There is a tiny village in NE Scotland named… “LOST.” It’s a quaint village where the sign posts dutifully point the way to “Lost”, and the signs have become a popular tourist attraction. Many people have had their picture taken as they posed underneath that single word “LOST” and they posed looking bewildered and confused - because they’re LOST… you see. That was the joke.
But there actually came a time when tourists and delivery trucks became bewildered and confused… because they couldn’t find LOST. People ended up getting lost trying to find LOST, because there were other tourists who were stealing the signs and taking them home as souvenirs.
As you can imagine – at $400 a pop – this was concern for the town. Community leaders considered renaming the village “Lost Farms”, but the residents didn’t like that idea… and they fought the change. So the town fathers just gave up and welded the signs to metal posts to make them harder to steal.
OPEN: In our story today, we’re reading about a man who was lost. He was following his own signposts and didn’t know where he was going. His name was Nicodemus, and he’d had become intrigued by Jesus. He’d heard of the wondrous things Jesus had done; His mighty miracles and powerful teachings. Nicodemus also knew that Jesus had run the merchants out of the Temple because they’d turned the house of God into a marketplace for making money. So, I suspect Nicodemus had become impressed by Jesus, and he’d come ask a few questions.
Now Nicodemus – was a man of power and prestige. A ruler of the people; A prominent Pharisee… and a member of the Sanhedrin. But that’s probably why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. The Pharisees and the Sanhedrin despised Jesus, and if they ever found out that Nicodemus had gone to Jesus to talk with Him, they would have destroyed him.
John 12 tells us “… many even of the authorities believed in (Jesus), but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.” John 12:42
It was a dangerous to even look like you were interested in Jesus. So under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus comes to Jesus, and the first thing he said to Christ was a compliment. He says: "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." It’s very polite - very respectful. He was saying “others might not like you… but I do!” But Nicodemus must have said something wrong, because Jesus interrupted him saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3
It was like Jesus completely ignored Nicodemus’ greeting and just started talking about something else. Talking about… being born again. So I spent a couple hours trying figure out why Jesus would have said what He did. And, then it suddenly occurred to me that the problem was Nicodemus’ first 7 words. Nicodemus said: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher.”
Well… what’s wrong with that? I mean wasn’t Jesus a teacher? Well… yeah. But that wasn’t ALL He was. You see, I think the problem was, Nicodemus wanted to engage Jesus in a conversation, but he wanted to do it on his terms. He wasn’t coming to Jesus as (some kind of) a humble learner. I believe he came to Jesus as if he were an EQUAL. I mean, after all, Nicodemus WAS a pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He’s a man of importance; He’s a religious leader with a reputation. Nicodemus was a teacher so he called Jesus a teacher – because he saw them as equals. But of course… they weren’t equals. Nicodemus was following his own signpost… and he was Lost!
Some time back I watched a video where a Bible instructor noted that almost all the religions of the world have acknowledged (for the most part) that Jesus was a great teacher or a prophet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvw1-DdgJo8 (from timestamp 0:8 thru 2:31)
The speaker made excellent point and his main point was this: Other world religions want Jesus … but they want Him on their terms. They want Jesus… but not His teachings! These world religions describe Christ as a teacher, or prophet … or a minor god - but never as the Son of God. At best, Jesus was just an equal to them.
And that’s probably what Nicodemus was doing, he wanted Jesus… but only on his terms as an equal.
Tim Keller said it this way: “The founders of every other world religion said “I’m a prophet who shows you how to find God.” But Jesus taught: “I’m God, come to find you.” Jesus IS NOT OUR EQUAL. Jesus is God in the flesh who had come to find us.
And that’s why Jesus began the conversation by saying “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3” Now, a lot of people don’t realize that Jesus was using a phrase that Nicodemus would have understood. In fact, Jesus seemed surprised that Nicodemus didn’t understand. Jesus said: "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” John 3:10
BORN AGAIN was a term every good Jewish teacher would have recognized. You see, when a Gentile wanted to convert to Judaism, they would leave their paganism and cling to the God of Israel. When Gentiles made that decision they were said to be “Born Again.”
The Encyclopedia Judaica which describes Jewish religion and life said, “A proselyte (a Gentile who becomes a Jew) terminates all former family ties upon conversion and `is considered a newly born child’” (volume 13, page 1184, article “Proselytes”).
And then, the Talmud (the primary source of Jewish law and theology) states, “A man who became a proselyte (a Gentile who becomes a Jew) is like a child newly born.”
Still another source explained: “New birth, as a figure of speech, was known to refer to proselyte conversion. It was understood to mean conversion of the mind and heart, beginning a new spiritual life with a new way of thinking, leaving one’s old ways and ideas completely behind.”
Jesus was telling Nicodemus: You are NOT acceptable like you are; You have to change; You have to become like a new-born child. Nicodemus knew EXACTLY what Jesus was saying… he just didn’t like it. And that’s why he seemed to squirm so much in this conversation.
You see, Nicodemus knew what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying: you have to leave your past and your teachings and cling to me like a child would. And you’ve got to start by realizing… I’m NOT your equal. I am God in the flesh.
But Jesus consistently taught that we must be like a little child. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said: “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (NASV).
Again Jesus said “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Mark 10:15
And in Luke 18:16 Jesus called to the children and said: "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
ILLUS: As many of you know, Benjamin and Luella (my grandchildren) live with me along with their parents. And at their age, they’re very teachable. I am the ALL-WISE Grandfather… and they want to please me. There’s a lot of things they don’t know about life, and they soak up what I teach them like sponges.
Now, there’s going to come a day… when they’ll stop being teachable children, and they’ll become annoying teenagers who know everything. Mark Twain once advised parents: "When a boy turns 13, put him in a barrel and feed him through a knot hole. When he turns 16, plug up the hole." WE DON’T WANT TO BE LIKE THAT KIND OF KID. We want to be willing to look to God and seek His wisdom and guidance just like a young child would.
So Jesus was telling Nicodemus… you must be born again.You’ve got to change your thinking. You’ve got to RELEARN everything you thought was true. You’ve got to change your belief that you’re just fine the way you are
You’ve got to change your allegiances. And come to Me, and follow Me and do things MY WAY!
And IF you come to Me (says Jesus)… you won’t be LOST. I’ll be your signpost that will lead you to a full life. That’s why Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
And you don’t have to do this alone. When you become a Christian, you have help. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the SPIRIT, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) The Holy Spirit is part of the deal when we become Christians. Acts 2:38 says “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT.”
When we become Christians God gives us a gift… the Holy Spirit. It’s the mark of our salvation… it reminds us that we belong to Christ. But the Spirit is also our helper. The Spirit guides us as we read the Bible. He assists us when we don’t know how to pray. He leads us when we have decisions to make. And the Spirit is GOD living within us, and we’ll never be alone.
But now, wait a minute… John 3:5 ALSO says “Unless one is born of WATER and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 What’s that all about???
WELL, THAT WOULD BE BAPTISM.
When a Gentile was converted to Judaism, part of the process of being born anew was baptism by immersion. And until they were baptized, they hadn’t been changed they were still Gentiles. To make that easier for Gentiles to be immersed into Judaism, there were a number of baptismal pools just outside the entrance to the Temple.
As one leading Jewish authority put it: “As your forefathers entered into the Covenant only by circumcision, immersion and the sprinkling of the blood, so they (the proselytes) shall enter the Covenant only by circumcision, immersion and sprinkling of the blood.” (The Soncino Talmud Keritot 9a).
A Gentile was not born again into Judaism until they’d been immersed in water. But baptism without a desire to change… was just getting wet.
CLOSE: I know a man who wanted to get baptized sometime back, and I explained that baptism was just part of what was involved. I explained repentance acknowledging that he was a sinner and that he needed to change his life). And then I explained confession. Romans 10:9 “If you CONFESS with your mouth that Jesus IS LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
You see, when we CONFESS Jesus is LORD…we’re declaring that CHRIST will now own us, and everything we possess. But this man didn’t like that, so he decided he didn’t want to get baptized after all. Why did he change his mind? Because he realized it meant that he’d have to surrender EVERYTHING to Jesus, and he didn’t want to do that.
But that’s what it means to be BORN AGAIN. That’s what it means to be BAPTIZED INTO Christ. It means you surrender ALL.
INVITATION
