John 3:9–16 • For God So Loved
Jan 18, 2026 • Jeff Atchison
John 3:16 begins “For God…”
“For” is a connecting word, so we must look back at the context to understand it.
And boy, is it a doozy! It speaks of Moses and a weird serpent in the wilderness. Check it out—
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
What is the connection? How does John 3:16 relate to this obscure Old Testament account? Why Jesus even refer to it?
We are going to have a wild ride together this Sunday through this amazing and well known passage.
Buckle up!