Journal: Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Volume: JOTGES 21:40 (Spring 2008)
Article: The Use and Abuse of John 3:16: A Review of Max Lucado’s Book "3:16—The Numbers of Hope"
Author: Robert Vacendak

JOTGES 21:40 (Spring 2008) p. 77

The Use and Abuse of John 3:16:
A Review of Max Lucado’s Book
3:16—The Numbers of Hope

Robert Vacendak

Senior Pastor

Ridge Pointe Fellowship
Dallas, Tx

I. Introduction

It was Sir Francis Bacon who said: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”

Well, the moment I saw the title of pastor and best-selling author Max Lucado’s newest book, 3:16—The Numbers of Hope,1 as a person who is passionate about the Free Grace message, I was interested in chewing on what his take would be on the most important subject in the world—eternal life—and the meaning of John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

At the outset, allow me to say that you only have to read a few paragraphs before you are reminded about just how gifted a writer Max Lucado is. Whether you are reading about Nicodemus’s twilight encounter with Christ two millennia ago or an incident from only this past year, Lucado’s ability to paint a picture of what has transpired via interesting and relevant storytelling is nearly without parallel.

With great skill, what he does in the first twelve chapters is to take John 3:16 apart nearly word-by-word. For example, after introducing Nicodemus in chapter 1 (and the fact that people “must be born again”),

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in chapter 2 he focuses simply on God and His desire for the salvation of mankind (“For God so loved the world…”). Each chapter follows this pattern through chapter 12.

In chapter 3, Lucado concentrates on the phrase the world and helps people see their true spiritual condition—where they stand in relation to a holy God. In chapter 4, he centers his attention on the word loved and shares numerous examples of God’s love for sinful humanity. This is the pattern of the majority of the book (pp. 2-130)—a word or phrase from John 3:16 is highlighted and then multiple stories, Scripture texts, quotations, and illustrations are given for the purpose of illumination.

Chapter 13 is the concluding chapter containing an invitation to the unsaved. After his conclusion, the author includes forty pithy devotional chapters concerning the life of Christ that he encourages people to read once a d...