"John 3.16" (Outdoor Worship)

Most Popular Bible Verse

John 3:16. Probably it is one of the most popular Bible verses of all ages, and I assume that many of you recite this verse by heart. Why don’t we recite (read) it together?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV)

John 3:16 is the entire gospel in a nutshell. But we must remember this great verse is the part of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. John 3:16 is Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus’ following question, “How can an old man like me be born again?”

Who Is Nicodemus?

So let’s start from the beginning. Who is Nicodemus? Nicodemus was a good man. He was an honorable, respected and moral man. In fact, he was a leader of the Jews and knowledgeable Bible teacher, Pharisee. He always studied and taught about God. He tried hard to keep all 613 religious rules and traditions faithfully for life. But for some reason he found no joy, no power, no life, no freedom in his religious life. He felt empty. He felt something was missing. The harder he tried, the more thirsty, the more empty he felt. But then, he saw Jesus. He was something different. Jesus had something that he did not have. One night Nicodemus came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what is it? I want to have what you have. What must I do to be saved?” This is the most important question in life.

Jesus gets right to the point. He says to Nicodemus, “You must be born again!” In Jesus’ time, for Jewish men there were 4 ways to be born again. First, when a Jewish boy becomes bar mitzvah (coming-of-age ceremony) at 13, he is said to be “born again.” Second, when a Jewish man gets married, he is said to be “born again.” Third, a person is ordained as a rabbi, he is said to be “born again.” And the final way to be born again is to become the head of a rabbinical school. In this respect, Nicodemus was already born again four times! He got through bar mitzvah when he was 13. Since he was a member of Sanhedrin, which required to be married, he must have been married. He was a teacher, rabbi. Not only that, he was a head of a rabbinical school (cf. 10).[1] So Nicodemus was already born again at least four times.

But now Jesus says to him, “You must be born again!” Nicodemus must be confused. So he says, “How can an old man like me be born again? Teacher, I was already born again four times. You’ve confused me!” Nicodemus thought if he stopped doing one or two bad things, and took up two or three good others, then he would be born again. He thought if he became a little bit better person by keeping the law, he would have eternal life, more satisfying and abundant life. But it didn’t work! We think that to be a Christian is just to be a little bit better than we are now. We say, “I am born again because I grew up in the church (or in Christian family).” We say, “I am born again because I am a long time church member, and I even hold a leadership position in the church.” We say, “I am born again because I have been leading a good moral life and doing good works for other.” But today Jesus says, “To be born again doesn’t work that that. You must be born again – born from above, born of the Spirit.” All of our efforts are no use unless we are born from above, born of the Spirit. To be a better person is not enough. We must be a new person in Christ. We must have a new nature, new spirit, new heart. But how? How can this be? Am I qualified? Am I too late to start all over again? Have I gone too far? John 3:16 is the answer to all those questions.

For God So Loved the “World”

It begins like this: “For God so loved the world.” Here the word world doesn’t simply mean planet earth; it means all people of the world no matter who they are and where they are in their life journey. God loves men and women, boys and girls, young and old. God loves the healthy, and he loves the sick, abandoned, and broken. God loves those from every people group, black, white and yellow. God loves the self-disciplined, and he loves the addict. God loves the married, the single, the divorced, the widowed. God love good people and evil people. God loves Christians, atheists, skeptics, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. God loves who take his name in vain. God loves those who don’t love him back. God loves those who take him for granted, avoid him, ignore him, abandon him. God loves religious hypocrites and irreligious people. God loves those who are tired of religion, sin, emptiness and hopelessness. God loves Nicodemus. God loves everyone. God loves the world. God loves you. He so loves you!

That He Gave His Only “Son”

But God doesn’t just love us in words alone. He showed his radical love for you by this: He gave his one and only Son Jesus.

Now I want you to call to mind two particular individuals. First, call to mind the person you love most – perhaps your child, your spouse, your parent, your best friend. And now call to mind the person whom you have the worst feelings. The person whom you just can’t stand, can’t forgive. Suppose this person is in terrible need. He is now in the hospital in critical condition, needing a heart transplant in order to survive. Would you be willing to help that person in costly ways? Would you sacrifice the person you love most to die, so that the person you dislike most could live? Would you do that?

That’s what God did for you and for me. The Bible says, “But God showed his great love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Here the timing is crucial. Christ didn’t die after we committed ourselves to him. He died while we were still sinners. He died for us while we didn’t know him, while we didn’t love him back, while we were still pursuing our own ways. The Bible says, “He [Jesus] was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” (Isa 53:5-6, NLT)

God loves the world. God loves you.

And he showed his great love by giving his only Son.

Whoever “Believes”

Does that mean we can go on with our life just as we are now and have eternal life? No! John 3:16 requires one thing from us. We must respond to God’s love. We must say “Yes” to God’s invitation. John 3:16 says, “… whoever believes in him [Christ] should not perish but have eternal life.” We must believe in Jesus Christ.

But what does it mean to believe in Jesus? The story of Charles Blondin tells us what true faith is. Blondin was a famous tightrope walker. He would walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He did it blindfolded! He did it on stilts! Once he carried his manager across on his shoulders. After they got safely to the other side, he turned to a man in the crowd and said, “Sir, do you believe that I could do that with you?” The man said, “Yes, I believe that you could do it.” Blondin said, “Fine, hop on!” The man quickly replied, “No way!”[2]

He “believed” intellectually, but he wasn’t willing to commit his life to Blondin. In the same way, many say that they believe in Jesus, but they don’t commit their lives to Jesus. To believe in Jesus means to make him your life coach. It means to follow him. It means to turn away from your way and turn to His way. To believe in Jesus is like you say, “I do” in a wedding ceremony. It’s commitment. It’s life-long, covenantal relationship.

Are you born again? Have you found the meaning, purpose of your life? Believe in Jesus, and you will be born from above, born of the Spirit. Believe in Jesus, and you will have a new spirit, new heart, new nature in Him. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will not perish but have eternal life – rich and satisfying life – now and forevermore! If you are willing, if you want to say “Yes” to God, please join me in this prayer:

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner,

and I ask for Your forgiveness.

I believe You died for my sins

and rose from the dead.

Thank You for forgiving my sins

and giving me eternal life.

Now I turn from my sins

and invite You to come into my heart and life.

Take control of the throne of my life.

And Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

In Your Name. Amen.

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[1] “Born Again: John 3:3,” The Complete Jewish Study Bible (Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 2016), 1525.

[2] Steven J. Cole, “Lesson 17: God’s Shocking Love” (John 3:16-18), https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-17-god-s-shocking-love-john-316-18

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1-3)

The Time Is Near

What kind of images come to your mind when you hear the word “revelation” or “prophecy”? For the last few days I felt like the burden of ministry was too heavy for me. I got tired and weary. My spirit became dull and almost fell asleep. No desire to read the Bible or to pray. In my wilderness I cried out to God, “Father, help me!” All of sudden, for some reason, one particular individual came to my mind. That was Pastor Gil, who was one of the Korean Christian leaders during the Japanese Colonial Rule. During that time Christians were severely persecuted. In order to endure those persecutions, Pastor Gil read the Book of Revelation more than 10,000 times. He did hold on to the word. God’s promises were what kept him going. After reflecting on his life and affliction, I reluctantly opened my Bible and began to read the Book of Revelation. As I was reading, I experienced that the word did wake me up, revive my soul, and bring new hope and encouragement to my heart.

In today’s passage, verse 3 says, “The time is near.” Here the Greek word for “time” is Kairos. The ancient Greeks had two words for time: Chronos and Kairos. Chronos refers to chronological time, while Kairos indicates a time of crisis or a decisive moment. As a pastor, I sense that now is Kairos for our church. My prayer is that as we study the Book of Revelation together as a church, we may hear what the Spirit says to our church and obey.

The Purpose of Revelation

As we begin to explore Revelation, the first question we ought to ask is this: “What is the purpose of revelation?” “Why did God give Revelation to John and other believers?” “Why does God give Revelation to us today?” The purpose of Revelation is to open the eyes of our hearts and to see our life with an eternal, heavenly perspective. So if we read and understand the Book of Revelation properly, we see that we are at war with Satan. We see that we have the final victory in Jesus. We see that our willingness to suffer for Christ is the path to that final victory. We see that even in the midst of tragedy and suffering God is sovereign – he is still in control and will fulfill his promises. This heavenly perspective gives us hope and power to face life’s challenges.

Between Two Worlds

Today’s scripture, Revelation 1:1-3, is an introduction or prologue to the entire book. Today as we begin our journey through the book of Revelation, it is very important to understand a battle between good and evil, a tension between two worlds – God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God created man and woman in his own image. He blessed them and let them rule over every living creature as God’s stewards. And God said it was very good. That’s how God’s kingdom began. But then, when Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Satan established his kingdom and continued to expand it. The Bible describes Satan as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31), “the god of this world” (2 Co 4:4), “the ruler of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2). God is always sovereign. Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without God’s permission (Matt 10:29). This world is still God’s kingdom. But sadly, at the same time, Satan practically rules this fallen world. That’s why he said to Jesus, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to” (Luke 4:6). So there is a tension between two kingdoms.  

In ancient Israel when you waged war with another country, you must send a messenger first. The mission of the messenger was to declare war and to offer its people terms of peace. If the enemy country accepted your terms of peace and surrendered to you, then they would serve you and work for you (cf. Dt 20:10). If not, you would have a war with them and destroy them. Based on this context, we must understand John the Baptist as a messenger of God’s kingdom. As Jesus was coming to restore his kingdom, he sent John before him. And John declared war and announced that God’s kingdom was near. And the terms of peace were to repent. Many people accepted the terms of peace. They came out to John, confessed their sins, and were baptized. But there were many others, including Pharisees and Sadducees, who refused to repent. The messenger John warned them, “You brood of vipers! Bear fruit worthy of repentance… Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt 3:10). Then he declared Jesus the Lord and Savior of the kingdom, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

We used to live in sin and followed our sinful nature. We followed the devil (Eph 2:2-3). Once we belonged to Satan’s kingdom. But Jesus came to rescue us. On the cross he purchased us with his own blood and triumphed over Satan. He conquered the death, the last enemy, and destroyed Satan’s kingdom when he rose from the dead. And now we belong to God’s kingdom. If you like to play chess, this analogy might be helpful. The sacrificial move of Christ at the cross puts the devil in checkmate; the devil continues to play the game of rebellion, but his defeat is assured.[1] Although we still struggle and are in the middle of a fierce battle, the Book of Revelation assures that God is with us and will faithfully bring us through final victory.

You Are Not Home Yet

An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years, and they were returning to New York City to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were old now and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions. When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there, but no one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East side. That night, the missionary’s spirit broke. He poured out his heart to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I can’t take this. You are not treating us fairly. The President received this tremendous homecoming, but no one met us as we returned home.” But when he finished it, God simply said, “My son, you’re not home yet!”[2]

Yes, we are not home yet! The revelation of Jesus Christ is both encouragement and warning. On the one hand, revelation opens the eyes of our hearts to see things from God’s perspective. It encourages us to hold to the glorious promises of God and persevere. But on the other hand, revelation also challenges our complacency, especially if we live like we are already home. It says “Wake up! Arise! You are not home yet! Set your hearts and minds on things above, not on things on earth!”

How can we get this heavenly perspective? One of the ways to cultivate God’s perspective is to hear the word and do the word. Today’s scripture, verse 3, says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” The message of Revelation is not designed to merely satisfy our intellectual speculation about the end times, but it is given for us to obey what it says. My prayer is that God will give us desire to hear the word and do the word, so that we may be encouraged, awakened, corrected, prepared for Kairos, God’s time. Amen.

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[1] G. K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 15-16.

[2] Ray Stedman, Talking To My Father (Barbour & Co. 1997).