Letter To Our Children

Hello friends!

John 3:16 is probably one of the most well-known verses in the Bible. John’s name and numbers pop up in all kinds of places, especially at sporting events. Christians often share John 3:16 with others who have yet to turn to Christ in repentance and faith.

Nonetheless, John 3:16, like every Bible verse, comes out of context and is rightly understood out of that context.

Nicodemus

If you read John 3:1-21, the context of John 3:16, the main character is Nicodemus. Nicodemus took the law of God very seriously. He was a member of the Sanhedrin—the highest religious authority in the world at that time. He would have been considered a master teacher of the Old Testament. On the surface, he appeared to do everything right and wanted to do everything right. He would have been a perfect model of moral excellence and religious observance. He would be the high school equivalent of someone who could run the mile in under 5 minutes, was the first chair on drums, had a 4.0 GPA, and was the homecoming King and class president every year!

Why Was He This Way

Nicodemus thought that to be right with God, he had to separate himself from the people of the world. He wanted to be clean; he thought they were dirty. So, he didn’t talk to them, touch them, eat with them, or open his life to them in any meaningful way. Staying away from the world was how Nicodemus understood obedience to God and how to be good. Avoiding the world is how he thought he could please God and earn God’s love, salvation, and blessing—however, Jesus’ words from John 3:16 point in a different direction.