I don't know why
this text does not have a greater impact on all people as it has on me. Nicodemus could not possibly understand the
total meaning of these words-- they are totally foreign to him. Nothing that he learned growing up matches
with what Jesus is sharing with him. If
the basis of your life is performance-based righteousness as is likely
Nicodemus' experience, this new paradigm as described by Jesus makes no sense
at all. It flies in the face of
practical Judaism which understands God as the reward-giver to the good and the
punishment-enforcer of the bad-- a judgment made on the basis of good deeds
versus bad deeds.
Jesus new paradigm
removes human behavior from the salvation formula. It is not a matter of human good behavior
added to the grace gained from God on the basis of those good deeds leading to
a judgment in favor of the believer. Now
it is God's initiative to save us through the life of the Son of Man accepted
by the believer in God. Period! Add that concept to the logical premise
submitted by Jesus when he argues God would never go through the trouble of
saving humanity only to ultimately condemn the ones he saved.
That's the point of
this text for me. God does not condemn
those he saves. I choose to find my own
way to be saved or to reject outright the gift of life God offers me in
exchange for the inevitable death that I deserve. What other scenario makes sense once you
accept that Jesus is the Messiah-- the Son of God and Son of Man? He is the Word-- the active force of God
working on my behalf. He is the Light of the world pointing me back to the only
source of life in this dark and doomed world.
The sacrifice has already been made for me. I am now free to live justly, love mercy, and
walk humbly with the God who saved me (Read Micah 6:8). Awesome!
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