John 3:14-18 New International Version (NIV)
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[a] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[b] 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Wednesday - March 17
I hope the last two days of readings and devotions have helped you to understand the richness and depth of the famous verse we know as John 3:16. Many people can quote John 3:16, but they do not know that Jesus said it in reference to the Old Testament story of Moses making a bronze serpent and lifting it up on a stick in the wilderness. This helps us to see that Jesus, the serpent, is being “lifted up” so that any who look to him in faith will be healed. Sin is disease of our hearts, not just the bad things that we do. Those are the “symptoms.” All of us are already condemned because we are already “sin-sick.” We have already rebelled against God. When we look to the cross where Jesus was rejected we find forgiveness, healing and life.
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