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“Our John 3:16 Sign” John 3:14-21 John Henson
Delivered to Church for the Highlands
The Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 18, 2012
Podcast is here
Do you remember this guy? He tends to pop in our heads when we see the John 3:16 reference. Ever wonder what happened to him? I was amazed to read his story this past week. He hasn’t been forgotten, as you can hear now from these words on a wikipedia page about him,
So, how was it that those “John 3:16″ signs started popping up in the stands at televised sporting events? One story traces the origin to one Rollen “Rock’n Rollen” Stewart, who gained notoriety in the 1970s for his antics as “the Rainbow Man” at golf tournaments.
Stewart was obsessed with getting his face on television. He started attending golf tournaments wearing a multicolored Afro wig. He had a knack for predicting where the camera would be pointed at certain crucial holes on the course. When it panned over his way, he would pop up, wave his arms, give the “OK” or thumbs-up gestures, and generally do whatever he could to attract attention to himself.
In 1980, Mr. Rollen got religion. Afire with enthusiasm for his newfound Christian faith, he began applying his talent for getting himself in the camera viewfinder to the task of spreading the good news. He traded his rainbow wig for a John 3:16 sign. Others began emulating his unorthodox witnessing methods, and an American sports tradition was born.
Would that the story ended there, but it has a sad and perplexing closing chapter. After several years driving around the country from sporting event to sporting event, subsisting on donations, Stewart fell on hard times, ending up homeless. His obsession with the limelight led him to set off a series of stink-bomb attacks on Southern California targets, including the Crystal Cathedral, offices of theOrange County Register and the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and a Christian bookstore.
In 1992, convinced that Jesus would be returning in a matter of days, he was arrested after a bizarre standoff in a California hotel room, where he had taken two day-laborers he had kidnapped at gunpoint, and where a hotel maid who saw his gun subsequently locked herself in a bathroom. After threatening to shoot at planes taking off from the nearby Los Angeles International Airport, and covering the walls of the hotel room with John 3:16 signs, he was arrested and sentenced to three consecutive life terms for kidnapping.[i]
This is a very unhappy ending to a life shining such a powerful light in the world of sports and TV. What happened? How can someone so familiar with John 3:16 turn out to live a life in such contradiction to it? How can someone holding up such a sign of life end up dropping into such a condition of waste?
I don’t know anymore about Stewart than this article I just read. But I do know about me and I do know that you must be a lot like me when it comes to John 3:16. And we must be a lot like Stewart, sans the wig and big sign. We may not have any real idea about what we are holding up to the world. And it may be because we don’t understand what God was holding up to the world as Jesus walked this earth. A closer look at the well-known words here from John provide us with a deeper understanding.
I admit: It is hard to get past the familiarity of the John 3:16 reference. To do so, we need to look again at the whole context of these words. Jesus was in a conversation with Nicodemus, a religious leader and insider who had an undeniable but secret interest in who Jesus was and what he had been teaching. So he makes a visit in the dark of night to talk with Jesus about his awareness of being from God. Jesus tells him that he would need to be “born again” before he could enter the kingdom of God. This leads to Nicodemus asking how he could ever be born again, missing the spiritual sense of what Jesus was saying. Jesus provided an answer, with a little chiding about him being a teacher but not knowing, that included a reference to the Numbers text (21:4-9) we heard earlier, about the serpent held up on the pole as visual antidote for the Israelites to the poison of the snakes biting and killing them in the wilderness. Jesus wanted him to know that the Son of Man must also be lifted up, that whoever sees him could believe and have eternal life.
The word “believe” here is in the present tense, emphasizing present and continual action, anchored in past action. John wanted his readers to know that belief in Jesus was not a one-time spiritual decision, but an ongoing embrace of their faith. It wasn’t signing onto a set of beliefs or joining a religion. It was a way of life. “Eternal life” here is another one of those words we don’t fully understand. Our thinking usually goes right to life after death. But the people of Jesus’ and John’s time would have understood these words to mean life with God in the future but also one they began right then and there in their present. It was a present reality, in the presence of God. It was the kind of life God always intended for humankind; one they could be reborn into through the Spirit of God. It was one that would be radically different from their former existence.
It appears that we, especially in Western Christianity, become like Nicodemus or Rollin Stewart, in missing what these words are all about. A look at our society, our churches, our world seem to indicate we know very little of real belief or the characteristics of eternal life. How have you viewed “belief,” and “eternal life”?
We are invited by this Gospel to believe. Such belief is not giving assent to propositional truths, nor a one-time expression of faith, but a continual embracing of Jesus as our Savior. It is living, organic, and dynamic, not something so static as can be written with ink on sign we hold up to the world. It is not just believing in a God of the past, or of one will greet us when we die. No, it is placing faith in a God who is alive and active in our present. It is looking up from the life-threatening bites of the serpents in our lives to the life-saving action of the Jesus who came into our world.
This kind of belief leads right into what “eternal life” is all about. This kind of belief in Jesus begins eternal life. The characteristics of this life become accessible and apparent right here in the now. Having eternal life is not something you dream about or wait for, although it is something in the future as well. What Jesus wanted his world and ours to know is that eternal life is to be the way we live in the present reality of the love of the resurrection life Jesus has provided in Jesus. It is a whole new mode of being, a brand new life, a completely different kind of human existence. It was right in front of them as he stood there. And it is right in front of us as well. Do you know about this kind of living or are you more in the perishing mode? Are we living without an awareness of what we are lifting up to the world? Are you living your life without really living your life? Are you and I providing a witness to our family, our neighbors, our friends, our enemies, and to the world God so loved of what real, eternal life really looks like?
Imagine the difference that can be made in our lifetime if we truly believe. Nietzsche wanted Christians to know: If you want me to believe in your Redeemer, you had better look a little more redeemed.[ii] I believe that is our call from this text today, as we lift up the Redeemer, to look a little more redeemed.
[i] “Rollen Stewart,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollen_Stewart as found on www.homileticsonline
[ii] quote found on http://www.preachingpeace.org/lectionaries/yearb-lent4/
I was reading through commentaries this past week re: the John 3:14-21 text for this Sunday. It is a passage I’ve read and preached on countless times, yet, as with the rest of this Gospel, I always find more to consider.
One writer (can’t remember which one) focused on the serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness (3:14), pointing out the healing power serpents were thought to have, which is why the symbol (Rod of Asclepius) for medical doctors has a serpent on a pole. I had forgotten about this, but it does give a different twist to how serpents have been viewed. I recall a study that was done by psychologists re: people’s feelings about snakes. They put a rubber snake and a fake turtle in the middle of the road. As you can imagine, most everyone went out of their way to run over the snake, while people avoided and even stopped for the turtle. As humans, we have never cared much for serpents of any kind. But, for the Greeks and other ancients, serpents represented healing, wellness.
I find this helpful while reading the Numbers and John texts. In the midst of the suffering that comes either by sinful decisions or natural conditions, we need healing–physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Both texts provide us with a reminder that God has the desire and the means to provide such healing. John provides the reminder of Jesus’ understanding of this, of how he, the Son of Man, must be lifted up to provide it.
This Sunday and next provide a perfect opportunity to join John in pointing to the Savior who was lifted up, helping people understand the many ways he enables them to presently live eternally , experiencing the antidote of eternal life to those who are perishing.
The Psalm for this Sunday, Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22, is a testimony of praise in worship for God’s redemptive help, especially for Israel in the past as they rebelled and suffered in the wilderness. The psalmist called out for the congregation to give thanks to God, remembering that God was good and loving.
Read the Psalm here.
The phrase I like best here is, And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. By the time you get to this part of the psalm, you can understand the psalmist’s passionate joy and thanksgiving. We understand this emotion, but not so much the sacrifice. We don’t have a ritual so tangibly expressive as a lamb, a bull, a dove or grain offering in our services (at least I’m thinking that’s the case). So, how do we show our thanks? How are we to offer thanksgiving sacrifices?
One of my favorite parts in our worship service is the “Testimony of Praise,” a time when the congregation is asked to share a reason for praising God from the week. It is always an inspirational time of praise mixed with thanksgiving. We are all encouraged by what we hear from other worshippers and, consequently, led to consider where God has been in our past week as well. While there is not a visible sacrifice made in the service, we are led into the new week with actions of gratitude and service in light of what has been done for us out of God’s enduring love.
. . . but the people became impatient on the way.
You can’t miss this phrase as you read through the OT text for this Sunday. It just stands out in the passage, more significant–and threatening–than the poisonous serpents. It stands out because it resonates so much with our impatience. It does with me.
God had rescued His people from back-breaking, brick-building slavery in Egypt, had provided them with resources in the desert, and had shown long-suffering with their whining about wanting to go back to Egypt. After all the patience God had provided for them, they had the nerve to show their impatience.
Some ideas for preaching this text:
Ever felt this way as a parent, manager, or leader? You do things for others, sacrificing resources, bending over backwards and going the extra mile, dealing with whining, only to have people get impatient with you. How do you deal with impatient people?
or
Tie this together with John 3:14-21, explaining the serpent on the pole and the lifting up of the “Son of man.” What does it mean to “look at it live.”?
or
In what ways do we show impatience with God, especially if we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness longer than we thought? How can we counter our impatience with our circumstance and with God and move on to a more promising place?
“Anger Ally” John 2:13-22
Delivered to Church for the Highlands
Third Sunday in Lent, March 11, 2012
[Trailer Clip from Anger Management movie]
There are some real issues with anger management here. We laugh, but
fully realizing that we can identify. We could all use an “anger ally,” couldn’t
we? Adam Sandler’s anger ally didn’t end up being the perfect model
for him. And we do not have the best choices either when it comes to
anger management.
You may not have such a model in your life. Maybe your life has been filled
with negative models, seeing a parent, teacher, or coach demonstrate a hot
temper or fiery rage. Where can you find a positive model? Our Gospel
text this morning provides us with one in Jesus, showing us what healthy
anger and positive, zealous passion look like. What we learn here is that if
it is ok with Jesus to demonstrate his anger, then it is ok for me do so as
well, so long as I’m doing it his way.
John gives us a great description of a side of Jesus we seldom consider
when we think of him. There are countless paintings of Jesus you can look
at, but most of them show Jesus either in a peaceful, sheep-carrying kind
of way or they portray him in suffering while hanging on the cross. We
often forget that Jesus threw a holy tantrum in the Temple, taking a whip
after people, turning tables over, chasing people and animals out the door.
At the expense of our emotional health, we overlook the angry Jesus.
Jesus had good reasons to do what he did. The people he confronted
were a part of a system of economic injustice, or good religion gone bad, of
grace twisted into greed. Jesus saw what was going on and stepped in to
do something about it.
Have you seen the TV show, “What Would You Do?” It sends actors out in
a public area undercover to act out certain situations, like a man abusing a
woman, or a person taking money out of a homeless man’s begging cup. It
shows different people’s reactions to situations; how some choose to do
nothing, while some immediately step up and speak out. I thought of this
show as I read this passage for today. We as followers of Jesus need to be
the kind who know how to be angry, who step up and speak out when we
see things that make us angry.
So, now you have an ok from Jesus to be angry, to step up and speak out.
Before you jump out there with whip in hand, here are some tips we can
apply from Jesus’ example. First, be angry about the right things.
Christians have a reputation these days for being loud and confrontational
about a lot of issues that tend to miss the point, or are not primary. While
churches argue about worship styles, the definition of marriage, who can
take communion, the Christian voice on issues like hunger, poverty, sex-trafficking,
war, bullying, and education remains far too quiet. It is not that we
shouldn’t have a voice about these former issues, but why at the expense
of the latter, bigger issues that demand current attention in our world? I
was excited to see the habitability code pass in our city council recently, all
as the result of four years of work by our local Interfaith group and other
concerned citizens about the lack of a renter’s code; at the reality that
people were living without toilets, running water, protection from the rain
falling through the hole in the roof. The voice of faith stood up and spoke
out. This was the right thing to be angry about. What are the right things
for you to be angry about right now? What should we as a church, as
individuals be getting worked up about?
Notice, too, how Jesus was able to let the less important things go by, even
though I am sure these things angered him as well. He couldn’t address
every single thing that bothered him, but needed to put a red hot focus on
the bigger problems of the world around him. Maybe he was irritated by
the song selection in the Temple, thinking there should be some more
contemporary instruments used. Or, I guess it is possible that he could
have been mad about the temple taxes and the use of them by Caesar. I
am sure he even bristled at the other religions and the temples to manmade
gods. Jesus, however, let these issues pass by him as he made his
way to the right things for him to be angry about during his time. We need
to learn to do this as well. As Christians today, we need selective
demonstrations of anger. We need wisdom and discipline to focus on what
is most important; most demanding of our voice and passion. Are there
things you are angry about today that you need to let go?
Second, be angry at the right people. Jesus didn’t take out his anger on
everyone in the temple. His whip was directed at the people who were
causing the injustice. He went after the right people at the right time. I am
confident that he was thinking this through as he wove together the strands
that made up his whip. Our anger can so easily become misguided and
dangerous, following the kick-the-dog model rather than the righteous
indignation template Jesus demonstrated. Who are you mad at these
days? Is it directed in the right place, to the right people? Any chance that
you are taking your anger out on the wrong person?
Jesus picked the most appropriate time to show his anger. John shows
Jesus weaving together a whip, providing insight, I think, into the
premeditated nature of his action there in the temple. There were plenty of
opportunities for Jesus to get mad, but he didn’t respond to all of them. He
picked his battles, one could say. Even though the other gospels place this
event at the end of Jesus’ ministry rather than the beginning, John’s
placement still invites his readers to consider that Jesus was aware of what
and when he was showing anger.
We need to pick the right time to show our anger as well. We are not
perfect and our anger can break out at the wrong times and in the wrong
ways. Holy anger, however, should happen at the right time. There are a
lot of things we can show anger about in our local community, our state,
and in our world. How will we pick our battles? When is the right time for
your anger to show?
Jesus also exhibited the right Spirit of anger. His was a holy, righteous
indignation. It was authorized by God and under the supervision of the
Holy Spirit, this same Spirit he saw coming down upon him in the form of a
dove before heading out into the wilderness. Our anger is to be bridled by
this same Spirit. The only way to keep anger in check is by the Spirit of
God within you. As you look at your anger and the way you demonstrate it,
is it marked by the Spirit?
Once your anger is authorized by God, modeled after Jesus, fueled by the
right Spirit, the right things will happen as you engage the people and
issues that deserve the holy heat of anger. A great example of this is with
the non-violent protests led by Dr. King in the civil rights movement. He
knew the dangerous results of misguided and uncontrolled anger and so he
preached and modeled something better. He held up Jesus as the model
for how to get angry the right way. And it worked. The right things
happened.
Aristotle noted that, Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be
angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and
for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s
power and is not easy. 1
It isn’t easy, that’s for sure. Thank God we have an anger ally.
1. http://www.brainyquote.1 com/quotes/topics/
topic_anger.html#ixzz1ooqjwW9K
The story of Jesus turning over tables in the Temple is familiar, both inside and outside of the Christian faith. What I have found, however, is that familiarity doesn’t always result in acceptance. We tend to overlook the fact the reality that our Lord and Savior made his own whip (what was he thinking while he made it?), probably cracked it a few times to get everyone’s attention, ran after people and animals with it all the while turning over tables and hollering at the people selling their goods at them. Jesus was in a holy huff.
I think one reason we overlook Jesus’ anger is that we at times struggle with the humanity of Jesus. Yes, we admit that he was human, but prefer to dwell more on his divinity. Humanity is messy. Divinity is predictable. Another reason we overlook Jesus’ anger is that we have our own misunderstandings about anger. We remember times anger has caused us pain or we think of a child in the line at the grocery store throwing a tantrum. We also may think anger is too strong an emotion to engage. Christians are to be meek and mild, never showing a frown or any kind of unbridled emotion.
Jesus, however, shows the right kind of anger. I’ll explore this and how it relates to us on Sunday.
