2024-03-10 Sermon – The Son Of Man Be Lifted Up
March 10, 2024 Fourth Sunday of Lent
The Son of Man be lifted up
John 3: 14-21
As I watched spring coming to Texas last week, I came to realize that spring
is light. Bright light comes out of the trees. One day I found white flowers
blossoming on a tree in Veterans Park. Definitely, that day, there was only one
tree that bloomed. Then a few days later, flowers appeared on many trees on the
streets. The gray atmosphere was radically transformed into a bright one. I said to
myself, “What a great light of spring it is!”
The shining sun spreads light brightly. I thought spring comes from light.
Then, the celebration of green began. Leaves began to sprout on the trees.
Dandelions bloomed yellow flowers in the grassy fields. When the wind blows,
the leaves sway, dancing in green, and I really wanted to shout out. I think of Lent
as a time when the universe stretches out its body to welcome spring and
resurrection.
Today, we read the gospel according to John, chapter 3. The Gospel of John
portrays Jesus, “the Word made flesh.” Jesus came into our world, which is a
cosmic event, beyond history.
- The Word became flesh
Chapter one of the gospel according to John came to me as such a great
exclamation. Can you imagine what the meaning of “the Word became flesh”
was?
In Numbers 21: 4-9, God sent poisonous snakes to the people in order to
deliver judgment for complaining and speaking against God and Moses and
wanting to go back to Egypt (a lack of belief). After suffering some of their
punishment, the people repented and asked Moses to intercede for them. God took
the means of judgement and turned it into the means of their salvation and
restoration to life. Anyone who is bit by a snake need only look at the snake
hanging on the pole and they would not die from the poison.
Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
Son of Man be lifted up.”(John 3: 14)
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John 3:16 came out of this difficult and paradoxical setting of Jesus’
nighttime conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus. A learned and devout man,
Nicodemus was having a tough time grasping this concept of being “born again”
and of just how much God loves all of creation–enough to come into the world as
the Son and be lifted up, exalted in such a scandalous and countercultural way.
Last week, I watched a movie called “The Chosen.” The scene of Jesus’
meeting with Nicodemus was quite impressive. Jesus spoke a warm message to
Nicodemus from his heart. Watching the healing of Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus
was deeply moved by Jesus. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Follow me” and invited
him to a place of Capernaum, promising to stay for a few days before leaving.
Nicodemus desired to follow Jesus but hesitated due to his status and position.
Instead, he left a handful of golden coins in that spot. Nicodemus watched Jesus
and his disciples’ leaving, hiding behind a pillar, rolling his feet for longing to
follow Jesus. It deeply touched me.
Why did Jesus say, just as Moses lifted up the serpent, “so must the Son of
Man be lifted up”? The Son of Man must be lifted up, like Moses’ lifting up the
serpent. Why? Someone must sacrifice for the salvation of others. This truth is
harsh and often rejected by modern people. Nevertheless, it contains a profound
reality of truth.
The events of the Old Testament are realized by Jesus. The stories of the Old
Testament are revived through Jesus as events of salvation. This time, instead of a
serpent hanging on a tree, Jesus himself came and hung on the cross for the sake of
all people. It has been 2000 years since that event. So now, shouldn’t we
understand these words and live them in our lives like Jesus? Shouldn’t we also
embody the Word with our lives?
If there had been no disobedience among the Israelites, there would have
been no need to lift up the bronze serpent on a pole. Our mistakes and sins always
require someone to make a sacrifice. When a child did something wrong, the
parents would suffer. While we cannot explain everything through causality, we
must encounter Jesus, the One who appeared for the sake of God’s grace.
- The Word became flesh
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The incarnation of the Word means that God’s love is manifested in a
tangible way. Through whom? Through Jesus, and now through you and me;
through those who read and understand the Word of God.
I think of Albert Schweitzer. He was originally a theologian. In his book
“The Quest of the Historical Jesus,” Schweitzer examined the historical context of
Jesus’ life and sought to understand Jesus as a historical figure rather than
interpreting him through the lens of contemporary theological perspectives. This
work had a significant impact on biblical studies and the quest for the historical
Jesus.
Desiring to live like Jesus, he changed his life direction and studied
medicine and went to Africa. I think of the missionaries who came to Korea
because I, as a Korean, believe in Jesus through them. Schweitzer and American
missionaries lived like Jesus in the 19th and 20th centuries. Through the genuine
sacrifice of missionaries, Africans believed in Jesus. Koreans experienced
remarkable transformations. As Jesus said, through those missionaries, Jesus was
lifted up again. If anyone saw the uplifted Jesus, they were saved.
When Jesus came to the land of Israel, Nazareth, he personally performed
the salvation events which were like the Exodus and the journey through the
wilderness that Moses had undertaken. John described those events of Jesus as
“The Word became flesh and lived among us.” He also proclaimed, “we have seen
his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
It is finally expressed as John 3: 16. John 3:16-17 proclaims that God’s
salvation event is not for judgment but for saving and redeeming us. Let us read
John 3: 16.
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.
- Belief causes us to have eternal life
In John 3: 16, we find out that belief makes us experience eternal life. The
most famous theologian of the twentieth century, Karl Barth spoke of faith in three
dimensions – trust, knowledge, and confession (Outline of Church Dogmatic). For
Barth, Christian faith is “concerned quite decisively with a meeting.” This meeting
is with “one who is not a man, but God, Son, and Holy Spirit, and by my believing.
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I see myself completely filled and determined by this object of my faith.” To
believe is to entrust one’s life to the hands of God whom we meet in Jesus, who is
the Word of God.
The Gospel of John focuses on the cosmic salvation event through Christ.
Faith and belief begets salvation. Jesus came into this world as light.
When light shines, everything is revealed brightly. While things may be
hidden in darkness, the world becomes illuminated when light shines. As Edison
discovered electricity and invented light bulbs, superstitions and spirits departed
from our lives. As people’s eyes opened, knowledge expanded, and awakening
occurred, we human beings were liberated from superstition and released from the
shackles of traditional cultures. Truth makes us free and liberated.
In the gospel according to John, the crucifixion is described as a “lifting up”,
as a cosmic event of salvation. The passion of Christ provides a remedy and the
promise of life. Unlike the synoptic Gospels, John’s Gospel presents the
crucifixion not as an event of horror and humiliation, but as exaltation. There are
no great drops of sweat. No crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?” No. In John it’s an enthronement. It’s the moment of coronation where
Jesus’ kingship is fulfilled and proclaimed.
And, in this moment, Jesus is lifted high for everyone to behold. In the
words of Simeon in the Gospel of Luke: “My eyes have seen the savior whom you
have prepared for all the world to see; a light to enlighten the nations, and the glory
of your people, Israel.” But, the event of the cross isn’t just an advertisement, or a
show. It actually does something. The cross is effectual.
Just like when the Israelites looked at the brazen serpent and were able to be
healed, the cross has the power to heal and give life too. But, according to John,
gazing upon it isn’t enough. We need to have faith. We need to be moved to
believe. Which is, of course, what the entire third chapter of John is all about.
Let us read John 3: 16 and 17.
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.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but
in order that the world might be saved through him.
I hope that these words of God became flesh in you and me through this
Lenten journey.