March 14, 2021

Fourth Sunday in Lent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading
  • Numbers 21:4-9
• Psalm
  • Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22G
• Second reading
  • Ephesians 2:1-10
• Gospel
  • John 3:14-21

First reading from Numbers 21:4-9
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”

Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Gospel reading from John
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up so 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.”

Sermon
Gregory the Great said “The more we read the Bible the richer it gets.” And the more and more we find it inexhaustible. Pastor Stephenson thinks our Gospel reading today a rich one. It captures the essentials of our faith. The verse John 3:16 is found everywhere. But we need to read it carefully. By “lifted up” John means the resurrection after the crucifixion. John 3:16 is read every year on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. In Numbers 21:9 we read how people who had been bitten by a snake when lifted up to see a bronze snake put on a pole would live. John used this to explain Jesus’ words in John 3:16. This is the most taught biblical passage. Luther called it the Bible in Miniature. We see it on bumper stickers and business cards. “He gave His only Son.” He acts on His decisions. Humanity needed to be saved. Further on, in John 3:19 we read “this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” When taken together, the two verses say that God sent his Son to heal humanity. God tells us that things went wrong. The church is called to go forth and proclaim. It awakens us. Humanity is drawn to darkness. Like the people in Numbers, all humanity is lifted up. It applies now, this moment, the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

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