There are words in the English Bible that many readers will just ignore, or assume their meanings as something based on what they’ve understood from other parts of Scripture. There is nothing wrong with this, and even their life applications won’t hurt one’s spiritual life. On the other hand, if more diligence is taken by the student and investigation made into how the pericope was constructed in the original language of Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic, one can’t help but notice a facet that sparkles with a beauty previously unseen. This is the case with this verse:
“…he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 b)
That statement, as you know, was part of what the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisee Nicodemus who sought honest answers from the Lord, as narrated in John 3.
If I tell you, and read this slowly now, “Believe in the name Anax Jos and you will not be judged”, what does that mean? Nothing.
Well, what if we expound a bit on what we mean by “believe” and instead say, “Have faith, or entrust your spiritual well-being in the name Anax Jos and you will not be judged?” Still means nothing. Even if we do that, still our comprehension of the statement is incomplete; it begs the questions: (1) what is exactly in that name, or, (2) what does that name accomplish? And, (3) why trust in the name and not the person himself?
Let’s break this down some more.
This chapter introduces the character, Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee. But so what? Well, wait. The verse continues to describe him as “a ruler of the Jews”. This man is not an insignificant person. After verse 1, only his name stays, because he was already properly introduced at the beginning. The next time his name is mentioned, we connect that with his title, a ruler of the Jews.
So from here, we understand that the name Nicodemus refers not just to the person but to his office, his influence, his power, and authority. When he speaks or does something, that cannot be divorced from his being a ruler of the Jews.
Now if we brought the definitions of “believe” and “name” back into our verse, we can rephrase this as: “…he who does not have faith or entrust his spiritual well being is condemned already, because he has not put his faith or entrusted his spiritual well being in the authority of (Jesus) the only begotten Son of God (His title).”
Now the verse makes perfect sense! But wait. There’s more!
Why did Nicodemus introduce himself to Jesus? He could have just asked his questions in the same way as those nameless and hypocritical Pharisees and scribes, and Jesus would have answered him anyway! Well, from hindsight we learn that Nicodemus got saved from that evening encounter with Jesus. We see him later on, defensively, but discretely lawyering for Jesus in John 7:50-52. He comes into the scene again in John 19:39 bringing a hundred pounds of a mixture of myrrh and aloes (body preservative) after Joseph of Arimathaea managed to take possession of Jesus’ dead body to bury him in what might have been the sepulcher personally owned by Joseph.
God used two people who were not among the daily (popular) followers of Jesus, who were merely bit players in this drama of His passion and death, but whose names have been immortalized in the New Testament for all eternity!
You see, Nicodemus didn’t come to get an answer to any religious question! Listen to his opening statement to Jesus in John 3:2. I’m supplying the definitions by Thayer to the keywords so you’ll know where I’m going with this.
“Rabbi (a title used by Jews to address their teachers), we know that thou art a teacher (one who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of man) come from (of origin of a cause which is) God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”
Nicodemus came to Jesus already convinced of Who Jesus was and his heart desired to have a master-follower relationship with Jesus because he understood His AUTHORITY! He sorely wanted to be a disciple and wanted Jesus to know that. His opening statement readily gave him away. And so Jesus prescribes to him the prerequisite for discipleship – “You must be born again!” On a footnote, tradition has it that Nicodemus was stripped of his position as a Pharisee, was kicked off the Sanhedrin, and was eventually banished from Jerusalem by the hostile Jews along with other Jewish Christians during those times of persecution. Yet I would imagine Nicodemus smiling through all that because all that is a cheap price to pay for the priceless eternal life given by Jesus Christ.
Dear friend, do you already know Who Jesus is, but just like Nicodemus, don’t know how to get into a living relationship with Him? And just like Nicodemus, perhaps all you have is religion. You know what and what not to do, but all these still leave you empty, unfulfilled, and aimless! You can be very devout and sincere about following your religion and yet be sincerely wrong!
God is not impressed with religion. But He’s very interested in anyone who wants to get into a relationship with Him.
Friend, if you died tonight, where do you think you will end up? If you are unsure of your eternal destiny, now is the time to make your life right with God. You see, all human beings (me included) are sinners! If you would honestly assess yourself right now, you probably have lied to someone. Or taken something that did not belong to you. You might have looked at someone with lust in your heart. Or hated someone and wishing him/her evil. Or, used God’s name as a cuss-word. If so, that makes you a lying thief, an adulterer, a murderer, and a blasphemer! I think you know where such kinds of people end up already.
But God sent Jesus to earth on a rescue mission! That’s what it says in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
All who turn to God in humble repentance, coming back to The Creator and ask for forgiveness, believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who gave His life on the cross as payment for sin, Who rose again the third day, ascended to heaven and is coming back to take all His believers with Him to heaven, you can receive forgiveness for your sins and be restored into a relationship with God!
All you need to do is repent, ask Him to forgive you, and entrust your present and future to Jesus Christ. If you are sincere, the Bible says you are SAVED and made as new again! “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES ON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME.” (Romans 10:9-11)
You can stop being ashamed of what you’ve made out of your life. Guilt does not have to haunt you until your dying day. Accept the offer from Jesus and the receipt His Gift of eternal life today. Hurry! This offer is good only until the Rapture!
If you’ve made a decision to believe in Jesus, let me know! I wish to help you grow in your new faith in the God of the Bible Whose promises never fail.
Are you blessed with this issue? Well, bless others with it, too! Click on the follow button for more issues like this.
Until then, God bless you!
Musings of Anax Jos 