But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God

 

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." 

 

- John 3:16-21 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.  There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

 

  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study Bible comments on today's passage that while Christ came to save and not to condemn, human beings have free will.  Therefore, a person can reject this gift.  But through one's own rejection, one will not be saved and is therefore "condemned" in that sense.  In the Prologue to John's Gospel, we read, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).  The self-exile of rejection, therefore, becomes a deprivation of that right to become children of God, because of the choice not to receive the the light He offers, the "true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world" (John 1:9).

 

 John writes, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  Christ comes into the world on a saving mission.  We can take the image He gives of Himself as the "stronger man" when He is accused by the religious leaders of casting out demons by the power of demons, as illustration of a Deliverer or Savior.  In Mark's Gospel, Jesus asks, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" (Mark 3:23-27).  This is the image of one who has come to take a strong man's fortress; the initial strong man is the devil who holds people hostage in this world (his "goods").  But Christ is the stronger, who can bind the strong man, and plunder his goods, delivering people from captivity.  This was an image of what it meant that Christ could exorcise demons, to set free and to heal.  So we can look at that particular image He gives of Himself and think of His mission to save the world in those terms.  We can think of those "captive" to the darkness (for any particular reason) who reject the help of the "stronger man," of the Light coming into the world to penetrate that darkness.  Suppose we refuse that help?  Suppose we identify with the darkness instead, and refuse to be "set free" from what we're used to, in the home or fortress of the strong man we know?  This is what it means to fail to receive the Light, to fail to  receive Christ, and reject faith in Him.   Once again, we look carefully at the language of faith to understand belief as "trust," which is the root of the Greek used here.  It implies not so much an intellectual belief about Jesus, as it does a deep experiential response to the Person of Christ, to the Light itself, to the truth.   John provides us with a deeper motivation for the rejection, and John's language employed here indicates not a simple choice or preference, but rather what people love ("men loved darkness rather than light"), and for that matter, what is a first love.  And yes, that word in the Greek text means "love."  This is about a deep response of the heart and soul, not an intellectual persuasion.  We do not love by intellect or even emotion alone, but love comes from a place deeply linked to who we are.  The one act of choice here is in our works, in the "deeds" we do.  And that, indeed, is where we may be asked to change.  What is it we need to hide from the light, and why?  And we must ask, from whom are these deeds thought to be hidden?  For the One who comes to save is the "Heart-knower" from whom nothing is hidden.  But darkness blinds us to this too.  Let us consider only what it means to hide from One who loves us better than we love ourselves, who knows us thoroughly, and wants life and healing for us.  For this is what is refused, and we can only ponder the unfortunate reasons why.