As we have seen in the first two parts of this Nighttime Encounter, Jesus had much to share with Nicodemus. In fact, Nicodemus said very little because Jesus could “read his mind” regarding the questions that were troubling him. If you recall, Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be “born again,” which was not a physical “rebirth,” but a spiritual one. And last week we saw Jesus taking Nicodemus back to the Old Testament incident in the wilderness where the Israelites, due to their sin, were being bitten by snakes. Moses was commanded to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and if anyone was bitten, they were to look at it and be healed. And then, as you recall, Jesus said to him,
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
Later in the Gospel of John, Jesus said,
“The Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 12:34); and “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He…” (John 8:28).
Nicodemus was able to connect the dots, realizing that Jesus would later die on the cross for our sins, and if we look to Him, we will be forgiven and healed of our sin problem. And then Jesus said,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
That’s the plan of salvation and the way to eternal life. We must believe in and “look to” the Son who died for our sins. But Jesus wasn’t done sharing with Nicodemus, as in the next verse, Jesus said,
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him” (Jn. 3:17).
Jesus wanted Nicodemus to know that God’s intention for sending His Son was not to judge or condemn, but to demonstrate God’s love and draw all men to Himself so that they can be saved from the penalty and power of sin. Jesus continued,
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (Jn. 3:18).
The kind of “belief” of which Jesus spoke involves both “intellectual assent” and “personal faith and trust.” He was calling all men to believe that He is indeed the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and that by putting their personal faith and trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins, they could be saved. Judgment is based upon their lack of belief in Jesus, for who He is, and for what He has done on the cross. In other words, the “ball is in the unbeliever’s court,” as they are called to respond to the message of the gospel. The question regarding “those who have never heard” is an important one, but let’s save that topic for another time. During this nighttime encounter, Jesus was primarily concerned with the Jews of His generation. And then Jesus addressed the “basis” for this judgment,
“And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (Jn. 3:19).
Those who are bent on doing evil love the darkness so that their deeds will not be exposed. The light that has come into the world is in a person whose name is Jesus. At the beginning of his Gospel, John wrote,
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (Jn. 1:4-5).
As we have said many times, Jesus came to give us LIFE, a gift of God for all those who believe. And those who receive His LIFE see and understand the “light of truth” that exposes the darkness. Even though Jesus was the “Light of the world,” those living in darkness could not understand the message of the One who came to reveal the light. Why is this?
“Because everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (Jn. 3:20).
Jesus reveals the basic problem with those who reject His message – they don’t want their deeds to be exposed to the light. Interestingly, that’s exactly what happens to those who come to Christ, that is, they humble themselves, exposing their deeds to the One who is the Light of the world. That’s what confession is all about – It’s agreeing with God about our sin and our need for forgiveness. If you have never done so, step into the light by confessing your need for the One true Light to shine in your life, forgiving your sins and making you a new creation.
In the last verse of Jesus encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus raises the issue of “truth.” We will tackle that issue next week, as we look at Part 4 of this Nighttime Encounter. Blessings to all.
