If there was just one verse in the Bible, everyone should know by heart, which one would it be?  If you grew up as a Bible Belt Baptist like me, John 3:16 was that verse.   I could recite it from 4th grade on until it could be said in one breath, like it was one word,

"Godsolovedtheworldthathegavehisonlybegottensonthatwhosoeverbelievesinhimshallnotperishbuthaveeternallife!"

You may have noticed John 3:16 signs in public places, held up behind the football goalposts so people can see it when the extra point is kicked. "It's good! (John 3:16)." Is the idea people would put down their Buffalo hot wings to save their immortal soul?

This verse became so ubiquitous that you could call American Evangelicalism "John 3:16 Christianity." It was the core of Billy Graham's revivals, Campus Crusade, etc.  I think the author of John’s Gospel intended this verse to be a summary of Jesus’ theology of love and light.  However, the verse got absorbed into a theology of judgement and punishment which was not the intent.  This morning, I want to contrast two different views on the work of Christ.  The first view believes that God sent Jesus as judge to take punishment for our sins so we can be forgiven.  I believe John’s view is Jesus came as the light to lead us to a life-giving relationship with God.

 Here is how salvation works in the sacrifice/punishment model.   We are sinners, and this upsets God. We deserve punishment, and what is a just God to do? God can't let us off, or some people will do whatever they want. It will be chaos. So, Jesus, the Divine-Human, is sent to take on our punishment so our debt is relieved. The crucifixion sets the score straight (much like the game-winning kick of the ball through the uprights!), and if you believe in Jesus (and this process) and stop sinning, then you will go to heaven. But if you don't stop, read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to discover the eternal punishment that awaits you. This theology is known as Substitutionary Atonement, meaning Jesus dies in our place.

The trouble is John’s Gospel does not support this theology. How did "God so loved the world" become a theology of judgment, where God slams down the gavel against us?  John never once says Jesus must die in our place to satisfy God’s anger at sin.   The Substitutionary Atonement is not the early belief of the church, it is not contained in the Apostles or Nicene Creed.  John tells us who Jesus is in multiple ways, he is the Good Shepherd, the bread of life, the living water, the vine from which we are the branches.  John is most eloquent when he says Jesus is the light of the world, the light shining in the darkness which the darkness cannot overcome.     

The roots of substitutionary death theology come from the 11th century with Anselm of Canterbury. It made sense in context of the feudal order. European lords lived in defensive castles surrounded by village folk who paid homage- in words, deeds, money, and goods. In return, the lords were to protect them from roving bands of vandals and hostile neighboring estates. The Lord of the Manor was the justice system, and if his honor was offended, a moral debt was incurred. The serfs had to pay a fine or take a punishment. Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "I demand satisfaction." The word satisfaction meant honor had been offended, and a debt had been paid.

Anselm saw God as the Sovereign Lord of the feudal universe. If we sin, God's honor is offended, and we have broken the order of the universe. The debt needs to be paid, but we mortals cannot pay it, so either we are stuck in eternal punishment, or someone immortal must come along and take our punishment, so Jesus was seen as taking this role. If you were an 11th-century serf, you might find some relief from this view. Your world was the village you lived in.   The earth was flat, and the sun, moon, and stars revolved around us in our English village. This theology worked because it fit their world. When they heard the words, "God so loved the world," the feudal order of things was the world God loved.

But we must hear scripture in a fresh way because this is our world.

Earth with clouds above the African continent

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

  Think briefly about what "world" means when we look at this view from orbit. It does not mean God loved only Europeans or only Americans; it does not say that God so loved only Catholics, Protestants, or even only Christians. It doesn't even say God so loved the church or the true believers. God so loved the world.   The world God loves does not have all these convenient national boundaries drawn in for us. God gets the Apollo view of the world of oceans, deserts, and rainforests, and some bright lights at night to show that there are humans here.

Here is another way to think of the world. The Greek word for world will probably blow your mind. It is kosmos. God so loved the Cosmos. Not simply our tiny, blue planet, but the sun, moon, stars, the giant Horseshoe nebula, all the galaxies hidden in the Big Dipper, Quasars, Supernovas, black holes, and dark matter. That is God's world.

two stars in the middle of a black sky

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

The point is- that our view of world is constantly expanding, and it changes everything, including:

·      the ways that we have defined reality,

·      the theories by which we have sliced and diced how things work,

·      the boundaries we have drawn on the map,

·      the ways we determine who is on our side,

·      who belongs to God and who doesn't,

·      the certainties we defend,

·      the things we argue and fight about,

·      the stuff we stress and worry over,

All these seem insignificant when we define world as cosmos. It has taken us millions of years, to develop our brains and our civilizations to this point so we can finally scratch the surface of what Cosmos is. I think our species has finally made it to Jr. High. We are at the age where God can't tell us anything anymore, but we are still impulsive, self-centered, and worry too much about what everyone thinks about us.

Cosmos has a second meaning; it is not just the vast reaches of the universe but also "the order of things." Greek philosophy loved to contemplate the order of things, from geometry, architecture, statutes of the ideal human form, and the perfect government. Cosmos refers to the way things are ordered at every level: the human body, the family structure, the changing seasons, and the political climate; it is all interconnected. If the Greeks could have discovered the subatomic world, their joy would have been complete. If Plato had known that his chair, a solid object upon which he sits, was really billions of fast-moving subatomic particles crashing into each other at an astonishing rate to appear solid, he would have been in rapture. And we could probably use a little more awe and wonder in our worldview. The Cosmos, from electrons to quasars, is stupendous. No wonder God loves it and calls us to love it as well.

John’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus as God’s love walking among us.  The author compels the reader with the invitation to wonder and joy, not the threat of punishment.  This Gospel is the favorite of mystics and contemplatives because it compels us to seek a rich relationship with the living God.  Follow the light.  Abide in the vine.  Love one another.  My favorite verse in John 10:10, “I can that you might have life and have it abundantly.

John was also realistic about the problems of the world.  People often chose darkness over light.  This is the great crisis of humanity. The world also has disorder. People reject how things should be, they fail to love, ignore the interconnections and relatedness of living things, and injustice results. John sees a world that is alienated from its creator. He lived in a time of great persecution, as the Roman Emperor Diocletian was persecuting Christians. John's Gospel makes a profound statement about this disorder. God does not simply love the good and reject and judge the bad. God loves the disordered nature of humanity as well, and seeks to reconcile it with love. John 3:17 says, “Christ came not to judge the world by to save it.”

Save it…salvation…Latin:salve…English: salve…that which heals the wound.

John's Gospel is the only one to contain the words of Jesus, as he carries his cross, and he is being jeered and says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." That is how God reconciles through Jesus. This Jesus does not die on a cross to satisfy God's honor and wrath at sin, but to show God's reconciling love even as humanity does its worst. God loves the Cosmos, even the angry crowds, the unjust rulers, and the imperfect people we all can be. God so loved the world…and still does. That seems about as awesome to me as all the wonders of the cosmos. This is my hope. A light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.