By Joni BoydTuesday 5 Dec 2023Hope MorningsPodcastsReading Time: 3 minutes
Everyone in the world has heard of John 3:16, even if they don’t know what it means or where it is from. ‘For God so loved the world…’ must be the best-known sentence in the Bible and so many of us know if off by heart.
How well do we actually know it, though? When was the last time we slowed down, took our time with John 3:16 and looked closely at everything it contains?
The John 3:16 Podcast is a handy resource for anyone who wants to dive deeper into the riches and depths of this wonderful declaration of God’s love, now and forever.
Rev. Cass Kwakye from Whitley College in Melbourne and Rev. Tom Habib of Moore Theological College in Sydney join Hope Mornings’ Ben McEachen to discuss John 3:16 in depth. By looking at the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus in which this verse appears as well as the wider context and Old Testament references, listeners are invited into a greater understanding of what’s happening.
As New Testament lecturers who have done serious study of John’s Gospel, Cass and Tom’s passion for God’s word and sharing its truth and beauty flows through their insights. Given how familiar John 3:16 is for so many of us, Cass and Tom effortlessly were able to highlight nuances and probe depths which you may not have appreciated before.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)
The first two episodes of The John 3:16 Podcast explore the build-up to John 3:16, with particular focus upon John chapters 1-3, Ezekiel 36 and Numbers 21. Episodes 3 and 4 focus on John 3:16, providing depth and detail about God’s love, his one and only Son, belief and eternal life. The final two episodes cover what happens after John 3:16, revealing more about how Jesus’ death and resurrection confirms his ‘Son of God’ Messiah status.
By approaching John 3:16 from three different angles: before, during and after, Tom and Cass walk listeners through the build-up to what Jesus exclaims in John 3:16, retracing the Old Testament threads which gather together in the early chapters of John. From the bizarre ‘snake on a pole’ incident in Numbers 21 to the understanding of baptism before Jesus arrived on earth, Cass and Tom unfurl foundations of belief in God’s one and only Son sent to eternally save.
Wanting us to grab hold of the abundant life Jesus offers, our New Testament experts reveal how the rest of John’s Gospel expands our grasp upon and love for what the Messiah does for us.
The John 3:16 Podcast is not about cramming in more information or dazzling each other with facts and trivia. Cass and Tom want your faith in Jesus to blossom and thrive through expanding our horizons of what the joyful promise of John 3:16 means for everyone’s soul.
The John 3:16 Podcast follows in the footsteps of Hope’s The Lord’s Prayer Podcast and Psalm 23 Podcast (both hosted by Ben McEachen, with Moore Theological College’s David Hohne).
Listen to The John 3:16 Podcast’s trailer in the listener above.
The John 3:16 podcast is available to stream on all platforms from Thursday December 7.