Lectio Divina: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2025)

Jn 3:13-17. Lectio Divina Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The gospel reading begins with a statement of Nicodemus that “no one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.” The OT tells us that although Enoch, and Elijah were assumed into heaven, Jesus was the only one had been in heaven before returning there. That is why he could say, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11:27). Then John goes on to refer to the saving effects of Christ’s death to the way in which Moses lifted up a bronze serpent in the wilderness to cure people who had been bitten. In Num 21:9 we read, “Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.” Like the bronze snake Jesus was “lifted up” and “exalted” in a similar way thereby representing a double meaning. The crucifixion is referred to as the exaltation and glorification of Jesus in contrast to a shameful defeat. Whereas the snake bites of Satan bring death, the crucifixion of Jesus brings healing and eternal life to those who believe in him.

Many commentators maintain, not without good reason, that Jn 3:16 is the most important verse in the bible and the kerygma (i.e., the core Christian belief) encapsulated in one verse. It is not quite clear whether these words were uttered by Jesus, or John the evangelist. Commenting on the verse a footnote in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible says, that the earthly mission of Jesus is part of the heavenly plan of the Father, who displays the depth of his love through the sacrifice of his son. As Rom 5:8 says, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” In 1 Jn 3:16, we read, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Par 219 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “God's love for Israel is compared to a father's love for his son. His love for his people is stronger than a mother's love for her children. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved; his love will be victorious over even the worst infidelities: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son."

Speaking in 2018 about Jn 3:16, Pope Francis said, “These words, pronounced by Jesus during the conversation with Nicodemus, summarize a theme that is at the center of the Christian proclamation: even when a situation seems desperate, God intervenes, offering man salvation and joy. God, in fact, doesn’t stand apart, but enters into the history of humanity, He “involves” Himself in our life; He enters it, to animate it with His grace and to save it.” Jn 3:18 marks a transition from the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus to an extended monologue by Jesus or the evangelist himself. The mention of eternal life refers to the divine quality of new life in Christ as well as its duration. We receive this gift already on earth in the hope that we will possess it in a definitive way in heaven.

The gospel reading concludes with a very reassuring verse that tells us that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” In par 15 of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the Catholic and Lutheran Church we read, “Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.” To avail of the saving grace of Christ, trust in the mercy of God poured out at the cross is needed. As St Paul said in Eph 2:9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” This gratuitous mercy needs to find expression in works of merciful love. As Jesus said in Lk 6:36-37, “be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” It is my belief that the notion of justification already adverted to, is implicit in Rm 8:1 where St Paul says, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We were inserted into Christ as a result of baptism, and we appropriate that singular grace by means of personal trust in the saving merits of Christ’s suffering and death.