Gospel: John 3:16-21

God loved the world. The word world is one of those words used more frequently in the Gospel of John. It has several meanings. World may signify the earth (Jn 11, 9; 21, 25) or also the universe (Jn 17, 5.24), World can also mean the humanity (Jn 1, 9; 3, 16; 4, 42; 6, 14; 8, 12), or a large group of persons (Jn 12, 19). 

 

Here, in our text the word world also has the sense of humanity: God so loves humanity that he gave his only Son. As a Father full of tenderness and not of a severe judgment, God sends his Son not to judge and condemn the world, but in order that humanity may be saved through him. And the Evangelist repeats what he had said in the Prologue: many persons do not want to accept Jesus, because his light reveals the evil which exists in them.

 

In every human being, there is a divine seed, a trait of the Creator. Jesus, the revelation of the Father, is a response to this deepest desire of the human being. The one, who wants to be faithful to what he has deepest in him, accepts Jesus. It is difficult to find a broader ecumenical vision than the one expressed in these three verses in the Gospel of John.

 

To complete the significance of the word world in the Fourth Gospel: other times the word world means that part of humanity opposed to Jesus and to his message. This world which is contrary to the practice of the liberty of Jesus, is directed by the enemy or Satan, also called the “prince of this world” (Jn 14, 30; 16, 11). This world persecutes and kills the communities. The persecutors are those who practice injustice using for this the name of God (Jn 16, 2). The hope which the Gospel gives to the persecuted communities is that Jesus is stronger than the world.