I’m not sure why we do this all the time, but we certainly are prone to wanting to ‘simplify’ things, be it ideas, storylines, and yes...even the gospel. This tendency goes back to a pet-peeve of mine where we have been conditioned to absorb, express, and summarize important information using sounds bites, memes, and catchy phrases. “Just give me the cliff notes”, as the saying goes, or ‘in a nutshell’...or the ‘Reader Digest Version, please”. We seem to have very short attention spans these days along with a lack of patience to ‘study to show ourselves approved’ (2 Tim. 2:15).

Take John 3:16 , for example: yes, it is a great verse, but that is not the whole gospel. And the story of the thief on the cross where we get to eavesdrop in on the conversation between Jesus and one of the men who were crucified next to Him...is truly a gift to all of us; but it does not represent what the gospel is all about. 

I heard a well-known and respected preacher recently expound on what he saw as probably the ‘greatest scripture in the Bible’. Really? There are over 31,000 verses in the Book which tells me God had a lot to say to us...and you want to encapsulate all He had to communicate to us into one verse? And how many different denominations are out there today in the ‘church world’ whose doctrines have been built upon just a handful of verses? No wonder the ‘world’ looks at our divisiveness and shakes their heads in confusion.

It's one thing when politicians do this where a single label or acronym automatically groups people into one camp or another (MAGA; RINO; LIBS), but it’s another thing altogether when we in the church do this with God’s word.

And since I mentioned John 3:16 , let’s turn to John’s gospel and read that portion of text, but be sure to include 14-17 as well, given there is a lot to unpack there.

Here are a few takeaways from that passage: God seems to have a genuine concern for humanity who are in the world and are in a dire situation. I say ‘dire’ because we read twice where this idea of ‘perishing’ is a legitimate concern God has for us all; but because of His love for those in this world, He had a plan to ‘save’ us, a plan that included sending His only begotten Son, that whoever would ‘believe in Him, should not perish...’.

That word ‘perish’ is used two times in that portion of text, and it is what I want to focus on today. But please consider and understand this one key truth: Jesus did not come to condemn any of us; rather He came to ‘save’ us from...perishing. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it is not God’s will for ANYONE to perish...and for ‘ALL men to be saved’ (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4)

To ‘perish’... is to ‘suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden, or untimely way’ as any English dictionary will explain. It’s a word that appears regularly in our Bibles whose Greek meaning means ‘to destroy fully; literally, figuratively’. One of the places where Jesus used the word was how ‘food perishes’ (John 6:27) which implies ‘by rot or decay’. So for the sake of this lesson, (which will probably be a ‘2-parter’)... when we come across that word, the timing as to how/when one might ‘perish’ can be sudden...or prolonged. What will remain to be somewhat ambiguous (for now) is the method in or how ...one might actually ‘perish’. With that, let’s turn to Luke 13 and please read vs. 1-5.

A conversation ensued where some tragedies were brought up addressing how some people ‘suffered and died’ in two separate incidents. The first one was brought to the attention of Jesus, and in response, He addressed not only that one, but brings up another unfortunate incident where a tower collapsed and killed 18 people (4).

I can easily see where if Jesus was having this conversation today, He might have referenced that recent helicopter crash in NYC where the rotor fell off and the copter plummeted into the Hudson River...and all six passengers were killed. And I suppose He could have easily referenced the towers that collapsed in the same city on 9/11. In both incidents where people clearly perished, Jesus posed a rather interesting question that probably runs through many of our minds at times: “Do you think that these people who died were any ‘worse sinners’ than all the other people who lived there in those cities?” (2,4)

Then, He answers His own question with a very profound and sobering response: “I tell you, No (they were not ‘worse sinners’)...but unless you repent... you will all ...likewise ...perish.” (3,5)

Would you just let that marinate in your spirit for a bit, and as you do, ask yourself these questions: Was this a warning, or a threat? And what do you suppose it means to ‘repent’ (and repent from what)?

Then, if you would, please...turn to Acts 3:19-24 and read that portion in Peter’s sermon where he references the words spoken by Moses about a coming ‘Prophet’ (Jesus). What is the chilling warning given there in vs. 22-23. Was he ‘exaggerating’... maybe using ‘emotional hyperbole’ to create a response from the people? I’m guessing not, which might explain why we read repeatedly how in the early days of the church’s inception...”great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things...” (Acts 5:11; 2:43;9:31)

Join me tomorrow....Lord willing?