Serious Peril
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:17 ESV
Saved – What does John mean when he uses the Greek verb sozo (to save)? Well, if John is thinking about the Hebrew equivalents, he would be thinking about yasha ( to save, to keep, to help), palat (to guard one’s way, to save oneself) and malat (to escape). From the LXX we can determine that sozo could be translated with any one of these three Hebrew expressions. But when we examine the nuances of these three Hebrew terms, our picture of salvation changes. In Hebrew thought, saving is connected with having room to move. To be saved is to be removed from the confines of a narrow trap and be led to a broad expanse. This is accomplished by a stronger party who rescues the weaker party. This action is often associated with legal or military help. The result is not freedom but rather dependence. The paradigm examples of this help are related to God’s people; His divine preservation of Israel. Salvation in Hebrew thinking also includes that idea of escape from immediate mortal danger or punishment. Only God can ultimately guarantee rescue, escape and deliverance. And, by the way, there are a considerable number of verses in the Tanakh that indicate God does not help sinners or rescue the wicked.
Let’s apply these insights to John’s claim. The first thing to notice is that John is not speaking directly about the human predicament. Just as his previous commentary made clear, John directs our attention to the cosmos, not the anthropos. Yeshua did not come to condemn the world but rather to rescue, help, deliver the world. Yes, we are part of the cosmos, but whatever Yeshua did it isn’t limited to our need. If sin is the problem, it is not simply a human problem.
The recognition that Yeshua’s entrance into the world is about a cosmic issue forces us to ask, “Why does John tell us that He did not come to condemn the entire cosmos?” We need to ask this question because it drives us to look at sin in an entirely different way. This takes us back to Noah. The world was condemned to a water death. The Genesis account makes it quite clear that sin had polluted the earth and God brought punishment upon all creation. If this is what John has in mind, then it implies that, as a result of sin, God would have been justified in condemning the earth – but by sending His Son He demonstrates that He will not do what He could have done. He will not condemn. He will rescue. Just as in the days of Noah, everything is connected. Our sins affect everything. They are not limited to the moral realm or to human ethics. Sin destroys God’s cosmic order. Yeshua comes to restore that order.
Millard Erickson comments on this verse: “The purpose of the coming was atonement, and the Father was involved in that work.”[1] But I think we must understand salvation in cosmic terms. Atonement is limited to repairing the breach between parties. But what John says is much, much bigger. It’s not just about you and me being forgiven. It’s not about getting to heaven. It’s not about removing our guilt. It’s about saving the world and everything about it. With this bigger picture in mind, are you still willing to say that Yeshua died on the cross to save you from your sins? Or are you simply the beneficiary of something that had a much bigger purpose? Perhaps we need to stop thinking of God’s actions and Yeshua’s purpose in such egotistical terms.
Topical Index: save, sozo, yasha, palat, malat, cosmos, John 3:17
[1] Millard Erickson, Christian Theology (1st Edition), p. 806.
His rain falls on the just and the unjust. To say he does not help unrepentent sinners, I think you would have to define help. Also, I do not believe, even though he died to save more than just me, that it is egotistical to believe that He is that personal. He is all things to all and all in all. How does that become egotistical?
I think we need to understand the the “Shma”: We need to have our thoughts, actions, and prayers contribute as a part of a whole unit. If we think and act only with ourselves in mind, we don’t think of the big picture, and how we should fit into that. If you consider yourself grafted in to his tree, you cannot act independently, because you are fed by the root. God is that personal, in pruning and growing us to produce fruit on His tree.
That helps. I had not really thought of it like that. Now I get it. Maybe I am more egotistical than I realized 🙂 I do not tend to think on the whole. Thanks. Shalom.
I can see my friends eyes rolling up in non-comprehension. They would ask me why I was giving up my faith in Jesus. I doubt that they could grasp the bigger picture. These friends are are the leaders of the church, even the pastors. Oh well, they have been wondering about me for a long time, anyway. I will just share the bigger picture and not try to convince them that their picture is too small. Otherwise, I will go crazy.
~ For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now ~ (Romans 8.22)
“Both” the creation and the creature. Both are affected by sin. Sin pollutes. Sin destroys. Sin stains. Sin separates. Sorrow follows sin as night follows day. Knowing this, ~shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ~ (and the answer is?)
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He!
‘Tis the long-expected Prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s LORD;
By His Son, God now has spoken
Tis the true and faithful Word.
Tell me, ye who hear him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends thro’ fear his cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.
Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
’tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed,
Son of man and Son of God.
Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ the Rock of our salvation,
His the Name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.
If I were to offer a glass of cool water to quench your thirst, but first- in full view added just one, and only one drop of gasoline to the cup in full view of your seeing, would you still be interested in this water which is now a whopping 99.99% pure? Or do you expect your water to be nothing but water? Are your interested in purity? No pollution, no stain, no imperfections?- Welcome to Heaven, where there is not one drop of sin. Heaven is a perfect place for justified/purified, holy people. Light and darkness cannot dwell together. There is no iniquity, no transgression, no sin in the New Jerusalem- the Bride has been washed, purified, and is now sin-free. Heaven is a Perfect Place. But meanwhile.. back on the planet..- here we are.. sinners (all) saved (yes, set free!) from the dominion (authority) of sin. We now have a new Master -One who has redeemed, and reclaimed a people unto Himself. We are today and together the (present) Body of Christ, -His hands and His feet to do His good pleasure, and the (future) Bride of Christ- there is ‘yet to be’ (stay tuned for coming attractions!)- the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, a heavenly honeymoon- and a party to end all parties. Joy unspeakable and full of glory? – To say the very least.
And we have been promised, according to the words of God, He (Himself) will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Or as the songwriter has written: Then He’ll take us home to Heaven, at His Table we’ll sit down; Christ will gird Himself and serve us- with sweet manna all around.
What will Heaven look like? No man may say. All we have been given to go by is a Book. It is written: ~ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp ~ (Revelation 21.23) ~ Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end ~ (Isaiah 60:20) ~ For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. ~ (Revelation 7.17) ~ And the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away ~ (Isaiah 35:10)
(Because)
The LORD is my Shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His Name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness(es) will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
~ My sheep “shema” my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.. ~ (John 10.27)
~ Ask,.. and you will receive.. ~
Savior, like a Shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
We are Thine, Thou dost befriend us, be the Guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us, seek us when we go astray.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Thou hast promised to receive us, poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us, grace to cleanse and power to free.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! We will early turn to Thee.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! We will early turn to Thee.
Early let us seek Thy favor, early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior, with Thy love our bosoms fill.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast loved us, love us still.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! – Thou hast loved us,- love us still.
Carl: I happen to disagree with you. The New Jerusalem is a city that comes down to earth from heaven. Our destiny is here on a reworked, renewed earth. I count at least 32 specific cross-references in Revelation 21 to the prophets. (mostly Isaiah) God will dwell in the midst of his people here on earth. We know that Christ will rule His Kingdom for a thousand years on earth before the new heaven and earth appear…. absence will make the heart grow fonder if the Church is waiting for Him in heaven.
PS the competing city in revelation is Babylon the harlot. We need to focus on the city whose maker is God.
PS2: many Christian funerals no longer even talk about the resurrection (even though Paul in Thessalonians tells us to comfort one another with these words) The talk is about going to heaven to enjoy it…. why bother coming back down here for a resurrected body when you are already enjoying heaven so much?
Good point. Coupled with the backwards teaching about the rapture, no wonder Christians think we are on the way out. Jacques Ellul wrote about the influence of Platonism on the dualism presented by the idea that we will leave this world behind. I referenced his comment in another TW some time ago. The shift from “heaven” to earth is also supported by the Lord’s prayer, which we recite without ever considering that it is focused on His will here.
I don’t think Jesus believes in any rapture as TV Evangelists preach it as doctrine. This is the Lord’s other prayer to God.
[15] I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil.
John 17
John Hagee and others point out all the signs of the coming Armageddon telling their flocks they will be gone before it happens. To me, that position is illogical.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
(false, hypocritical religion of the devil in Judaism, Christianity & Islam)
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth (Pope, Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs, Super Rich, popular IDOLS of the people and others) and of the whole world, (the rest of us) to gather them to the Battle of that great day of God Almighty.
(Middle East-World War III-Armageddon)
Behold, I come as a thief.
(when you least expect it while texting and playing games)
Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
(derived from Har Mediggo, located in Roman occupied Palestine when the term was revealed, but now located in Israel)
Revelation 16 – Revealed 2000 years ago but seen developing in this real, material world Today!
This clearly says to me Armageddon is a deception of the devil and his agents on earth. It is not the Will of God it should happen and both believer and atheist can see it shaping up on the horizon.
Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the Children of God Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount.
This transcends Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Atheism. It’s like the separation of the sheep from the goats. It transcends religion, being a matter of the heart. Neither the sheep nor the goats recognized Christ traveling incognito in this world.
From what you have been saying in other posts, he came to provide salvation from death and the narrow trap of the wages of sin, correct? But we need to remember that this provision extends beyond the human race and covers all the cosmos? Forgiveness of sins was already accomplished before the foundation of the world. His coming completes the restorative work by putting an end to death and making our right-standing with the Father complete if we will only place our faith in the identity and work of Yeshua. We are now freely able to live in complete dependance upon the life of Yeshua by the power of the Spirit to enjoy fellowship with the Father knowing our sins have been forgiven and there is no need to fear death. We can take what life brings us knowing it has been Father-filtered and walk by faith in obedience and dependance upon the Father’s way of life.
I’m sure this has been covered in other posts, but did Yeshua die twice on behalf of the guilty? Once at an alter before the foundation of the world and a second time on the cross?
LEt me try to clarify a few of your comments.
1. He provided salvation as the Lamb sacrificed before the foundation, so he did not come to provide salvation from death. That was already in place. But the CONSEQUENCES of sin – death – was still the verdict on all men, even those righteous men who lived before the incarnation. So, we needed a demonstration that the final enemy of the whole cosmos had been defeated.
2. His coming doe snot put an end to death IN ORDER THAT we might have right standing before YHWH. IF that were true, then Abraham could not be counted righteous, Noah would not be righteous, David could not be forgiven, etc. Right standing before God was possible before the Garden. The guarantee that the consequences have been overcome – and the proof that the original sacrifice was made – is seen in the cross.
3. We were always able to live in obedience, otherwise Moses’ exhortation in Deuteronomy makes no sense. Now the last obstacle is removed – the fear of death which held us captive.
VERY helpful. Thanks, Skip. Where would you suggest I go to study more on the sacrifice of the Lamb before the foundation of the world? That’s a new concept for me, but I’d really like to understand it more.
Wait for my book – and more TWs.
Just wanted to share some good news! Not to worry. i am very, very cautious because i know about subliminal messages. WARNING! VIEWING THE VIDEO AND LISTENING TO THE SONG MAY INSPIRE YOU TO WANT TO HUG SOMEONE!!! Just trying to set the mood for the upcoming Sabbath, and as i minister to you – i minister to myself. i’ve had it on repeat all morning. Gotta go! Be back in a few days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4_Z0NAAZNU
A work in progress,
jeanette
Jeanette, I Love this song. It is a perfect start to my day and my 1st day back at work in 2 years. I praise God for this.
I’m not sure where I am going with this yet because you are just awakening some interesting thoughts. Is this similar to the land being cursed because it cries out with the blood of those who were murdered? Is this the same understanding that goes along with the fact that God commanded His followers to let the land have its sabbath rest and because they did not, He led them into captivity until the land had its alotted rest? God’s Word has so many connections between His people and the land, weather, plants, animals. Maybe because we live in a society so detached from those things we just can’t even see it or understand it.
Remember the scriptures that say ‘if they keep quiet the stones will cry out.’ Well, we never think of stones really crying out but it is interesting that He uses them to tell a message. Or in Habakkuk …the very stones in the walls cry out against you.’
Then there is the Biblical Feasts – (including Shabbat) that are all based around the moon/seasons and agriculture. We’ve totally blown those and I’m sure the sin has had consequences. It seems to us that the world is off kilter since the fall. Even the cycle of the moon seems like it has unequal increments.
Skip: In Acts 16 there is the story of the Philippian jailer. Note that after Paul assures him that he is in no mortal danger (because in fact all the prisoners are still there at the jail) the jailer asks “What must I do to be saved”. The footnote of my NASB explains for verse 30 the following “Now with the earthquake and his own impending death, he wanted to know about the way” The rationale for “salvation” in the footnote is tied to the impending death of the jailer. Yet he has just found out that he does not need to die/suicide since everybody is there. This must mean that the jailer is not fearful of death and where he will spend eternity (as in do you know where you are going when you die?) Rather he is wanting to be saved much more in keeping with your commentary. He has been amazed at the testimony of Paul and Silas as have the other prisoners. He wants to be unfettered to enjoy and participate in what they have…..in actual fact it is the jailer who has been in chains and now requests his “salvation”
Good point. Fear of death is the initial concern. After that something else takes over.