In John 3:16 Jesus declared, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 is referred to as the gospel in a nutshell. It speaks of salvation and eternal life. It is a verse that has comforted many a sinner and filled the hearts of the forgiven with joy. But the comfort and joy of John 3:16 cannot exist without the pain and sorrow described in John chapters 18 and 19.
When Jesus said God gave His one and only Son, I don’t think anyone (except Jesus) imagined the giving of the one and only Son would be as John described in the verses we just read. I don’t think anyone imagined the Son’s hands being bound by ropes, His face being slapped by a fist, His back being flogged with a whip, or His brow being impaled with thorns. No, I don’t think anyone imagined that is what it meant for God to give His one and only Son, and I am rather certain no one imagined the reaction to “God so loved the world” would be “There they crucified him.”
What were they thinking?!? Why would they do such a thing?!? Those Jewish religious leaders (so full of false piety and self-importance) they were so busy looking for a Messiah fashioned in their own image that they could not tolerate a Messiah who came to serve and sacrifice. And so, under the cloak of darkness, they had Jesus arrested and charged Him with blasphemy. Then they handed Him over to the soldiers of Rome who were callous and cruel to Him. They knew Jesus was innocent, they said there was “no basis for a charge against him”[1] and yet they had him flogged, put a crown of thorns on his head, and laughed at him. Then they sentenced Him to a death they knew He did not deserve. “They”. It is so easy for us to be filled with righteous indignation over what they did to Him. That is until the prophet Isaiah reminds us, “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities”[2]. It was not just the arrogance of the Jewish religious leaders or the cruelty of the Roman soldiers that did this to Him, it was your transgressions, and it was my iniquities; it was our sins that did that to Him. We are “they”.
We are the reason the giving of the one and only Son involved crucifixion. John is mercifully short on details when he describes the suffering Jesus endured on the cross. There are commentators and physicians who have described the physical pain of the crucifixion. They write of nerve damage, dislocation, and suffocation. Personally, I have always found the 22nd Psalm to be an adequate description of the physical pain Jesus endured on the cross. In the 22nd Psalm the preincarnate Jesus describes His own crucifixion saying, “14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.” If you want to learn more about the physical suffering Jesus endured on the cross, you will want to read the rest of Psalm 22. But I warn you, it will be difficult to get past the first verse because in Psalm 22:1 you get a glimpse of the spiritual suffering Jesus endured on the cross. There you will read the preincarnate Jesus cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 1,000 years before He cried these words from the cross Jesus knew He would be forsaken by God. Jesus knew when He accepted the punishment for your transgressions, my inequities, our sins, and the sins of all people of all time, Jesus knew God the Father would have no choice but to turn His back on the one and only Son He had given.
It is not what should have happened. It should have been you, and it should have been me. But it wasn’t. It was Him. And here my friends the light of the gospel flickers like a flame in the darkness. It is not an accident that Jesus ended up on the cross paying for our sins. This was not something that was done to Him against His will. Jesus knew this was the reason the Father gave His one and only Son; Jesus knew He was to be the sacrifice that would save sinners like you and me and so because no one could take it from Him Jesus lay down His own life, He laid it down of His own accord[3], “He gave up His spirit”[4]. He did this for you and for me. He did this so that we would not perish but have eternal life. It should have been you, and it should have been me. But it wasn’t. It was Him.
The verses of John chapter 18 and 19 are full of pain and sorrow but they are the reason John 3:16 is so full of comfort and joy. Even though He knew there they would crucify Him God still so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Amen
[1] John 18:38
[2] Isaiah 53:5
[3] John 10:17-18
[4] John 19:30