The Lifted Son and the Love of God

Jesus tells Nicodemus that heavenly truth will be understood through the Son of Man who descended from heaven and will be “lifted up.” He explicitly compares this to Moses lifting the bronze serpent in Numbers 21: the dying Israelites looked at God’s appointed sign and lived, and Jesus says the Son of Man must likewise be lifted up so believers may have eternal life. John then frames salvation in the love of God, who gives his unique Son not to condemn the world but to save. Light and darkness return from the prologue as a moral and revelatory choice: coming to the light exposes what a person loves.