Everybody Needs Jesus! Series

[4] RESPECTABLE PEOPLE NEED JESUS, SO DO RELIGIOUS PEOPLE.

*Nicodemus was a most religious person. He possessed great religious knowledge. Nicodemus' first words to Jesus were, "We know," and he knew God's Law better than almost anyone else in the nation. He was a Pharisee, and there were never more than 6,000 of those religious devotees.

*As a Pharisee, Nicodemus didn't just know the law, he tried his best to live up to it. He was religious to the core. The Pharisees took drastic measures to make sure that they obeyed the letter of the law. They fasted and prayed and studied the Scriptures. They lived spiritually disciplined lives. But they were just as lost as they could be without Jesus Christ, and they were lost because no one can fully live up to God's law. (1)

2. EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE WE ARE LOST WITHOUT HIM, AND BECAUSE JESUS LOVES US!

*We begin to see the Lord's love starting in vs. 2. There Nicodemus:

2. . .came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.''

3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''

4. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?''

5. Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

*In vs. 2, Nicodemus did the most important thing that anyone can ever do in life: He went to Jesus! And Jesus began to lead Nicodemus into eternal life. Why did the Lord do that? -- Because He loved Nicodemus! And here are some ways we can see the Lord's love.

[1] FIRST: JESUS TREATS EVERYBODY THE SAME WAY.

*The Lord wasn't impressed by Nicodemus' power and prestige. Today, Jesus cares just as much about us as He does the President, the Governor, the richest man in the world, the smartest man in the world, or the best athlete in the world.

*Jesus treats everybody the same, because He loves everybody the same. Praise the Lord!

[2] ANOTHER WAY TO SEE THE SAVIOR'S LOVE IS THAT HE KEEPS FIRST THINGS FIRST.

*In vs. 3, Jesus got right to the point: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'' In other words: "Nicodemus, you must be born again!"

*We must be born again. As I explained before, the reason why we must be born again spiritually is because physical birth can only give us physical life. Horses produce horses. Dogs produce dogs. Cats produce cats. And mortal people produce mortal people. This is why in vs. 6, Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," but "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

*In other words: The people who have been given the second birth by God's Holy Spirit have eternal, spiritual life. The Holy Spirit of God produces a new kind of person by a new kind of birth. And it is this spiritual birth that gives us God's eternal life. When we are born again, we get a brand new nature, a new spiritual heart. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, we are "new creatures" in Christ. We also become children of God, part of the family of God, and there will be a family resemblance.