John 3:20-21

[House]

NIV version




20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.


The context is Jesus´discourse with respect to Nicodemus´ question(s). My question is as follows:


1. In verse 20, why does Jesus say "everyone" who does evil will not come into the light? Evil doing non-believers come to Christ ... don´t they? Some believers are trapped in evil sins (i.e. some do evil sometimes), yet some also repent ... what does that mean? What is evil? Are all sins equally evil?


Thanks so much for the assistance. These questions came up in our family Bible study today.

 

[mdb614]

This is the way I take it: those who do not have the spirit of Christ living within them, are afraid of the light (the truth) because they don't want to be exposed for the sinners they are. No one is sinless besides Christ, but without Christ in our lives, our lives are all about us and what we do (deeds), even though it is all about what He has done.\

I know this was/is something i have struggled with in the past and have seen friends struggle with. When you live in a sinful lifestyle, it can be difficult to come out of it and be exposed to others as a sinner (if that makes sense...). I invited a friend to church and his excuse for not coming was "I don't think I'm good enough to go yet" (not an exact quote..)

Being a christian, we have to realize it has nothing to do with what we do, we can never be good enough or do enough to earn salvation. It is all about what Jesus did for us, that is why the one who "lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God".

Not a great explanation, I have a difficult time putting that into words, but I hope that helps.

 

[Unix]

this moralizing statement, in which everything depends solely on the quality of man already present, cannot be the meaning of the Evangelist. Rather, the character of man is determined only in the encounter with Jesus: whoever opens himself to Jesus in spite of, or with, his sins is good.

Haenchen, Ernst, Funk, Robert W., & Busse, Ulrich (1984). John: A commentary on the Gospel of John. Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (p. 205). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.


The verb, translated "be exposed" (NAB) in verse 20, has a range of meanings that is difficult to capture in English: expose, condemn, convict, reprimand. Thus "exposure" of the person's deeds implies that he or she will be condemned for them. Although the gospel itself, contains practically no formal ethical teaching, this passage shows that the Evangelist presupposes such teaching, since he can invoke differences in ethical performance to explain why some people do not believe.
This is not the only explanation for nonbelief advanced in the gospel. The fact that the Evangelist has several explanations is one indication that his dualistic language is not part of a rigid system that classifies people in one category or another. Whatever explanations he attempts, the Evangelist never compromises his conviction that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Perkins, Pheme (1978). The Gospel according to St John—A Theological commentary (pp. 47-48). Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press.

 

[ebedmelech]

NIV version




20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.


The context is Jesus´discourse with respect to Nicodemus´ question(s). My question is as follows:


1. In verse 20, why does Jesus say "everyone" who does evil will not come into the light? Evil doing non-believers come to Christ ... don´t they? Some believers are trapped in evil sins (i.e. some do evil sometimes), yet some also repent ... what does that mean? What is evil? Are all sins equally evil?


Thanks so much for the assistance. These questions came up in our family Bible study today.

I would say you're reading it incorrectly. Dont separate "everyone" from the statement. Read it as it says:

"everyone who does evil will not come to the light"...the point being if they came to the light they wouldn't be doing evil.

Indeed evil doers come to Christ...but first they need to be convicted about the evil they do.

 

[StephenMason]

First of all, the NIV is a corrupted version, so you will get nothing but error until u read an Authorized Version, then ask your questions.