Living Stones – Friday, November 24, 2017
Condemnation
John 3:18
“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.
Jesus often uses strong terms that leave no room for ambiguity or compromise. In this next stage of His conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21, Jesus introduces another matter – condemnation.
Condemnation is almost a legal term applied to persons who have been found guilty without reservation after evidence had been presented and examined. There seem to be at least two parts to condemnation. First, there is the conclusion of the process to determine that a person deserves to be condemned, and the second is that person’s experience of living under condemnation. (The first is like a judge in the court finding someone guilty, and the second is the time that person spends in prison.)
Pressing Nicodemus on a legal issue was appropriate because, as we have seen, Nicodemus was described as “a ruler of the Jews.” This means that he was no ordinary Pharisee but was a member of the 70-member Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. There they had religious jurisdiction over every Jew in the world, and one of their duties was to examine and deal with anyone suspected of being a false prophet. They could condemn anyone found guilty.
Jesus was pressing in on Nicodemus from every front and, so when he moved to the legal, Jesus told him that the Messiah was not going to come to condemn. The Jews were hoping that the Messiah would come and free them from their Roman colonial masters, but Jesus said the Messiah is here for men’s salvation and to make a way for them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, not to solve the political problems. In other words, Jesus was here to get those persons already condemned out from under the burden of condemnation.
Jesus’ position was that the persons He was talking to were already condemned. Nicodemus too. The basis of this condemnation was a failure to accept Jesus as the Messiah, “he who does not believe is condemned already.”
Jesus is saying that any person who does not believe in Him is deemed to have already been through the process to determine their guilt. They have been accused, tried, judged, and the sentence was passed, and they are now living as condemned persons.
The claims of Christ are exclusive. Jesus pushed this matter of His exclusivity even further in John 14:6 saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. And Paul restates this in his letter to young Timothy writing, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”1 Timothy 2:5
The exclusive claim of Jesus is a very troubling thing to the modern mind. We now live in a time where our leaders talk about diversity and about inclusivity as hallmarks of progressive societies and push back against nationalists and separatists. This is an especially important issue as our countries struggle to have persons of different races, cultures, and religious backgrounds find ways to live together without conflict. Those who want to push for exclusivity are considered too narrow, and they are criticised and condemned.
The philosophy of many political leaders around the world is pluralism. Pluralism is a political philosophy based on the recognition and affirmation of diversity within a political body, which permits the peaceful coexistence of different interests, convictions and lifestyles. (Wikipedia)
We live in plural societies and always will. Migration and marriage across ethnic and religious lines have always taken place. In the Old Testament we see God working to fashion an exclusive people, but even then there were always minorities among the people and there were always neighbouring peoples with whom many inevitably intermarried.
Many religious leaders have also embraced ideas of pluralism and, often for peace sake, have declared that all ways that men try to reach God are equally valid. This also leads to the position that God loves everyone and so any lifestyle is also valid.
Jesus is here telling Nicodemus that in spite of the internal religious divisions among the Jews and in spite of the social, cultural, and political divisions in the wider society, in spiritual terms all men who do not believe in Jesus are condemned already. What men need is to find the exclusive way to God through Jesus Christ.
The way that the Apostle John writes we never get the response of Nicodemus to this statement from Jesus. We, however, have to respond to this. We are living in societies where the pressure is to give space to every idea, every belief, every choice, every right, and every orientation. We have to display tolerance because the only thing that society is prepared to condemn today is intolerance.
Our challenge every day is to find ways to establish genuine and productive relationships with those who are different from us while still holding on to the exclusive claims of Christ. The reality though is that our lives are intertwined with those who are different. Every day we trade goods and services with those who are different, we share waiting room space with those who are different, and we share school and workspace with those who are different.
Nevertheless, we are all under pressure when our people, those who are like us because of race, or other ethnic factors, or religion, are under pressure. We share the pain of oppression in our own community and for those like us anywhere in the world. The tendency is to line up with our clan and tribe in the face of the threat from the others.
Here is Jesus to Nicodemus if we think about it this way. You want to know if I am the real Messiah because a false Messiah is a religious, social and political problem for the Jews. There would be dissent among the Jews and, we would ultimately come into political conflict with the Romans. However, the real problem is men’s separation from God and I am the Messiah. If men come to Jesus we begin to address the real problem.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1
Think on these things:
- How are we to hold exclusive or absolute views in an increasingly plural world?
- How do we engage with people who we believe are already condemned?
- How do we share an exclusive faith in Christ without offending and undermining the efforts at social harmony?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today for the wisdom to effectively share our exclusive faith in Christ in a more inclusive society.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex