The Beginning of the New Life – the New Life (John 3:1-16)
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 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.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 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.
We all like new experience, new thing, new event, and meeting new persons.
Some of you just graduated from the school you spent 2 years, 4 years and even 6 years. But, Suppose you have to go to a same school year after year but never graduating; you have only one place to visit year after year only; you have only one car to drive year after year; year by year getting old but never getting married; you have only one restaurant to go year after year. Your life would be like in a prison, so bored to death. Doing new things, having or trying new things always create some kind of excitement, hope, happiness and satisfaction.
Only problem is our excitement doesn’t last long before you find yourself longing another new thing.
Solomon said he tried all the new things under the Sun: “I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:4-11
His conclusion: there is nothing new under the sun; I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. And finally he said, “Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 1
Having observed all this, would it really possible to live a new life? Is there such a thing as new life?
When Nicodemus visited Jesus, I believe, he wanted to experience something new in his life. That’s why he took a courageous step to actually to see Jesus by visiting at the night though as Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council and very respected teacher, if his visit were known or discovered, his fame and reputation would have been at the stake He knew Jesus was not like any other man he has known in his life and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus responded: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 3:3 Actually, it sounds, Jesus interrupted Nicodemus before he finished his statements because Jesus already knew what Nicodemus needed the most, the new life.,
1. What is the new life?
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Jesus was not talking about new way of living, or new truth, or new things, Jesus was talking about the New birth or new being as Nicodemus wanted to live a new life.
Nicodemus simply might have anticipated some advice or idea to be somewhat new or different or better way of living, but he wouldn’t have expected new birth or totally new being.. Yet, Jesus said “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again”
Apostle Paul is another example. Before Paul met Jesus, he was faultless as for righteousness based on the law. (Phi 3:6) He was also said to be a member of the ruling council for the nation. Yet, having been born again, he now considers what he once thought valuable worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
New life means new being with absolute change in our value system. Do you know why?
New life involves living in a different Kingdom: “no one can (see) enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” It’s not nation but the Kingdom where a King is the ruler, not people. You either live in your own kingdom or God’s Kingdom. The new life Jesus was referring involves which kingdom you live in depending on your allegiance to either yourself or Jesus Christ. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:13014)
2. Why the New Life? (John 3:6.7)
“Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.”
Can you imagine Jesus saying this to a man known and said to be the best man in the country?
If Jesus was dealing with people like Samaritan woman, some criminals, or even common person, it could have been more reasonable to say such – “you must be born again”. But, to Nicodemus? To one of best respected religious, polite, gentle, moral man?
What a bad news for Nicodemus!
Jesus came and died for our sins as the good news, the gospel. Yet, Jesus said I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Jesus didn’t mean to say some are righteous while others sinners. Bible says all are sinners though some think they are righteous. And Jesus came and died for all.
Before we accept the good news, Jesus, we have to accept the bad news that we are sinners.
Jesus replied twice, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ” “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit
it’s a matter of whether you belong to the kingdom of God or you become your own King and eventually live by yourself apart from God in hell. I repeat, what is at the stake is whether you are going to the Kingdom of God, or you will forever stay away from God as independent being in hell.
I don’t doubt Nicodemus was so surprised and even shocked to hear Jesus saying. It was like he went to see a doctor to get a prescription for headache or coldness, but the doctor told him “you have a cancer.” At most he could have expected a minor change, but he didn’t expect to hear that he needed to be born again. That’s why, in doubt Nicodemus asked,.“How can this be?” (John 3:9)
In response, Jesus said, “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.” (John 3:15-16)
Why Moses had to make the Bronze snake and lifted it up? Because many of the Israelite were bitten by poisonous snakes due to the sins and anyone who was bitten could look at it and live.”
“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.” What did Jesus actually say was Nicodemus was like one of those sinners bitten by poisonous snake waiting to die. His only solution to save his life was to look up Jesus who would be lifted up on the cross.
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
No matter how religious or moral you are, you are simply flesh; you are king of your life. No matter what you are and what you do, you are and you do as king of your life. Thus, Nicodemus like any other persons would die due to his own sins unless he look up Jesus lifted on the cross.
Some believe we human being can become Christian through religious and moral education. But, it won’t work. If you cultivate a weed with best method and fertilizer available, would it change to a vegetable? Can an apple tree become vine? Our being is determined by our birth. Unless you were born again as Children of God, you will remain as flesh and self-centered being.
You may not still agree with Jesus. You may say there are really so many good and genuine people out there. I don’t doubt there are so many good religious, sincere, honest, genuine and moral people out there. But the Bible says no matter who you are, we all sinned, and fall short of the glory of God: The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT)
You may not agree we all by nature deserve wrath of God. Bible says,”you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Our status as sinners was so serious to the point that God had to send His own Son as sacrifice to save us. The reason we are not serious about our sin is because we don’t have an idea how loving and also at the same time righteous God is. The More committed God is to you, the more what you do would affect Him. God’s glory meant judgment because God’s presence reveals how ugly our sin is.
If you and I think we can be accepted and saved by our own good acts, you are mistaken in two things. You are underestimating God’s standard for righteousness. You are overestimating your capability to do righteousness. We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. (Isa 64:6)
That’s why even though you may give everything you have to the poor and even sacrifice your body. God may say you don’t have love and you did it just for yourself.
When Jesus said you must be born again, it was because our human nature is hopelessly selfish and self-centered, we are destined to the condemnation.
Why do we need new life? “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Only when we are saved, we can do good works.
Only when we acknowledge Jesus as our King in our lives, we can free from self-centered lifestyle. Only when we have a life from God, we can hear, speak, see, think, walk and work from God’s perspective. Only things done through God’s perspective are good works.
3. Then how you and I can be born again and have a new life?
5 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.
When Nicodemus asked. 9 “How can this be?” after hearing about (he still didn’t get that)
As an answer to Nicodemus, Jesus explained His death on the cross: 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.
Jesus shed His own blood and died on the cross to forgive our sin and give a new life. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” This is new birth and new life as children of God.
If you sincerely believe that Jesus died for your sins, your sins will be cleansed from your sins (like water) and will receive the Holy Spirit and be born again. This is what “born of water and the Spirit” This is the salvation, the New life.
I am gonna ask all of you this time to close your eyes:
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.
If any of you here never accepted Jesus as your Master and Savior from your sin, but now if you want to accept Jesus who died for our sins as your Lord and Savior repenting from your sins, would you raise your hand? Repenting is changing your mind to accept Jesus as the King of your life rather than living as if you yourself is the king in your life. I would give one more chance to respond.
I know many of you have already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
But if you are living as if Jesus is your king, not primary cause and reason for your life, I would ask you to repent and to dedicate your life again to Jesus, your king.
