Our Gospel today drops us into the middle of a conversation between Jesus and a prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus who comes to question Our Lord under the cover of night. Jesus turns the topic of discussion to salvation making the most famous declaration in Scripture: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." What we discover from their interaction is that our God proves his love not merely by words but - more powerfully - by actions and he requests nothing less from his followers in return.
Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:
- The significance of Christ connecting his passion to the bronze serpent in Numbers [8:20]
- The Israelites' near rejection of salvation and the way it illustrates for us how exactly one could be condemned in the next life [10:23]
- Suffering as an act of tremendous mercy on the part of God [19:35]
- Jesus' subtle allusion to an important curse in Deuteronomy and the way that he will abolish that curse [26:09]
- The dual meaning of "lifted up" that refers both to Christ's passion but also to his resurrection [30:56]
- A better translation of the famous John 3:16 [37:55]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Vol. 1 & 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.
Martin, Francis, and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Edited by Peter S. Williamson and Mary Healy. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.
REFERENCES
2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 - "And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God"
Wisdom 16:5-7 - "For when the terrible rage of wild beasts came upon thy people and they were being destroyed by the bites of writhing serpents, thy wrath did not continue to the end; 6 they were troubled for a little while as a warning, and received a token of deliverance to remind them of thy law’s command. 7 For he who turned toward it was saved, not by what he saw, but by thee, the Savior of all."
Isaiah 52:13 - "Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up"
John 7:50 - Nicodemus defends Jesus
John 19:39 - Nicodemus brings ointment to anoint Jesus' body
John 1:1-5 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
"When an Israelite gazed at the symbolic portrayal of the effects of his sin, the bronze serpent, he was granted healing and life. Similarly, whoever gazes in faith at the ultimate effect of human sin, the crucifixion of the Son of God, is changed and given eternal life." (Martin and Wright 74)
"Nowhere in this Gospel does God say 'I love you'; rather, he demonstrates his love for humanity be self-sacrifice and demands the same practical demonstration of love from his followers." (Keener 566-567)