Jesus didn’t come to judge, but to save
Daily Scripture
John 3:14-21
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Human One [or Son of Man] be lifted up 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. 17 God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son.
19 “This is the basis for judgment: The light came into the world, and people loved darkness more than the light, for their actions are evil. 20 All who do wicked things hate the light and don’t come to the light for fear that their actions will be exposed to the light. 21 Whoever does the truth comes to the light so that it can be seen that their actions were done in God.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Too often, John 3:16 is read as a stand-alone verse, the only one some people (even those who love the Bible) are aware of. In fact, when the apostle John wrote those words, he didn’t even think of them as “chapter 3, verse 16.” * What we now call verses 17-19, and too often overlook, were for John simply a logical set of ideas that flowed from the great truth in verse 16 that verses 14-15 built up to. As we end a sermon series supporting the “Do Unto Others” campaign, it is important to see that in that phrase Jesus expressed not some general idea about being “nice,” but rather laid out the entire central purpose of his life of ministry, his death on the cross and his defeat of death in the resurrection. Jesus did not come to judge and condemn people; he came as the light of the world to save. John said the only basis for judgment is that the light was right there, and some people turned their backs on it and chose darkness.
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“Do Unto Others” does not end when campaign signs are put away. It is the heart of all that Jesus came to do. “Evil lurks deep within each of us. For healing to take place we must ourselves be involved in the process. This doesn’t mean that we just have to try a lot harder to be good…. All we can do, just as it was all the Israelites could do, is to look and trust: to look at Jesus, to see in him the full display of God’s saving love, and to trust in him. Here there opens up the great divide, which John describes in terms of darkness and light (see John 1:4–5). Believing in Jesus means coming to the light, the light of God’s new creation…. The darkness (and those who embrace it) must be condemned, not because it offends against some arbitrary laws which God made up for the fun of it…. It must be condemned because evil is destroying and defacing the present world and preventing people coming forward into God’s new world.” ** How can you, like Jesus, live to save rather than condemn by remembering to “Do Unto Others”?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you came to offer all of us, with all our differences, the gift of eternal life. I accept and trust your gift. And because of your gift, I wish to live as you lived, seeking to move beyond any divisions and resentments and to treat all people with your grace. Amen.
GPS Insights
Roxie Connally
Roxie Connally is a freshman at Blue Valley Northwest High School. She is actively involved in basketball, choir, Resurrection Students and is a staff member at Resurrection Kids in the church.
I know that Jesus loves us, but when I really think about what that truly entails, I am overwhelmed. What an impact it has on a person’s life when they grasp the layers of what it means. What Jesus did for us is life changing and massive! God’s unconditional love for us is so deep. Deeper than any ocean that man or technical vessel has ventured to. And that is difficult to fathom. No matter how much we mess up or how far away we stray from Him, He will continue to be in our hearts and always forgive us. Even though we will always be forgiven of our sins, that doesn’t mean that we get a free ticket to sin and be lazy when it comes to our spiritual life. We need to lead a Christ-centered life. I think 1 Corinthians 10:31, captures perfectly the way we need to lead our daily lives:
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Today’s GPS is centered around John 3:14-21, and especially John 3:16. These familiar Scriptures have deep meaning, that we often miss if we don’t take the time to meditate on what they are trying to convey to us in our daily walk with Jesus. When Jesus first saw the world and all its sins, He wanted to save the world because He cared for everyone and wanted the best for all. Jesus cried multiple times before His crucifixion on the cross because He didn’t want to suffer and die, but He did it anyway because He loves us. By His great act of unconditional love, we are forgiven of our sins and are granted eternal life if we believe in the resurrection of Christ.
God is calling us gently to glorify Him. He wants us to share His glory, the gospel, and His miracles with everyone that we encounter. We need to be a warm and loving light in everyone’s life, making sure that everything we say or do honors God! A very common phrase frames the exact meaning of this verse: “What Would Jesus Do?” It encourages us to approach every situation in our life and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus say or do in this situation?” That questions helps us to share the love and grace that Jesus and God give us. No matter who people are, what they believe in, or how they act towards you, we need to treat everyone with the adoration and affection that God does in our everyday lives. It may be hard but remember: Jesus gave up his life for us, because He loves us.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Chapter divisions were not in any printed Bible until the year 1382, verse divisions not until 1551. You can read the fascinating story at https://www.biblegateway.com/learn/bible-101/bible-verses-and-chapters/.
** Wright, N. T., John for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-10 (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 33). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
