"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." John 3:16. This verse is probably the most famous, most familiar verse in the whole Bible. We see it painted on bed sheets and held up at sports games. We see it on small billboard signs out side of evangelical churches. As a teenager I had it posted on my wall in my bedroom. But now that I'm older and a little wiser, I am suspect of fully understanding the real meaning of anything that has become a catch phrase. So this morning, we are going to take a real look at the scripture around this one passage to understand the larger context. And thereby understanding the famous passage and the whole scripture around it.

John3 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the amazing acts, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."

Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to - to God's kingdom."

Nicodemus cocked his head and looked at Jesus funny and said, "How can anyone be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born from above' talk?"

Jesus said, "You're not listening. You are taking me literally. Let me say it again. No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch - the Spirit- and becomes a living spirit.

"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."

Now, while Nicodemus was a leader within the church, he was not a smart man and he was not catching the drift of what Jesus was saying he so asked again, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?"

Jesus answered impatiently, "You are a respected teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Now listen carefully. You're taking me literally. I speaking of the kingdom of God using language from my experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. Instead of listening to what I am saying you are getting bogged down by details and questions. I am using common, everyday, earthy examples here to describe the kingdom of God, and you don't understand. How can you understand if I tell you about heavenly things?

And in the middle of this conversion comes this morning's scripture reading, John 3:13-21. (please read along)

So we can see that it is part of the speech Jesus gives to Nicodemus. Indeed, by this part of the speech Jesus is frustrated with Nicodemus' slowness. He is frustrated that a leader in the church could be so literal. Jesus is using earthly examples so that Nicodemus can understand and believe the spiritual world -the kingdom of God.

The Chevy Nova was a relatively successful American car for many years. Encouraged by U.S. sales, Chevrolet began to market the American Nova throughout the world. Unfortunately, the Nova did not sell well in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Additional ads were ordered, marketing efforts were stepped up, but sales remained stagnant. Sales directors were baffled. The car had sold well in the American market; why wasn't it selling now? When they discovered the answer, it was rather embarrassing: In Spanish, Nova means "no go."

The business world is full of such stories. For example, when Perdue Farms, Inc., converted its popular slogan "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," into Spanish in hopes of expanding its chicken business, the results were less than desirable. Why? The translation was "It takes a virile man to make a chicken affectionate." Not exactly what the company had in mind. (James Emery White, Rethinking The Church, Baker, 1998, p. 38.)

This is the problem Nicodemus is having. Nicodemus knows only one language. And that is the language of earth. It is the only language that any of us knows. Suddenly Jesus appears on the scene and begins speaking the language of Heaven. Nicodemus hears the words "You must be born again, " and he is confused. So he asks, "How can a person go back into his mother's womb and come out again?"

Jesus uses earthy images to describe Heaven throughout this chapter in John. He gives three earthy examples to describe spiritual things:

1. Jesus uses the image of the wind to describe what a person is like who is born again, born of the spirit. The Spirit is like the wind.
2. The second earthly example is Moses lifting up the serpent, which healed and saved people. "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" so that those who believe will be healed and saved and given eternal life. Eternal life is like the healing, saving powers of the serpent that Moses lifted up.
3. The third earthy example is the image of a loving Father and a Son. The earthy image of a son is used to describe Jesus' relationship with God. "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."

While the other gospel books describe Jesus as literally the son of God - that is being conceived by the Spirit and born of to a virgin woman, the gospel of John does not have this birth story. In fact, right from the beginning Jesus is presented to the readers as a spiritual being who has always existed. "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh." So right from the beginning of the gospel Jesus is a spiritual being that can only be described in symbolic language. And his relationship with God can only be described in symbolic language.

In Robert Munch's book Love You Forever, the mother sings to her newborn son, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

This tale of life-long love between mother and growing child is one that sees the adult child returns the care he received as a baby. The theme of loving forever is woven through this scripture passage. Like Love You Forever, this love grows out of relationship. But in today's gospel lesson, forever goes beyond life.

This kind of love, the kind that grows out of relationship is further explained in the passage as Jesus talks about light (another earthy example.)

"And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Light and darkness is, again, earthly language. The light exposes all of our deeds, our motivations and what is in our heart - good and bad. The judgment is that everything will be revealed through Jesus Christ. With Christ comes 100% honesty - honesty to the point that it will be painful.

This may be terrifying to us. Even though we may not be particularly evil people, few of us wants all of our warts and blemishes to show up on the big screen. All of us have a shadow side that we try to hide from the world - our fears, insecurities and anxieties. And some of us are more private than others. And so the idea that Jesus is the light that reveals all may be something that we run from.

In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car.

So often when we run from God, we feel it is to escape his punishment. But what we are actually doing is eluding his rescue.

In the end, all that we have ever done is revealed but Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. Jesus saves us because although he sees through us he still forgives us and loves us. Like a loyal friend, Jesus sees us for who we are and still loves and accepts us for who we are.

Jesus, the spiritual being, speaks to us in the language of Heaven. He speaks to us of being known, accepted, loved and forgiven. And it is through this intimate relationship with him that we can live an everlasting life, a life that is in the presence of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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