John’s Gospel #4 Unasked Questions
CHCC: January 27, 2008
John 3:1-21
INTRODUCTION: VIDEO
John 3:16 is the central truth of life captured in 25 simple words. Jesus made this statement to a man who came to see Him late one night. Look at the beginning of John chapter 3: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, John 3:1-3
Let’s stop right there for just a minute. In reply, Jesus said… In reply to what? Nicodemus hadn’t asked a question. All Nicodemus did so far was kind of smooth-talk Jesus. He used the respectful title of Rabbi and he said, of course, God MUST be with you or you couldn’t do these miracles we’ve seen you doing.
But Jesus cut through all the fluff and answered the question Nicodemus didn’t even know he needed to ask. In reply Jesus declared, … "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
Nicodemus hadn’t asked, What do I need to do in order to be part of Your Kingdom? But Jesus knew this was the answer he needed.
1. What do I need?
Nicodemus didn’t know he NEEDED to change anything in order to please God. Of all people, he thought he was already doing what God required. He was a member of the Sanhedrin --- an elite group of 70 men who ruled the Jewish nation in religious matters. He had given his life to studying God’s Word. He knew and followed the laws of Moses and the traditions of Jewish Rabbis. Nicodemus was highly respected by the religious Jews. He had it all: religious status, wealth, and great influence.
So why did Nic come to see Jesus in the dead of night? (His friends probably called him Nic, so that’s what we’ll do, too.) I think Nic was curious about Jesus. More than that, I believe he was drawn to Jesus in some way he didn’t fully understand.
Perhaps Nic wanted to figure out what it was about Jesus that seemed so unique. Maybe he thought he could use his influence to help Jesus. At any rate, he probably thought Jesus would be grateful to have his help … and maybe this young carpenter from Nazareth would be a little in awe of him.
But Jesus knew that Nic was the one who stood in need of help. All the things Nic thought gave him good-standing with God were worthless. Underneath Nic’s smooth, confident exterior, Jesus saw a man who desperately needed help. And Jesus told him, Here is the honest truth. NO ONE --- not even someone as moral and religious as you --- can see the kingdom of God unless He is born again.
I heard a modern story that reminds me of Nic. In an autobiography of Billy Graham called Just As I Am, he tells about attending an event in Warsaw where Catholics and Protestants joined together. He says,“I sat beside a monsignor who told me about his own spiritual background.”
The monsignor told Billy Graham that years before, he had been in Chicago riding a bus. He was surprised when he felt a tap him on his shoulder. When he turned, the black lady sitting behind him demanded, “Sir, have you been born again?” He looked down at his religious robes, then back at her and sputtered, “I’m a priest, Ma’am!” The lady wasn’t fazed. “That’s not what I asked,” she boomed. “I asked, Have you been born again?”
When the priest got back to his residence he couldn’t get this question out of his mind. He said he got out his Bible and read the passage where Jesus told Nicodemus you must be born again. After reading John 3 several times with new eyes, the priest knelt and prayed a new kind of prayer.
Billy Graham wrote, “He said he didn’t know what to call that incident – recommitment, rededication, or new birth --- but for him it was the beginning of a new relationship with God.” (p.487)
So many people count on making it to Heaven based on their own morality or religiosity. They think they can purchase a priceless treasure with a fist full of counterfeit bills. Even the best of us --- a Polish Monsignor, Billy Graham, … or Nicodemus --- no one has what it takes to pay his or her own way.
When Jesus told Nic You must be born again, Nic lost his smooth veneer. He blurted out, "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!" John 3:4
Nic wasn’t expecting a real answer to this hypothetical question. Basically, he was saying, “What are you talking about? That’s impossible!”
Jesus explained, Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ’You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:6-8
Nic still didn’t get it. I can see Jesus shaking his head in disappointment when he said, “You are Israel’s teacher, but you still don’t understand…” John 3:10
But Jesus didn’t give up in Nic. He knew that this was a man who was genuinely looking for truth. So, Jesus answered another unasked question. Maybe Nic was too polite to ask this outright, but what he wanted to know was, Who gives YOU the authority to tell ME --- a distinguished Rabbi and leader of the nation --- what I need to do? In other words, Why should I listen to You?
2. Why should I listen to You?
In this late-night private conversation, Jesus told Nic more about his identity than he had told anyone else so far. Nic had to have been shocked when Jesus said, No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. John 3:13 As a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, Nic could have had Jesus arrested then and there for outright blasphemy!
Instead, he kept listening, while Jesus explained that He was the fulfillment of an Old Testament event that Nic was very familiar with. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15 (This refers to a time when the Israelites were dying from snake bites in the wilderness. Moses made a pole with a bronze snake on it. Anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at that pole and they would live.)
Why did Jesus tell Nicodemus so much about salvation? I don’t think it had anything to do with Nic’s prestigious position in the Sanhedrin. In the next chapter, Jesus has a similar conversation with a woman who had absolutely NO religious credentials. Jesus shared truth and light with anyone who was willing to accept truth. In Nic, Jesus saw someone who was drawn toward the light.
Are you drawn toward God’s light? Jesus will open his heart to you IF you will listen. You may not understand everything you hear from Him … just as Nic didn’t understand … but you WILL hear the truth, and you will have enough light to take your next step.
There are two more mentions of Nicodemus in John’s Gospel, and both show that Jesus was right about Nic’s character. John chapter 7 tells about an argument among the Jewish leaders. They had sent temple guards to arrest Jesus in Galilee. But the guards came back empty handed --- and their only explanation was, “No one ever spoke as this man does!” Nicodemus spoke up for Jesus and said, “Shouldn’t we follow our own law and give him a hearing before we condemn him?” (vs. 51) But the other leaders turned on him in anger.
Later, John 19 records that after Jesus’ crucifixion, Nicodemus joined one of Jesus’ disciples named Joseph of Arimathea. Nic brought an expensive mixture of myrrh and aloes in order to give Jesus a respectable burial in Joseph’s tomb.
On the night when Jesus first met Nic, he answered questions Nic didn’t know he needed to ask. First Jesus answered the question, What do I need to do? He told Nic, You must be born again.
Jesus answered another unasked question: Why should I listen to You? Jesus said, I am the One and Only who came from heaven. I speak from firsthand knowledge. Here is my promise: anyone who looks to me with faith will be saved.
Then, in John 3:16, Jesus answered the question. Who can receive this promise?
3. Who can receive this promise?
Jesus said, "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. (John 3:16) In other words, this Promise is for Everyone.
Earnest Hemingway wrote a Short Story called "The Capital Of The World," where he tells about a father and his teenage son who lived in Spain. Their relationship became strained, and the son ran away from home. The father began a long search for his rebellious son,. He finally put an ad in the Madrid newspaper.
The ad simply read: "Dear Paco, meet me in front of the Madrid newspaper office tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you." Now, Paco was a common name in Spain, and Hemingway writes, the next day at noon in front of the newspaper office there were 800 Pacos --- all seeking forgiveness.
All of us need to be forgiven. In that respect, we’re all named Paco. So Why doesn’t everyone take advantage of this amazing offer of grace?
Here’s how Jesus answered that question: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:19-21
Think about it. Out of 70 members of the Sanhedrin, only ONE (Nic) came to Jesus looking for God’s truth. It’s tragic that so many people turn away from God’s grace. I find it hard to imagine making that choice. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live life without God’s grace.
CONCLUSION:
We’re going to end by singing a song that I think tells the message of John chapter 3 better than any other. Amazing Grace was written by a man who spent his early years as a captain of a slave ship. After his conversion, he served as the minister of a church for 44 years before his death at the age of 83. Here’s what he had inscribed on his tomb stone:
"John Newton, … once an Infidel and Libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich Mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy."
This was a man who lived the truth of John 3:16
