Lesson 7

John 3:1-18 and Numbers 21:4-9. Then read the second story in John 8:2-11. As you read the biblical narratives, highlight the words or phrases that catch your attention.

LET’S STUDY

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. As such, he carefully observed the law and held high the traditions of the elders. His name, though Greek, was used among the Jews. But he was no ordinary Jew; he was a ruler of the Jews, most likely a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews (John 7:45-52). He kept the law, he taught the law, he interpreted the law; he seemed to have it all together.

The diplomatic ruler began his conversation with Jesus with an impressive assertion: “ ‘Rabbi, we know that You have come from God … for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him’ “ (John 3:2). Curiously, Nicodemus speaks in the first person, plural (“we know”). He represents a group, a ruling group of educated and religious people.

Skipping the flattery, Jesus introduces His shattering comment with an emphatic, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you’“ (John 3:3). In one sentence Jesus overthrows the entire means of salvation that Nicodemus believed in. In the only passage in this Gospel that mentions the kingdom of God (verses 3 and 5), Jesus explains that whatever Nicodemus stands for is not enough for salvation. Jesus then addresses Nicodemus in the second person, plural, perhaps sending a message to the group he represents (or to the entire human race): “‘Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You [you people] must be born again” ‘ “ (John 3:7). I guess many of us are startled when we realize that our law-keeping is not enough for salvation.

Then Jesus tells a snake story. Nicodemus knew the history of Israel like the back of his hand. Jesus decides to explain salvation through this story found in Numbers 21:4–9. Take a moment to read it.

The people of Israel are tired and impatient. They hate the food. They hate everything. God removes His protection from them in the middle of the miserable desert. Venomous snakes start biting people, and many die. Israel repents. They ask Moses to intercede with God on their behalf. And God comes up with a seemingly ridiculous antidote to snakebites: “ ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard [pole]; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live’ “ (verse 8). It is only natural to want to drink something or inject something to counteract the venom. This is how an antidote works; you get it into your system. But salvation in this case happened when those who were bitten looked in faith to the bronze serpent. Salvation was outside their system, hanging on a pole.

The best known verse of the entire Bible is found in this narrative: “ ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him’ “ (John 3:14-17).

Why would Jesus identify Himself with a snake? Doesn’t the serpent represent the devil, evil, and sin? Oh, yes! That’s the beauty of this typology (symbol): “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Spend a few moments asking God to impress you with what this exchange means for us personally.

Nicodemus had to understand that salvation comes from Jesus’ perfect life and death, not from our keeping of the law. Nicodemus was confused. He thought that law and tradition saved him. He didn’t know that he had been bitten. That night Jesus offered him the antidote: Himself. The law reflects God’s character and principles for life. We should study it and follow it; it is good. But it does not save us, only the Antidote does.

LET’S UNDERSTAND

GRACE, LAW AND JUDGMENT: God’s law gives us a glimpse into His character, and the beauty He intends for humanity. It is not an arbitrary set of “rules,” but a description of the wholeness that His kingship brings about in our lives. We can truly say with the apostle Paul, “The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). We can summarize the role of the Law in the Christian’s life in three main categories:

Unfortunately, because of our fallen nature, the law of God cannot save us, even though it is good and holy. God had to come up with a plan, apart from the Law, to save us. This surprising plan is called grace, and it was fulfilled when Jesus took our place at the cross. The apostle Paul wrote: “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:21-24). This is the relationship between grace, law, and judgment. When we talk about being “justified,” we already know the verdict of the judgment: we are declared “just” or “not guilty” on account of the ransom paid by Jesus, which we accept by faith (see Rom. 3:25, 26). That’s why those who are under grace are no longer under the judgment of the law.

Commenting on Romans 3:21-26, Douglas J. Moo summarizes these concepts with pristine clarity: “Paul, then, is indicating that all people fail to exhibit that ‘being-like-God’ for which they were created; and the present tense of the verb, in combination with Romans 8, shows that even Christians ‘fall short’ of that goal until they are transformed in the last day by God… . Paul uses the verb ‘justify’ (dikaioõ) for the first time in Romans to depict his distinctive understanding of Christian salvation. As Paul uses it in these contexts, the verb ‘justify’ means not ‘to make righteous’ (in an ethical sense) nor simply ‘to treat as righteous’ (though one is really not righteous), but ‘to declare righteous.’ No ‘legal fiction,’ but a legal reality of the utmost significance, ‘to be justified’ means to be acquitted by God from all ‘charges’ that could be brought against a person because of his or her sins. This judicial verdict, for which one had to wait until the last judgment according to Jewish theology, is according to Paul rendered the moment a person believes. The act of justification is therefore properly ‘eschatological,’ [end time events] as the ultimate verdict regarding a person’s standing with God is brought back into our present reality. Characteristic also of Paul’s theology is his emphasis on the gift character of this justifying verdict; we are ‘justified freely by his grace.’ ‘Grace’ is one of Paul’s most significant theological terms. He uses it typically not to describe a quality of God but the way in which God has acted in Christ; unconstrained by anything beyond his own will. God’s justifying verdict is totally unmerited. People have done, and can do, nothing to earn it. This belief is a ‘theological axiom’ for Paul and is the basis for his conviction that justification can never be attained through works, or the law (cf. Rom. 4:3-5, 13-16; 11:6), but only through faith” (Moo, The Epistle to the Romans [NICNT], pp.226-228).

Fill in the blanks with your own name:

“For God so loved, that He gave His only begotten Son, that.[who] believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

GRACE AND WHOLENESS: God desires a life of happiness and wholeness for His children. His grace provides freedom from and freedom to opportunities: freedom from shame, guilt, and habits that enslave us; and freedom to live our lives with joy, gratitude, and purpose for His glory and our happiness. There is no greater power for transforming our lives than the power of grace. Unlike other extrinsic, outward motivators, grace motivates intrinsically, from within.

Ellen White wrote: “In His act of pardoning this woman and encouraging her to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of perfect righteousness. While He does not palliate sin, nor lessen the sense of guilt, He seeks not to condemn, but to save. The world had for this erring woman only contempt and scorn; but Jesus speaks words of comfort and hope. The Sinless One pities the weakness of the sinner, and reaches to her a helping hand. While the hypocritical Pharisees denounce, Jesus bid her, ‘Go, and sin no more.’…

“Men hate the sinner, while they love the sin. Christ hates the sin, but loves the sinner. This will be the spirit of all who follow Him. Christian love is slow to censure, quick to discern penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of holiness, and to stay his feet therein” (White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 462).

Knowing yourself loved by God, in spite of everything you have done or have become, is the beginning of a new life. This is why it is so important to pay attention to the order of Jesus’ words, because he speaks to us in the same manner. First, “I don’t condemn you.” Then, “Go, sin no more.” His love and grace precede our confession, repentance, and transformation.

LET’S REFLECT

One beautiful, sunny day my husband, Patrick, was walking with a friend on a bridge above the busy Panamericana, a high-speed freeway in Buenos Aires. The bridge was designed for cars, but it also had a pedestrian walkway with a metal barrier approximately four feet high on the side of the bridge. Halfway across the bridge, they noticed a man with a distressed look on his face standing by the side of the bridge. Having noticed the unusual expression in the man’s eyes, Patrick turned around to see if the man was OK. He saw the man swing one of his legs over the railing. Patrick started running; when he got to the stranger, the man had already managed to swing his other leg over the barrier, and was now ready to jump onto the busy traffic below. A fall would mean a certain death.

Without a second to spare, Patrick grabbed the man from behind and held him with both arms. The metal barrier was between them, but it was short enough for Patrick to be able to lock his own hands around the man’s chest, preventing him from jumping. The man screamed, “Let me go! Let me go!” But Patrick kept telling the man, “God loves you! God loves you!”

Time froze as they wrestled: the man toward death, Patrick toward life. After a few minutes, the man started crying, explaining that for three days he had been unable to purchase milk for his baby daughter. He was desperate, with no money, and no way out. Sobbing, he told Patrick that he was a Christian, but that he had become too desperate to think straight. He was helpless and hopeless. When this desperate man lost his ability to hang on, God held on to him with a strong grip; in this case, through Patrick’s arms

 

Write an instance from your daily life that comes to mind in this session:

 

Read John 8:2-11 once again. The scribes and Pharisees used the Law of Moses to condemn this woman. Is the Law opposed to grace? How do you reconcile the fact that the same God who wrote the tablets of the Law, also wrote on the ground that day and did not condemn the guilty woman (see John 8:6-11)?

 

 

Jesus announced the sentence, and said that anyone without sin could throw a stone. Why didn’t He throw a stone, since He was the only One without sin? “Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you. Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11). Why is the order of Jesus’ words to the woman so important for us?

 

 

Repeat these words of Scripture aloud until you believe what they say:

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… . For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, Not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:1, 38, 39).

LET’S COMPREHEND JESUS IN SCRIPTURE

In this section we will further explore the relationship between God’s holy, perfect law, and the grace we receive through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. The charge against this woman is clear: adultery. It was a serious charge, even mentioned in the Ten Commandments (see Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). The Jewish law required witnesses to make such a charge; therefore, the narrative clearly states that this woman was caught “in the very act” (verse 4). For Jews, adultery was one of the three gravest sins; they would rather die than find themselves caught in idolatry, murder, or adultery. The scribes and Pharisees refer to the Law of Moses: “ ‘Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?’ “ (verse 5).

Two passages in the Pentateuch deal with such laws: Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22–24. In Leviticus 20:10, if a man has sexual relations with the wife of a neighbor, both are to be put to death. The method of execution is not identified. The law in Deuteronomy 22:22-24 required stoning only when the girl was a virgin engaged to be married. In this case there is no mention of a man present to receive the death penalty; and this is not taking place at the gate of the city. No doubt the scribes and Pharisees were manipulating the law. The narrative tells us that their motive was to test Jesus “so that they might have grounds for accusing Him” (verse 6).

But apart from all the excuses and manipulations of her accusers, the woman was truly guilty! At this point, you may insert your own sin about which you wonder if Jesus’ blood can cover it: adultery, abortion, pride, stealing, murder of body or soul, bad parenting, lying, self-righteousness, etc. We can all think of something. If you can’t, read 1 John 1:10. We are all as guilty as the adulterous woman, and we know this sentence applies to us: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

Now we are ready to experience what the adulterous woman experienced that day. Only those who understand the bad news can rejoice with the good news. “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’

“She said, ‘No one, Lord.’

“And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more’ “ (verses 10, 11).

Jesus aborted this execution. But a few days later, the only One who was qualified to throw the stone, did throw the stone. But He threw the stone at Himself In doing, so He took the penalty that she deserved, that we all deserve. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, John records Him as saying, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

What was finished? All condemnation against those who believe in Jesus was finished, because the sinless Son of God took humanity’s death penalty upon Himself. The entire sacrificial system of the Jewish Scriptures pointed to this very moment. No wonder that in the first chapter of this Gospel (verse 29), Jesus is introduced as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus still speaks to us in the same order. First, “I do not condemn you”; then, “Go … sin no more.” God wants us to live healthier lives for His glory and for our happiness. But He never reverses the order. He never says, “Sin no more, then I won’t condemn you.” He has already paid our death penalty on the cross. If we accept that, we are not condemned; if we reject it, we are judged guilty: “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

LET’S RESPOND TO GOD’S AMAZING LOVE

There are days, sometimes weeks, months, and years, when we feel condemned, guilty as charged. Sometimes other people condemn us; sometimes we condemn ourselves. Guilt is heavy, and it disables us by not allowing us to become who God has designed us to be. I urge you, in the name of Jesus who aborted the execution in the temple court, to be free today. Let’s respond to His grace. Let’s place ourselves in the middle of the temple court. Ready? This visualization might be useful:

Sit on the floor and close your eyes; imagine yourself in the center of the court. You know you are guilty. Perhaps no one else knows. Listen to the charge against you, that you deserve to die: this is the bad news. Now confess your sin and claim Jesus’ blood on your behalf. Then listen to Jesus’ response: “I don’t condemn you; go and sin no more.” This is the good news. Leave your burden at the foot of the cross. Get up from the ground, and go on to live a life for God’s glory as His Spirit enables you. You are now ready to move on! Write this verse on a piece of paper and tape it to your mirror, the one you use every morning: “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).

His grace is sufficient, and His love is amazing!