The Chosen – Episode Seven – Reflection

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,

that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

John 3:16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible. It shows up constantly on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and even signs at football games. In this episode, we see the context for this promise that has meant so much to so many Jesus-followers. Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, one of the religious gurus of his day. Every word in the verse is loaded with significance, but one of the words that gives hope is “whoever.” Whoever believes. “Whoever” means all of us. No one of us is not “whoever.”

Nicodemus was “whoever.” He was one of the least likely to follow Jesus (and we know that he eventually does from John 7:45-52 and 19:38-42). While other Pharisees were blind to their need for Jesus and sought to oppose and kill Him, Nicodemus wanted to approach and question Him. One might think the “religious crowd” of the day would be most open to the teaching of Jesus, but they were more often the objects of the teacher’s rebukes. Jesus called them “hypocrites” and said that their hearts were far from Him. But Jesus also looked at Nicodemus and said, “whoever.” Nicodemus’ religious works did not make him righteous before God, but they also did not disqualify him from following Jesus. Nicodemus, with all his religious background and baggage and blindness, was still invited to follow Jesus.

Matthew, meanwhile, would not be the guy in the front row of church like Nicodemus. And he wouldn’t be in the back row, either. Matthew, the tax collector, was excluded from the religious circles of his day, a total outsider. He was worse than a leper, because his uncleanness was caused by his own choice to betray his people and profit from Rome. But Matthew, as much as Nicodemus or anyone else, was “whoever.” Matthew, who was never invited anywhere, was invited to follow Jesus. And not only that, he would soon host a dinner party for other “sinners” and would invite them to follow Jesus with him. And at the party, Jesus would say “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31).

Nicodemus was sick with religious pride and self-righteousness. Matthew was unhealthy enough spiritually to be a complete outcast. But Jesus invites them both to believe. Along with whoever. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Are you a “whoever”? Too often we think we don’t fit into the right category when it comes to be accepted by God. But Jesus’ category is “whoever.” We all belong to the group that Jesus died for, and we are all invited to believe on Him for eternal life. And if that sounds different, then, like Jesus says in this episode, it’s time to get used to different!