John 3:1-7, 16
There was an old farmer and his wife who had turned in for the night and were just about to fall off to sleep when they heard the clock in the hallway begin to chime. They heard it chime nine o’clock, ten o’clock, eleven o’clock, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Finally, the wife turned to her husband and said,
"Just what time is it anyway?" The old farmer replied, "I don’t know, but it’s later than it’s ever been before."
I don’t know about you, but in the last decade with terrorism and war continuing that, perhaps all of us have that sense, realizing that no one knows exactly what time it is, but we are certainly closer to the Lord’s coming than we have ever been before.
After the bombing in Oklahoma city had taken place, a CNN report indicated that the rescue attempts were grinding to a halt; they were going to end the next day. One of the reporters, apparently trying to bolster the spirit of the nation, concluded his report that evening by quoting the poem "Invictus."
He came to that last line, and he said with great fervor: "I am the captain of my fate, master of my soul."
Isn’t that a foolish statement? Here he was standing right in front of a monument to the contrary! No one is captain of their fate! No one knows the days that we will have upon this earth!
So it is with a great sense of urgency that I ask you this question: Have you come to the place in your own spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die tonight, that you would go to heaven?
A Question of Uncertainty
As we come to this passage in John 3, we are going to read the story of a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a man who, for almost all of his entire life, thought that he knew for certain that he was going to go to heaven when he died ... until Jesus arrived on the scene. We don’t know if Nicodemus had heard Jesus teach personally prior to this time or if he had just heard about His teachings.
Whatever was the case, as we read this passage, we can sense that there is a sudden doubt that has arrived on the frontier of Nicodemus’ heart and mind. There’s a question. He is no longer certain.
Joh 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
Joh 3:2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Now wait a minute, did we miss something there? "Jesus answered..." You see, Jesus is replying to a question that Nicodemus never asked, but because Jesus knows the hearts of all men and women, He knew the question that was on Nicodemus’ heart.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus *said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?"
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, ’You must be born again.’
With those five little words ("You must be born again."), Jesus pulverized every single religious prop upon which Nicodemus had been leaning his entire life. So then, Nicodemus was left to wonder.
You see, Nicodemus, as a Pharisee for his entire life, had been banking on two different things to get him to heaven. First, he had been banking upon his religious heritage. He was a son of Abraham. He was a Jew of all Jews. He was one of God’s chosen people. By his religious heritage, he was going to enter the kingdom of God. He was going to enter into heaven.
Second, he was also banking upon his religious rule-keeping. The Pharisees were the self-appointed guardians of the law. They were the rule-keepers of all rule-keepers. In fact, they added a number of rules onto that original law of Moses, some six hundred different rules, that Nicodemus kept. Jesus called it "straining at a gnat." They strained to keep those rules. Nicodemus was the chief of all rule-keepers, even a ruler of the Sanhedrin ... the Jewish ruling body of only seven members.
So Nicodemus was banking upon his religious heritage and his religious rule-keeping. Then Jesus just jerks this religious rug right out from underneath him and says, "No, Nicodemus! You must be born again." "You must be born from above" is another translation of that phrase. You must be born of God’s Spirit.
Right Destination, Wrong Ticket
Wow! Nicodemus didn’t know how to handle it. He didn’t know how to respond. If I could compare it to a modern-day analogy, let’s put it like this. It’s as though Jesus was saying to Nicodemus that he was like a man who would go out to Mr. Cheap-O Travel Agency and buy what he thinks is a real airline ticket.
Then he goes out to the airport and finds the proper terminal. He sits confidently, holding onto what he thinks is a real ticket. The plane arrives.
He walks to the gate. He’s about to enter in, and the attendant checks his ticket and says, "Sir, I’m sorry. This ticket that you’re holding is a fake ticket." So the man is shocked as the plane takes off, leaving him behind. All that while, he was holding onto what he thought was a real ticket that turns out to be a bogus one.
May I ask you, is it possible that you may be holding onto a bogus ticket? Or are you holding onto the real thing? Let me ask another question to stimulate your thinking a little bit further. This is purely hypothetical. I don’t believe it’s going to happen this way at all. Let’s say, suppose, you were going to die today and stand at the gate of heaven and God say to you, "Why should I let you into My heaven?"
What would you say?
Well, let’s bring Nicodemus up to modern times even further. Imagine for a few minutes what Nicodemus might say, if he were living today, particularly if he was living in the Bible belt of our country. What do you think he would say?
I think, first of all, Nicodemus would probably say, "I think that You ought to open up the gate of heaven and let me in because I have led a moral life." Jesus would have to say, "No, Nicodemus. I’m sorry, but that’s a bogus ticket." Nick would argue, "I’ve led a good life, a moral life!" Again, he was the rule-keeper of all rule-keepers. Some of the rules even bordered on the absurd. They could drink a cup of vinegar on the Sabbath, yet they couldn’t tilt their heads back gently and gargle that vinegar on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said that you could eat the egg of a chicken that was laid on the Sabbath but only as long as you killed the chicken the next day. All this time, you’ve wondered where the tradition of chicken on Sunday came from!
He kept the rules to the absolute limit. He was the moral man of all moral men.
Jesus would have to say, "No, Nicodemus. That’s a bogus ticket." Too often, people tell me, especially at a funeral, "Well, he was a good man, she was a good man. They always tried to help others. They were always there when there was a need."
You know, I’d have to say I’ve led a pretty moral life, compared to Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer or the Oklahoma City bomber. But if you put me up against Billy Graham or Mother Teresa, I’d be pretty low on the totem pole.
You see, the fact of it all is that there’s only one life to which our lives will be compared. That’s the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s standard is absolute perfection. God is a holy and just God. Jesus was saying, "No, Nick. I’m sorry. That’s a bogus ticket."
A second thing Nicodemus might try is: "I’ve attended church every Sunday."
In fact, as a Pharisee, he would not only have been there every Sunday, every Wednesday, and probably two or three other times during the week, but he went to church every day.
Listen, you can go to the ballpark every time the Rangers play and that won’t make you a professional baseball player. You can attend every session of the Senate and that won’t make you a Senator. You can go to the hospital every day until the cows come home and that will not make you a brilliant heart surgeon.
And Jesus would say to Nick, "Nicodemus, I’m sorry. Attending church doesn’t make you a Christian. That’s a bogus ticket."
Then Nick would probably cry out, "I believe in God. That’s why you should let me in." Amazingly enough, researchers tell us that ninety-four percent of Americans say that they believe in God. Jesus would say, "That’s great. You must believe in God."
Then I think He would quote James 2:19 where James writes, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that ... and shudder!"
Jesus would say, "Nick, I’m sorry. That’s good, but that’s not the right ticket."
Then Nicodemus would have to scratch his head, think, and cry out, "I’ve been baptized and taken communion!" Jesus would say, "Nicodemus, yes, I commanded you to be baptized. Yes, I’ve said to take communion in remembrance of Me. But Nick, those are demonstrations of your faith. They’re not what is necessary to get into the kingdom of heaven. I’m sorry Nicodemus. That’s another bogus ticket."
Nick would think, "Oh, I remember one time when I was in the synagogue, I had this most wonderful awesome feeling that come over me! It was such an oosey-goosey kind of feeling. I just got all warm on the inside. Is that it?"
I’ve heard and read about people who’ve been asked this question and they begin talking about a time when they almost died, or when they were clinically dead.
They say, "Suddenly, there was this bright yellow light. I saw these piercing blue eyes and felt warm all over." Jesus would say, "That’s a wonderful experience, but that’s a bogus ticket."
People have had Christians and ministers come and pray with them. I heard about a family who went to someone who was supposed to be performing miracles and they come away saying, "I felt so much better when they prayed for me." Jesus would say, "Nick, that’s a bogus ticket."
So here he is. "How can this be? How can a man be born again? How can you be born from above? How can you be born of the Spirit?"
Jesus goes on to explain. I want us to look at one verse in conclusion, probably the most familiar verse in all of God’s Word ... John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
How can a man or a woman or a child be sure? How can they be certain? How can they be born again? Jesus says, "Yes, God is holy and just. But by just being good, you could never be good enough. But because God so loved the world,
He gave His only Son Jesus to die on the cross and be raised from the dead in order to pay the penalty for our sins. Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. He will be born again from above. It’s belief, Nicodemus."
What did Jesus mean by "belief"? It’s a wonderful word in the New Testament.
It doesn’t just simply mean a head-knowledge. It doesn’t just mean a belief in God alone. It’s a combination of two or three things.
It means that we acknowledge the fact that we, indeed, are sinners, that we, indeed, are separated from Him. We are separated from a personal relationship with Him in this life because of our sin, and we are separated from the possibility of an eternity with Him in heaven because of our sin. We could never be that good. God doesn’t have a quota system. We acknowledge that we are in trouble and that we need Christ.
Believing in Him then means that we transfer our trust and faith to Christ and Christ alone for that eternal life, for that "born again" into His kingdom. It means transferring our trust from trusting in leading a moral life to trusting in Him, realizing that it’s not what we do or could ever do. But it’s what He has done.
He paid the debt that we could never pay. It means transferring our trust from things like attending church, baptism, or communion ... all good things ... to Him and Him alone for our eternal life. We receive Him as Savior and Lord. That’s what the word means "to believe" ... to trust in Christ and Christ alone for our eternal life.
Are you under the conviction of God’s Holy Spirit and realize that you’ve been holding the wrong ticket? Do you realize that you’ve been trusting in something or someone else ... your heritage, your rule-keeping. Have you been trusting in anything else except simply in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Would you receive Him as your Savior today?
I’d like to lead you in a prayer if that’s the desire of your heart:
Dear Lord, I recognize the fact that I am a sinner, that I’m separated from You because of my sin in this life. Lord, I ask You to forgive me of my sin, all of it. Lord, I thank You for forgiving me through Jesus Christ our Lord, for giving Him to die to on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. Lord, I invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart. I receive Him and transfer my trust and faith to Him and Him alone for my eternal life. Thank You for saving me.
Amen.
