Gospel JN 3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Reflection
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling class of the Jews. He was a scholar and would have been well versed in Jewish scripture.
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For his entire adult life, Nicodemus had awaited the coming of the Messiah.
He was taken with Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” (John 3: 1-2)
By his own words, Nicodemus acknowledged that he believed Jesus had “come from God.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
This was the moment of truth for Nicodemus. Intellectually he accepted Jesus was a godly man, but did Nicodemus believe in his heart Jesus was the long awaited Messiah?
This is the moment of truth for everyone who hopes for eternal life.
Do you “believe in him?” Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
We are saved, not through our good works, but through our faith in the love of God and our belief in Jesus Christ, His Son.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9