Come and See His Love
John 3:1-18
Introduction
Many people believe that the most beloved verse in the Bible is John 3:16. I like to include verse 17 as well:
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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
It’s a powerful teaching of Jesus and for this message I’d like for us to spend some time with the story that brings that message to us.
John tells us about a man who comes to Jesus out of the shadows of the night - an unlikely person to seek out some time with Jesus.
-He is a Pharisee (separate) - wanting to live a life separate from sin. Pharisees were ultra-committed law keepers, and wanted to make sure everyone else kept the law as well. Swindoll: “No one rivaled the Pharisees in being religious. No one could!” He was trained to believe that by obeying each technicality of God’s Law, he was attaining God’s approval.
-He is a part of the Jewish Ruling Council. The Sanhedrin, the body of seventy elders that controlled Jewish matters in Jerusalem. Swindoll: They “served as Israel’s Parliament / Congress and Supreme Court.”
-He was a spiritual and social leader; a teacher of Israel.
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. To escape the criticism of the Sanhedrin? To seek some uninterrupted time together? Clovis Chappell characterized him as “…a man who had got far on into life. His hair was white. He was now an old man, old in honor and in years.” He goes on to say that in spite of all of his hindrances, it is not so important that he came to Jesus at night, but that he came at all.
Jesus, Master Teacher, and someone who knew the hearts of men, gets right to the heart of the discussion with his night time visitor. Several times the word BELIEVE is mentioned. Here are some things we BELIEVE from this passage!
1. We Believe Religion and Goodness Cannot Save Us
John 3:1-3 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.”
If religion and goodness could have ever saved a man, it would have saved Nicodemus!
Jesus is saying these words to one of the most morally upright, religious, law-keeping, spotless, no-skeletons in the closet, righteous men in Israel! His accomplishments in following the letter of the law could not save him. If he is not saved, then what about us? “Entrance to heaven is out of reach, even for the most moral, upstanding, law-keeping person you know.” (Carter)
2. We Believe in Being Born Again!
John 3:4-8 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.”
In the last chapter Jesus flipped tables, now “Jesus is flipping Nicodemus’ theology upside down. Nicodemus thought entering God’s kingdom had everything to do with physical birth. If a person was born a Jew, he would automatically have a spot in God’s kingdom. … But Jesus says the opposite. No matter who a person is, he is automatically kept out of God’s kingdom by his sin. He would only be let in if he were born again.” (Carter)
Each of us must also be born again of water and spirit. This teaching runs throughout the NT. The waters of baptism give us an opportunity to step into the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus. The Spirit comes to live within us and brings new life.
Titus 3:5 “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”
Romans 6:3-4 “…all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
3. We Believe Jesus is the Source of All Truth
John 3:10-15 “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.”
Jesus is aware that this is hard for Nicodemus to accept. Jesus also affirms that he has come from heaven and is teaching Nicodemus spiritual truths.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Then Jesus reminds Nicodemus of a story he would know. In Numbers 21 is the story of the Israelites who were in danger from a plague of snakes because of their rebellion. God instructed Moses to raise up on a pole a bronze serpent. Anyone who looked at that serpent would be saved. In just such a way the Son of man must be lifted up and all who look to him will be saved.
When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, he was the ultimate sacrifice to save a sinful world for all who believed. We look to Jesus for the truth about being saved, born again.
4. We Believe The Foundation of the Gospel is Love
John 3:16-18 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. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
God So Loved (3:16). John’s gospel has this word and a similar one 49 times (more than twice as often as any of the other three gospels.) The Depth of the love of God is stressed. He would give up his one and only Son. He could not love more. His love embraces every man, woman, child.
God’s Love desires to save us from condemnation due to sin. “Perish” means “to be destroyed, to be utterly lost.” Trusting in the Son of God saves the believer from the penalty of sin. This is a promise! (Swindoll). The most righteous, conscientious, religious person you know is still in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. God is focused on saving, not condemning - but when we will not turn to Jesus, there is no other hope. (18)
John 3:16 is appealing b/c answers the questions of our heart.
->Could God Really Love Someone Like Me? For God so loved the world - Unconditionally - Beyond our mistakes / faults / rebellions?.
->Will God Ever Stop Loving Me? that he gave his one and only Son - The cross is a sacrifice all for the unworthy. Look what a price He paid to save us, what Jesus endured to save us.?
->How Can I Get Close to God? that whoever believes in him ... When we believe in him, follow him, we enter into new life.
->Can I Ever Have Peace of Mind and Heart? shall not perish but have eternal life. Grief, guilt, uncertainty, fear of death, fear of God - Our final answers in Jesus: escape from hell / entrance into life
Conclusion
Nicodemus goes back into the shadows. Did he follow Jesus? In John 7, we get an inkling that maybe he has come to believe in Jesus as he weakly defends him. In John 19 Nicodemus has left the shadows and stepped into the light when he joins with Joseph of Arimathea to bury the body of Jesus. Nicodemus brings 75 lbs of myrrh and aloes to anoint the body of Jesus for burial.
A.W. Tozer: “I can no more do justice to this awesome and wonder-filled topic than a child can grasp a star. Still, by reaching toward the star the child may call attention to it and even indicate the direction one must look to see it.”
We believe religion and goodness cannot save us; We believe in being born again; We believe Jesus is the source of all truth; We believe the foundation of the gospel is God’s love.
“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.”
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Video of this message can be found on the YouTube Channel of Forsythe Church of Christ
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Questions For Discussion
1. In what ways is Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus different than most of his encounters with the Pharisees? What do we know about Nicodemus?
2. Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus in verse 3 seems to have nothing to do with Nicodemus’ statement in verse 2. Why do you think Jesus brings up the subject of new birth?
3. What aspects of a person’s life demonstrate that he or she has been transformed by the new birth? To what extent does this happen all at once, and to what extent does it take time?
4. How is God’s Spirit like ordinary wind (3:8)?
5. Why do you think Jesus said to Nicodemus, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man” (3:13)?
6. The story of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21:4-8 is an unusual story. Nicodemus would have been familiar with this account. What are the parallels John is making between what happened to the Israelites and what is happening through Jesus?
7. What do you take “the Son of Man must be lifted up” to mean? (See also John 12:32).
8. Jesus said, “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). How would you define / characterize “believes”?
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Resources
Carter, Matt and Josh Wredberg. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in John. Holman, 2017.
Chappell, Clovis G. More Sermons on Biblical Characters, Harper & Brothers, 1923.
Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary: John. Tyndale, 2014.
Pharisee Note:
https://somuchbible.com/word-studies/annotated-scripture/john-31-21/
Sanhedrin Note:
The Navigators. (2010). LifeChange: John (K. Lee-Thorp, Ed.; pp. 49–50). NavPress.
