In
the future, creation will be disintegrated and replaced with a new heaven and a
new earth (Isa 24:19-20; 34:4; 2 Pet 3:11-13; Rev 21:1). Can you imagine how
beautiful a sinless heaven will be, no residual traces of sin to be found
anywhere! Anything amazing here is incomparable to glory. What we are doing
here in going up to the summit is simply going for a spiritual view.
Spiritual
elevation is the heights we need to seek after if we want to “get closer” to
God (in fellowship)! Now, I won’t deny it; I like going up in the mountains
since living near the Smokies, “the place of the blue smoke,” but I don’t physically elevate to “get closer”
to God. I have personally heard people claim they felt closer to God in the
mountains.
It’s ironic how feelings can play havoc with our faith, but fellowship
with Yahweh is not based on feelings but rather holiness unto Him. If we cannot
“get closer” in the valleys, we won’t get any closer seeking higher ground! We
must be careful of creating the high places mentalities; true worship of Yahweh can only be
in spirit
and truth (Jn
4:24).
John
3:14, And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man
be lifted up,
As
we make our way to the summit, we will see there is spiritual dark matter that reminds us of the presence of evil in the world in spite of the beauty surrounding us. So much so, that if man was to be salvaged from the ravages of sin, it would become a Divine necessity to provide a way to rescue the sons and daughters of Adam. It is seen in the two verbs must (Gk., dei, of necessity) and lifted up (Gk., hupsoo,
referring to the cross in John: Jn 8:28; 12:32, 34); it is also translated exalted (Acts 2:33; 5:31).
To
appreciate the analogy here, we have to review why Moses had to lift up a bronze serpent in the wilderness; admittedly, it is kind of strange. As with any illustration, it cannot be
pressed too far to where the analogy breaks down.
Discouragement
has a way of bringing out the best in people, yes? The people had spoken out
against God and Moses, complaining and questioning why they were brought out of
Egypt to simply die in the wilderness without food and water? They abhorred the
manna provided by God which they described as worthless bread (Num 21:5)! They were
a feisty, testy lot. You get the impression many of them regretted leaving Egypt. It is illustrative of how many want to sacrifice their freedom for a false security; we see it today.
For
their undying faithfulness, Yahweh sent fiery serpents among them, causing many of the people
to die (Num 21:6). It seems that the survivors’ attitude changed with the
snakes in their midst and confessed their sin of rebellion and repented for having spoken
against Yahweh and Moses. They asked Moses to pray to Yahweh that He will take
away the serpents (Num 21:7). And here is what Yahweh said to Moses,
Num
21:8, Then
the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and
it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.
Num
21:9, So Moses
made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had
bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
God
provided a way for the Israelites to be saved from the fiery serpents. By looking to the bronze serpent when bitten indicated they believed in what was being
said (Num 21:8). Yahweh didn’t require the people to understand how this
worked. Only, if bitten, they were instructed to look at the bronze serpent
lifted up by Moses, and they would be healed. Since many were bitten and died
(Num 21:6), they quickly realized the error of their ways. The solution to the venomous snakes was pretty straightforward.
Think
how silly it may have sounded to those Israelites in the wilderness when they
heard of the answer to their problem. If you are bitten by a serpent, all
you have to do is look upon the bronze snake on the pole lifted up by Moses, and you
will be healed. If you fail to do so, you will physically die.
Now
we will see how pivotal the two verbs, must and lifted up, in our Johannine passage really is. For whoever looks to Christ lifted
up (intimation of the cross) by faith, should not perish but have eternal life (v15). For those who might think
this is silly, absurd, ridiculous, or foolishness for the need to be born again
will die spiritually and eternally (cf. Jn 3:3; 1 Cor 1:18). This is one of
those heavenly things Jesus spoke of (v13)!
Notice
the verbal action of two different time periods; the former (as Moses, Num 21:4-9) is
foreshadowing the latter (even so must the Son of Man, Mt 12:32-34; Jn 19:17-18): be lifted up.
The Godhead is taking the initiative. The venom of sin
is in us from birth (Psa 51:5; Rom 3:10, 23; 5:12; 6:23). Whoever has not been
born of the Spirit at the time of physical death will most certainly experience
the second death which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire
without remedy ever.
Jesus who was sinless paid our sin debt to God the Father. Looking to the cross seems so oversimplified and “silly,” as in the days of Moses with the serpent being lifted up, but if
you don’t take God at His Word and see no need to look to Jesus, the alternative of bearing the
penalty of your own sin debt is the most frightening thing to experience according to the Scriptures. The cost to provide a way to redeem man from sin is unimaginable; the cost of rejecting God’s provision of salvation is extremely costly.
As
those who for whatever reason refused to look up to the lifted serpent in the
wilderness when bitten and died illustrated the truth that those who reject
God’s offer of salvation and refuse to look to Jesus for relief from the
penalty of sin will perish (cf. v15, 16). It is a twisted mentality that questions the love
of God because they refused to look to Christ and receive spiritual and
eternal life, and then have the gall to turn around and blame Him for their own
willful sin and disobedience by saying, “You shouldn’t have allowed us to sin in
the first place if you really cared about us!” In a similar vein, “If you knew
we were going to reject You, why did you allow us to come into existence or to materialize
through physical birth?”
One
of the great ironies few ever talk about is God giving the sons and daughters
of Adam the desires of their hearts who reject their Creator and His redemptive
plan for their lives. Those who do not want God telling them what to believe,
how to think, what to say, or how to act eventually get what they always
wanted, no God in their lives for eternity! The lake of fire is an eternal
testament to those who desire such things. V15 indicates that it doesn’t have
to end that way; there is a lifted up way – even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
John
3:15, That
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
This
will be repeated at the summit to reveal how crucial this is. Eternal (Gk., aionios)
is the same Greek word translated everlasting in v16. The cost to the Godhead to provide a
way so that the sons and daughters of Adam should not perish was immeasurable. It is
the epitome of willful and brazen unbelief that throws that glorious truth back
into the face of Yahweh and runs Him through the meat grinder of torture and
crucifixion instead. Our sin, yours and mine, did that to Jesus. We soon learn at the summit it was God’s love (agape) for us that His Son was on the cross.
Whoever has been tampered with
for far too long as pertaining to a select group of people. We will learn at
the summit it involves the inhabitants of the world, whoever in the world believes in Him should
not perish but have eternal life. Glory!
We
are back to that all-important verb in John’s Gospel, believes, (Gk., pisteuo) in Him. It is interesting
that the noun form pistis, (belief, faith) is never used by John. He saw
faith as something active, not static, a belief committed to continual action.
Should
not perish (or will not perish, literally, be destroyed)
But
have eternal life (or that he may keep on having eternal life)
Eternal
(Gk., aionios,
occurs 9x in John, NKJV) or everlasting (Gk., aionios, occurs 8x in John, NKJV)
are both coupled with life (zoe) for a total of 17x in John’s gospel. 6 times in the
book of 1 John speaks of life beginning now and lasting forever, but not only
that, Robertson noted that in his comment on John 3:15 that “It is more than
endless for it is sharing in the life of God in Christ (Jn 5:26; 17:3; 1 Jn
5:12,” Word Pictures).
According to John MacArthur, “Eternal life refers
not only to eternal quantity, but divine quality of life.” He goes on to say, “This life for believers in the Lord Jesus is experienced before heaven
is reached.”
There
is an opinion that the interview with Nick ends at Jn 3:15 due to the
changing of the verb tenses from present to past in Jn 3:16-21. It is
considered unnatural for Jesus to speak in the past tense?
If
v16 can apply to Nick, then v17-21 also applies.
1.
Half of v16 is a repeat of v15.
2.
V16 gives one of the most mysterious reasons why God didn’t scrap the Adamic
race because of sin and disobedience – agape (love). Why would Jesus
stop with essentially half of v16 found in v15? In v16 we have the reason given
why God provided a way of redemption from the penalty of sin for the sons of
Adam through His Son. Wouldn’t a man with the credentials of Nicodemus want to
know why God the Father provided a spiritual Messiah rather than a political One? He will, on the Summit.
Love (agape) is one of those heavenly things that still to this day baffles every believer
(cf. Rom 5:8). Personalize it; “How could Yahweh love me as a sinner to the extent that He would sacrifice His only begotten Son on my behalf?” Why would Jesus not want for Nick to hear about this never-would-have-guessed-it-in-a-million-years reason,
knowing that Nicodemus was going to leave that night the same way he came to Him? <><
%20MG%20t-bkgrd%2060x44.png){kind=small}
%20sunflower%20makeover%2045x63.png){kind=small}
