#repent and believe in the gospel
Some people attempt to share the gospel message by making a “sales pitch” for Jesus. The temptation in evangelism is to make the message seem as attractive as possible, and to minimize the difficulties involved in making a genuine decision to walk with the Messiah. Often the appeal is made along the lines of the ego’s self-interest. Jesus is put forth as a solution to life’s problems, a panacea for the worries of life, a blessing for your love life, etc. “Believe in Jesus – because it works for you! You’ll be amazed by the results! God will bless you and you’ll find happiness and contentment at last!"
Unless we are careful, using an approach like this can make a subtle appeal to the flesh, to the all-too-human desire for personal satisfaction, happiness, and even pride. But Jesus never made a "cheap sale” of His message and mission. He never appealed to the flesh as a reason for following Him. On the contrary, he repeatedly stated the cost of discipleship and warned of being hated for his sake. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard (i.e., τεθλιμμένη, "oppressive”) that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matt. 7:14). Indeed, Jesusoften intentionally offended people when they encountered him. Far from making it easy to believe, Jesus regularly put up stumbling blocks when people approached Him. He never was a “people pleaser” and He never apologized for speaking the truth, just as He never sought the crowd’s approval nor sought a “market” for His mission. Even less did Jesus seek the approval of the status quo, that is, the religious establishment of the Jews or the political establishment of Rome.
In short, Jesus’s life was scandalous to human beings and their various conceits. Encounters with him were always “tests” that evoked one of two responses: offense or faith. For example, Jesus scandalized his family (Matt. 12:48), his community (Matt. 13:54-57, John 6:42), the gawking crowd (John 6:26-30), various religious seekers (Mark 10:17-22), the religious establishment (Matt. 15:12), the political establishment (Luke 13:32), and even His own followers (John 6:61). His question is always, “Who do you say that I am?” People either were offended at Him or accepted Him, but Jesus made it impossible for them to be indifferentabout Who He was.
John J. Parsons
This is the reason, the evidence and great cause of condemnation [for all sin]: that Light is come into the world. Christ is the Light, foretold by the prophet Isaiah. He is styled, in the beginning of [John’s] Gospel, the true Light; that is, He has in perfection all the excellent qualities of light: the power to enlighten the minds of men in the knowledge of saving truth, to warm the affections with the love of it, to revive the disconsolate, and to make the heavenly seed of the Word to flourish and fructify in their lives. This Light is come into the world; that signifies not only His Incarnation, but His revealing the merciful counsel of God for our salvation, which the clearest spirits could never have discovered; [Christ alone] has opened the way that leads to eternal life.
But men loved darkness rather than light; because their deeds were evil: they preferred, chose, and adhered to their ignorance and errors, [choosing these over] the light of life, the saving knowledge of the gospel. Their ignorance is affected and voluntary, and no colour of excuse can be alleged for it; no, it is very culpable and guilty, by neglecting to receive instruction from the Son of God. The vices and lusts of men are the works of darkness, the fruits of their ignorance and errors; and they are so pleasant to the carnal corrupt nature, that to enjoy them securely, they obstinately reject the light of the gospel. This aggravates their sin and sentence.
Matthew Poole; Commentary on John 3:19
