Discuss: Have you heard any claims from religious people who say they have gone to heaven, hell, or the world beyond the grave? Are you able to give some examples?
Have you heard of any claims from non-religious people about knowing what what lies beyond the grave from near-death experiences? What do they say?
Do you think that these claims strengthen, weaken, or leave untouched, the claims in the Bible about eternal life, heaven and hell?
1. What is the claim that Jesus makes about heaven in verse 13?
2. What is the significance of the 'Son of Man' title? (v. 13; Dan 7:13-14)
3. Read Numbers 21:4-9 referred to in verses 14-15 and work out what Moses lifting up the snake in the desert teach us about:
(a) What is going to happen to Jesus
(b) How Jesus gives eternal life
(c) What we must do to enjoy eternal life
4. What was the way that God loved the world? (v. 16)
5. What is it about the world that makes God's love so radical?
6. What is it about the Son that makes God's love so radical?
7. Are those in the world into which Jesus came judged and subject to condemnation? Why or why not? (vv. 17-19)
Tracing a Theme: 'God’s Love' in John’s Gospel
Jesus is first and foremost the object of the Father’s love. Jesus was loved by his Father (3:35) before the creation of the world (17:24), and his Father shows him everything (5:20). The Father loves the Son because the Son lays down his life freely (10:17).
The manner and means of God’s love for his human creation is that he gave his only begotten Son in an analogous manner to Moses setting the bronze serpent on a pole (3:14-16). In consequence of the beloved Son’s work, the Father will love those who love and obey Jesus (14:21, 23; 16:27). The disciples are commanded to remain in the love of God (15:10).
Tracing a Theme: ‘The World’ (cosmos) in John's Gospel
The earliest relationship Jesus has to the world is as its creator, and the agency of its creation. The world was created through Jesus (1:10).
Jesus existed before the world did (17:5, 24). From the perspective of Jesus, the world is below (8:23). Jesus is not from the world (8:23) but from heaven and comes into it as ‘the one coming into the world’ for a brief time, after which the world does not see him and he returns to the Father (11:27; 14:19,22; 16:28). Jesus is a king, but not of this world (18:36).
Jesus came into the world as light (3:19, 8:12, 9:5, 12:46), the prophet (6:14), life-giving bread (6:33, 51), and as one speaking the words from God (8:26).
It is not surprising, given that Jesus is not from the world, that the world did not recognize him (1:10; cf. 14:17) and preferred the darkness (3:19). This is in spite of the fact that he made the world (1:10). The world has a ruler (12:31, 14:30) who is judged (16:11)—Satan, or the devil. The world hates Jesus because he exposes its evil works (7:7), and the world also hates the disciples (15:18).
However, God loved the sinful, perishing world (3:16). God sent Jesus into the world not to judge it but to save the world (3:17, 12:48; cf. 4:42). Jesus gives his life for the world (6:33), and takes away the world’s sin (1:29). Jesus does come, however, to bring judgment (9:39), because those in the world are judged for their attitude to Jesus. Jesus has overcome the world (16:33) and he will send the Spirit from the Father to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement (16:8).
Jesus’ disciples are in a sense from the world (17:6), and they are left in the world when Jesus leaves (13:1). Consequently, the world hates them (15:19, 16:33, 17:14), and in this way they are not of the world (17:16). Jesus sends them into the world (17:18) as ‘apostles’, sent ones to witness about him.
8. Why do people not come to Jesus to receive eternal life? (vv. 19-20)
9. God is not the only 'lover' or 'one who loves' in this passage. What is it that humans love?
10. Do you think it is good to have your works exposed/displayed? Why or why not? (vv. 20-21)
Stop and Pray:
Thank God that he loved us by giving up his Son and that we can come to him
Ask God for the courage to come into the light, and for the ability to believe in the Son
Ask God that he would display those good works in you as you come to the light.
What makes a person ‘come out’? What makes a person say, "This is me. Here I am. Here I stand. I’ve nailed my colours to the mast. I’ve gone public." Usually in our society, it’s ‘gay’ people who come out of the closet. They come out because they want to be ‘true to themselves’. They want to be accepted the way they are. And they then live with the way people think of them, for good or ill.
But Christians come out, too! For me, it was putting a notice on the board at the College of Law or at Butterworths, inviting people to a lunch time bible study, or visiting first year classes at uni inviting people to our bible study group. And then you think, once you’ve done it, "I’m out there now. I better watch what I do, because everyone else is." And you live with the way people might look at you, knowing that they will call you hypocrite if you trip up.
Nicodemus has not ‘come out’. He is still a closet disciple of Jesus. And by the end of this night, as far as we know, he’s still in the closet.
We saw that Nicodemus was one of the Jewish leadership. And Nicodemus turns up to see Jesus at night. Nicodemus comes at night because he is afraid. He doesn’t want the other religious leaders to know. He knows that would make life hard for him.
Nicodemus went to tell Jesus that he believes Jesus is from God. No news there for Jesus. Jesus is not impressed with Nicodemus’ admission. Because Jesus doesn’t seek human testimony, even that of John the Baptist. He knows what men are like.
Rather, Jesus gets to the essentials, and says that Nicodemus must be born again. No one will see the kingdom unless he is born of God, born of the Spirit. And Nicodemus, Israel’s teacher, cannot understand it.
In these verses, Jesus says there are four things about himself that Nicodemus need to know. Knowing them might mean that Nicodemus will come into the open as a disciple. And us knowing these things will strengthen us to come out into the open, into the light, as Jesus' disciples, too.
Here are the four things we need to know about Jesus. First, no one has gone into heaven but Jesus. That’s verse 13. Second, everyone must look to the lifted up Lord Jesus to live. That’s verses 14 and 15. Third, God sent his Son out of love, not to condemn. That’s verses 16 to 18. But fourth, Jesus is the light, but men loved darkness instead. That’s verses 19 to 21. These things enable us to come from the darkness into the light.
Nicodemus got it right when he said that Jesus was from God. But Nicodemus didn’t know how right he was. Jesus says in verse 13:
3:13And no one has gone up into heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
Jesus is not just another prophet sent from God. Jesus has a unique heavenly origin. No prophet, before or after, ever claimed this. Jesus claims to be the only one who’s come from heaven, and the only one who’s gone into heaven. There are a number of books and DVDs at Koorong about people going to heaven, and then coming back, and then publishing books, like '90 Minutes in Heaven', 'The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven', 'Heaven is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back'. And there is even one called '23 Minutes in Hell'. [See the review at http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/heaven-is-for-real.] These books are trying to offer real proof that heaven and hell are real.
But what does Jesus say here? Verse 13:
3:13And no one has gone up into heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
This is one reason I reject these books without ever having read them. I don’t need to read them, because these people aren’t Jesus, the Son of Man. So they have dubious credentials to talk about heaven. Don’t buy these books and don’t read them. You will be tempted to give them more weight than the Bible. Because Jesus has given us the only reliable information about heaven and hell in the bible. Only Jesus is the one from heaven. No-one else comes direct from the Father.
Here is another problem with these books. In our world, you will find contrary testimonies. Kerry Packer had a near death experience and so before his death says that there is nothing after death. Well, now he's dead, and unfortunately, he knows better. Or the lady who told me she is an Atheist because she had a near death experience as a child, and so now she knows there is no God and no heaven.
Well, who should you believe? The Atheist near death experience people, or the Christian book writing near death experience people? You shouldn’t believe any of them. You should only believe Jesus. He is the only one who has ever descended from heaven and ascended back into heaven.
Friends, the thing about near death is just that. It is near death. It is not death. Jesus didn’t have a near death experience. He was fully submerged in death, death swallowed him up, and then Jesus punched a hole through death and came out the other side victorious. Believe Jesus, God the only Son, the only one who is from heaven, and what he says about heaven, hell, and the new creation, the resurrection and eternal life, and no one else.
Jesus says that he is from heaven, and so can talk about heaven. But then Jesus talks about things that Nicodemus should be able to understand, because they are from the Old Testament. Verses 14 and 15:
3:14And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, 3:15so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
Jesus here speaks of two things that Nicodemus should know. First is ‘the Son of Man’ of Daniel’s prophecy. And second is Moses’ sticking a snake on a stick to save the sick (Num 21:8).
(a) The Sovereign Son of Man Lifted Up (Daniel 7:13-14)
Jesus uses the phrase ‘Son of Man’ to describe himself. At one level, it is a humble phrase. It seems simply to say that Jesus is human. [4] But Nicodemus knows the Old Testament. He should hear ‘Son of Man’ and think of Daniel’s prophecy, uttered 500 years before Jesus. Daniel Chapter 7 verses 13 and 14:
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14 NIV)
The Son of Man will be exalted and lifted up from the earth with the clouds. The Son of Many will receive the worship of all people. His will be an everlasting kingdom.
(b) Sticking a Snake on a Stick to Save the Sick (Numbers 21:8)
But the exaltation of this ‘Son of Man’ will take a very strange form. The exalted Son of Man will be glorified by being lifted up on a pole. Verses 14 and 15 again:
3:14And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, 3:15so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
Jesus refers to the events that happened Numbers chapter 21 (vv. 4-9). God’s sinful people were wandering in the desert 40 years (Num 13-14). And during that time they complained. So God sent snakes to bite them, which killed many of them. They called out to God for forgiveness, and then we read this:
The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. (Num 21:8-9)
It is interesting that even today, a snake on a pole is a symbol of healing. It is a common symbol used by doctors. For example, the AMA still uses the snake on a pole (called 'the Rod of Asclepius') as its symbol. The symbol is said to come from Greek Mythology. But it is interesting how similar it is to the symbol Moses made.
Looking at the snake on the pole meant that the person trusted God. They accepted that the snakebite was God’s just judgment for their sin. But the symbol of judgment, the snake, was also the means of salvation. God saved everyone with a look at an image of the thing that judged them.
3:14And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, 3:15so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
The Son of Man is the new snake on a stick. Jesus is talking about the cross. In John’s Gospel, Jesus ‘being lifted up’ has a double meaning. Jesus is lifted up, in the sense of being exalted, glorified. But Jesus is also lifted up in the sense of being crucified and humiliated. So Jesus was lifted up in two senses. He was exalted in a humbling way, and he was humbled in an exalted way.
We ‘look at’ Jesus on the cross when we trust Jesus’ death for our salvation. We accept that our death is God’s just judgment for our sin. We believe Jesus died as a substitute for us, that he died for our sins. And as a result, we live. We look at the cross when we believe "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom 6:23).
Do you? Do you believe your death is the just punishment for your sin? Do you believe there is no other way to be saved apart from Jesus’ death and resurrection for you? If you do, then you have looked to the lifted up Lord, and you will live.
And the question is why? Why did God set his only Son up on a pole to be gloriously humiliated? Verse 16:
3:16For God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.
The reason is love. Love is the reason. God loved the world, the world that hated and rejected Jesus, in this particular way and manner. God loved the sinful world in the way that he set Jesus on a pole. He did that so those sick with their sin can look on the Son and live. The ‘so’ in ‘God so loved the world’ really should be translated 'in this way'. It shows not so much the 'how much' as it does the 'how'. It shows what God did to love the world. God loved to the point of giving up his unique, only begotten Son.
It’s not like Jane Austen, in that the wealthy gentleman has four sons, the heir and the spares, and so he can give one for the estate, one for the church, one for the army, and one for the law. No, God the Father only has one eternally begotten Son, and this only Son, God gave up.
The ‘world’ in ‘God so loved the world’ speaks of the type of people God loved. It is a bad world, a world that hated and rejected God. It is John’s way of saying that God loved his enemies who killed his Son. The ‘world’ also points to the number of people God loved. The word ‘world’ shows the extent of God’s love. God loves all nations and peoples, not just the Jews. And of course, that includes you and me. And God’s love includes those out there, who do not (yet) have Jesus as Lord. God eternally saves his church, his elect, in such a way that he also shows his love to all mankind, even those who reject his love. God shows his love even to those whom God fully knows and allows and even purposes that they will reject the free offer of the gospel.
Some people, called 'Five Point Calvinists', say that the ‘world’ only includes the elect, and does not include those who are destined to reject Jesus Christ. Many of these are my good friends, and I agree with on many other things. However, I disagree with them here. I would describe myself as a 'Four And Three Quarter' point Calvinist. That is, we cannot turn the ‘world’ in John 3:16 into the ‘elect’. It is true, from other parts of Scripture, that God does love the elect in a different way than he loves those whom he passes over and doesn’t give the gift of faith. But that doesn’t mean that all people indiscriminately are not part of the 'world' whom God loves. God has shown his love to all people. Moreover, God saves the elect in such a way that he makes the non-elect salvable, if they would only believe the gospel, which God doesn't enable in their case. For just as God sends his sunshine and rain on the righteous and the wicked, so God also sent his Son for humanity as a class to genuinely offer salvation to all. And Jesus firstly saves eternally and irrevocably those whom God chose from before the foundation of the world. But Jesus also demonstrates to the world God’s genuine and sincere offer of salvation to anybody, if they would but believe. God makes that offer to all people without distinction. A free offer of pardon is extended to the most wicked and sinful, if they would simply trust in his Son.
And so I say to you, dear friends: "Take God at his word. Do you have doubts about God’s love? Then look to the stuck up Son of Man, the Messiah on a pole. Jesus Christ is heaven on a stick. Look at the lifted up Lord and see the love of the Father for you. And no matter who you are or what you’ve done, eternal life is yours. Do not doubt that heaven is your home, but believe the promise in all its width: whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life. And so accept that the sending of Jesus the Son is for you, and it will be given to you.
And if that was not enough, God confirms the sincerity of his offer. We read in verse 17:
3:17For God did not send his Son into the world so that he might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
God sincerely desires your salvation, and calls upon all people, every human being, to trust in his Son. Those who do not trust in Christ only have themselves to blame. Verse 18:
3:18The one who believes in him is not judged, but the one who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
It is not as if we come to Christ neutral. We have an inherited bias to sin. We already stand condemned outside of Christ. Before Jesus Christ came into the world, the world was already condemned. Because of our sin, our rebellion against God, we are condemned. Those who do not believe in Christ are rejecting the only way of salvation.
Do you see what a terrible sin it is to not believe in Christ? We don’t think of it this way. We think of not believing in Christ as an accident of birth. "Oh well, they weren’t brought up Christian." Or simply that they are not very religious. Some are into football, or computers, or cars, or scrapbooking, or Jesus.
But the Bible says it is a sin worthy of God’s eternal condemnation not to believe in God’s only Son. God is deeply offended at unbelief. "I gave up my Son for you, I sent him into the world to be nailed naked to a cross for all the world to see, and you couldn’t even be bothered believing in him? Depart from me!"
So we have God’s warning: whoever does not believe stands condemned already. On behalf of God, I plead, and God commands you, believe in Jesus Christ. Don’t condemn yourself by not believing in him.
Well, God loved the dark world, but men loved the darkness. The fact that humans don’t and won’t believe in Jesus Christ is expected, because humans are evil, and love evil. It is evil not to believe in Jesus, and that is what humans are. Verses 19 to 20:
3:19This is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. 3:20For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works might not be exposed.
When I was a boy I used to play footy with my brothers in the backyard. And I remember one winter afternoon with particular fondness. It had been raining and it got dark early. And they were the perfect conditions for backyard tackle footy, for two related reasons. First, because you could get muddy. The ground was soft, so it didn’t hurt when you fell, you could dive and slide for tries, chew up the backyard, and come up a wonderful browny grey colour from head to toe. And the second related reason was, you could do all this, and mum couldn’t see a thing from the family room. You could keep playing without the game being interrupted. But little boys easily forget that verandahs have good fluorescent lights, that mums call their sons in for dinner, and that mums have a vested interest in what happens to little boys clothes. And it was both very gratifying and very scary when the well-lit verandah showed just how evil our deeds had been.
Jesus is light. When we come to him, He shows up our evil. And the exposure of our evil is good, because then we can do the right thing with our evil: confess it, receive the forgiveness that Jesus died to give us, and then by staying near the light so we don’t muddy our clothes again. By coming in the light, we give glory to God. Verse 21:
3:21But the one who does the truth comes to the light, so that his works might be displayed, because they are worked in God.
Do you want to live by truth? Do you want to give God the glory? Then come into the light. Come to Jesus Christ. Don’t let shame for your sins hold you back. By coming to Jesus, coming into the light, your sin, your evil deeds will no longer have power over you. And when we come to Jesus, his blood washes us from sin.
Exposure is good for our evil deeds. Just like Shannon Lush, the 'Queen of Clean', says that UV light, sunlight, is good for removing some stains, so the light of the Son of God is good for our sins. The Son of God will shine his light on us and cleanse us from sin.
The evidence of the reality of our relationship with God is our response to the light. If we are prepared to come to the light, the light reveals our evil works, but it also reveals our good works. Coming into the light reveals those works that were done "in God." The believer's relationship with God produces these works, the works do not produce the relationship: after all, they are "worked in God". Later Jesus will say that the disciples must remain in the vine because apart from their relationship with him, they can do nothing, but if they remain in the vine, they will produce fruit (John 15:1-17).
But sadly, men love darkness more than light. And this is a little dig at Nicodemus. For remember, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. He didn’t want to be seen coming to Jesus.
Nicodemus continues living this double life throughout John’s Gospel. In Chapter 7, Nicodemus could have expressed faith in Jesus, but doesn’t. Yes, he does speak up in Jesus’ defence, and for this, Nicodemus earns the ire of the Chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:47-52). And Nicodemus returns at the end of John’s Gospel, preparing Jesus’ body with Joseph of Arimathea, another secret disciple (John 19:38-42). And then we hear nothing more of Nicodemus, teacher of Israel. Nicodemus is a secret disciple. What is said about Nicodemus is more positive than negative. He identifies with Christ, he stands up for him, he buries his body. I expect to see Nicodemus in heaven.
But let’s leave better evidences than what John records of Nicodemus. Don’t be satisfied with secret faith in the Son of Man. Make it unambiguously clear, by both word and deed, that you believe Jesus is the Christ. Give those you leave behind clear and convincing proofs of your faith in Christ. Let those who survive you know, "Yes, he believed in Jesus Christ. She looked to the lifted up Saviour and lived. He made it clear that what he did, he did through God. Praise the Lord."
And then those that remain can sing with even more joy at your funeral:
To God be the glory, great things he has done. So loved he the world that he gave us his Son. Who yielded his life an atonement for sin. And opened the life gates that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. Oh come, to the Father through Jesus the Son. And give him the glory great things he has done.
Let’s pray
NA28
3:13καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦἀνθρώπου. 3:14Καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσεν τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, 3:15ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
3:16οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ’ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. 3:17οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ. 3:18ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν οὐ κρίνεται· ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται, ὅτι μὴ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.
3:19αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς· ἦν γὰρ αὐτῶν πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα. 3:20πᾶς γὰρ ὁ φαῦλα πράσσων μισεῖ τὸ φῶς καὶ οὐκ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ· 3:21ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα φανερωθῇ αὐτοῦ τὰἔργα ὅτι ἐν θεῷ ἐστιν εἰργασμένα.
My translation
3:13And no one has gone up into heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 3:14And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, 3:15so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
3:16For God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. 3:17For God did not send his Son into the world so that he might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 3:18The one who believes in him is not judged, but the one who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
3:19This is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. 3:20For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works might not be exposed. 3:21But the one who does the truth comes to the light, so that his works might be displayed, because they are worked in God.
In verse 13, the statement, “And no one has gone up into heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man” seems formally to be contradicted by the Old Testament examples of Enoch (Gen 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kgs 2:11), and the experience of Paul, who testifies that he was translated to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:2-5).
Regarding Enoch and Elijah, while we might concede that perhaps Elijah’s ‘spirit’ returned to the mount of transfiguration, neither has returned in a permanent way from the heaven to which they were translated, and certainly not in an incarnated way, and so they are to be distinguished from Jesus. Moreover, wherever they went, and even if we concede it was a heavenly place, we need not say that it the same and certainly not superior to that which was enjoyed by the pre-incarnate Christ. Wherever Enoch and Elijah went, it was likely not to have been to the heights ‘the bosom of the Father’ from which place Jesus came (John 1:18), nor was it in the place of glory that the pre-existent Word enjoyed (John 17:5) as God the monogenes theos.
Regarding Paul, we might say that in some visionary way Paul’s consciousness was taken to heaven. It happened in his head rather than bodily. Paul himself says that he did not know whether it was in the body or apart from the body (2 Cor 12:2-5). Furthermore, Paul was strictly forbidden talking about it. It is true that there is other information given about heaven. God gave information about heaven to John (Rev 1:9). However, it is clear that he was in Patmos, and that was a visionary experience.
In verses 14-15, Jesus being lifted up on the cross is specifically said to be prefigured by Moses lifting up the snake in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up. It is immediately related to believers having eternal life. The verb ὑψόω, ironically can mean ‘exalt’. The verb δεῖ (‘it is necessary’) with the divine passive infinitival complement ὑψωθῆναι (‘to be lifted up, exalted’) suggests that God is offering Christ up on the cross (cf. Rom 3:25), and that this is the nature of the giving of John 3:16 (n.b. οὕτως γὰρ, ‘for in this way’).
For the ‘Son of Man’ (τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) in verse 15, see Daniel 7:13-14. Jesus is bringing together the Son of Man figure with suffering motifs. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, ‘Son of Man’ is a very common phrase, and the Father and Son language is more unusual. In John, Jesus uses the Father and Son language much more frequently about himself, but the ‘Son of Man’ language is less common. The reason is that Matthew, Mark, and Luke emphasise the public Jesus. John is showing much more the private Jesus. At one level, it is a humble phrase. It seems simply to say that Jesus is human. There are plenty examples of Old Testament examples of this (e.g. Ps 8:4, frequently in Ezek, e.g. 2:1ff). But “[i]n John ‘Son of Man’ as a self-referent of Jesus has a more varied usage, the most characteristic being those sayings that speak of the exultation of the Son of Man, an expression that makes a double allusion to the cross and exaltation of Jesus” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 981, and cf. John 1:51, 3:14, 6:53, 8:28, 9:35, 12:34).
In verse 16, we usually read that God ‘so’ loved the world. Jesus is the unique sent one in John’s Gospel, and the manifestation of God’s love is that he gave his only-begotten Son. A number of expositors and English translations take the adverb οὕτως as implying extent and degree of the love, ‘so’, but the more normal meaning of the word is ‘in this way’, ‘thus’, and hence the manner of love is being indicated, in that the Son was set upon a pole, to be gazed upon by people that they might live. The giving of the Son of God is reminiscent of the offering of Jephthah’s daughter (Jdg 11) and Abraham’s abortive sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22). God did what he did not ultimately require Abraham to do. Regarding the phrases ‘the only begotten Son [of God]’, τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ (v. 16) and τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (v. 18), see the exegetical notes on John 1:14, 18.
At the formal level, verse 17 (οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ) appears to be a contradictory statement to 9:39 (Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· εἰς κρίμα ἐγὼ εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἦλθον, ἵνα οἱ μὴ βλέποντες βλέπωσιν καὶ οἱ βλέποντες τυφλοὶ γένωνται), but there is no real contradiction. The first statement shows that Jesus didn’t come into the world to bring condemnation—that is, final eschatological punishment, but exactly the opposite, eternal life, salvation, since the world was already condemned, and the purpose of his being sent and lifted up was for him to be the bringer of eternal life for those who believe in him. The judgement of which 9:39 speaks is not final judicial condemnation and punishment that will be meted out at the eschaton, but the theme of divine reversal, that those commonly thought to be accepted by God (those religious leaders of the Jews who physically can see, but who are spiritually blind because they reject Jesus), and the physically blind man who accepts Jesus. The fact is that though there is a judgement on the religious leaders, it is not a final judgement, but a provisional judgement because of their unwillingness to recognize that Jesus is the Christ, that will not result in punishment if they instead believe in the Son.
There are no quotation marks in the original. Context and style only determine where the quote ends. Morris and Carson both argue that verses 16-21 are editorial comment by John (Morris 1971: 228, Carson 1991: 203-4), and this seems a sound judgement, based on the following facts:
Verse 15 ends with the phrase ‘Son of Man’, and only Jesus uses this expression in the four Gospels. This suggests verse 15 is a quote from Jesus.
In verse 16, Jesus’ death on the cross appears to be spoken of as a past event.
Jesus does not usually refer to God as ὁ θεὸς as verse 16 does.
The adjective μονογενῆς (vv. 16, 18, cf. 1:18) is elsewhere only applied to Christ by John the Evangelist.
The use of γὰρ is consistent with John’s authorship.
The expressions πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα (v. 18) and ὁ […] ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν (v. 21) are not found elsewhere in Jesus’ speeches but are found elsewhere in John’s writings.
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