John 3, 14-21

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.

Amen

Dear congregation, 

John wrote his Gospel around 100 AD. 

That is 70 years after the crucifixion.

That is 30 years after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

This ended the uprising of the Jews against the Roman occupiers.

Actually, the Roman Empire was known for its tolerance in matters of religion. Officially, the Jewish religion was recognized. As long as the inhabitants gave to the emperor what was due to the emperor, they could believe what they wanted in the private sphere.

Such was the legal situation.

But Judea is far from Rome. And there were greedy governors who made life difficult for the Jews. And there were Jewish fanatics who wanted an independent state of Israel. She wanted to be free from Roman rule.

This led to military conflicts. A war. The destruction of the sanctuary. Since then, the temple has been destroyed.

With the destruction of the temple, ancient Judaism ended. Then there were no more priests, no more animal sacrifices, no more pilgrimages. The rabbinic age began.

When Johannes writes, it was 30 years ago. For a long time now, there have been Christian house churches in addition to the Jewish communities. 

Christians experience something similar to the Jews: as long as they accept the emperor, their faith is tolerated. Privately, in their homes, they can pray what and as much as they want. But many Christians take their public responsibility seriously. They place themselves in the tradition of prophets. They stand up for those who live on the dark side of power. They take care of widows and orphans. You talk about social justice. They do not worship the emperor – he is not a god for them.

So they become a thorn in the side of the emperor. Many Christians are persecuted. 70 years after the crucifixion, they experience what was done to their Lord and Master, their friend Jesus.

It is in this situation that John writes. He imagines that a superior of the Jews, whom he calls Nicodemus, and Jesus himself will have the opportunity to talk to each other.

The conversation takes place in the middle of the night. John describes it as a trusting conversation between two men who belong to separate religions.

In secret, at night, it is possible for a superior of the Jews and Jesus to talk like this.

It is not only possible, but it is urgently necessary. Because it is night. 

John sows a seed: Jews and Christians have something in common. Together they can survive and overcome the night.

This conversation is about the question of the kingdom of God. Whoever speaks of the kingdom of God contrasts something with the Roman Empire.

The kingdom of God differs substantially from what the Jews and Christians, who stand in the tradition of justice and mercy, experience in the Roman Empire.

What is at stake here is how Jesus Christ is to be understood. What is at stake here is which God and which Christ we proclaim.

Nicodemus and Jesus talk about how the kingdom of God can grow. Does it grow by connecting with the worldly rulers and coming to terms with dictators and possibly even see them as a savior, or does it grow by trusting in the middle of the night that new life, new peace, can arise.

John brings Jesus back into the world. The Risen Jesus – who has been in heaven for 70 years – John brings him back through his gospel.

In his words, in this conversation, Jesus is alive. It is effective. 

Dear congregation, 

when looking at the contemporary world, this conversation could not be more topical. I take up John's concern: the desire to bring Jesus back into the world. Into this godless world in which rulers divide up the world and walk over corpses with their military madness.

John brings Jesus back into the world and encourages the Christian communities of that time that this is their task: to be places where Jesus is alive and active.

John reminds us of Moses: of the serpents in the desert. This is written in Numbers chapter 21

What happened at that time was that many Jews grumbled because the price of freedom seemed high to them. They wanted to go back to Egyptian captivity because they missed some luxuries: Suddenly it was the full fleshpots of Egypt that seemed attractive to them.

The people were disgruntled. They looked for the guilt in God and in Moses. 

They are dogged in their desire for a more comfortable life – snakes like in paradise. Seduction of the liberated. Seduction of those who are blessed with good to choose evil.

God speaks to Moses and has him make a serpent out of metal, which he wraps around a pole. Whoever is so dogged should look at this snake and live. An antidote to the danger of fear and indignation. An antidote to the greed for more luxury and consumption.

An antidote to the danger of exchanging one's trust in God for trust in dictators.

John recalls this ancient story and interprets the crucifixion in this way.Jesus Christ wrapped around a pole – he looks at him – resists the temptation to associate himself with nefarious autocrats.

John brings the suffering Christ back into the world.

The active Christ is the Christ who suffered. The Christ who saves the world is not a military leader or ruler like the Roman emperor.

No, the saving Christ is a servant of humanity, a prince of peace, a child of a loving God.

This god does not devastate the world and subdue it like the knights in the Crusades or the emperor of Rome.

In the middle of the night, at a time when Christians are also tempted to repay evil for evil, John brings the Crucified One into the world.Look at him: as contradictory and mysterious as it is, the kingdom of God grows, where churches remain founded in love and are places where the injured are healed. John reminds us that Jesus did not come into the world to rule and rule. He did not come into the world to judge and destroy it, but to save it.

The judicial features of an emperor looked different: the temple was destroyed. people deported and put to flight. Such a judicial procession was a death procession, devastating in the truest sense of the word: armies of soldiers trampled everything to pieces and left places in ruins. It takes generations to heal such trauma, such destruction, to bring about reconciliation: we all know that very well – we with our German and South African history.

John brings back the crucified Jesus and says: look at him: his love is due to the fact that churches have been founded as places of hope for those who are waiting for justice. 

A dish that brings light. A court that allows people to see and brings light into the darkness. A light that allows us to recognize and distinguish between good and evil. Christ who overcomes evil with good. Met hate with love.

John brings this Christ back into the world, through his gospel.

This is our task as a church in the world, in South Africa: to look at and worship the Christ who has found his way through suffering. The Christ, whom God stood by in death and destruction. 

Let us do everything we can to make this Christ visible in the world, the Christ who hates evil and is light in darkness.

Whoever believes this truth and follows it, makes God visible in the world. 

May the peace of God, which is higher than our reason, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen