NICODEMUS - HOW CAN I BE BORN TWICE? IS THAT NOT IMPOSSIBLE?
THE CHARACTERS OF JOHN’S GOSPEL - NICODEMUS PART 1
MESSAGE – NICODEMUS PART 1
John 3 v 1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, John 3 v 2 this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” John 3 v 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3 v 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” John 3 v 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3 v 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3 v 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3 v 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going - so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3 v 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
[A]. WHO IS NICODEMUS?
John is the only writer to record Nicodemus, and he does it in 3 places in the gospel. The first instance is an inquiry; the second, a defence, and the third, action. Just now we will look at the first mention, and do the others shortly. John introduces Nicodemus as “a man of the Pharisees”. This is significant as the Pharisees were cold legalists, men who were intolerant, self-righteous, exploding with their own importance, and the self-declared enemies of the Lord right through His ministry. They are mentioned 88 times in the Gospels, hardly ever in a good way. The word “Pharisee” comes from the Hebrew root "separate" or "detach." From whom did the Pharisees separate? They separated from those, especially priests or clerics, who interpreted the Law differently from them; and separated from the common people of the land; and from Gentiles or Jews who embraced the Hellenistic or Greek culture; and from certain political groups. The Pharisees were determined to avoid, and keep themselves separate from all these groups of people to prevent any type of impurity forbidden by the Levitical law coming their way, or, more specifically, their own strict interpretation of it. There was much that was sound in their creed (that is, their belief system), yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Jesus attacked hypocrites, and the Pharisees were right in the firing line. He called them, “brood of vipers”, “hypocrites” (many times), “blind”, “serpents.”
In my experience I have found that two extremes flourish well in a church, and they both are lamentable. One church may veer towards one extreme and another, to the other extreme. The first lot are lax, careless about their lives and don’t want to be “too religious” or “too scriptural”. The latter group starts getting legalistic and comes up with rules and procedures and restrictions for others. I agree with some of the Christian scholars who have written on the disarray of the churches. The task before us is huge but challenging. There are some great men of insight in the Christian ministry.
Matthew 23 is a full on dressing down of the Pharisees by the Lord and He did not mince words - Matthew 23:24-31 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Consequently you bear witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
Earlier in His ministry, Jesus was singled out by these murderous hypocrites as this verse shows - Matthew 12:14 “but the Pharisees went out, and counselled together against Him as to how they might destroy Him.” The NASB uses the strong word, “destroy”, which in the Greek means to destroy utterly, violently, completely perish, implying permanency. That was the extent of their hatred and persecution. We are told that those who live godly will suffer persecution. People will attack you, not necessarily physically, but will rage against you, not even for a reason, but just simply, because you belong to the Lord, but they may not know even that. They are sent by the demonic forces that oppress us. They don’t even realise they are agents in Satan’s hands. The only two promises I can make to you are (1). These evil men will proceed from bad to worse; and (2). The Lord is with us even right through to the end of the Church age. One passage wraps up what we have been saying - 2Timothy 3 v 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2Tim 3 v 13 Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. The attacks you get as Christians, come from Satan’s agents – those who are satanic and those who are moved by satanic forces and agents, demons, demonic men and all the rest, to oppose Christians. Then, you get attacks from what is connected with the name, “Christian”, and they are the modern day Pharisees. “Christian” is associated with heterosexual marriage and the right to life, and if you uphold those, then you are the enemy of the modern world.
In the opening verse, Nicodemus is also described as a ruler of the Jews. In his generation, Nicodemus had the reputation of being a leading, deeply educated teacher to whom the people looked to for instruction and guidance. He belonged to the Sanhedrin, which was the governing body of the Jews. The Great Sanhedrin was a religious assembly of 71 sages who met in the Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Temple in Jerusalem, and they met daily during the daytime. It judged accused lawbreakers, but could not initiate arrests. It required a minimum of two witnesses to convict a suspect, and there were no attorneys. Instead, the accusing witness stated the offence in the presence of the accused, and the accused could call witnesses on his own behalf. The court questioned the accused, the accusers, and the defence witnesses.
The Great Sanhedrin dealt with religious and ritualistic Temple matters, criminal matters appertaining to the secular court, proceedings in connection with the discovery of a corpse, trials of adulterous wives, tithes, preparation of Torah Scrolls for the king and the Temple, drawing up the calendar and the solving of difficulties relating to ritual law. In about 30 A.D. the Great Sanhedrin lost its authority to inflict capital punishment. After the Temple was destroyed, so was the Great Sanhedrin.
Jewish Encyclopedia and many Biblical historians have speculated that this man was Nicodemus ben Gurion, mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular holy man, and associated with the Jewish economy.
It seems Nicodemus was a good man who would not consort with all the vile practices of the Pharisees. He saw there was something special in Jesus that could not be explained just in human terms. This made him an honest man as distinct from the closed minds of the Pharisees. There have been lots of speculation why he came to Jesus at night, and I don’t know why. I think he was looking for some quiet time. There are those who say he was a coward, but that is far too harsh. He did not want public exposure with his position on the Sanhedrin, or want the Pharisees to know he was asking Jesus honest questions, and not the loaded ones the Pharisees normally asked. His visit was more personal and he did not want proceedings to be heard by others, for he had a burden in his heart that had to be met. It does not matter when lost souls come to Christ, be it day or night, just as long as they come. We all need to draw aside to have a time of privacy with the Lord, initially, one on one for salvation, and later for communion and restoration.
[B]. HIS VISIT TO JESUS - NEED
I want to examine the interchange between Nicodemus and the Lord. Not only is this most interesting, but it opens up for us an essential understanding of God’s salvation, and gives us some of the most crucial doctrines, and explanations in Scripture.
1. Verse 2. Nicodemus opened this conversation with “Rabbi”, a word that means teacher. This is a step most of the Pharisees would not accept. In trying to discover his own position, Nicodemus had come to realise two things. The first was, that the miracles set Jesus apart as having a special gift or mission from God. The second point was, that Jesus was a teacher who had come from God. Unlike other Pharisees he dealt honestly with the evidence, and the miracles had drawn him to seek the truth. In this world today, men and women shut their souls up to the miracles that are in the world, clearly on display. I refer to the great evidence of creation revealed in intricate detail by microscope and telescope, and by the astounding discoveries in medicine, biology, physics and astronomy. These great complexities are designed to make men consider the Creator, but instead, he has shut reason and honest evaluation up in prison, and slavishly will continue to worship the creature instead. That is what chapter 1 of Romans is all about; about the fools who deny God in creation, like David Attenborough, an avowed atheist with a brain matching that of a gorilla when it comes to reason and examining the evidence of a Creator. Nicodemus had his reason based on the character of Christ, not merely on what He did. He realised Christ had come from God, and concluded the impossibility of miracles being performed, apart from God’s doing.
2. Verse 3. The Lord anticipated Nicodemus’s question, and at once addressed the whole matter that was on Nicodemus’s mind. A man will not see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. This man came to enquire about the kingdom, and that kingdom and Messiah were inseparable in the Jewish mind. “Surely,” thought Nicodemus, “this must be the Messiah because of His miracles.” The O.T. prophets have written much on this Jewish Kingdom, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. Today we know this kingdom which will be established, as the Millennium, or Millennial Kingdom. In the days of the Church and in the coming kingdom, the entry is by one means only – You must be born again.
This verse cuts right to the chase. Instead of the Lord engaging Nicodemus in a talk about Jesus’ own miracles and ministry, He placed His finger on the exposed heart of Nicodemus. Nicodemus thought he was reaching out to Jesus, but in fact, Jesus was reaching out to him. The human soul and entire being is open and transparent to God, and He/God immediately knows what the answer is to man’s dire need. This great ruler of the Jews lacked one thing, and it was an eternal lack, and it is this point that must be addressed. Nicodemus needed to be born again.
This term, “born again” has great popular appeal these days, but it is glibly used, and not properly understood. You hear the term now and again during American electioneering as if it is a political vote catcher. You hear the term on these scurrilous prosperity doctrine TV showmanship programs. The word means “to be born from above”, indicating it is not through the agency of man, but by the intervention of God. It means being converted, renewed, regenerated, and being made a new creation in Christ Jesus. This experience also means “coming out of darkness into light” and “putting off the old man” and being redeemed, and “reconciled with God” and “justified in God’s sight”. It is not an operation of the human being. The Holy Spirit is the motivator. This was Nicodemus’s great need, and he did not even know it.
So much effort is wasted in the world for depressed people and troubled people and the world looks to therapies and psychological remedies and treatments, but all the time the greatest need is not met. The person needs to be saved, but all sorts of humanism is tried, never the Gospel. Even in churches, there is window dressing, and instituting this and that, as a means of reaching people, but look what the Lord did with Nicodemus. He put His finger on the problem right away and did not deny the saving power of God. People with addictions like drugs, are sent to addiction therapy, but what they need, is to hear and respond to the gospel of salvation. We want new men and women in Christ, not people with useless external patches. May our ministries not be slanted away from the essential core, that of man’s primary need of being born from above. Man treats only according to the flesh. God treats the spiritual and this is why we must be born again. This corrupt, nature of the flesh can not be changed into something better, because it is not good at all, and is so evil, that it can only bring forth evil and therefore regeneration is vitally necessary.
3. Verse 4. This is a classic answer that would come from one of no spiritual understanding. Even though Nicodemus was one of the leading teachers and interpreters of the Law, yet he lacked the fundamental understanding of what the Lord was saying. He could only understand all this at a physical level. Can I say this to the preachers and teachers – always make sure you, yourself know what you are saying, and know the reality of it in your own lives. Then make sure you explain your terms to give full understanding to your hearers. There is so much “spiritual talk” flying around but it will not take root in men’s hearts because it is shallow and laced with man’s ideas, not God’s power. Be an ambassador for Christ and don’t be ashamed or frightened to present God’s word in clarity, and fullness. Challenge the unsaved and not have your messages at the earthly level, which is where Nicodemus was. Some think a “sermon” must be a lot of tantalising stories.
We used to sing a small song in Sunday School – “Do you want a pilot?; Signal then to Jesus; Do you want a pilot?; Bid Him come onboard; For He will safely guide; Across the ocean wide; Until you reach at last the heavenly harbour.” As a small kid of 9 or even 11, I suppose, the image was all lost on me. The pilot I knew flew an aeroplane. It must have been some obscure image of a plane sailing in an ocean. IF the time was taken to explain carefully what an ocean/sea pilot was, then there would have been understanding. Teachers and preachers, be careful that you are logical and clear. Break down God’s word piece by piece for yourselves, meditate on it, then speak what the Lord has given to your audience with full understanding. Do you know that some speakers just take sermons and outlines from books and the internet and just parrot those? Wait on the Lord! Be fed directly was Elijah was.
4. Verse 5 and Verse 6. Here we have a verse that has given rise to all sorts of conflicts and fanciful teachings. What does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit? I do not have the time to examine all these ideas that have sprung up, but I will tell you what I hold to here. Verse 6 helps explain verse 5. We need to dismiss one thought straight away. The water in this verse has nothing whatsoever to do with baptism. The new birth does not come through baptism. Why, Christian baptism was unknown to Nicodemus, yet the Lord reprimanded him in verse 10 for not knowing what He was speaking about. Let us look at this and work it out. Jesus mentions water and the Spirit. What is the water? God’s word must be consistent on usage, and here, it is. Please note – water is the word of God. Here are the verses:- Ephesians 5 v 26 “that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” That verse is speaking of the Church where all members are born again. God’s word saves, and sanctifies and cleanses. Now we will consider three verses that have as their operation – the new birth through the word of God. Here is the first - 1Corinthians 4:15 for if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel. Born, as it were, sons to Paul. Then you have this next one - James 1 v 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures. The last one is very clear - 1Peter 1 v 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.
The word of God is vital in a person’s new birth, so preach the word of God. Never make excuses for the bible, and never give way to insidious liberalism or modernism. Place your feet firmly on both the Old and the New Testaments. Remember the O.T. was the scriptures of the New Testament church. However the word of God is only 50% of being born again. The other 50% is the work of the Holy Spirit. Think into this passage - John 16 v 7 but I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you, but if I go I will send Him to you, John 16 v 8 and He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment John 16 v 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me, John 16 v 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer behold Me, John 16 v 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. The Holy Spirit brings conviction into the heart of the unbeliever, to make him and her aware of their totally lost position before God, then directs the person to the Lord for salvation. The Holy Spirit is the author of the entire bible, so He takes his own words and applies them so that all might be born again, but most refuse.
END OF PART 1. PART 2 FOLLOWS IN NEXT POSTING
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