GROW (WHO IS JESUS TO YOU)
John 3:1-9 (NKJV)
1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 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 signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 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?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 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.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
Jesus asked His disciples a question similar to the one I am asking you this evening. Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”(Matthew 16:13-18). So to Peter, Jesus was the Son of God. This evening we are going to look at the life of Nicodemus and ask him, “Nico, who is Jesus to you?” As we look to Jesus, we are transformed and we find any lasting solution in Him, and not by looking at ourselves. (2 Corinthians 3:18). The posture God wants you to have is where you sit and receive from Him, because He wants you to get into His presence and receive peace and rest from Him, which results in you being Spirit led.
The world situation where we hear of wars and rumours of wars is not going to disappear overnight and the situation in our country, world, economy and petrol price is not getting better. Maybe you’ve been to church and never heard about just sitting and receiving from God, because normally you get told to do more, be more active and give more of your time but God wants you to sit and receive from Him.
Your ability to sit and receive from God is directly proportional to your personal understanding and revelation of who Jesus is. In the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), Martha was concerned about serving, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and received from Him. This doesn’t mean that her work was finished but she knew Jesus was her Saviour, and that it was more important for her to sit and receive from Him. When we speak about grace, it is a person, and His name is Jesus. When we say we need more grace in our lives, we are essentially saying, we need more of Jesus in our lives. When we say that grace is the solution to every problem and addiction in our lives, no matter how bad it is, we are saying that Jesus is the solution. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells a parable of two builders. Just because we are saved, doesn’t mean that bad things will not happen to us. The storms came on both houses, but the house that was built on the rock, was the house that remained standing, and the rock we need to build our lives on is Jesus. So what would your answer be if Jesus asked you “who do you say that I am?”
When in a conversation with people whom you highly esteem, you just want to sit and soak in everything and receive from them not even participating in the conversation.
John 3:1. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and was regarded as one of the wealthiest men in Jerusalem at the time. We know this because when Jesus had died, he brought 100 pounds in weight of spices for the burial. This was worth a large sum . The Great Sanhedrin was the Supreme Court ruling over the Jews under Roman law. Nicodemus was one of the71 members that were part of the Great Sanhedrin and they were the ones that determined the spiritual climate of the people. Here you have Nicodemus with all the money in the world and yet you might be thinking why is he having a private conversation with Jesus? There must have been within Nicodemus a yearning for more. In fact, have you ever arrived at the destination you were heading only to discover that it is emptier than the place that you came from? Nicodemus was clearly searching for more. Now when you read in the Gospels, Jesus really had a tough time with the religious leaders and was butting heads with them all the time. His harshest words were not to the tax collector, prostitute or great sinner because when He encountered them, He offered them grace and love and when they recognized Him as Saviour, they received freely from Him. His harshest words were to the Pharisees and He used words such as brood of vipers because they would not receive from Him. Nicodemus was one of them.
Hopefully we all have a Bible. Some of you may have more than 1 Bible and some on your phone. The first five books of the Old Testament are known as the written law of God.{or the Torah}In other words on mount Sinai God gave Moses the written law which consisted of 613 laws not only the Ten Commandments. The Jews also believed that on the mountain God gave Moses an oral law. So to the Jews they have the first five books of the Old Testament known as the Torah but then they also have the Talmud, the oral law. The Great Sanhedrin taught from the Talmud, not the Torah.
John 3:2 He came to Jesus by night because He wanted to talk with Him in private.
Rabbi we know You are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that You do, unless God is with him. So the Great Sanhedrin were probably debating about whether Jesus was the Messiah or not.
So Nicodemus, who is Jesus to you? At this stage of the conversation, Nicodemus recognised Him as a teacher.
John 2:23 (NKJV)
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
Everyone of us is led by signs and there are signs everywhere we go. For example, if you are driving and you want something to eat, you will look for a sign that shows you where the nearest restaurant is. Big Mac KFC etc. Or if you are at an airport and are looking for where to go in order to catch your flight, there will be signs that point you in the right direction. In facts signs lead you to your destination, and then there are also road signs that tell you to stop or how far it is to the next town. The reason the Jews believed in Jesus as Messiah was because of the signs He did. According to the Talmud there were Messianic miracles only the Messiah would be able to perform. Before Jesus came to earth there were a lot of movements that arose, along with many people claiming to be the Messiah, so part of the role of this Great Sanhedrin was to put in a process that said that when the Messiah comes, He alone could perform miracles that no Jew not even religious leaders had ever been able to do. Jesus confirms this to John the Baptist in Matt 11:5-6
1. Leper would be healed which was a Messianic miracle because up until that time there was no Jew that had ever been cured of leprosy.
2. Exorcism. Matthew 12:22-37. Jesus cast out a blind and mute demon but it was a common practice for Jewish rabbis to cast out demons. In fact they had a protocol that they used
a. Communicate with the demon
b. Identify the demon and name it
c. Cast out the demon
However inJesus case, the demon was blind and mute, thus the demon could not identify himself so Jesus could not follow protocol of exorcism. The power that was in work in Jesus must have been a greater power because there is no power that is greater than Jesus and the power that lives in you is greater than the one who lives in the world.
3. Man born blind cured (John 9). The Rabbis had experiences with people that had lost their sight receive it back but they had not experienced somebody who had been born blind receiving their sight. In the Talmud only the Messiah would be able to do this. The reason for Jesus doing this was not just to spit in the mud and rub it on the eyes of the blind man and see what happens. The reason Jesus did these miracles was to point the Jews to Him being the Messiah.
4. Raising of Lazarus (John 11) The Talmud spoke of the Messiah being able to raise the dead and if you’ve read the story of Lazarus,he was raised from the dead on the fourth day. Lazarus was dead, stinky dead. Jesus wasn’t just too late it was Him pointing to the Jews that He was the Messiah, so when Nicodemus said “You must be from God because of the signs You are doing” verse 2, he was referring to the Messianic miracles.
John 3:3 Nicodemus speaks in plural,(we know) but Jesus says Nicodemus, this is about you personally,(singular) This is God’s heart throughout scripture, and so personal that He is the solution to whatever you are facing .The only place you can find true fulfilment is at the feet of Jesus because He knows you and knows what you need .You can rest assured that He will take care of it. Jesus is more than just a teacher that came down from heaven. He wants to take up Lordship in your life .The miracles recorded in the Bible all point to Jesus as Lord and when you get a full revelation of this, then you will be invited to come and dine with Him and He will make your heart His home.
John3:4 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?” This is almost like a panicky response by Nicodemus. Essentially what he is asking Him is must I go back into my mother’s womb and be born a second time and maybe then I’ll be good enough to be saved. His desperate plea makes him realize that he’s missing the mark.
John 3:5-7 (NKJV)
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
The Jews understood the term born of water so Jesus always speaks your language. In His dealings with Nicodemus, He wouldn’t tell him phrases that he had no reference to or that he couldn’t understand. He understood the term born of water and believed that if you were born Jewish, it would guarantee you a ticket to heaven. Jesus says it is not enough to just be born a Jew physically and naturally, but you also need to be born of the spirit. In other words, the way I am telling you to be saved, Nicodemus, is immeasurable, and not just something you can just tick off on a checklist, it’s by belief, and it’s by the Spirit.
John 3:8The wind can’t be seen, but its evidence can. Nicodemus measured his righteousness according to the Talmud, here Jesus is essentially saying that it’s not by what you do or don’t do but it is about your believing and by faith.
John 3:9 (NKJV)
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
Notice the change in Nicodemus’ tone. It is almost as though Nicodemus dropped his self-righteous act and asked Jesus “how then can I be saved?” He allowed Jesus to minister to Him
We believe that this conversation changed Nicodemus because after Jesus death both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were present. They were both part of the Sanhedrin.
John 19:38-40 (NKJV)
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
Let’s look what Jesus says in verse 16 of John 3
John 3:16 (NKJV)
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.
Nicodemus, God so loved you that whosoever, (not just the Jews but the Gentiles as well,)believes in Me, will not perish but have everlasting life. Nicodemus, who had it all together, that night, discovered who Jesus was to him personally.
Will you get to know Jesus as he did? Will you sit and receive from Him? What would your answer be when Jesus asks “who do you say I am?’
