John 3:14-21
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Pastor Tom Johnson, February 11, 2018
Jesus reminds Nicodemus of the Israelites and how they loved the darkness. They had just been delivered from their captivity and slavery in Egypt. But they grew tired of the bread of heaven—the manna. They were in the wilderness where there was no food or drink. They had to depend on the miraculous bread that came like dew on the ground every morning and the water that would sometimes come from a rock. They began to despise the same menu meal after meal, day after day, week after week. They began to grow in their love of the darkness. This love of darkness was a longing for the food back in Egypt—the freshly baked bread, meat pots, and fresh fruit. They looked back seeming to forget their hard labor, slavery, the constant threat on their lives, and the lives of their young children. This is the love of darkness—the darkness of ingratitude, mistrust of God, unbelief, self-indulgence, bodily pleasure, and their accusation that God brought them out to the wilderness to die.
Jesus says, “This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light.” How can that be? How can Jesus speak so generally of the human race? We love darkness rather than light? That is how Jesus talks about the condition we call sin. It is something that creeps up on us and from within—sometimes without our knowing. It’s our nature to be tempted and lured into this mindset and heart condition. Evil deeds flow from the heart and mind. The darkness of sin begins to cloud our minds. We too can grow in our love for the darkness. In an unhealthy way, we feel safe in the darkness. We hide under the cover of darkness. Criminal activity increases when it is dark since we know we are less likely to be seen. We all love to keep our sinful thoughts, words, and deeds hidden. We love the darkness that conceals our sin and brokenness. We feel an unhealthy safety that we will not be exposed, embarrassed, or discovered. I think we can all agree that we can be grateful that every thought that enters our heads does not come out our mouths. We should be thankful that every temptation that is entertained in our hearts is not acted upon. But that is the troubling thing about sin and the universal human condition. We may be able to hide it from others. we may even be able to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are not sinful or love the darkness. But we cannot hide it from God.
The Light has come into the world. Jesus Christ is the light who illumines our love of darkness. And he is the one who overcomes the darkness. Just as you cannot heap up darkness to cover the light. Light always cuts through and scatters the darkness. When Jesus reveals our love of darkness—when he exposes our sinful condition, he does not do it so that he can condemn us but in order that we will be saved through him. He has not come for the righteous but the unrighteous. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16,17). This is why we call it good news or the Gospel. Because we no longer need to live in fear that our sin will be discovered. God has known all along. But he has not responded by heaping condemnation upon our guilt and shame. He has responded by sending his beloved Son—to save us from the darkness and our love of it.
He delivers us from the love of darkness into the love of God. God's love for us overcomes our love for the darkness. He does not wait for us to change our own hearts which we cannot do. He did not wait for us to reach out to him. He loves the world in all its brokenness. He has reached out to us through his Son who is the Light and overcomes all our darkness of mind and soul. In Christ, we do not look back at our lives with nostalgia thinking the best things are behind us like the Israelites. No, the best is right before us—the gift of Jesus Christ who lived and died on the cross to overcome all darkness once for all. We have been delivered from the darkness of our sin, the darkness of evil, and the darkness of death itself. He is the light who brings righteousness, goodness, and eternal life. He rose again from the dead so that we too will stand before God without fear of judgment or condemnation. We will not perish but have eternal life.
God would not have the sinner die;
His Son with saving grace is nigh;
His Spirit in the Word declares
How we in Christ are heaven's heirs.
Be of good cheer, for God's own Son
Forgives all sins which you have done;
And, justified by Jesus' blood,
Your Baptism grants the highest good.
("God Love the World So That He Gave" LSB 571, vv. 3-4)
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