John 3:1-21
John 2.23-25 tells us that Jesus “knew what was in man” and therefore he didn’t “entrust himself to them.” Jesus’ encounters over the next few chapters - Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, a Gentile official, the lame man at Bethesda - all make clear Jesus’ penetrating insight into human motivations. In John 3, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, comes to Jesus at night, and gets his world flipped upside down. Jesus challenges his narrow understanding of God’s kingdom, reveals the evil of his religious striving, and proclaims a way of salvation so simple that it utterly baffles Nicodemus. But it is in this context of rebuke and challenge that Jesus gives us the most timeless summation of his mission: In deep affection for the world, God gave his Son, opening the kingdom of God for all who believe, now and forevermore. How will we respond?
July 5, 2020 - Steve Hart