Video Transition: Nicodemus and Jesus from the Chosen!
Scripture: John 3:1-21: Jesus meets Nicodemus!
1There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.
2After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
7So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’
8The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9“How are these things possible? Nicodemus asked.
10Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?
11I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony.
12But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.
14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
16“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
20All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
21But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Did you notice in the video clip – Jesus invited Nicodemus to sit at the table – to pull up a chair with Jesus!
Jesus invited Nicodemus to sit at the table – in essence you could say Jesus invited Nicodemus to pull a chair up to the table with Him. So, they could talk – so Nicodemus could ask his many questions!
New theme for 2026 - Pull Up a Chair!
(Reference the banner) Key Verse on the banners for Series:
1 Peter 4:8-10: 8Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Over the next few weeks, we will make a connection to these verses but the first step we must take is we ourselves must pull up a chair and meet with Jesus like Nicodemus did!
Illustration: THE PRAYER AND THE CHAIR
A woman called a pastor to come to the house to see her father. He goes to the house not knowing whether the man is Christian or not, but he notices as he talks to him and the man answers back that he must be a Christian and there is a chair sitting close by. An empty chair. He asks, "What's the chair for and the man said, "Well, I'll tell you, but I won't tell my daughter, she'll think I'm crazy. I've always had trouble praying. I knew a man in my early years who said to me, 'All you need to do is put an empty chair in front of you and prayer is nothing more than talking to God. And why don't you imagine God sitting in that chair and you just talk to him.'" And so he said, "I put an empty chair there and started talking to the chair as if God was there and it got so good that I just do it now hours sometime at a time and just talk to God and God talks to me and my soul is blessed by His divine grace." And he said, "If I tell my daughter, she'll think I'm losing my mind."
Some months later, the man died. When the Pastor came to visit the family, he said to the daughter, "How did he die? What happened to him?" She said, "Well, the sickness just finally got him. But the strangest way we found him. When I came in, he was dead, but there's a chair sitting beside the bed and I noticed that he had pushed himself out of the bed and put his head in the chair and died there with his head in the chair."
(From a sermon by Ricky Nelms, Hallowed Be Thy Name, 7/14/2010)
1. What do we need to know about Nicodemus?
a. He was a prominent Pharisee, a respected teacher of Israel, and a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council).
i. He was a man of wealth and influence, but he genuinely sought truth beyond the strict legalism of his peers. This is why he came to Jesus to seek truth and clarity! His fascination with Jesus’ power to deliver people from demons and his eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ enabling people to be transformed compelled Nicodemus to come to the table to meet and talk with Jesus.
ii. What compels you to come and meet with Jesus at His table?
b. Yes, imagine the setting: Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, likely to avoid the public scrutiny and potential backlash from other Jewish leaders who were largely opposed to Jesus. But he has questions – He saw miracles – He saw the hand of God on Jesus!
c. The Conversations at the table by Jesus to Nicodemus are great conversations to have with other people around the table:
i. Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus was a “teacher who has come from God” because of the miraculous signs he performed. Jesus, in turn, challenged Nicodemus at his core by stating that no one can “see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (or “born from above”).
ii. Table talk – Jesus Core Teachings to Nicodemus: They work for anybody by the way!
1. Spiritual Rebirth: Nicodemus initially interpreted Jesus's words literally, asking how an old man could physically re-enter his mother's womb. Jesus clarified that He was referring to a spiritual transformation, a "birth of water and the Spirit," which is the work of God in the heart and soul, not a physical process.
a. "Born again" in Greek, especially in the New Testament context of spiritual rebirth, is often translated from ??a?e???? (anagennaó), meaning "to beget/bear again" (1 Peter 1:3, 23) or ?e????? ????e? (gennethe anothen), meaning "born from above" (John 3:3, 7). While gennao means "to give birth," anagennao intensifies this with ana ("again/up"), signifying a supernatural new life from God, a "living hope".
b. Key Greek Terms
i. ??a?e???? (anagennaó): (1 Peter 1:3, 23) From ana (again/up) + gennao (beget/birth).
ii. ?e????? ????e? (gennethe anothen): (John 3:3, 7) "Born from above," where anothen can mean "again" or "from above," with the latter being the primary theological meaning.
iii. pa????e?es?a (palingenesia): (Matthew 19:28) Means "regeneration" or "renewal" (New Birth).
c. Meaning in Scripture
i. 1 Peter 1:3, 23: Describes believers as "born again" (or "begotten again") by God's word, a completed spiritual act.
ii. John 3:3, 7: Jesus tells Nicodemus one must be "born again" or "born from above" to see the kingdom of God, emphasizing a divine, spiritual transformation.
d. Essentially, the Greek terms point to a divine, spiritual regeneration, a new life initiated by God, rather than just a simple repetition of physical birth
2. Faith vs. Works: Jesus's teaching underscored that a person cannot earn salvation or entry into God's kingdom through adherence to religious law or good deeds, but through faith and a change of heart gifted by God's Spirit.
3. Salvation for All: The conversation includes one of the most well-known verses in the Bible, John 3:16: "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". This highlights God's redemptive purpose and the offer of eternal life to everyone who believes, Jew or Gentile.
4. Light vs. Darkness: Jesus explained that He is the light of the world, and people who do evil deeds love darkness and avoid the light. Nicodemus's initial visit under the cover of night symbolizes his spiritual state, but his later actions show a move toward the light.
d. The result of the table talks: Was Nicodemus's impacted by pulling up a chair and talking with Jesus?
i. His Later Actions reveal his heart was changed when he sat down at the table with Jesus and asked questions and he listened to Jesus answers.
1. Nicodemus appears two more times in the Gospel of John, showing a transformation in his faith:
a. He advocated for Jesus within the Sanhedrin, reminding his colleagues that their law required a fair hearing before judging a person.
b. After Jesus's crucifixion, Nicodemus, along with Joseph of Arimathea (another secret disciple), took the body of Jesus and prepared it for burial with a large, costly amount of myrrh and aloes (about 75-100 pounds), an act of public devotion and immense respect that risked his reputation and position.
2. What happened to Nicodemus?
a. The Bible doesn't explicitly state what happened to Nicodemus after Jesus' burial, but Christian tradition, supported by apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Nicodemus, says he was baptized by apostles (Peter & John), expelled from the Sanhedrin, persecuted, and eventually banished from Jerusalem, dying a martyr for his faith as a follower of Jesus. He moved from cautious curiosity (coming at night) to courageous public support (defending Jesus, helping with burial), showing his growing devotion.
b. Key Points from Scripture:
i. John 3: He first meets Jesus secretly at night, showing his initial hesitation but genuine interest in Jesus' teachings, leading to the famous "born again" dialogue.
ii. John 7: He defends Jesus' right to a fair hearing before the Sanhedrin, challenging his colleagues.
iii. John 19: He joins Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus' body for burial, bringing expensive spices, a public act of reverence.
c. Post-Biblical Traditions:
i. Baptism: He was baptized by Peter and John, publicly affirming his faith.
ii. Persecution: He lost his position in the Jewish ruling council (Sanhedrin) and was driven out of Jerusalem by hostile Jews.
iii. Martyrdom: He is believed to have died a martyr for his Christian beliefs.
1. While these later accounts aren't in the Bible, they paint a picture of Nicodemus growing from a questioning Pharisee into a committed disciple who suffered for his faith.
3. Point to make - Nicodemus humbled himself in coming to Jesus! Are you willing to humble yourself and come to Jesus? To pull up a chair at His invitation? Are you willing to meet with Jesus and ask questions and listen to Him?
a. Jesus is not afraid of your questions! He is inviting you to come to the table and pull up a chair and talk and have fellowship! With Him and with others – Why so you can be a part of a miracle – you heard me – a miracle!
ii. Application: What compels you to come and meet with Jesus at His table? He has invited you to pull up a chair – are you willing?
1. Point to make - Nicodemus humbled himself in coming to Jesus! Are you willing to humble yourself and come to Jesus? To pull up a chair at His invitation?
2. Jesus is not afraid of your questions! He is inviting you to come to the table and pull up a chair and talk and have fellowship! With Him and with others – Why so you can be a part of a miracle – you heard me – a miracle!
T.S. - Nicodemus most likely heard Jesus’ invitation to come to Him – saw His miracles – Heard his Teachings and he took him up on that invitation to come to Him!
2. Jesus frequently invites people to "come" in the Bible to meet with Him.
a. He offers rest, relationship, and eternal life – and He wants to use you to communicate this message to the people around you.
i. Jesus wants you to come to His table and pull up a chair – but he also wants you to pull your chair up to other people who need to hear the Good News!
b. Jesus uses key examples like:
i. "Come, follow me" (Matthew 4:19) to his disciples.
ii. "Come unto me, all ye that labor" (Matthew 11:28) for rest.
iii. "Come and dine" (John 21:12) for fellowship.
iv. “Come” culminating in the ultimate call for all to come to Him for salvation and to receive the Holy Spirit (Revelation 22:17).
1. These invitations are for a transformative journey, not just proximity, leading to intimacy with God and participation in His kingdom work.
c. Here are some Key Invitations from Jesus for us to pull up a chair!
i. "Come, follow me": His direct call to disciples, leading to a life of discipleship and mission (Matthew 4:19).
ii. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest": An invitation to find peace and relief (Matthew 11:28).
iii. "Come and see": An invitation to experience Him firsthand, as seen in John 1:39 when Philip invited Nathanael.
iv. "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink": An invitation to receive spiritual life (John 7:37).
v. "Come and have breakfast": A call to fellowship and restoration after His resurrection (John 21:12).
vi. "Come, you who are blessed by my Father": The call to inherit the kingdom (Matthew 25:34).
vii. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me": A personal invitation to intimacy (Revelation 3:20).
d. Do you realize how amazing these invitations are for you? To meet with Jesus and then allow him to point you to someone’s else to let them know of His love and power to set them free?
T.S. – Jesus has given you an open invitation to come pull up a chair to His table – So here is the challenge – from God’s Word for us in 2026:
3. God is inviting each of you to pull up a chair next to Him this new year in 2026 – Yes, even next to His table – to have a conversation with Him – to even ask questions of Him. (Thesis)
a. Question: Do you understand how magnificent it is to be able to have a relationship with Jesus – how honored you should be to be asked by Him to pull up a chair next to Him?
i. I am serious – Do you forget that Jesus is God – in the flesh – the Great I Am – He was with God the Father at Creation – He was part of saying “Let there be light!” - and He is inviting you to pull up a chair to His table and sit next to Him. Jesus said “Come to me” – Come pull up a chair next to me and ask your questions and let’s talk!
b. Question: Do you know who Jesus is?
i. The apostle Paul said it this way in Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
1. Romans? ?1?:?20? ?NIV?? https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.1.20.NIV????????
2. Paul tells us to look around at Creation, and you will see the divine nature and power of God – have you looked lately? Do you understand who is inviting you to pull up a chair to His table to talk?
ii. Illustration: I picked up Mark Batterson’s new book “A million little miracles” this week – He asks a question to the reader – I think it’s a question to all of us today – Are you ready, “Have you ever experienced a miracle?” Ask for a show of hands!
1. Batterson states,” I know people who say they have never experienced a miracle. With all due respect, you have never not. In fact, you are one!”
a. Mark says miracles happen every day – your just have to see them – in essence your eyes need to be opened by the Holy Spirit to see the miracles happening all around you everyday!
2. According to his introduction in his book he notes this about miracles: “When you were conceived, it’s like God said it all over again: “Let there be you.” (referencing Creations famous words “Let there be light”)
a. He adds, “There never has been and never will be anyone like you. That’s not a testament to you. It’s a testament to the God who created you. No one can worship God like you or for you. No one can love like you or lead like you. No one has your fingerprint, voiceprint, eye print, or even sweat print.”
b. Point – you are a miracle – one of a kind!
3. Can I add God made you so you could interact with Him – talk with Him – dialogue with Him – He made you in His image – Why? to have a relationship with Him – Yes, the same one who said, “Let there be light – wants to interact with you!” He made you – that’s a miracle – you are more than one in a million – you are one in a lifetime of eternity – ONE – created by God! He created you for fellowship with Him – He wants a relationship with you – He wants you to know you are even more than one a million!
a. Key point here: “You are one in a lifetime of eternity” no-one else is like you!
b. Yes, the God who created this earth and universe wants you to come to Him and pull up a chair with Him at His table!
4. Batterson adds this thought to remind us of who is inviting us to pull up a chair with Him:
a. “Welcome to Wonderland. It’s not only God’s mercies that are new every morning. It’s His miracles! Every day, without exception, we experience miracles big and small, visible and invisible, tangible and intangible. As you read this book, it may feel like you are sitting still, but that is an illusion of miraculous proportions. The reality? You are on a giant merry-go-round that is spinning on its axis at 1,000 miles per hour and speeding through space at 67,000 miles per hour. That is nothing short of miraculous, but we don’t give it a second thought. Even on a day when you didn’t get much done, you did travel 1.6 million miles through space. But wait, there’s more. The Milky Way galaxy is spinning at 468,000 miles per hour, and we don’t even get dizzy. Meanwhile, the Milky Way is moving at 1,342,162 miles per hour toward something astrophysicists call “the Great Attractor.” The Great Attractor? Things that make you go, Hmmmmm.”
b. Have you thought – Wow yet?
i. Thought from Mark: “We don’t kneel at the end of the day and pray, Lord, I wasn’t sure we were going to make the full rotation today, but You did it again! Why? Because God is so good at what God does that we take most miracles for granted.”
1. Batterson, Mark. A Million Little Miracles: Rediscover the God Who Is Bigger Than Big, Closer Than Close, and Gooder Than Good (pp. 10-11). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
5. Mark shares a quote from Einstein: “There are only two ways to live your life,” said Einstein. “One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.” Which way are you living your life?
a. Batterson, Mark. A Million Little Miracles: Rediscover the God Who Is Bigger Than Big, Closer Than Close, and Gooder Than Good (p. 13). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
T.S.- Once we pull up a chair and fellowship with Jesus then we need to go find another person to pull a chair up too. Listen closely: God wants to use you to perform a miracle for His kingdom and it may be one invite away from Happening! One lunch – one dinner – one conversation! One new soul for the Kingdom!
4. Application of the Message today: Do you understand the meaning of the invitation from Jesus – to come and pull up a chair with Him and with others?
a. It’s a call to Transformation: A call to leave old ways and begin a new, surrendered life with Jesus.
b. It’s a call to Relationship: An opening for an intimate, personal connection with God and others.
c. It’s a call to Salvation: An offer of forgiveness, life, and escape from God's wrath.
d. It’s a call to Mission: To become "fishers of men," participating in His work.
e. Here is my Challenge from our new series: Let’s get personal in 2026! Let’s leave the screens and the tech stuff and get personal with Jesus and with other people this new year in 2026--- NOTE: I am making the challenge plain!
i. Pull up a chair and go meet with Jesus at His Table of eternal life!
ii. Pull up a chair and go from me to we!
iii. Pull up a chair and go from information to transformation!
iv. Pull up a chair and go from screens to face-face conversations with Jesus and others!
v. Pull up a chair and go from a religion to a relationship with Jesus and others!
vi. Pull up a chair and go from living by the flesh to living by the Spirit!
vii. Pull up a chair and go from nobody to somebody!
viii. Pull up a chair and go from the bites to the light!
ix. Pull up a chair and go from the shows to the glow!
x. Pull up a chair and go from Ai to Hi!
1. Application: Are you willing to pull up a chair next to Jesus and sit next to Him? Next question: Are willing to pull up a chair next to someone Jesus highlights to you – to have you go meet at a table to talk and listen to another person’s views, their story, their heart and even answer their questions about Jesus? Are you willing and able to talk about Jesus and His Story which intersects with your story?
2. The Question: Are you willing to pull up a chair and talk with Jesus daily and with others who are searching?
Video Illustration: People Matter to God!
Conclusion: Come to me – Pull up a chair with Jesus and then with others!
Pulling up a chair with Jesus and with others – is not ordinary – it’s miraculous!
Mark states it this way: “There is nothing ordinary about anything or anyone! Much of this book is based on a simple principle, but it’s a principle of great importance. In Aristotelian terms, it’s a first principle. Nothing is as simple as it seems. Everything is more miraculous than we can imagine. According to quantum mechanics, every cell in the human body is 99.99 percent empty space. There are thirty-seven sextillion biochemical reactions happening in your body every single second. If your double-helix DNA were stretched end to end, it would reach to the moon and back nearly 150,000 times. Never experienced a miracle? You have never not.” Batterson, Mark. A Million Little Miracles: Rediscover the God Who Is Bigger Than Big, Closer Than Close, and Gooder Than Good (p. 13). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Let me remind you of what Jesus is inviting you to do this year:
Jesus extends numerous invitations in the Bible, most famously "Come, follow me" (Matthew 4:19, Mark 10:21), calling people into discipleship, service, and a deeper relationship with God, promising rest for the weary in Matthew 11:28, and offering eternal life through Himself (John 14:6). These invitations, often using phrases like "Come and see" (John 1:39) or "Come and dine" (John 21:12), are to know Him personally, find true rest, and enter His Kingdom, accessible to all who hunger and thirst for God.
Summary of the message and the story of Jesus and Nicodemus: The story of Jesus and Nicodemus, found in John Chapter 3 of the New Testament, Nicodemus comes in the middle of the night wanting to sit down at the table and talk with Jesus about what He has seen and heard! Jesus did not turn him away he invited him to sit with Him at the table. Jesus has an open invitation to all to come and pull up a chair with Him to talk and to fellowship! Yes, even to ask questions and discuss the Word of God together! Yes, this meeting describes a clandestine meeting where Jesus explains the necessity of spiritual rebirth and the nature of salvation to a religious leader who knows he had to come from God. Jesus explains why he came to earth from Heaven. To establish His kingdom and set people free from sin. You could say Nicodemus had a miraculous conversation with “The Great I Am!”
What do we need to know from this message?
Answer: We need to accept Jesus’ invitation to “Pull Up A Chair and come to Him.”
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: The invitation from Jesus is always open to anyone who is willing to pull up a chair with Jesus – these heart to heart talks with Jesus should change us and compel us to go pull a chair up with someone else that Jesus highlights to us so we can be used to do a miracle!
What do they need to do?
Answer: Pull up a chair to Jesus table and talk, ask questions and then listen. Then go find someone else highlighted by Jesus and pull a chair up to their table and have a heart to heart with them.
Why do they need to do this?
Answer: I believe Jesus wants us to bring people into His kingdom this year – Jesus is doing something in this day and hour and we need to jump aboard and pull our chair up beside those who need a miracle in their lives.
