An Holy Message

Heard a super Sermon this past Sunday, listen to it here.

The Lectionary readings were:

Numbers 21:4-9
Psalms 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3: 14-21

Before the Priest began speaking I was struck with a thought from the Numbers reading (the one about the Israelites questioning Moses as a result of their impatience in the wilderness, God punishing their impatience sending poisonous serpents among them, Moses praying for forgiveness, God directing him to make a bronze serpent, erecting it upon a pole and thereafter any who were bitten could look upon the pole and live.) Since I had recently finished an EFM chapter on suffering, including references to Job, it’s not surprising that the thought came to mind: “He didn’t make it easy, but He did provide the way.”

During Andrea’s message I took a completely new outlook on the second half of John 3:16. You see, I’ve long thought the first half of the verse is far and away the most salient. “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son,”. End of story, finis, nothing else need be said.

But… suppose in interpreting the second half of the verse (“that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”), we assume the “Him” refers to God (in total) and not only His manifestation as The Christ as commonly interpreted? I am not a bible scholar and while I’ve read multiple translations they have all been in English. If you asked me to read: “See Spot, see Spot run.” in Greek I’d be up a creek with no Indian outboard. I wasn’t even part of the Greek system in college a few (many) years back, so I don’t propose any level of knowledge in translation. However, following my train of thought could seem to give the passage a whole new meaning regarding inclusiveness.

Quien sabe?