We have his disconnect in our society is that we attach what we do to how good we are. The more we do the better we are, and if sometimes we transgress, well we can just make that up. Our good works become a barrier to God. Some people seek religions that do this, some people create their own spiritual view point that allows this, and some even create this point of view within Christianity. For some people religion becomes the greatest barrier to God. They are so busy being religious that they can’t see what God has already done for them.
We find someone like that in the third chapter of John. Within this passage is one of the best known verses in the Bible, 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 everlasting life.” Two interesting things about this verse, the first is that is so clearly states the message of the gospel, that because of love God gave us His Son so that we can live forever. It’s such an eloquent statement of that truth. But the second thing is that this is the only place in the gospel of John that Jesus is quoted as saying that God loves the world. What was going on in the conversation that causes Jesus not only to express the gospel so clearly, but to offer it to the entire world?
Well we’re going to spend the next two weeks answering that question. For the past few weeks we’ve been looking a parallel passages within the Gospel of John and next week we’re going to look at how they all come together which will make things a little bit clearer which is why I’ve titled that sermon, “Bringing it into Focus.” For today our focal verses are the first 11 verses of John 3 let’s read them. “there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man 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 sings that You do unless God is with Him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ 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?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of god. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it whishes, and you heard the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.”
It was that here He is, God come down to earth, God walking among us, and He is face to face with a man who is so blinded by religion, that He can not find God, even when God is standing right in front of him. John chapter 3 is the story of Jesus meeting with Nicodemus. We are introduced to him with these words, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” John tells us a lot about Nicodemus in very few words.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee this means he was talented. The Pharisees were the teachers of the law. This means that they had to go through extensive training. He would have had to have been noticed at a young age for this intelligence and placed in the care of a teacher. The end was a man who was not only talented but well-educated, he not only had years of study but he had learned enough to teach others. Finally he was well respected. It says that he was a ruler of the Jews, another translation says that he was “a member of the Jewish ruling council.” He was a member of the Sanhedrin. This was a position of authority and respect. John tells us a lot about this man in one simple verse.
But his use of imagery is even more important in what he writes next. “He came to Jesus at night.” Now John is describing when this conversation took place, and there are a lot of reasons that Nicodemus could have chosen to come at night. It could have been to avoid the crowds, it could have been because rabbi’s often studied at night, it may even have been because he didn’t want anyone to see him talking to Jesus. Whatever the reason was, John thought it worth noting that he came at night. I think part of the reason is because John is using the fact that he came at night to illustrate the conflict that is to come. You see in the gospel of john darkness opposes the light. It is not that they are opposite, they are in conflict. This theme is first introduced in John 1:5, “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” What was John doing? Well there was a popular religious group in his time called the Hellenists part of what they did was to mix Judaism with the Greek religions to form a new belief system, a hybrid if you will. They weren’t right but they were spiritual. Does that sound familiar? We have a lot of people in our culture today who take a part of different religions and belief systems and mix them together. Part of their concept for God dealt with the light, the light representing among other things the truth. So John as he’s speaking to their culture uses this familiar conflict with the light, to show that the one true light is Jesus.
Here we have this respected religious teacher and he comes into contact with Jesus who is the light, when does he come, he comes at night, and you see the imagery. He religious, he has some knowledge, he has respect but he is still seeking God. Nicodemus is a seeker. We are surrounded by people like him, they know something of God, they are smart, by human standards they are wonderful people. And Jesus is the light that they need in their lives.
But there are some obstacles. For Nicodemus, it was the position that he already had. Look at how he comes to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that.” He starts by telling Jesus what he knows. Now if you look at the verse he says some really nice things, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no on can do these signs that you Do unless God is with Him.” It sounds really nice until you understand that when you were addressing a teacher in that day you always started off with a complement. He’s following protocol. He is doing something else. He assigns Jesus the role teacher, and only because of the miracles He as worked. But notice something else, Nicodemus is a teacher, and he starts this conversation off with telling Jesus what he knows. He is here to learn from Jesus, but he wants to be in control. He wants to find God on his level. This is where many people are at, they are seeking a God who is convenient, one who will fit into their image for Him. For some it’s a God who wouldn’t allow suffering. Maybe a God who wouldn’t send everyone to Hell. Maybe they want a God who always answers prayer yes, or will make them rich. How about a God who is willing to let people pick the way that they find Him, so that they can make the rules. Whatever it is people try and put God on their level. That is what Nicodemus is trying here. But understand how John views this conversation. He doesn’t see this as the noble teacher coming and having a courageous conversation about the nature of God. He doesn’t view this as a debate, because Jesus role is not open for discussion, John views this as a clash between light and darkness.
Here we get to see how Jesus deals with this mindset, He cuts right to the chase, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus does not exchange complements He just gets to the point unless you are born again in most of your translations. But the word Jesus used was anwqen which has two meaning, it can mean again or from above. Jesus can be understood to say here, “unless you are born from above, you can not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” If you want to enter the kingdom of Heaven in the future you must decide in the here and now to live your life as a citizen of Heaven, not in the future but right now. It is a choice, it was a choice for Nicodemus it is a choice everyone must make today. If you want the benefits of salvation that Jesus the savior offers in the future you must accept Him as Lord now. That it the only choice that Jesus offers and its not open for debate.
Look at how Nicodemus responds verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Nicodemus has a choice to make, he can accept what Jesus has plainly said or he can continue to try and debate. He chose the later. But Jesus continues to speak in absolutes. In the first passage He said, that you can not enter the kingdom of Heaven, note that He didn’t say will not as if it was a choice, as if God can decide to change the rules. He says you can not, it is an impossibility. In response to Nicodemus Jesus now says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Can not, not will not but can not. Then Jesus continues to make sure that His point is clear, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus is saying that you must put your mind on the things of Heaven, we may not understand it all of the time, but we put our faith in God and trust that He will work everything together for good. The result is that we get to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. All we have to do is accept.
For Nicodemus this is simply too much. Look at His response verse 9, “How can these things be.” So many people are trying to reconcile who God really is with who they think that He should be. The story is told of a Religion Professor who after a semester of explaining the different religions of the world to his students, the beliefs that he had taken from each, and all of the things that he was doing to justify his place in the afterlife asked his students if anyone to explain how their religious beliefs were different from his. A girl raised her hand and said, “Yes, that’s easy there’s only two letters that separate what you believe and what I believe.” He asked her what she meant. She replied, “Simple you spell you faith as “D-O” I spell mine “D-O-N-E.”
Nicodemus is sitting there with the savior, and he is wondering how a person can be born again, he is weighing all that he has done, all that he can do, and he is still short. And he is a member of the Sanhedrin, if he is short what about everyone else. This seems like an unrealistic expectation, and so he asks, “how can these things be.” But the reason he doesn’t understand it is because he doesn’t want to surrender to the reality that the answer isn’t about him it is about Jesus.
Look at how Jesus responds to this verse 10, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” Note the use of irony. John uses irony in his gospel not only to highlight a passage but also to illustrate the knowledge that Jesus had of the world. Here is Nicodemus, not only is he a Pharisee, he is a member of the Sanhedrin. On top of that Jesus now calls him the “teacher of Israel,” but the phrase used here indicates that he was a popular and established teacher. When Nicodemus spoke people listened. If he had written a book it would have been a Jerusalem Times best seller. He was popular. And Jesus is looking saying, “how is this possible?” How is it that you are not only a teacher but a popular one, that people follow you, and yet you don’t even understand the basics of how to get to heaven. That you must accept God for who He is and allow Him to work in you?
At this point Nicodemus is dismissed from our narrative. Jesus continues from this point forward. First He shares that He has an exclusive view of Heaven. If Nicodemus truly wants to know God He has come to the right place verse 13, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” Listen no one could tell Nicodemus about heaven accept the person who had been there, and Jesus says he is the only one. He is the only one who had been to heaven and was on earth. Then look at what He says for a point of added emphasis, “who is in heaven.” Jesus is the only one who could ever make such a claim. He is speaking of the timeless nature of His being. This conversation was a moment in time but Christ transcends time.
This gives Him a unique view of the future. The Greek word that is used for ascended is in the perfect tense. This means that it was an event that had already been accomplished. When Jesus is referring to His ascent, He is referring to His resurrection. He is the one who descended to live among us for 33 years and then at His resurrection He ascended back to Heaven. But here He is talking about it as if it already had happened, because He had already seen its fulfillment. The completed work of Jesus on the cross has always been the hope of mankind, both before and after His death. It has always been that way, and it still is today. The only way for people to be “born from above” is to accept what He has already done.
How could the human side of Jesus speak with such confidence? Because He knows He is in control. He knows what His future holds. He knows that the darkness ahead, but look at it through His eyes, verse 14, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” He is referring to the past when the children of Israel had sinned, and a plague of snakes was sent among them. Moses prayed and asked God for deliverance, and God told him to mount a bronze snake on two pieces of wood, formed in the shape that we now call a cross, and then raise that image up. Everyone who looked at the cross would live but those who wouldn’t died. It seems impossible in those circumstances that some people wouldn’t look doesn’t it.
But Jesus uses this imagery to look forward to the day, that He would be beaten, mocked, stripped, that they would lay Him on the cross and drive nails into His wrists and feet. Then they would raise that cross up and drop it in a hole, the jolt separating His shoulder, all for the purpose of killing Him. And Jesus looks at that day and says, if I be lifted up. He saw that moment of agony as the moment of His triumph, that was the day of His victory, that was the day of His ascent. And the work is accomplished for everyone who would believe. If people will just look to the cross they will be saved. If Nicodemus will just look to the cross he will be saved. Jesus wants him to do it. It is hear that he states, that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The problem is that so many people stop with the message of Jesus right there. That Jesus is all about love, because notice what happens next, Jesus begins to use the language of the court room. Verses 17-18, “For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” In the same passage as perhaps the best known statement of God’s love, is the truth that if people do not believe in God then they will be condemned. One day we will all stand before God and we will be judged, it will not be about what we have done, it will not be about our failures, or our successes, it will be about one thing, did we believe in Jesus. Did we choose to be born from above, and allow Him into our lives? If we reject that decision, if we will not look to the cross, then we are condemned. Not because God wants to, or desires to be because He can not do anything else. Remember anyone who will not be born from above can not enter the kingdom of Heaven, yes one day everyone will stand before God in judgment but the out come is our decision. If you have never surrendered to Christ, then in a few moments we’re going to give an invitation, don’t waste anymore time, make that decision, today look to the cross the only source of salvation.
But what about those of us who have already accepted what do we need to do with this truth? We need to be looking everyday for opportunities to share the truth of Jesus with the people around us. We need to not settle for the lie that there are other ways to God. Jesus didn’t see any other way but one. He spoke in absolutes and he said there is only one way. So there three steps we must take and one question we must answer. First, we are to be prepared to discuss the things of God accurately. This speaks of two things, first that we study what the Bible teaches. We do not need to share our opinion about what the Bible might say on a subject, we need to study it and know what it says on a subject. The second speaks to our resolve, we must be willing to talk about God and the Bible as the absolute authority. People do not need opinions about God or options about how to find Him they need the truth.
Nicodemus, was smart, he was respected, he knew enough about religion to teach people about it, and he was lost without God. We need to see him as an example, we call people who don’t know God but want to seekers. That’s the user friendly term we’ve given them when they come to the church. We are tempted to make our teachings about God really simple for them. We just want to teach them that God loves them. That’s great, but they’ve heard it before. If any of you remember the show “Touched by an Angel” Roma Downey taught people that every week. They’ve already heard that, if someone is interested enough in God to engage you in a conversation, to attend a small group or to come to church we owe it to them to tell them more about God than that. What they need is the truth about all of who God is. John 8:32 “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” People need to know the truth and we need to tell it to them.
Number 2, we are to treat people with love, we are not the judge. Yes we need to be able to get deeper with people then God loves you so we don’t need to restrict what we share to that, but we also need to show it. I watched a TV show and a woman who was not a Christian came to a small group. She was uncomfortable but she came. She had talked to the leader before, the leader was smart, she knew her Bible and all the proper things to say. The seeker said to this teacher, that she didn’t necessarily believe any one thing and the teacher replied back if you don’t believe in something then you don’t believe in anything. This teacher was smart. But this seeker comes to the small group, she nervous and a little intimidated, she doesn’t really know anybody, but she is there. And the ladies in this group come in and they begin to talk to her, and listen to her and before long, they are discussing all sorts of things and laughing together until the teacher calls the group together roughly, everyone in the group looked like a bunch of scolded children. They start their study and people are sharing but the teacher goes out of her way to point out to this person all her wrong beliefs and how all of the promises of God didn’t belong to her. Surprise she didn’t want to do another Bible study. I tried to find a way to record that show so hard, I wanted to show it to our small group leaders as a what not to do. We need to share the truth, but we need to do it with love, if you need motivation look at Matthew 7:2, “;For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
We need to reach the world with the truth, and we need to do it with love, the third thing is that this requires our participation. We need to be praying and looking for the people that God has put around us who are seeking Him, then we need to be willing to share with them. We have a great opportunity over the next few weeks with 40 Days of Love, get involved in a small group and invite someone to it. This study is designed so that people outside of the church can come and learn but not be overwhelmed, and yet it goes deeper then simply “God love you” so that all of us can grow. Today make the commitment to get involved and invite others. The people around us need to look to the cross there is no other way.
You know that the tragedy of Nicodemus is? It is that no where in this passage is he referred to as a believer. There are two other places that John writes of him, in neither instance does John refer to him as a believer. Nicodemus was smart, he knew enough about religion to teach it, he talked to Jesus face to face, he saw the miracles the Jesus performed and yet it is possible that he never looked to the cross, that he never placed his belief in Jesus, if that is true then he can not enter the kingdom of Heaven. So I ask you who is your Nicodemus? Who are the people around you, who know something of God, they are great people and yet they have never accepted Him? Will you commit today to pray for them? To look for the opportunities to share the truth of God with them, to maybe invite them to a small group. Will you make it your mission to share the truth of Jesus with the people around you?
Maybe you’re here and you’re like Nicodemus, you’ve never accepted Christ. Do not let today pass, today stop trying to do it yourself and accept what He has done for you.
