INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• What us the most well-known passage in scripture other than Judge Not, lest you be judged?
• John 3:16!
• Today we are going to examine the context from which Jesus gave is this wonderful passage of Scripture!
• This week we being a new series entitles Deep Thoughts with Jesus.
• One of the things Jesus did was to challenge the status quo. Jesus challenged the conventional thinking of His day, He tried to get people to go to a deeper level of thought concerning life.
• Many people walk be sight, folks have a tendency to focus on what they see along with placing their focus on the here and now.
• How many of the things we KNOW in life are things we have simply accepted without giving what we believe much thought?
• Our attention span is so small these days that if we are not careful, we will live and think in 30 second soundbites.
• When we face situations in life, we can either go with the flow of the world, accept conventional thinking, or we can challenge the status quo, and allow ourselves to go deeper in our thought process.
• I saw an example of this on a video the other day concerning one of the hot button issues of today concerning voter ID laws.
• The video featured various college students who offered their view on the subject.
• The problem was, they were parroting the media on the subject and when you listened to them, they were inadvertently deeply insulting the intelligence of those they thought they were championing.
• These young adults accepted the conventional thinking espoused by the media without really spending any time in deep thought on the subject.
• In this series, we will see how Jesus made efforts to get those who wanted to follow Him to really think about things and just parrot with society was feeding them.
• Today, we are going to examine an exchange Jesus had with one of the members Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council.
• The issue at hand is pertinent for us today because of the way people either misunderstand or purposefully remain ignorant on the truth of the subject.
• Let’s turn to John 3:1-2 to begin our quest today.
• SLIDE #2
• John 3:1–2 (CSB) — 1 There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.”
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. A seeker with a question.
• It was evening and I am sure it had been busy day for Jesus. In chapter 2, Jesus performed His first sign by turning water into wine, and He had cleansed the Temple of the bad things that were going in there.
• The end of chapter 2 of John tells us that while Jesus was at the Passover Feast, people saw His miracles and many were believing in Him.
• While Jesus is probably trying to get some rest, a man identified as Nicodemus approaches Jesus in the night.
• Nicodemus us further identified as part of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court.
• Before we go deeper, many commentators have speculated as to why Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, and many commentators surmise that it was because Nicodemus was afraid of what the others on the Sanhedrin would think.
• That is a possibility. But I am not one to subscribe to that because later in John 7:51, Nicodemus stands up for Jesus in front of the council.
• It is possible that Nicodemus was busy during the day, or that Jesus was busy during the day.
• By the way, Nicodemus is the only one of the Sanhedrin that we know of that approached Jesus in this manner.
• This is so early in the ministry of Jesus, I am not sure the others on the council would be upset at one of their own coming to see Jesus, as a matter of fact, some others on the council could have sent Nicodemus to find out more about Jesus.
• Nicodemus is only mentioned in the Gospel of John.
• Nicodemus approaches Jesus by offering Him respect by calling Jesus a Rabbi!
• Nicodemus also states that WE know that Jesus was a teacher sent by God because no one could perform the signs that Jesus performed unless God was with Him!
• Who is the WE? It could be an editorial WE, the WE could be those who possibly sent him to speak with Jesus? Maybe it referred to the general assessment of what many Jews in Jerusalem were feeling?
• Suffice to say, Nicodemus is there to find out more about this Jewish Rabbi, a Rabbi like none other seen before.
• So as Jesus listening to the complements from Nicodemus, Jesus, before Nicodemus askes a single question of Him, goes right to the heart of why Nicodemus is there.
• Nicodemus, a man looking for the Messiah coming his entire life, wants to know about the kingdom of God and how to get into it.
• Jesus knew the mind of Nicodemus and cuts to the chase.
• Now for context, you have to remember that the typical Jew thought since they were from the seed of Abraham, that by default they were in.
• Much like people who are raised in a Christian home today, think so long as they were baptized or if their parents were Christians, then they were in, or if they went to Church enough.
• Or the most popular view is that if I am a good enough person, that is all I need to be, that God doesn’t really expect anything of me than to be that elusive GOOD PERSON.
• So, in truth, Nicodemus’s question is still one people ask today.
• Let’s look at verses 3-8.
• SLIDE #4
• John 3:3–8 (CSB) — 3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
• SLIDE #5
II. A mind-blowing answer.
• OH BOY!
• I think Nicodemus got more than he bargained for when Jesus responds to what he was thinking.
• Jesus goes right to the heart of the issue, I believe He answers Nicodemus’s thoughts, not words!
• Jesus tells Nicodemus something that blows his mind, that in order for one to be in the Kingdom of God, one MUST be born again!
• Nicodemus does not understand this concept because as I stated before, he, like the typical Jew figured they were in by birthright.
• Now Jesus is speaking of being born again, which Nicodemus should somewhat understand the concept because the phrase was used of non-Jews becoming Jews, or what was called a Proselyte.
• What blew Nicodemus’s mind was the fact that Jesus shattered the thought that being from the seed of Abraham got you in by default!
• Nicodemus responds with a ridiculous response, “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
• Now, this question was asked in a way that expected a negative answer, it was designed to get Jesus to further explain what He meant by the phrase born again.
• Why would a JEW need to be born again, since the Jew was from the seed of Abraham?
• Jesus says, Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.
• So Jesus now is trying to get Nicodemus to realize that the Kingdom is not JUST about the PHYSICAL, it is a convergence of the PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL.
• Jesus says one has to be born of water and the Spirit.
• Physical, water, a reference to baptism, and Spirit, to the spiritual change of heart one has as a result of the working of the Holy Spirit in one’s life!
• Nicodemus seems to understand being born of water, it is the Spirit that he does not understand.
• The Jewish people seemed to place their focus on the PHYSICAL part of life, even something like circumcision was a physical act in which they thought showed they belonged to God.
• But now Jesus is taking Nicodemus to depths he had not known before.
• 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.
• Jesus is trying the get him to understand that the Kingdom is not JUST about the physical, there is a spiritual aspect involved.
• It is not about being born a Jew, circumcised on the 8th day, it is about allowing God’s Spirit to change who you are.
• Even the Jewish view of the Messiah was a PHYSICAL view. The Messiah would inhabit Jerusalem and extend an earthy rule in which the nation of Israel would rule.
• When Jesus was on trial, He said His kingdom was not of this world.
• Today, we struggle with the same thought. WE think that IF we are good enough, whatever that means, that we will be in.
• We think somehow, we will EARN our ticket to heaven. Heaven is not something to be earned, it is a gift given from God.
• No matter how good one thinks they are, we get to go to heaven by the grace of God!
• 8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
• In trying to explain what He meant concerning being born of the spirit, He compares the Spirit to the wind, you cannot see it, you do not know from where it comes, yet here it is, we can feel the effect of it.
• SLIDE #6
• John 3:9–14 (CSB) — 9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus. 10 “Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. 11 “Truly I tell you, we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended 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,
• SLIDE #7
III. An explanation that challenges one to a deeper thought process.
• Nicodemus is perplexed, HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE? This is contrary to the assumptions about the Kingdom that I have been taught my whole life.
• Jesus mildly rebuke Nicodemus by saying, you are a teacher of Israel, you should know this stuff.
• This is not new teaching it was foreshadowed in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, etc…
• God had ALWAYS desired one’s heart to be in tune with Him, not just sacrifices.
• SLIDE #8
• Hosea 6:6 (CSB) For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• Jesus told Nicodemus that He is the authority concerning the Kingdom of God, since He is the only one to come from heaven.
• Then He references His coming crucifixion as the means to save people so they can go to heaven as He references Moses lifting up the snake to save those who wee bitten in Numbers 21!
• Nicodemus was challenged to have a deeper thought process when it comes to the Kingdom of God!
CONCLUSION
• Nicodemus had the same problem wrapping his hands around the concept of the Kingdom of God that we do today.
• We too struggle with the understanding that our PHYSICAL side should be governed by our SPIRITUAL side.
• We need to realize that the conventional thinking that one earns eternal life with God by simply being the elusive GOOD person, is a false narrative.
• The other false narrative is thinking that there is no God or no heaven, this is nothing more than a fairytale for those who think they are the master of their own domain.
• Listen, we have to guard against the thinking that my goodness, my church attendance, my prayers or my giving EARNS ME A TICKET TO HEAVEN.
• Heaven is a gift from God that was purchased by the blood of Jesus!
• Our life should be a Holy Spirit guided reflection of the love and appreciation we have for being able to possess the gift of eternal life!
