That sums it up

Today we will consider the most-quoted verse in all the Bible — second only to "Jesus wept." It's printed on coffee mugs, stretched across billboards from coast to coast, towed on banners behind airplanes at the beach, and emblazoned under the eyes of famous football players. Of course, I'm speaking of John 3:16. And it's only fitting that this is the most popular verse in the world, because it sums up the Gospel in a single verse.

As I studied this passage, I felt the weight of my own inadequacy — the limits of time and space, and certainly the limits of my knowledge — in presenting it. Even before we get into the message, I confess that I cannot fully convey the importance of what we're about to consider. But this is the truly, truly — the verily, verily — the "most assuredly" of John chapter 3 and of the whole New Testament. May we as believers never lose our wonder at the value, the depth, and the awesome message of this verse.

We live in a world that has seen this verse so often that I fear we have forgotten its message and the wonderful content within it. So today, I want to scratch the surface, and I'll happily leave the deep exegesis to your own study and experience of the same. The message is simple: it is for those who believe. That is all that is required. Just as the children of Israel needed only to look upon the bronze serpent and live, we need only to believe on the Son of God — whom God gave as the sacrifice for our sin. John 3:16