A Link or Bridge

Lesson #53

Our lesson today will focus on John 3:16 – 18 and then we will be ready to move on to verses 19 – 21. Read John 3:16 – 18 again: ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (NASB). First, look at the difference between verse 16 and 18, as shown in the diagram below.

The ESV translation uses the word condemned and the NASB uses judged. The sinner is judged by the law and is declared guilty and condemned to die. Verse 17 forms a bridge between two conditions. In John 3:16 and the second half of John 3:17, Jesus, the Son of God, was sent that the world might be saved through him. The first half of verse 17 links to verse 18 and the idea of judgment and being condemned. John 3:36 helps: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (ESV). Each of us is born into this world with God’s wrath on us. We are already judged and condemned to die. On this basis, Jesus does not come to judge, but to provide a way of belief and salvation.

Everyone is born guilty and condemned to death. Jesus was sent to provide a way to make guilty people non-guilty, condemned people not condemned and to make dead people eternally alive. In the providence of God some will accept God’s provision and the rest will remain in their condemned state. Understanding this I think we are now ready to move on to verses 19 – 21.

Prayer

Father, how marvelous are the Scriptures. It is like a rich mine waiting for one to dig and find the buried treasures. These treasures are like pieces of a magnificent puzzle and as we add pieces the picture becomes more exciting and the desire to keep digging grows. Father, my heart aches for those who just skim the surface and find only the edge pieces. I find that the pleasures and things of the world are a poor substitute for the treasures waiting to be discovered. Thank you for those hidden treasures.