Believe in the Gospel (John 3:14-21)

Amen. Amen. Happy Easter, church. I've got to catch my breath. That was amazing. And what a wonderful day it is to praise God. Children, we are ready for Children's Church. You may make your way to the back. Thank you so much, Praistine, for leading us well in those songs as we proclaim who Jesus is.

Oh, what a day to celebrate. I am so glad that you are here to worship with us today. We are here to celebrate that we serve a risen Savior. Amen? Amen. We serve a risen Savior. And that is the greatest news the world has ever heard.

We are here to celebrate the good news that Jesus left the glory of heaven. He humbly lived a perfect life among us. He went to the cross to take your sin and my sin, to nail it to the cross. And because of that, God no longer sees us as an enemy, but He sees us as His children.

He no longer sees your sin. It has been thrown into the sea of His forgetfulness to be remembered no more. Because of this, we are no longer an enemy, but we are a child of God. And if this were not reason enough to celebrate today, then maybe this will get us fired up.

Peter in Acts 2. Amen. It was not possible for death to hold Jesus. And because of that, if you are a child of God, I have good news for you. It is not possible for death to have a grip on you either.

This is why we celebrate. This is why we celebrate. This is the good news of the gospel. Every year at Easter, we have this focus on the resurrection.

We celebrate with great excitement the fact that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. If you go to Israel today and you ask them to take you to the tomb of Jesus, they'll take you there.

You can walk inside the tomb. And guess who's not in the tomb? Jesus. There is not a body in that tomb.

This is what everything hinges on. This is what our hope is based on. This is the most important thing of Christianity.

This is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 3. He says,

For I deliver to you this as of first importance. In other words, although everything in the Bible is important, and everything in the Bible is completely true, not everything holds this weight.

For example, we may disagree on the method of baptism. We may have differences of opinion on pre-meal, post-meal, and ah-meal.

We may differ on our understanding of God's sovereignty and man's free will.

And you may care less about any of those things that I just said.

But the gospel is not something we waver on.

It is the most important. It says,

And that is what everything hinges on.

In fact, Paul goes on to say this,

And if Christ has not been raised,

He says,

Then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is in vain.

If Christ is not raised, then what I'm doing today is in vain.

Then what we are building our lives on is in vain.

This is why Easter is such a big deal.

Because everything is riding on this truth.

You see, Christianity stands or falls on the historical bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

No resurrection, no Christianity.

But if the tomb is empty, if this is true, then it changes everything.

Then it changes everything.

On this Easter Sunday, I want us to look at a passage of Scripture that is incredibly familiar.

It is probably one that many of us have heard many times.

In fact, it may be one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture.

Or at least it contains the most familiar verse in all of Scripture.

I want us to take a look at John 3, verses 14 through 21.

John 3:14–21

And it is important to note that as we look at this passage,

we are jumping into the middle of a story.

We are jumping into the middle of this story.

And the story may be familiar.

It is a story that I have been thinking a lot about this week and in the past few weeks.

As we remember this story of Nicodemus coming to meet Jesus at night.

And I think it is important for us to understand who Nicodemus is

and the significance of this to really understand this passage.

You see, Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

He was a Pharisee who understood the Old Testament as good as anybody.

He knew it forwards and backwards.

And as a Pharisee, he had most of, if not the entire Old Testament memorized.

And because of his standing of who he was,

we can almost take it to the bank that he knew everything in the Old Testament

and had it memorized.

Because in this passage, we're also told that Nicodemus,

in addition to being a Pharisee, he was a ruler of Israel.

So in other words, he was probably one of the 70 members of the Sanhedrin,

the rulers of Israel, who there were 70 Pharisees that made up the Sanhedrin.

And he was a part of this.

And so he ruled over Israel.

But then Jesus also tells us that he was the teacher of Israel.

He says, are you not the teacher of Israel?

And so Nicodemus was incredibly well-respected.

Not only was he brilliant, but he was also a pillar of the Jewish community

who is coming to Jesus by night.

And most likely, he's coming to Jesus by night to avoid being seen.

He understands the significance of who Jesus is.

And so he's coming to him to kind of test the waters.

If anybody was going to be able to pick up on who the Messiah was,

surely it would be Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel,

who understood the prophecies, who understood the Old Testament.

And so he's coming to Jesus to try to figure out who he is.

But he's not sure enough, so he wants to come to him at night.

And then after a conversation about the necessity of being born again

and of not being able to save yourself, Jesus tells Nicodemus these words.

And this is where I want us to pick up today as we look at this passage.

And so if you have a copy of God's Word with you,

I want to invite you to open with me to John chapter 3, starting in verse 14.

John 3 · chapter mention

And this is what the Word of the Lord says.

It says,

It says,

Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe is condemned already,

because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the judgment.

The light has come into the world,

and people love darkness rather than the light,

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light

and does not come to the light,

lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light,

so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Again, much of this passage that we just read is very familiar to us.

It's a story that we've heard over and over again.

In fact, it's so familiar that there's the possibility that we may overlook the significance

of what is being stated here.

But I want us to see a progression of three truths in this passage.

I want us to see a progression of these three truths in this passage

that I hope will help us to clearly look to Jesus and believe.

I want us to see this progression of looking to the cross,

of seeing God's love,

and believing in the gospel.

So to begin with,

this text tells us to look to the cross.

The text tells us to look to the cross.

It says,

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

This may be one of my favorite parts of the conversation

between Jesus and Nicodemus here.

After having this deep theological conversation with Nicodemus,

Jesus tells him,

He says,

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

Again, Nicodemus knows very well this story that Jesus is telling him.

He says,

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

This story comes from Numbers chapter 21.

Numbers 21 · chapter mention

And in Numbers chapter 21,

Numbers 21 · chapter mention

the people of Israel have left Egypt.

God has provided in miraculous ways for them.

He's provided over and over again for these people.

And yet now they're coming and they're complaining.

They're complaining about the deliverance that God has provided.

And if we think back on it,

God has provided in some big ways.

We see the ten plagues in Egypt that God showed Pharaoh to let the people go.

From the Nile turning to blood,

to darkness being on the land,

to the frogs,

to the locusts,

to the cattle,

the livestock being killed,

to the darkness of the land for three days,

and then finally the death of the firstborn.

And so we see God providing,

but God doesn't stop providing there.

He continues to provide in the wilderness.

He continues to protect them.

He continues to lead,

guide,

and direct them.

He continues to give them food and water and everything that they need.

And now the people are complaining.

They're upset about the deliverance that God provided.

He saved them.

And now they're complaining about the salvation that He provided.

And so God sends these snakes among the people.

And this is where we pick up in Numbers chapter 21.

Numbers 21 · chapter mention

It says,

Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people,

and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died.

And the people came to Moses and said,

We have sinned,

for we have spoken against the Lord and against you.

Pray to the Lord that He may take away the serpents from us.

So Moses prayed for the people,

and the Lord said to Moses,

Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole.

And everyone who is bitten,

when he sees it,

shall live.

So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole.

And if a serpent bit anyone,

he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Now you may recognize this symbol,

this picture that is being painted for us here in Numbers.

You may see it at the doctor's office or on a prescription or something like that

because this symbol of a serpent being raised up on a pole

has now made its way into the medical field

so that it represents this medicine,

these doctor's offices,

this healing.

And it's kind of ironic when you think about it.

Without the context of this story,

this would be difficult for us to wrap our minds around.

Why would you use this as a symbol for healing?

And again, now in light of what Jesus is coming to do,

it helps us understand it in an even greater way.

Because even when you look at the story in the Old Testament,

you don't get to see the fulfillment of it yet.

And the story in the Old Testament is interesting.

The people were being bitten by these snakes.

The curse that God has sent is biting them,

and many people are dying.

And then what he tells Moses to do is to take the curse,

take the serpent,

and put it on a pole so that when people look to the curse,

they will be healed from the curse.

And it's kind of strange for us to think about it in this context

until we get to the New Testament,

until we get to Jesus,

and until we understand,

as Paul tells us,

that Christ redeemed us from the curse

by becoming what?

By becoming a curse for us.

He made him to be sin who knew no sin.

He made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin.

And so Jesus becomes a curse for us.

And so when he tells Nicodemus,

as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

He's telling him a story that he knows.

He's telling that the people of Israel were to look and believe.

They were to look, believe, and be healed from the curse.

Now Jesus is telling Nicodemus,

hey, remember that story?

Yeah, it was paving the way for me.

People must look to the cross,

must look to the Son of Man being lifted up,

who becomes a curse for the people,

who takes their sin on himself.

They must look to the cross.

And so as we think about this,

he brings it home for Nicodemus.

So the Son of Man must be lifted up,

that whoever believes may have eternal life.

We must look to the cross.

But as we look to the cross,

I want us to see something very clearly today.

As we look to the cross,

I want us to see God's love.

I want us to see God's love.

We look to the cross and we see God's love.

For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish,

but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world

to condemn the world,

but in order that the world might be saved through him.

This verse right here,

John 3.16,

may be the most famous,

well-known,

and most loved verse in the Bible.

If a person has one verse of Scripture memorized,

there's a good chance it is John 3.16.

It's probably the first verse

that many of us learned as children,

but this verse begins with something

that is easy for us to overlook.

It begins with four.

It shows us that verse 16

connects to verses 14 and 15.

Jesus says that he must be lifted up in death,

and this death is a difficult truth

for us to wrap our minds around,

but verse 16 gives us the why.

The death of Jesus was necessary

because God loved us.

And so let's look at this verse in greater detail.

It says,

For God so loved.

You know,

it's easy for us to read this so

as the amount of love that God has for us.

Much like I may tell my wife or kids

that I love you so much.

And when I tell my wife or my kids

that I love you so much,

what I'm telling them is,

is there's a great amount of love

that I have for you.

And so when they ask me,

Daddy, how much do you love us?

I love you so much.

And it begins to become really easy for us

to think of it in an amount of love.

And it is a true statement that God

has an unbelievable amount of love for us.

But this so is not referring to

how much God loves us,

but rather to how God loves us.

The CSB translates it this way.

It says,

For God loved the world in this way.

Or the ISV,

it says,

For this is how God loved.

It is true that God loves a lot.

He loves you and me a tremendous amount.

But the remarkable truth of this passage

is how God loves.

God demonstrates for His love for us

by laying down His life for ours.

Romans 5, 6 through 8,

it states,

For while we were still weak,

at the right time,

Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely die

for a righteous person,

though perhaps for a good person,

one would dare even to die.

But God shows His love for us

that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

He died for us.

This is how God loves,

by laying down His life,

by sending Jesus,

who freely laid down His life.

But what is equally remarkable

of how God loves

is who God loves.

It tells us,

For God so loved the world.

You know, again,

a lot of times when we think of the world,

our minds go to

how big God's love for us.

The world is big.

He is huge.

And so we think about God's love

and this vast amount of love,

this big love that He has for us.

And His love is big.

It is sufficient for my sins,

for your sins,

and for the sins of anyone else

who believes in Him.

But most of the time

that world is used

in John's Gospel

and in many other places,

it is referring

to the brokenness of the world.

We're living in this world

for this world.

The sinfulness of the world.

God didn't just send Jesus to die

for people who were trying

their very best.

He didn't just look down

and say,

You know what?

Everybody's doing

a really good job.

They've turned things around a lot.

They're doing pretty good.

They just can't quite

make it over the hump.

And so everybody's trying really hard.

So now that they're trying really hard,

I'm going to send Jesus.

That's not the picture

that we get in Scripture.

What we see in Scripture

is that we were dead

in our sins and trespasses,

that we're following

the course of this world.

The Spirit,

the sons,

is now working

the sons of disobedience.

We're following this world.

We're going in the exact direction

that Satan wants us to go.

We're objects of God's wrath.

And that is when God sends Jesus.

This is a beautiful thing.

This is a beautiful picture

of who God loves.

God didn't just send Jesus to die

for people who were trying their very best,

who were pretty good

and needed a little help.

He sent Jesus for those who hated Him,

for those who were His enemy,

which is all of us.

And then verse 17 tells us

why God loves in this manner.

For God did not send His Son

into the world to condemn the world,

but in order that the world

might be saved through Him.

Why did God love in this manner?

Why did He love the broken?

So that He could provide

a way of salvation.

To me,

what is most remarkable

about this display

of love in Jesus' life

is that He died willingly.

He did this willingly.

We've been going through Hebrews

on Sunday morning

for the last few months,

and soon we're going to be

finding our way to Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

And in Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews 12:2

verse 2,

we are told something

incredible about Jesus.

We're told something

that is remarkable about His love.

And it's a passage

that I've read so many times,

but yet it wasn't until recently

that this verse really began

to come alive for me.

It says this.

It's talking about the joy

that Christ has.

It says,

Looking to Jesus,

the founder and perfecter

of our faith,

who for the joy

that was set before Him

endured the cross,

despising the shame

and is seated

at the right hand

of the throne.

The joy that was set

before Him.

It says that Jesus

endured the cross

for the joy

that was set before Him.

And this is a passage,

a verse that's easy

just to read right over,

but it says

that He endured the cross

for the joy

that was set before Him.

If you think about it

and you think about Jesus' life,

what is the one thing

that He has

on this side of the cross

that He didn't have

on that side of the cross?

He's always had

a perfect relationship

with the Father.

He's always had

perfect communion with Him.

But what's the one thing

that He has

on this side of the cross

that He didn't have

on that side of the cross?

And that's a relationship

with you and me.

We're the joy

that was set before Him.

We're the reason

He endured the cross.

It was love

that kept Him there.

The joy that was set

before Him.

Sally Lloyd-Jones

wrote an incredible

children's book

that I would encourage you

to read to your kids

and then after your kids

are grown,

keep reading it

for yourself

because it is a beautiful

picture of how

Jesus is all

throughout Scripture.

It's the Jesus Storybook Bible

and when it comes

to the cross,

when it comes

to this story,

she says this.

She tells it this way.

She says,

they nailed Jesus

to the cross.

Father, forgive them,

Jesus gasped.

They don't understand

what they're doing.

You say you've come

to rescue us,

people shouted,

but you can't even

rescue yourself.

But they were wrong.

Jesus could have

rescued Himself.

A legion of angels

would have flown

to His side

if He called.

If you're really

the Son of God,

you could just

climb down

off that cross,

they said.

And of course,

they were right.

Jesus could have

climbed down.

Actually,

He could have

just said a word

and made it all stop.

Like when He healed

that little girl

and stilled the storm

and fed 5,000 people.

But Jesus stayed.

You see,

they didn't just,

they didn't understand.

It wasn't the nails

that kept Jesus there.

It wasn't the nails

that kept Jesus

on the cross.

It was love.

Oftentimes,

we play this game

with God.

You know,

like you do

when you're little

and you go out

and pick the daisies.

You know,

He loves me.

He loves me not.

And you go all

the way around it

and a lot of times

we play this game

with God.

You know,

I got a promotion,

a new job.

He loves me.

I lost my job.

He loves me not.

I got married.

He loves me.

That marriage just crumbled.

He loves me not.

And oftentimes,

we play this game

over and over again

in our minds

of God loves me.

He loves me not.

He loves me.

He loves me not.

And it's easy for us

to look at our circumstances

and second guess

God's love for us.

I want to challenge you

to look to the cross

and see God's love

and let it be

what settles the issue

for you once and for all

if God loves you or not.

You see,

it's an argument

from the greater

to the lesser.

If leaving the glory of heaven,

if taking on the sin

of the world,

if becoming a curse,

if the mocking,

if the shame

and death on the cross

didn't keep Jesus

from loving you,

guess what?

Nothing will.

If that didn't keep Him

from loving you,

then nothing will.

And that's something

you can take to the bank.

My hope and prayer today

is that we look to the cross.

We see God's love

and finally we believe the gospel.

Whoever believes in Him

is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe

is condemned already

because he has not believed

in the name of the only Son of God.

You see,

this passage clearly shows

that there is only one way

to the Father

and it is through Jesus.

We mentioned it earlier,

the beauty of God

loving the world,

the sinful and broken world

in such a way

that He made a way

for people to be taken

from death to life.

This is a beautiful thing

and we are reminded of this

in so many different ways

that Jesus made a way for us.

But we can also lose sight of it

and place that hope

on other things.

For example,

oftentimes there's things

that get in the way

of us seeing it clearly.

We think attendance will help.

Well, let me tell you,

you can be born into the church.

You can be on the cradle roll

from the moment

that you came into this world.

You can be dedicated to church.

You can be baptized in the church.

You can put a desk in the church

and work every single day

of your life in the church.

You can get a bed

and you can put it in a church.

We've got some rooms available

if you want to do that.

We don't have a shower,

but you can stay there if you want.

You can do those things

and you can spend

every single night in the church,

spend every single waking moment.

And when you die,

sometimes there's places

where you can be buried

right next to the church.

But let me tell you,

those things

don't get you any closer to God.

Those things will not save you.

But no matter how close you are

to religion,

it will not bring you closer to God.

There is only one substitute

for your sin and my sin,

and His name is Jesus.

Whether we admit it or not,

each of us are desperate.

We are desperate for salvation.

We are desperate for acceptance.

We are desperate for meaning

in this life.

And deep down,

we know that we're sinners

and that we have this need.

And oftentimes,

we try over and over again

to do things to save ourselves.

We try over and over again

to cover up this void inside of us

because we don't like

to feel this desperate.

We don't like to feel

like we don't have meaning.

We don't like to feel like

our lives aren't counting

for something.

And so we try to cover it up

over and over again with things.

We try to give our lives

to things that will make

ourselves feel better.

And we think,

if we can just do this,

then my life will have meaning.

My life will have purpose

if I can just accomplish this.

I've heard it said this way,

that the loneliest moment in life

is when you have just achieved

that which you thought

would deliver the ultimate,

and it's let you down.

The loneliest moment in life

is when you've just achieved,

when you've just gotten

what you think is going to give

your life meaning and purpose,

and only to find out

it's not enough.

It's not enough.

We are desperate.

We are hopeless.

And oftentimes,

it is hard for us to understand

this hopelessness

that we face apart from Jesus.

And what I like to do at times

is to think of a real-life situation

that seems to be hopeless

so we can wrap our minds around this.

You may have heard me share

a story similar to this,

or you may even remember this story

from when it was on the news.

This actually came from news

about 16 years ago.

Many of you will remember

watching the news,

and all of a sudden,

the world's attention was in Chile.

There were 33 miners

who were trapped in a mine

in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

33 miners that were trapped

after the mine had collapsed,

and nobody knew

if they were alive or dead,

and they were trapped

underneath the desert,

one of the driest deserts

in the world,

for 69 days.

The first 17 days of that entrapment

were without any contact

to the outside world.

They didn't know if people

were going to find them.

They heard the mine,

they heard the drills

going all around them,

but nothing was coming

to the place where they were,

the cavern where they were trapped.

Nothing was coming to them.

For 17 days,

they had no idea

if people even knew

they were alive or dead.

And finally,

on the 17th day,

that drill bit makes its way

into the cavern where they were,

but yet again,

they realized,

this isn't big enough

for us to get out.

Now they just know

that we're down here.

And so for the next 52 days,

they were completely dependent

on the outside world

to give them food,

to give them water,

to pump oxygen down to them.

They were completely dependent

on others to find a way

to rescue them

because they couldn't

rescue themselves.

And so finally,

they were able to bore

a big enough hole

to lower a basket down

and that one person

could come up at a time.

And so one person

would get in this basket

and squeeze in as tightly

as they could

and take the 30 minute ride

it took to get 2,300 feet

above where they were.

30 minutes

as they're trapped in this

where all they can see

is rock around them,

bringing that,

they will make it

to the surface.

And this seems like

a hopeless state to be in.

That's one of the most

hopeless points

that you can imagine

yourself being in.

But here's the thing.

If the Bible is true,

and I believe that the Bible

is true from cover to cover,

if the Bible is true,

then those 33 miners

had a better chance

of finding a spoon

and clawing their way out

2,300 feet

than you and I do

of saving ourselves.

They had a better chance

of saving themselves

out of 2,300 feet

underneath rock

in the driest place

on earth.

They had a better chance

of saving themselves

than you and I do

of saving ours.

You see,

when we think about

this hopeless state,

we're reminded

that we need Jesus.

I've heard it said like this,

there are only two kinds

of religion in the world,

the one that you carry

and the one that carries you.

One tries to tell you

what you must do

to make yourself

acceptable to God

and the other tells you

what God has done

to make you

acceptable to Him.

You see,

our faith hinges

on the good news

of the gospel.

That verse that Paul declares

in 1 Corinthians 15,

for I delivered to you

of first importance

what I also received

that Christ died

for our sins

in accordance

with the scriptures,

that He was buried

and that He was raised

on the third day

in accordance

with the scriptures.

You see,

because the tomb

is empty,

because Jesus

was resurrected,

anything is possible.

The resurrection

tells us

that Jesus

has won.

The resurrection

tells us

that Jesus

has won.

He is victorious

over death,

hell,

and the grave.

And if we place

our trust in Him,

His victory

over death,

hell,

and the grave

becomes our victory

over death,

hell,

and the grave.

Let us look

to the cross.

May we look

to the cross

and we see God's love

as we look

to the cross

and believe

the gospel message.

If this is something

that you need to do,

today,

to put your faith

and your trust

in Jesus,

to look to the cross,

to see God's love

and believe the gospel,

then let me encourage you

to get that right today.

What better day

than Easter

to give your life

to Jesus

and go from death

to life.

But the thing is,

this isn't just something

for new believers,

for people

who aren't Christians.

This is something

that we give

our lives to.

Maybe we need

to look to the cross,

see God's love,

believe the gospel,

and follow Him

in believers' baptism.

The great news today

is in the 11 o'clock service,

we have four baptisms.

Three of the four

are adult baptisms

where they have

gone through

the rituals before.

They've done

the different things,

but now they've given

their life to Jesus

and they want

to get that order right.

They want it to be

believer's baptism

where they've given

their life to Jesus

and they're following

in obedience

to what He's called

them to do.

Maybe for you today,

this seeing the cross,

this looking to the cross,

seeing God's love,

and believing the gospel

is following

in obedience there.

But this is also

a message

for every single person.

May we every day

look to the cross,

see God's love,

believe this gospel,

and live a transformed life.

Because if we claim

to enter into

a life-changing relationship

with a King of kings

and Lord of lords,

then our lives

are going to look different.

And may we see that clearly.

May we come to this passage,

a very familiar passage.

May we look,

may we see,

may we believe.

Father, thank You so very much

for who You are

and all that You do for us.

Lord, we thank You

for the cross.

We thank You

that You took our sin

and our shame

and our regret

on Yourself

and You gave us

new life.

But Lord,

today we also thank You

for the victory.

Lord, we are grateful

that You lived

the perfect life,

made the ultimate sacrifice,

and because of who You are,

it was not possible

for You to be held down

by death.

And Lord,

that's a truth

that we hold on to,

that we cling to,

that because we give

our life to You,

just like it was not possible

for death

to hold You down,

it is no longer possible

for death

to have the final say

in our life.

So Lord,

may we,

may we look to the cross.

May we see

Your love

and believe

this gospel message.

We ask all this

in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

We're going to invite you

to stand.

We're going to sing

a song of invitation.

And if God is speaking

to you this morning,

won't you respond

in a way that brings

His name,

honor,

and glory?