OK, I am writing about the third chapter of the Gospel of John. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. John 3:16 is indeed the gospel in a nutshell but as I approached this task, I was reticent to go straight to that overly familiar text. Fortunately, I was struck by the two distinct yet related sections of this chapter that focus on how the world often sees the message of the Gospel. In the first, the teacher is Jesus, in the second, his cousin, John the Baptizer.

In verses 1-21, we find the famous meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus. This Jesus, who is making all things new, intrigues and baffles the established religious leader. “How can anyone be born again after having grown old?” “How can these things be?” And there is Jesus’ frustration. “Are you a teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things?” “If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”

In verses 22-36 we are told that Jesus is now also baptizing, and according to the Jew (the only descriptor used for this person) who questions John, Jesus is drawing bigger crowds. You can almost see John shaking his head in resignation as he answers. To paraphrase John’s reply: “Has no one been listening? It was never about me. It was always about Him. He must increase but I must decrease.”

Each of the inquirers in these accounts—Nicodemus and the questioning Jew—viewed the Good News through lenses that distorted the message. Nicodemus, a faithful teacher of the Law, had been born a Jew. His faith was inherited as God had promised. What other birth does he need? John’s interrogator looked through the lenses of popularity and influence. How can it be a good thing if people are turning elsewhere? In the eyes of the world, John is failing. He must be just a flash in the pan.

Now, some two thousand years later, we are entrusted with this Gospel. We are charged to proclaim it in word and deed. We can only do all this by the Holy Spirit. But even when the proclamation is done well, the listeners process through the lenses of their experience and worldview. Being born again and putting this Jesus guy first are alien concepts. God’s free gift of faith through water and the Spirit does not jibe with the world’s concept that you don’t get something for nothing. And yet, true life is found only in the realization that “God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

OK, John 3:16 snuck its way into this writing. But isn’t that the point? We can only find the fullness of life in God’s love shown to us in Jesus Christ.