Everyday Prayers for FaithSample

God Faithfully Gives Eternal Life

John 3:16. It’s the most famous Bible verse in the world. We see it on posters at sporting events and graffitied along roadways. It’s one of the first verses we learn as children. It is the entire gospel in one verse. But when I took the time to study this verse in context? Insert mind-blowing emoji.

One of my favorite aspects of Bible study is to see how the Old Testament ties into the New Testament. The Old Testament is a shadow, pointing us to the truth of Jesus. It’s something we often miss today. We have to remember that the Jewish people were an oral society, meaning they would have memorized much of the Old Testament. That’s how God preserved His Word for thousands of years. So when we see an Old Testament reference in the New Testament, for the original audience, it would have immediately triggered the hearer to recall that verse as well as the surrounding ones and then see the connection to Jesus.

That’s what Jesus does in John 3 in a conversation with a religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee who comes to Jesus under the cover of night. He asks hard questions, and Jesus graciously gives him answers. Nicodemus knows the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, intimately. So when Jesus says the Son of Man must be lifted up like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Nicodemus would have immediately recalled the story in Numbers 21 in which the Israelites complained about the manna and quail God had given them to eat. God sent fiery serpents, and in the face of death, the people cried out and repented. They admitted their sin, Moses prayed, and God made a way.

God didn’t remove the serpents, but instead provided those who were bitten with a means of escaping death and finding life.

That is the background of John 3:16. Jesus is saying that, just as the people merely needed to look to the bronze serpent raised in the wilderness and find life, we merely need to look upon our Savior, believe in Him, and find eternal life.

Prayer

Thank You, Jesus, for the gift of eternal life. I know that without You, I am condemned to death. But as the Israelites in the wilderness looked upon the bronze serpent to find life, so I look to You, knowing that in You, I find eternal life. When I am tempted to doubt, remind me of Your faithfulness. You will accomplish all that You say You will.