“I did not come to condemn the world, but to save it” (Jn. 12:47). It is all too easy in these lengthy passages from the Gospel of John (such as this twelfth chapter) to miss the nuggets of Good News buried in them. And this is such a nugget. Indeed, it is Very Good News. But for many Christians, it is news too good to be true. Far too many of us have found reasons for condemning ourselves and/or others. One cause of this is a very subtle, very hidden form of spiritual pride

You can hardly watch a sports event without seeing some placard proclaiming, in scriptural shorthand, “John 3:16!” Yes, God indeed did (and does) so love the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. No argument with that. But how great it would be if equal attention and enthusiasm were given to the next verse: God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Ponder that: “.