Only Son (part 5)

Jesus has couched the entirety of His conversation with Nicodemus in the history and hope of Israel. He has broached the subject of eternal life with Nicodemus, with this eternal life being connected to a trust in, essentially, the covenant faithfulness (according to the promises) of Israel’s God. Having done this---set His words in the context of the long history of Israel, of Israel’s hope, and of the working of Israel’s covenant God, it would only makes sense that He is continuing to do that very thing when He goes on to say, “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This, quite obviously, is a repetition of what was already said in the previous verse, with the addition of “will not perish.” It is very much akin to what happened with Moses and the serpent. It is for that reason that we cannot separate out this verse so as to make it seem as if it is only a reference to Jesus Himself, independent of what comes before and after. It is impossible to imagine that Nicodemus would have thought in this way, and it is impossible to imagine that Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand it in this way. It must, however, be a component of what Jesus wants to be understood, but if it is to be understood correctly, it must also fit well with the story that would have been playing out in the mind of Nicodemus as he speaks with Jesus and hears these words.

Removing this popular and important verse from its surroundings devalues its content, as it rips Jesus’ life and ministry away from the roots from which it grows and is nourished. If we remove this verse from the historical context that has been provided, and see it only as Jesus saying that it is He that must be believed, so that eternal life (in the way we generally think of eternal life---going to heaven when we die) can be had, then we miss out on the over-arching purpose and plan of salvation that God has for the world. Just as we have seen “trigger words” used throughout the conversation, that would have assuredly sparked certain thoughts and ideas in the mind of Nicodemus (as a Pharisee, member of the ruling council, and “teacher of Israel), Jesus’ use of “eternal life” (twice) is another one of those trigger words.

How so? What thoughts would Nicodemus have had upon Jesus’ use of these words? Well, we have already referenced the long-standing Jewish hopes of the kingdom of God, the resurrection of the righteous dead, and their God’s restoration of the fallen creation, but there is more. It has been made quite clear that eternal life, as Jesus uses it (as a first century Jew) and as Nicodemus understands it (as a first century Jew), has nothing to do with the idea of escaping the physical world so as to enjoy eternity in a state of dis-embodied bliss that could only be enjoyed by soul and spirit. No, that was Greek thought. That was pagan thought. Jews were highly resistant to such ideas, and fervently opposed allowing such ideas to creep into their worldview. The dominant Jewish worldview affirmed the absolute goodness of God’s perfectly created (though fallen) physical world, whereas the other dominant worldviews of the day (Platonism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Buddhism, etc…) basically held the physical to be sub-standard and second rate. Judaism, in large part (though there groups like the Sadducees that denied this worldview, though their denial may not have been completely legitimate and deeply held, perhaps owing to the fact that they were in collusion with the Roman powers---this is significant because they were partially charged with keeping peace and tranquility in Israel, whereas the hope of resurrection and restoration was very much a motivating factor for Israel in their long-running opposition, both passive and active, to foreign dominance) stood against “other-worldliness,” and embraced a “this-world” view. Most definitely, Jesus is not speaking to Nicodemus about going to heaven, and in that same light, the author is not asking his readers to consider that Jesus is speaking about going to heaven, and thereby promoting an escape from this world---an idea rooted in so much anti-Jewish, anti-Biblical thought.

How can we know this? We can know this because “eternal life” is the language of exodus. Exodus meant more than simply leaving Egypt. Exodus, for Nicodemus (and for us as well) meant rescue, deliverance, liberation, redemption, salvation, resurrection, restoration and more. Exodus meant that God was establishing His kingdom, through His chosen people, so as to accomplish His purposes for the world, through them. Exodus meant that God was not only rescuing, delivering, liberating, redeeming, saving, resurrecting, and restoring the beings that He had created to bear His image and reflect His glory into His world, but it meant that He was doing the same thing for His world as well. All of these things, for a first century Jew, had a decidedly this-worldly reference, and when Jesus said these words, and Nicodemus heard these words, the entire scope of God’s plan of salvation (exodus) was brought into the picture. This plan did not begin with Jesus, but rather, with Adam.