John 3:17 – For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18- “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 – And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 – For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 – But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Jesus came the first time to save, not to judge. The Aramaic New Testament translation says that “they should live by His hand”. This is a highly descriptive phrase and also a great description of the gospel of John. It basically says God sent His Son to save us from our sins because He loves us. It also says that we can live from His hand or it is a way to describe the intimate life with God we can now all enjoy in Christ. The rest of this powerful passage describes the difference between those walking in darkness, or in condemnation, to those who are coming under the influence of the light. Here is how Henry describes this passage.
“The light of the Gospel is sent into the world to reprove the evil deeds of sinners, to show people their transgressions, to show to be sin what they thought was not, so that sin by the new commandment might be seen to be exceeding sinful. The Gospel has to do its convicting work to make way for its work of comfort. This is why evildoers hate the light of the Gospel. There were those who had done evil and were sorry for it, who welcomed this light, such as the tax collectors and prostitutes. However, those who do evil and are determined to continue in it hate the light. Christ is hated because sin is loved. Those who do not come to the light show a secret hatred of the light.”
The Lord is describing the influence of gospel light on those who are rejecting the Lord and those who are being drawn in. The lost despise the light of God’s word because it exposes their evil lifestyle and the evil nature of their heart. Those being drawn in are convicted of their sin and are happily drawn into the message of grace introduced in John 3:16. It is the same way today, many attack the Word of God because of the evil in their own life, others are convicted of sin and run to the light.
