1. LENTEN GOSPEL STUDIES John 3:14-21

2. TEXT  John 3:14-21  Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

3. ARTISTIC INTERPRETATIONS

6. Crijn_Hendricksz

7. Nicodemus Visiting Jesus, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1899 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia

9. COMMENTARIES

10. THE EERDMAN’S BIBLE COMMENTARY, 3 RD EDITION, 937.  14, The incident in the OT of Moses and the brazen serpent is cited to illustrate the earthly work of the Son of Man. The uplifting clearly refers to the cross and not to glorification.  15, The real force of the analogy is in the necessity for faith. It is important to notice that the uplifting of the Son of man is stated as an imperative necessity. It was for this purpose that He came. The adjective eternal express the indestructability of the life received.  16, The statement that God so loved the world shows that the object of God’s love to be universal.

11. THE EERDMAN’S BIBLE COMMENTARY, 3 RD EDITION, 937.  17, The purpose of the Son’s mission was not condemnation but salvation.  18, but this salvation is available only for those wo believe. The specific object of faith is stated to be the name of the only Son of God.  19, Another allusion to the prologue is seen in the introduction of the antithesis between light and darkness. Evil deeds are specifically linked with darkness, and judgment follows as a result of men’s preference for the darkness. There is an implied contrast between God loving the world and men loving darkness.  20, Man’s love of darkness is not for its own sake, but because of what it can hide. On the other hand, those whose deeds are true welcome light because of what it can reveal.

12. THE EERDMAN’S BIBLE COMMENTARY, 3RD EDITION, 937.  21, Such phraseology is found in rabbinic writings. It implies moral actions.

13. OXFORD STUDY BIBLE, 4 TH EDITION, 1887

14. COMMENTS, QUESTIONS

15. TRANSITION, BREAK IF NECESSARY

16. KALEIDOSCOPE BIBLE STUDY  Read the Respectful Communication Guidelines and invite members of the group to affirm them for their time together.  Inform participants that the Bible passage will be read 3 times. After each reading, participants will be invited to share their reflections.  Invite participants to capture a word, a phrase or image when listening to the passage the first time.  Invite someone to read the passage.  A moment of silence to capture a word, a phrase or image that stood out from the passage for them.  Using Mutual Invitation, invite each person to share his or her word, phrase or image briefly. (This should take no more than 5 minutes.)  Invite participants to consider the reflection question appointed for this passage. Invite someone to read the passage a second time.  A moment of silence to reflect on the question.

17. KALEIDOSCOPE BIBLE STUDY  Using Mutual Invitation, invite each person to share his or her reflection.  Invite participants to consider the following question while listening to the passage again.  “What does God invite you to do, be or change through this passage?”  Invite someone to read the passage a third time.  A moment of silence to reflect on the question.  Using Mutual Invitation, invite each person to share his or her reflection.  End the session with a prayer circle:  Invite participants to join hands in a circle. Invite each person to mentally complete the sentences:  I thank God today...  I ask God today...  The leader will begin by sharing his or her prayers. After he or she has shared, the leader then squeezes the hand of the person to the right. That will be the signal for the next person to share his or her prayers. If the person does not want to share, he or she can simply pass the pulse to the next person. When the pulse comes back to the leader, he or she can begin the Lord’s Prayer and invite everyone to join in.

18. NEXT WEEK: MARK 14:1-15:47: THE PASSION