  with difficulty, but we go forward.  Abraham  is the prime  example in our text. He submitted and committed himself to God’s purpose, and God blessed him abundantly. We read that he died “full of years” (25:8).  So too with Isaac. God blessed  Isaac  (25:11)

The doctrine of election ought  to be a doctrine of blessing, assurance and joy  to every  true believer.

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[1] cf. also Malachi 1:2,3

[2] Donald Grey Barnhouse: Genesis Vol 2 , p.39

[3] https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/pdf/pink_election.pdf

[4] Spurgeon’s Autobiography, 51.

John 3:16-21 THE AMAZING LOVE OF GOD FOR A SINFUL WORLD

Last time we considered John 3:1-15, in which we find a dialogue between Jesus  and  a Pharisee  named Nicodemus. 

Nicodemus is one of those who has seen the signs that Jesus was doing (2:23). He has seen something in Jesus, but not enough to make him believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Word of God, the Creator of all things (John 3:1-3).  To Nicodemus,  Jesus  simply is ‘a teacher  come from God’  (3:2), and isn’t that the way many people have looked  and are looking at Jesus Christ? The gospel of John challenges us  to look further   than just an enlightened teacher  or a  miracle worker. In this conversation Jesus essentially challenges  Nicodemus to look further, but not  with human eyes. In order to see and enter the kingdom of God (3:3,5), to understand who Jesus is,  one needs  to be born again.  This will enable one to see and enter the kingdom of God (3:3,5). Jesus invites Nicodemus to  look  to Him  and believe in Him, who in due course  was  going to lifted on a cross (3:12-15).

We have every reason to believe that in due time Nicodemus was born again. We have two more encouraging references to Nicodemus in the gospel of John.  In John 7:50-51, we find Nicodemus defending   Jesus  against  a group of  Pharisees  who wanted to arrest  Him unlawfully. Later in John 19:39, after Jesus had been crucified, Nicodemus joined Joseph of Arimathea in giving Jesus a traditional Jewish burial. Nicodemus “brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds” (John 19:39). All this suggests that this encounter which Jesus had with Nicodemus in this 3^rd chapter was indeed a life changing encounter.

John 3:16-21

Our text follows from where we last finished. Jesus invites Nicodemus to believe in Him, the Son of Man[1], one of Jesus’ favourite self -designations. 

John 3:16 is the most famous and most quoted verse in the Bible.

There is some debate  as to whether  vv.16-21  is  the continuing conversation of Jesus, or whether this is  the commentary of  John.   It seems most  likely  that  vv. 16-21 are John’s  added  comments. The reason why we say this is that in 3:16, the phrase ‘God gave his only Son’ (a reference to the cross) is  stated in the past tense[2]. Whatever the case may be, these are  the words  inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit  caused John to write  down.   And here  we  learn  about 

(i) the  amazing reason  as to why God  sent Jesus into this world  

(ii)  the amazing disbelief  of the world.  

We close  with  a summary of the gospel – what it means to believe in Jesus  and the consequences  thereof , and what happens if we do not believe.

1. God’s love for this sinful world

a. An extensive, inclusive  love:  John 3:16 is a radical statement from every point of view. From  a Jewish perspective  this would have been  radical. If John had written, “For God so loved the Jews”, this would have been entirely acceptable.  The Jews prided themselves in being God’s chosen, specially loved people[3]. In the course of the Exodus from Egypt and through the desert, His special love for them is evident. Even when they were sinning, God remained faithful to them. The reference in 3:14 is a point in case.  God sent a plague of biting vipers among them. He made a way for them- a bronze serpent- to which they only needed to look and be healed.  But when John writes, “God so loved the world“, this statement comes with a new force. God loves the whole world. The love of God   now also includes the gentiles. The thought that  Yahweh, the God of their covenant,  could love the whole world  would have  disturbed  the  average  Jew. 

b. A surprising  love: John’s usage of the word ‘world’  is  usually a negative one (see the ‘world’ mentioned 3 times in our text). He sees the world as being   sinful and hostile[4]. This is what we read in  1:9-11.  The   doctrine of the surprising  love of God for the world (Jew and gentile) comes against the background   that  the  whole world is actually hostile to  the God,   and yet  the Gospel of John teaches us  that  the Gospel (the Good News)  is for the whole world.  This raises the age old question, “If God loves the world, then why does He not save everyone?”   In order to answer this, we need to understand the various ways in which God loves this world. 

Baptist theologian Don Carson wrote a book on this subject entitled,”The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God” [5]. Here he explains  that the Bible speaks of the love of God in at least five ways:

i.     The  unique  love of the Father for the Son, and of the Son for the Father (Jn. 3:35; 5:20; 14:31).

ii.      God’s providential love for all that He has made. He cares and provides for all His creation.

iii.      God’s free offer of salvation for all  in this fallen world (Jn. 3:16; Ezek. 33:11).

iv.      God’s particular love toward His elect (Deut. 7:7-8; 10:14-15; Mal. 1:2-3; Eph. 1:4-5; 5:25).

v.      There is God’s conditional love toward His own people, based on their obedience (Jn. 14:21; 15:10; Jude 21; Ex. 20:6; Ps. 103:9-11, 13, 17-18).

So, when we read the Bible with respect to the doctrine of the love of God we need to determine what the text actually says. When we think of the love of God  in John 3:16  we need  to  think in terms of  point 3 and point 4.  Christ is offered to the whole world, and in that sense that Christ’s death was sufficient for all. God invites, commands and desires all men to come to Him, and yet it is clear that no one will come out of their own free will. The parable of the great banquet in Luke 14:12-24 illustrates this point. Every man makes excuses, because every man’s will is bent  on evil  (wait for 3:19 which refers back to 1:9-11). 

And so the love of God goes further, and He  freely  chooses  from among  those who  resist Him and reject Him. And so we may say, according to point 4, that Jesus died effectively for the elect alone. The  doctrine of God’s particular love for the sheep  will be expounded in John 10.  So, in summary John  teaches that  Christ’s death  is  sufficient for this world and many worlds over, but efficient only to the elect.  

c. A gracious, generous love (3:17).  We are told that Jesus, in His first coming, came to seek and to save the lost (Lk. 19:10). His primary work right now is not to condemn (judge) the world. This will happen at his second coming and this is what Jesus refers to in John 9:39, Jesus says, “For judgment I came into this world ….”

d. A reassuring love (3:18a) Whoever believes  in him is not condemned cf. Rom 8:1 “ There is  therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. If you have embraced the Lord Jesus, if you love Him and  if your hope is in Him then stand assured in the love of God.  

2. God’s wrath on those who  will not believe.

John not only exposes us to the wonderful love of God. He also  tells  us of the awful consequences  of rejecting  the  gospel offer.  

a.      Those who reject the free gospel offer  will “perish” (3:16)  This  is an everlasting state  –Perishing does not mean that they will be annihilated or cease to exist. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus says that some “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” If eternal life lasts forever, then so does eternal punishment. Jesus referred to it as the place where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). If you ask whether the fire is literal or figurative, my reply is that it doesn’t matter—you don’t want to find out personally! Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus makes it clear that hell is a place of awful torment (Lk 16:23-24).

b.      Not believing the  free gospel offer means ‘continuing in the state we are already in 3:18b-20. No-one is neutral before  God.  By nature we are  ‘condemned already’. By nature  we all love darkness rather than the light. Our evil nature is drawn to darkness. We instinctively hate the light. We will not come to the light lest the darkness of our hearts be exposed.

THE GOSPEL – WHAT THIS TEXT  TEACHES US

In practical terms, this means that we can tell unbelievers that God loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die for their sins, if only they will repent and believe in Christ- with eternal consequences  (eternal life).  At the same time we should warn them that if they do not believe in Christ, they are under God’s righteous judgment and wrath (Jn. 3:18, 36), with eternal consequences (they will perish).   And, since we know that none are willing to repent and believe in Christ,  unless God grants it (John 6:44, 65; Acts 11:18), we should be praying as we proclaim the gospel, that God would have  mercy  in opening  blind eyes, deaf ears, converting hearts of stone.

We must offer the gospel freely to everyone, but at the same time that we must tell everyone also the bad news. The Good news becomes more meaningful and powerful as  we hold before our listeners the  facts of the  bad news. 

Both, verses 16 and  18 make it clear that the crucial issue on our part is to believe in Jesus. Those who believe have eternal life; those who do not believe are currently under God’s condemnation and ultimately will perish.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Believing in “the name of the only Son of God” (3:18) means

·       believing in all that He is and all that He came to do.

·       believing in Jesus requires understanding who He is: Son of Man ( promised Messiah) and Son of God (God the Son). He came from heaven  as the Lamb of God, the One to whom all the sacrifices point. Through His death and resurrection He offers eternal life to all who will come.  Based on that knowledge (which we get from the Bible), believing in Jesus means to entrust your eternal destiny to all that He did in dying for your sins on the cross. It means that you must cease trusting in your own goodness or self-effort as the means to  get  to  heaven.

A helpful illustration of believing, of exercising  a  saving faith  in  Jesus  is  the story  of the famous French tightrope walker, Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 1824 – 22 February 1897)[6]. He  became famous for crossing  340 meters  of the  Niagara Gorge, 50 metres  high,  on a tightrope.  This he did on 30 June 1859, and a number of times thereafter, often with different theatrical variations: blindfolded, trundling a wheelbarrow, carrying a man (his manager, Harry Colcord) on his back, … The point  is this. If  Harry Colcord   did not believe and  trust Blondin, he would never have gotten onto his back and walked across  the Niagara  fall. Many saw and believed  what  Blondin could do, but   the fewest would dare to get on his back.  In the same way, many say that they believe in Jesus, but they have not entirely trusted Him, believed in Him  for the journey  that  lies ahead. Remember that we all have to cross  that  final  river  some time. Dear unconverted friend, will  you not take another look at Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to have mercy on you? Ask Him in these words  –Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief  (Mark 9:24). 

God  will surely hear you!

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[1] The term ‘ Son of Man’ occurs 88 times in the NT ; Son of Man is as a reference to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14,

[2] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans], p. 228

[3] Deut. 7:6-8; 10:14-15; Mal. 1:2-3

[4] 1:9,10; 7:7; 14:17; 15:18-19; 16:8, 20, 33; 17:6, 9, 14, 25; 1 John 5:19

[5] Published by Crossway

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Blondin