As one attempts to
gain a more thorough and properly rooted understanding of what Jesus means with
the words that have come to be designated as John 3:16, it must be borne in
mind that not only are the words offered in the context of what must be a
larger discourse and long-running relationship between Jesus and Nicodemus (of
which the author surely provides only a small portion), but that they are
offered in a political, historical, cultural, social, and theological context
as well. So understanding the context will take quite a bit more than
simply examining the verses that come before and after. The context is far more complex than
that. Rather, the entire setting in
which the words were spoken must be taken into consideration, which will allow
the reader to gain an insight into the potential mindset of Nicodemus.
This is to be done so
that one can understand first what Nicodemus may have thought when Jesus spoke
these words, and along with that, the things to which Jesus might be referring
upon speaking these words. Then, if this material has been traversed
correctly, though relatively briefly (and certainly not exhaustively), the
words will have a more correct and perhaps deeper meaning for the reader as
well, as the way in which they fit into what it is that it is the great and
over-arching plan of the Creator God for this world and for the beings that had
been made in and as His image can now be properly grasped.
In the story as
presented in this Gospel record, the very first thing that Nicodemus says to
Jesus is “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God.
For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with
him” (3:2b). There is, of course, a great tradition of the giving and
receiving of signs within Israel’s history. Abraham asked for a sign from
his God. Moses asked for a sign that would demonstrate that the One
speaking to him was truly the God of his forefathers. Gideon would
request and receive a sign from Israel's God.
There are numerous other instances of people asking for signs, so this
was not simply limited to Jesus’ day and to the people of the time. With
his statement then, Nicodemus fits neatly into this long tradition.
First, he acknowledges that Jesus seems to be quite special, and then makes his
reference to signs. It is worth noting that, up to this point, the record
of the Gospel of John does not have Jesus performing a large number of “signs.”
What were the signs,
according to what has been presented by the author, of which Nicodemus would be
aware, and to which he would be making reference? In the second chapter
is the story of Jesus turning water into wine, which was not only miraculous on
the surface, but was also a dramatic social and cultural statement by Jesus,
centered upon meal practice, that did much to upend the honor and shame culture
while also forever providing a cue to the followers of Jesus and what was to
expected of them (the truly miraculous occurrence was not the transformation of
liquid). John reports that “Jesus did this as the first of His miraculous
signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way He revealed His glory, and His
disciples believed in Him” (2:11). Following that, the Johannine
narrative presents Jesus’ dramatic actions in the Temple. It was this
that drew the attention of the Jewish leaders to Jesus. They said to Him, “What sign can you show us,
since you are doing these things?” (2:18b)
In response, Jesus
speaks about the destruction of the Temple and its being rebuilt in three
days. He offered this as a sign. The reader then goes on to find
that “while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many people
believed in His name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing”
(2:23). So it is possible to come to the conclusion that it is His
activities in the Temple, together with the signs (symbols of Messiah-ship?)
that He was performing during the feast, that prompts this particular conversation
with Nicodemus.
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