“Condemnation?”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, March 9, 2023

John 5:19-29 (Forward, p. 39) CEV p. 1106

With even a cursory reading of John’s Gospel there seems to be something of a contradiction. In Jesus’ nighttime conversation with Nicodemus, He says, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them” (John 3:17). Indeed, the apostle Paul says to his colleague and protégé, Timothy (here I quote only in part): “God wants everyone to be saved…” (1 Timothy 2:4).

But then, in today’s passage, Jesus says, “The Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has made his Son the judge of everyone” (verse 22). And again, in verse 27, “And he has given his Son the right to judge everyone, because he is the Son of Man”. And, again, in verse 30, “I cannot do anything on my own. The Father sent me, and he is the one who told me how to judge. I judge with fairness, because I obey him, and I don’t just try to please myself.” To me, it seems a very fine line between judging and condemning.

Now, to be fair to Jesus, in this very same passage, Jesus also talks about the judgment of people at the Last Day, when they are held accountable for their deeds, whether good or bad. And this judgment appears to apply to all people without distinction.

But, coming back to our original ‘problem’ or question, the question of whether Jesus really condemns anyone. We get a definite answer to this later on in John’s Gospel, where Jesus says, “I am not the one who will judge those who refuse to obey my teachings. I came to save the people of this world, not to be their judge. But everyone who rejects me and my teachings will be judged on the last day by what I have said” (12:47-48).

That brings us full circle to something else that Jesus said in his chat with Nicodemus, “No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son” (3:18).

So, God/ Jesus sincerely wants all people, everyone on earth, to be saved. That is their intent. But God will not force Himself, or His salvation, upon anyone. He leaves that to their own choice, their own free will. And so, ultimately, as Jesus so eloquently points out, the outcome of their lives is solely up to them. They, everyone on earth, has freely chosen whether to be saved or condemned, simply by the choices they have made on earth. And here are the choices:

-whether to accept or reject Jesus

-whether to accept or reject His teachings

-whether to have faith, put their faith in Jesus, or not.

These are choices that fall to all of us, and not, I suspect, just once in our lives—as if one decision sets the dice forever—but by the choices that we make day by day. I happen to think that the disciple, Judas Iscariot, was once sincere in his trust in Jesus, in his faith in Jesus, but something happened. There were some fateful, incremental choices along the way that eroded his once fervent faith and trust—and look what happened! And so, I would counsel all who read these words not to think of their decision to follow Jesus as a once for all time eternal ‘fire insurance’ policy that covers them forever—regardless of whether they pay the premiums or not, or keep up the policy. I happen to think that we need to keep up the policy by continuing to trust and depend upon Jesus and continuing to trust His words and obey them. Amen.

Forward notes: “Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise’” (verse 19).

“Jesus heals the man who has been sick for thirty-eight long years. Thirty-eight years of wondering what value there might be in life, of questioning who and where God is, of cursing the very ground from which he cannot rise.

“I imagine this man felt singularly punished. Why him? But we hear in Jeremiah that not just this man but all of creation is cursed. Jeremiah himself [Jeremiah 4:9-10, 19-28] declares the curse on creation: the earth as a void, the skies without light, mountains quaking. If one didn’t know better, one might suspect Jeremiah of foreseeing climate change and related destruction. But even with Jeremiah—and always with God—there is hope. There is tomorrow and restoration. There is re-creation, and, as

with Jesus who refutes the criticisms of religious leaders, there is healing and there is resurrection.”

Moving Forward: “’I am the resurrection and the life,’ says the Lord. What desolation in your life might God restore to newness?”