April 13th 2025
The Son Of Man Must Be Lifted Up, That Everyone Who Believes In Him May Have Eternal Life.
John 3:16 (NIV)
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.
It is amazing how quickly some people forget all the good deeds a person did, and they no longer think highly of that person, and they join a crowd of people who do not like that individual. That seems to be what happened to Jesus on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem! The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt." At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. (John 12:12-17).
Followers of Jesus Christ will be celebrating this event on this coming Sunday during their worship services. Of course, we know more of this story, and how short the celebration of Jesus was back then, as many of the people who were lauding Jesus’ miracles at this parade, were crying out “Crucify Him” only one week later. Therefore, this commentary will be focused on the events that occurred after Jesus was crucified a week later.
In the selected verse John wrote about God’s love for the world, and we all recognize that God’s love for the world means God loves the people of this world, as we were all created by Jesus in the image and likeness of God! We are all part of the family of God. Over the next two weeks we will be keeping it in the family, as we celebrate what Jesus once said, “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.” Once you accepted membership in God’s family by believing in Jesus Christ, your immortal soul was guaranteed to rejoin the family of God in heaven, when you leave this world!
Paul wrote about how our love for Jesus, because of His sacrificial death to cover our sins with His shed blood allows us to appear before God as though we are sinless. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Thus, we have in effect died to this world, and we should then now live for Jesus and work on becoming more Christ-like every day!
Since Jesus died for your sins in your (our) place, thus we should now live as though our sins were erased by His death, as Peter wrote for us. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24). It is though that in a worldly sense we died to this world and its sinful temptations, so we do not somewhat erase the power of His crucifixion. So, we too should live as though we were also crucified. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20).
When we take Jesus into our hearts because He died for ME (us), then we can now claim to be in the family of God. For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:10). Jesus still lives and He lives in all believers through the Holy Spirit that He left behind on this world.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8). In God’s timeline, “at just the right time,” Jesus died so that every human being could come to believe in Jesus Christ and then their immortal soul would be directed toward heaven by the only salvation plan offered by God!
Jesus had a discussion with a Jewish leader named Nicodemus about the need of being “born again” and let me end this commentary with that teaching of Jesus for Nicodemus and us!
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
"You are Israel’s teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 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. (John 3:7-16).
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands for ever." And this is the word that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22-25). This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16).
This Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and into our hearts as one held in highest esteem by the crowds who assembled to greet Him. Since you (we) know and believe the rest of the story, you (we) should hold Jesus in that highest esteem as you (we) relive the turnaround of the people of Jesus’ day, and what happens next week in our worship services AND our acceptance of the suffering Jesus must undergo to cover and forgive your (our) sins, as you (we) suffer along with Jesus!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
John 3:16 (NIV)
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.
It is amazing how quickly some people forget all the good deeds a person did, and they no longer think highly of that person, and they join a crowd of people who do not like that individual. That seems to be what happened to Jesus on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem! The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt." At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. (John 12:12-17).
Followers of Jesus Christ will be celebrating this event on this coming Sunday during their worship services. Of course, we know more of this story, and how short the celebration of Jesus was back then, as many of the people who were lauding Jesus’ miracles at this parade, were crying out “Crucify Him” only one week later. Therefore, this commentary will be focused on the events that occurred after Jesus was crucified a week later.
In the selected verse John wrote about God’s love for the world, and we all recognize that God’s love for the world means God loves the people of this world, as we were all created by Jesus in the image and likeness of God! We are all part of the family of God. Over the next two weeks we will be keeping it in the family, as we celebrate what Jesus once said, “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.” Once you accepted membership in God’s family by believing in Jesus Christ, your immortal soul was guaranteed to rejoin the family of God in heaven, when you leave this world!
Paul wrote about how our love for Jesus, because of His sacrificial death to cover our sins with His shed blood allows us to appear before God as though we are sinless. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Thus, we have in effect died to this world, and we should then now live for Jesus and work on becoming more Christ-like every day!
Since Jesus died for your sins in your (our) place, thus we should now live as though our sins were erased by His death, as Peter wrote for us. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24). It is though that in a worldly sense we died to this world and its sinful temptations, so we do not somewhat erase the power of His crucifixion. So, we too should live as though we were also crucified. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20).
When we take Jesus into our hearts because He died for ME (us), then we can now claim to be in the family of God. For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:10). Jesus still lives and He lives in all believers through the Holy Spirit that He left behind on this world.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8). In God’s timeline, “at just the right time,” Jesus died so that every human being could come to believe in Jesus Christ and then their immortal soul would be directed toward heaven by the only salvation plan offered by God!
Jesus had a discussion with a Jewish leader named Nicodemus about the need of being “born again” and let me end this commentary with that teaching of Jesus for Nicodemus and us!
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
"You are Israel’s teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 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. (John 3:7-16).
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands for ever." And this is the word that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22-25). This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16).
This Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and into our hearts as one held in highest esteem by the crowds who assembled to greet Him. Since you (we) know and believe the rest of the story, you (we) should hold Jesus in that highest esteem as you (we) relive the turnaround of the people of Jesus’ day, and what happens next week in our worship services AND our acceptance of the suffering Jesus must undergo to cover and forgive your (our) sins, as you (we) suffer along with Jesus!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak