SERMON OUTLINE:
A Man Named Nicodemus:
• His Career.
• His Faith.
• His Make-up (Character).
A Discourse With Jesus.
• Authority.
• Content.
• Explanation.
• Illustration.
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• The Greek philosopher Socrates was said to be wise,
• Not because he knew all the answers,
• But because he knew how to ask the right questions.
• TRANSITION: Jesus knew how to ask the right questions.
• As you read through the gospel accounts again and again;
• Jesus asked insightful, perceptive, discerning questions.
• These questions caused his listeners to focus on the important issues of life.
In this new series of studies:
• We are looking at some of the questions Jesus asked in the gospels:
• Tonight’s question is found in John chapter 3 verse 10:
• “‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things?”
• Jesus confronts a religious/political leader called Nicodemus;
• Out of the four gospel writers;
• Only John records this conversation;
• And from what is discussed we get what many call the greatest verse in the Bible,
• John chapter 3 verse 16.
A Profile of the Man:
(1). His Career:
• Nicodemus was a Pharisee (vs 1).
• In the days of Nicodemus there were about 6,000 of them.
• The name 'Pharisee' meant 'separated one '.
• They were ordinary Jews and NOT Priests.
• They were more like politicians – they held the power!
• The movement started out good in about 135 BC,
• The idea was that people could be dedicated, separate to God,
• But very quickly the movement degenerated into an exclusive movement,
• That actually separated Pharisees from ordinary people.
• At the time of Jesus, most Pharisees were very impressive to look at:
• In that they were great at keeping rules and regulations and being pious.
• In fact they were experts at being religious.
• i.e. Pharisees fasted twice a week
• i.e. Pharisees tithed ten percent of their income.
• i.e. Pharisees prayed three times a day.
• i.e. Pharisees were regular attenders at the synagogue/temple.
• i.e. Pharisees had very high moral standards,
• i.e. Pharisees were strict Sabbatarian’s.
• i.e. Pharisees wore distinctive robes, which marked them out from the average person.
• i.e. Pharisees would not eat with non-Pharisees.
• i.e. Pharisees diligently studied the scriptures.
• They would not just reverence every word of the sacred text, but every letter of it!
• At the time of Jesus:
• The Pharisees had deteriorated into an exclusive religious sect;
• And sadly one of the key verses about the Pharisees in the New Testament is:
Quote: Matthew chapter 25 verses 5-6:
“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels
on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats
in the synagogues.”
• For those of us who are Bible-believing Christians it is a healthy reminder:
• Not to fall to the temptation of outward show of religion,
• At the expense of inner reality and holiness of life.
• Having the truth, loving the truth, believing the truth;
• Is never a substitute for not practicing the ‘spirit’ of the truth!
Note: Two things:
(a). Verse 1 calls him: “A member of the Jewish ruling council”
• Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin,
• Which was the Parliament of the Jewish people:
• The Sanhedrin was a court of seventy men,
• Who had jurisdiction over every Jew in the world.
• And so they would be the equivalent of a top, powerful member of parliament.
(b). Verse 10: "You are Israel's teacher"
• That statement indicates that Nicodemus had a special status in religious circles,
• Not only was he a Pharisee, but a Pharisee at the top of his profession,
• He was ‘The Teacher’
• Therefore he commanded respect and had a special authority.
(2). His Faith.
• Pharisees believed and taught that;
• Quote: "All Israel has a share in the age to come".
• They made much of the fact that they were;
• The children of Abraham in the physical sense,
• They and they alone were Abraham's true descendants.
• And they believed that:
• Those who were born physically from Abraham's line (Jews)
• Had automatic rights into the kingdom of God.
• For a Gentile (Non-Jew) to know God:
• He had to be converted to J Judaism,
• Go through a process of becoming a Jew.
• But for Jews that was not a problem,
• Because; ''All Israel has a share in the age to come".
Quote from Pharisaical writings:
• ''Abraham sits at the gates of Gehenna (Hell),
• To snatch any Israelite consigned there to".
• In other words:
• If by mistake a Jew was assigned to hell,
• No worries Abraham waits there at the gates to snatch him away.
• Because, ''All Israel has a share in the age to come".
• So to the Pharisees:
• Being born physically as a Jew,
• Was considered enough for entering the kingdom of God.
• In fact in Pharisaical writings,
• Physical birth is described as, ''Being born of water".
• So to a Pharisee physical birth, being born a Jew,
• Was enough for entering the kingdom God.
• This is the background and theology that Nicodemus:
• Comes from and with and understands and believes;
• When he approaches Jesus.
(3). His Make-up (Character)
• Nicodemus seems to be one of the good guys.
• The gospels refers to the Pharisees frequently;
• And usually always with regard to their faults
• Most Pharisees in the Bible are pictured in negative terms,
• But not Nicodemus, he is an exception and the gospels portray him well.
• The first time Nicodemus appears three times in the Gospel of John.
• He first visits Jesus one night to discuss his teachings.(chapter 3 verses 1–21).
• The second time Nicodemus is mentioned,
• .(John chapter 7 verse 50–51).
• He reminds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin;
• That the law requires that a person be heard before being judged.
• He appears to be sticking up for Jesus when the other Pharisees wanted him dead.
• The third time he is mentioned,
• Nicodemus appears after the Crucifixion (John 19:39–42)
• He assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial;
• This public act would identify him as a follower of Jesus.
• Christian tradition believes that Nicodemus was martyred;
• Because of his belief in Christ sometime in the 1st century AD.
A Discourse With Jesus.
• 'He came to Jesus at night' (verse 2):
• To many scholars this seems to imply that he was a frightened person,
• Many suggest he came at night so that no one would see him.
• He feared that his reputation might be compromised, by being seen with Jesus.
• And that may well be true:
• But I think that the reason John records the lateness of the hour,
• Is more symbolic.
• Nicodemus not only met Jesus at night;
• But was very much a man in spiritual darkness.
• He would need Jesus ‘the light of the world’;
• Who alone could remove his spiritual darkness!
(1). Authority.
• In these verses we have a fascinating interchange between Jesus and Nicodemus:
• Nicodemus is the important, qualified, Rabbi,
• Remember he is a religious somebody, a religious big shot;
• He is ''A Pharisee" - ''A ruler of the Jews" - "The teacher of Israel".
• In contrast Jesus is (In the eyes of Nicodemus);
• A young radical itinerant preacher:
• A Galilean, who had not been to the right schools and university.
• Who is unqualified, and he has not got the right qualifications & certificates.
• After they both exchange greetings, "Shalom":
• And then exchange other pleasantries that are not recorded by John,
• We would say, once the ice has been broken,
• It is time for somebody to start the real conversation:
• This is the important bit and so this is the bit that John records for us.
Ill:
• Peter Cotterell was for nineteen years a missionary in Ethiopia,
• And then for a numbers of years principal at London Bible College.
• And is a very good author and Bible commentator.
• I remember hearing him speak on this passage and saying;
• That when he was in Africa
• And this also happens among many different groups of people,
• Especially in the East, and amongst the Jews
• That there is an understood principle,
• As to who starts the conversation and then who decides the topic for conversation:
• The conversation is always started by the most important person,
• The most important one starts the conversation & also chooses the content for discussion.
Question:
• To anyone present looking on - who is the most important person?
• Nicodemus, ''A Pharisee" - ''A ruler of the Jews" - "The teacher of Israel".
• Or Jesus, This untrained, unqualified lay-preacher from Galilee?
Answer:
• Well; the answer is obvious to Nicodemus and his disciples.
• I am sure you appreciate that he was not alone:
• He would have been accompanied by his disciples,
• The same as Jesus was accompanied by his:
• That's why we have the plural (More than one) emphasis is:
• Verse 2 we read "We know" and not “I know”.
• Verse 9: The word "You" is also plural, and should read; "You all".
Nicodemus and his disciples are looking for a nice theological debate:
• And because he regards himself as the more important of the two,
• He will get the conversation going.
"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 this statement:
• Nicodemus has set before Jesus,
• A variety of different subjects for the conversation.
• Jesus could easily have picked up on any of these themes;
• And continue the conversation:
• i.e. He could talk about why he was a Rabbi.
• i.e. He could talk about what it means to come from God.
• i.e. He could talk about these miraculous signs etc.
• But notice how Jesus responds to Nicodemus,
• He refuses to pick the ball up and run with it.
Notice: How Jesus replies to Nicodemus?
“In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God
unless he is born again."”
• The answer of Jesus;
• Quite deliberately has nothing to do whatsoever with what Nicodemus has just said.
• Jesus is ‘laying down the gauntlet’
• He is questioning the authority of Nicodemus.
• He is saying, “Nicodemus you are not the most important person here;
• And therefore you do not decide what we are going to talk about.”
Now Nicodemus has a big problem:
• Does he go back to his original conversation.
• Or does he pick up on the topic of Jesus' conversation.
• And if he does that he has to admit, in front of his own disciples.
• That he is saying; Jesus is the more important, than even ‘the greater teacher’.
• And as we read this short conversation;
• We see that Nicodemus is cut down,
• He is brought down to earth, humbled in front of his own disciples:
Ill:
• We see that as the conversation progresses:
• In verse 2: In my English translation, he speaks 29 words.
• Then in verse 4: He speaks 24 words.
• In verse 9: He speaks 4 words.
• In verse 10: We have no answer at all – he is silent!
• And so Nicodemus is silenced, rendered dumb,
• Humbled in front of his own disciples:
Now I do not believe that Jesus did that to embarrass, to show up Nicodemus:
• I believe he did it to help Nicodemus;
• We cannot come to God in our own religious righteousness,
• We must all come humbly.
• Because ‘God resists the proud but shows grace to the humble’
• (1 Peter chapter 5 verse 5)
Nicodemus is actually been given a choice by Jesus:
• To submit to his authority and learn from God,
• Or to stay proud and to miss out on the things of God.
• And to his credit Nicodemus submits to this itinerant Rabbi;
• And to his choice of conversation.
• And he will start to move from spiritual darkness towards spiritual light.
(2). Content.
• Verse 5: "How can a man be born when he is old?"
• Now Nicodemus agrees to the subject of the conversation,
• Note how Nicodemus responds:
• His question is NOT, ''How can a man be born again?"
• His question is, ''How can a man be born again WHEN HE IS OLD?"
• The emphasis in the question are those last four words:
• Otherwise why add them?
The term ‘Born again’ was well known and often used in Pharisaic Judaism.
• Being ‘born again’ referred to certain key stages in life,
• When life took off on a brand new direction,
• These key changes were described as being ‘born again’.
• To a Pharisee there were six different ways to be born again:
• All six were in connection with the physical.
• That is being born of water only.
• Out of the six ways to be born again in Judaistic pharisaism:
• Two of them Nicodemus did not qualify for.
• Four of them he did.
Question: What were the six ways to be born again in Pharisaic Judaism?
Answer:
The two ways he did not qualify for were:
• (1). When a Gentile converted to Judaism.
• (2). To be crowned king.
The four he qualified for were:
• (3). At the Bar-Mitzvah.
• A Jew at the age of thirteen undergoes a special ceremony,
• When he takes upon himself the obligation of the law.
• Nicodemus is obviously past the age of 13.
• And as a Jew would have partaken in a Bar-Mitzvah ceremony.
• (4). When he married.
• But he was already married;
• Because he was a ''Ruler of the Jews" a member of the Sanhedrin:
• To qualify for that position you had to be a married man.
• (5). To be ordained as a Rabbi.
• Was said to be "Born again ",
• Because your life was about to take a brand new direction,
• You would never be the same again.
• (6). The last way for Nicodemus to be born again:
• Was to become the head of a Rabbinical School,
• And have the responsibility for training future Rabbis.
• Because of the way Jesus address him in verse 10:
• We are given to believe he had attained that position.
• The position "The Teacher Of Israel"
• So being ‘born again’ referred to certain key stages in life,
• When life took off on a brand new direction,
• But they were all to do with the physical.
Now Nicodemus is stumped because he has used up all his options;
• There is no way he can fulfil again any of those options,
• Unless he can start life again.
• Re-enter his mother’s womb and be born of water.
(3). Explanation.
“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.”
8 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.’
• Jesus informs Nicodemus that his theology is all wrong;
• It is not about the ‘physical’ but the spiritual.
• Not about being ‘born of water’ being a Jew, a descendent of Abraham;
• It is about being ‘born of the Spirit’ of God!
• It is not about anything physical and outward;
• But it is all about something spiritual and inward.
• Nicodemus you need a new heart, a new mind, a new life!
Again the response of Nicodemus is one of bewilderment:
• He cannot understand the meaning behind what Jesus is saying;
• And so he asks the question: “How can this be?”
• And Jesus returns the question with a penetrating one of his own:
• Verse 10:
• “‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things?”
• Now Jesus did not give up on the confused Nicodemus;
• But gave him an illustration to help him understand.
(4). Illustration.
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’
16 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”.
• Don’t miss that little word, “So” in verse 14;
• Some translations have two little words; “Even so”
• This comparison is crucial;
• For Jesus was not giving a history lesson on snakes;
• But an illustration about salvation!
• In the Old Testament (Numbers chapter 21 verse 4-9);
• The Israelites were grumbling against Moses and against God.
• So as a punishment;
• God sent poisonous snakes into the Israelite camp and they bite them.
• Many died and many were sick and dying.
In his goodness God provided deliverance a remedy for the sick people:
• Moses was to make a serpent out of bronze;
• Put it on a pole and display it for people to look at.
• And anyone who wanted to be healed from the poison had to do something.
• They has to be carried or crawl out of their tents;
• Look at the pole and live!
• By drawing this parallel, Jesus signified His death;
• And the spiritual healing that will come when anyone looks to Him and believes on Him.
• The expression "lifted up" in this gospel always refers to the cross.
Ill:
• It was January 6th 1850.
• A snowstorm had almost crippled the city of Colchester, England.
• A teenage boy was unable to go to the Church he normally attended.
• So he stopped at a nearby Primitive Methodist Church.
• Because of the weather the guest preacher was unable to attend.
• So a lay preacher who was very unprepared substituted for him.
• His text was Isaiah chapter 45 verse 22:
• “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth”.
• Unknown to the preacher:
• This young teenager had been under deep conviction of sin for many months,
• Despite the fact that his father and grandfather were preachers he was not yet saved.
• Because the lay preacher had stood in at short notice;
• He hadn’t actually got a lot to say.
• So he just kept repeating his text;
• Again and again he repeated it and then added these words;
“A man need not go to college to learn to look”, he shouted,
Anyone can look – a child can look!”
• About that time he saw the visitor sitting to one side and he pointed him out and said;
• “Young man, you look very miserable. Young man, look to Jesus Christ!”
• That young man heeded his advice, and by faith looked to Jesus Christ and lived.
• That is the story of how the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon was converted.
And many others (ourselves included):
• Have discovered the truth of that verse;
• ‘Look and live’
Sermon audio:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=WyAVDfXSIXLrSRQHBUMDX8XEGsl5okqh&forceSave=Q%26A_-_Are_You_the_Teacher_%E2%80%A6_and_Do_Not_Understand_%3D_John_3vs1-18__-_sermon_by_Gordon_Curley.mp3
