Resurrection Sunday
Just As I Am
John 3
April 15, 2001
Intro:
A. [Making an Impression, Citation: The Wisconsin State Journal, reprinted in Parade]
The Wisconsin State Journal recently surveyed vice presidents and personnel directors of the nation’s largest corporations for their most unusual experiences interviewing prospective employees. Their stories included:
A job applicant who challenged the interviewer to arm wrestle.
A job candidate who said he had never finished high school because he had been kidnapped and kept in a closet in Mexico.
A balding candidate who excused himself, then returned wearing a full hairpiece.
A candidate who wore earphones to the interview and, when asked to remove them, explained that she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time.
A candidate who said she didn’t have time for lunch, then started to eat a hamburger and fries in the interviewer’s office.
An applicant who interrupted the questioning to phone her therapist for advice.
A candidate who dozed off during the interview.
A candidate who muttered, "Would it be a problem if I’m angry most of the time?"
These people sound pretty incompetent, don’t they?
1. Yet it is not a stretch to say this is the same sort of incompetence we all bring to God when we come to God with our list of "qualifications" to get into heaven.
2. I don’t get to go to heaven because I never killed anyone.
3. I don’t get to go to heaven because I’m not a child molester.
4. I don’t get to go to heaven because I’m a pretty good person.
5. I don’t get to go to heaven because I got baptized.
6. I don’t get to go to heaven because I’m a preacher.
7. Unfortunately I’m just as incompetent as those job candidates—and so are you.
B. So how do we get to go to heaven?
1. Fortunately there’s a better way and it lies deep in the meaning of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection which we celebrate this weekend.
2. So on this resurrection Sunday, I want to look at a story recorded in the third chapter of the Gospel of John.
3. It is an unusual encounter that Christ had with a man by the name of Nicodemus.
4. Nicodemus was a Hebrew, but I like to think of him as an Irish man: "Nick O’Demus."
5. So if you have a Bible, let’s look at the encounter that Nick had with Jesus…
I. Nick came to Christ under the cover of darkness.
John 3:2, He came to Jesus at night
A. Nick was a Pharisee.
1. Now the Pharisees believed that since they were such good people, they were entitled to go to heaven.
2. And unfortunately that’s what a lot of people think today.
3. The Bible tells us that the Pharisees were the ruling council.
4. The Jewish religion was the most predominate religion.
5. So the Pharisees were the ruling body of the predominant religion of the day.
6. And while the Romans were in charge of the government, the Romans had delegated governmental oversight of matters that had to do with their religion to the Pharisees.
7. So the Pharisees were not only the ruling body of religion, but they also had ties to the government with full law enforcement authority as well.
8. So how would you like that?
9. How would you like to live in a society that the predominant religion had the governmental authority to force people to obey the teachings of their religion.
10. Thankfully, that is not true today in America!
B. But, imagine how it would be for you to be a member of that council.
1. You are a member of the ruling council of your religion.
2. You can imagine that you would have some standards that you would have to live up to in order to maintain your position.
3. You can imagine that you would have some beliefs that you had to have in order to maintain your position.
4. You can imagine that there would be a little notoriety in society attached to your position.
5. You can imagine that their would quite a bit of a power-rush attached to your position.
6. If you can imagine a politician with the trappings of religion attached to them, you can get a picture of what it was like to be a Pharisee.
7. They enjoyed people noticing them.
8. They enjoyed people seeing how "holy" they were.
9. They enjoyed people watching them do their good deeds.
10. They enjoyed swaying power over people to force them to live the way they wanted them to live.
C. But there is one other piece of information that I need to tell you about the Pharisees…
1. They had a big problem with Jesus!
2. Jesus was embarrassing to them.
3. Jesus claimed to be the promised Messiah.
4. If Jesus really was the promised Messiah, He would take away a lot of their influence over people.
5. And Jesus did that very thing!
6. Jesus told people that the Pharisees were hypocrites because they were so legalistic about their teachings.
7. Jesus told the people that the Pharisees were blind guides.
8. Jesus embarrassed the Pharisees.
9. In fact, it was the Pharisee who eventually got Jesus crucified.
D. So now I think we can understand why the Scripture says that Nick came to Jesus, "at night."
1. Nick (being a Pharisee) didn’t want anyone to know that he was talking to Jesus.
2. Nick didn’t want anyone to see him talking to Jesus.
3. So Nick came to Jesus in secret.
E. And that is true of a lot of people even today.
1. A lot of people live and work with people who have poo-pooed Jesus and it would be embarrassing if people knew that they read the Bible.
2. A lot of people have even publicly denounced churches and Christians and it would be very embarrassing if people knew they went to church.
3. So why did Nick risk going to Jesus at all?
II. Nick wanted to know if Jesus was for real.
John 3:2, He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
A. Nick was saying that even though most of the Pharisees didn’t like Jesus, he thought Jesus must have come from God
1. Nick had enough sense to know that a normal human being couldn’t do the things that Jesus had done.
2. Nick knew that a normal human being could not perform the miracles that Jesus had performed.
3. So Nick was coming to Jesus to find out if He was for real.
B. And friends, that’s what everyone who is here today really wants to know!
1. Everyone here today (deep down in their heart) really wants to know the answer to that question themselves.
2. Is Jesus Christ for real?
3. You may have come today just because you thought it would be nice to go to church on Easter.
4. You may have come here today just because your spouse nagged you into it.
5. But everyone wants to know if Jesus Christ is for real!
6. Everyone wants to know who Jesus really is.
C. So let me talk about that with you for just a minute…
1. Friends, do you believe that Jesus Christ lived?
2. Do you believe that George Washington lived?
3. Do you believe that Abraham Lincoln lived?
4. If you believe that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln lived, you have to believe that Jesus Christ lived.
5. Why? Because there is as much or more documented evidence that Jesus lived as there is that Abraham Lincoln and George Washington lived.
6. You can go into any library and get a history book that was written about that time period and you will find that there was a man who lived in that area, who called Himself the Son of God, and performed miraculous things.
7. So there is no question that Jesus Christ lived; there is documented historical evidence outside the Bible.
8. So the question is not whether or not Jesus Christ lived.
9. The question is whether or not He was who He said He was.
10. The question is not whether or not He existed, but whether or not He really is the Son of God or not.
III. Jesus told Nick that he must be born again.
John 3:3, In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
A. Jesus told Nick that in order to really understand, he must be born again.
1. Jesus didn’t say that He came from God and He didn’t say that He didn’t come from God.
2. No. Jesus said that if anyone wants to enter the kingdom of God, He must be born again.
3. You see the Pharisees believed that you got to go to heaven by being a good person.
4. They believed they were entitled to go to heaven because they were so good at keeping all the rules and regulations.
5. They thought they were experts at the "do’s and don’ts" so they thought they should get to go to heaven.
6. But Jesus said that if anyone wants to enter the kingdom of God, He must be born again.
B. That is our answer as well.
1. If you want to know if Jesus Christ is for real, you must be born again!
2. It has nothing to do with doing the right things and not doing the wrong things.
3. It has nothing to do with being a good person.
4. It has to do if what’s in the heart.
5. It has to do if whether Jesus is in the heart.
6. And in order for Jesus to be in the heart, we must be born again.
IV. Nick didn’t understand.
John 3:4, "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!"
A. Clearly Nick didn’t get it.
1. When Jesus spoke of being born again, Nick thought about being physically born again.
2. Nick thought Jesus meant that he had to somehow return to his mother’s womb.
3. Nick didn’t get.
B. And sadly there are a lot of people who don’t get it and they give up.
1. They don’t continue to ask questions.
2. They don’t continue to search for answers.
3. They simply give up and think that since they don’t understand it, it must not be true.
4. So many people make the mistake of thinking that we must understand everything there is to know about Jesus and the Bible before we can make a commitment to God.
5. But let me ask you, how many of you understand everything there is to know about the automobiles?
a. I understand that that there is gasoline and pistons and spark plugs and a transmission, but I certainly don’t understand everything there is to know about automobiles.
b. I certainly don’t understand all there is to know about the computer components they put on them today.
c. But I also don’t allow my lack of understanding of how an automobile works keep me from driving a car!
6. And I don’t understand all there is to know about electricity.
a. And I certainly didn’t understand it all when I was 5 years old and started turning on lights.
b. But that has never stopped me from flipping a light switch to turn on the light.
7. And the truth is that since God is a SUPREME being and not a HUMAN being, I am never going to understand everything there is to know about.
8. That draws me to want to come into a relationship with Him BECAUSE I want to understand Him better!
9. And sadly so many people choose to miss out on God’s love simply because they don’t understand it.
10. So what did Jesus say?
V. Jesus explained the ways of God.
John 3:5-8, Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is 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."
A. Now I must admit that this is not a difficult thing to understand either…
1. But let me try to explain it to you…
2. Jesus was simply saying that the ways of God are different than the ways of man.
3. Jesus said that you can’t really see the wind, but you can see what it does and therefore know that it exists.
4. So Jesus is saying that we can’t really see the Holy Spirit, but we can see what it does and we know that it exists.
5. Jesus is saying that it is the Holy Sprit that delivers us into new life.
6. Our mothers gave birth to our flesh, but the HS gives birth to our spirit; our new life.
B. And it is still the same today.
1. In order to enter the kingdom of God, we must be born again.
2. And when we get this new spirit our lives will change.
3. When are born again the Bible says that all things will become new.
4. You may or may not notice it immediately.
5. But eventually you will see the effects of the HS in your life.
6. When we believe that Jesus really is the Son of God and we believe that He died on the cross for our sins and that He is the only way to heaven, we will be changed, we will receive eternal life, we will receive the HS, and we are born again!
VI. Nick still didn’t understand.
John 3:9, "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
VII. Jesus explained the cross.
John 3:13-15, 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 desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
A. Jesus was talking about the cross.
1. The very cross that we remembered this past Friday.
2. Jesus was telling Nick that He was going to have to die on a cross.
3. Jesus referred to the snake that Moses lifted up on a pole when the Israelites were wandering in the desert.
4. When the Israelites were in the desert there were lots of venomous snakes.
5. People were dying from these snake bites so they cried out to God to help them with this terrible situation.
6. So God told Moses to cast a bronze snake on a pole and have the people who had been bitten look upon it and they would live.
7. (By-the-way, this is where the American Medical Association got their symbol which you have probably seen in various places.)
8. And Jesus was reminding Nick of this story that he was familiar with and telling him that He was going to be lifted up on a pole in a similar way.
9. Jesus was telling Nick that just as the people were healed by looking at the snake, everyone who looks to Jesus on the cross will live.
B. You see God had a plan in the Garden of Eden that man would live a life without sin and would live happily ever after in a direct, dependent relationship with God.
1. But Adam and Eve did sin, they broke their dependent relationship with God, and were banished from Garden of Eden forever.
2. And they spiritually died, just as God said they would.
3. And everyone who has ever walked the face of the earth since that time has sinned as well (except for Jesus).
4. Everyone else has spiritually died because of their sin.
5. The painful reality is that no matter how good of a person we have been otherwise, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the plan that God had for us.
6. Since we have sinned we cannot go to heaven because we cannot go to heaven if we are spiritually dead.
7. But when God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, He also announced His back-up plan for us to still get to heaven.
8. His back-up plan was that God would send a Savior (His only Son) to die for the sins of everyone so that we can LIVE!
9. It is by believing that Jesus really did die for our sins is how we are born again and how we receive LIFE.
10. [Clothed for Entrance to Heaven, Citation: Max Lucado, "Back Door," Christian Reader (May/June 2000), p. 96]
Pastor and author Max Lucado explains it this way…
I make no claim to being a good golfer, but I love to play golf, watch golf, and on good nights I even dream golf.
So when I was invited to attend the Masters Golf Tournament, I was thrilled.
A pass to the Masters is the golfer’s Holy Grail. Mine came via pro golfer Scott Simpson.
Off we went to Augusta National Country Club in Georgia where golf heritage hangs like moss from the trees.
I was a kid in a candy store.
It wasn’t enough to see the course and walk the grounds; I wanted to see the locker room where the clubs of Ben Hogan and Paul Azinger are displayed.
But they wouldn’t let me in.
A guard stopped me at the entrance.
I showed him my pass, but he shook his head.
I told him I knew Scott, but that didn’t matter.
"Only caddies and players," he explained.
Well, he knew I wasn’t a player or a caddie.
Caddies are required to wear white coveralls.
My clothing was a dead giveaway.
So I left, knowing I had made it all the way to the door but was denied entrance.
God has one requirement for entrance into heaven: that we be clothed in Christ.
When someone prays, "Take away my [sinful] rags and clothe me in your grace," Jesus in an act visible only to the eyes of heaven, removes the stained robe and replaces it with his robe of righteousness.
What did Jesus do for you and me?
He put on our coat of sin and wore it to the cross.
As he died, his blood flowed over our sins and they were cleansed.
Because of this, we have no fear of being turned away at the door of heaven.
10. Because of Christ’s death, we can live!
VIII. Jesus explained God’s 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 he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
A. The logical question after understanding the cross is, Why would God do this?
1. Why would God send His only Son to be the sacrifice for sin?
2. Why would God send His only Son to be the remedy for sin?
3. And the only answer is that God SO loves the world!
4. The only answer is that God SO loves people!
5. The only answer is that God SO loves me!
6. The only answer is that God SO loves you!
7. Such a small, but powerful word, isn’t it?
B. God sent His only Son because He loves you SO much!
1. God had a plan and you broke it. You sinned.
2. You are a bad person.
3. You are not worthy to be in God’s presence.
4. No matter how many good things you have done, you cannot go to heaven because you are spiritually dead.
5. So Jesus said that God sent His only Son to CONDEMN you to hell!
6. Jesus said that God sent His only Son to rub your sin in your face and tell you how evil you are!
7. Jesus was sent by God to rub your foul mouth in your face!
8. Jesus was sent by God to rub your sexual immorality in your face!
9. Jesus was sent by God to rub your alcoholism in your face!
10. Jesus was sent by God to condemn you to hell!
11. NO!!!!! "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 he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
B. You see that was God’s back-up plan clear back from the Garden of Eden!
1. God knew you would sin and fall short of His plan of perfection for you.
2. He could have forced you to do the right thing all the time, but then you’d be a robot.
3. God did not want to force us to have a relationship with Him any more than we would want to force someone to have a relationship with us.
4. So God made a plan to send His Son as our Savior.
5. Jesus would come to save us from the eternal penalty of our sin, which is hell.
6. We have all sinned and therefore deserve to go to hell for eternity.
7. BUT God made a plan that even though we have sinned, we can still go to heaven.
8. That’s how much God loves us!
9. Even though we’ve committed sexual immorality, we can still be saved from our sin.
10. Even though we have been a thief, we can still be saved from our sin.
11. Even though we have been a gossip, we can still be saved from our sin.
12. Even though we have been a drunk, we can still be saved from our sin.
13. Even though we have practiced witchcraft, we can still be saved.
14. Even though we have harbored hatred, we can still be saved.
15. Even though we have been selfish, we can still be saved.
16. Even though we have stabbed our neighbor in the back, we can still be saved.
17. That’s how much God loves us!
18. That even though He cannot allow sin in His presence, He loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die so that we could still spend eternity with Him.
C. Now let me ask you this: Who do you know that loves you so much that they would sacrifice their only son for you?
1. Who do you know that would make that kind of sacrifice for you?
2. Who do you know that loves you that much?
3. I’ll tell you who and His name is JESUS!
4. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners!
5. Jesus died for us even though we are bad people!
6. God sent His Son to die for us even though we didn’t deserve it!
7. God loves us just as we are!
8. God loves the good things about us.
9. God loves the good deeds that we do.
10. But listen to this: God loves us even though we have done things that we are thoroughly ashamed of!
11. God will not love me more tomorrow if I do a good deed this afternoon.
12. God will not love me less if I sin this afternoon.
13. God loves me SO much!
14. And God loves you SO much!
15. God loves us so much that He sent His only Son into the world not to condemn us to hell, but to die for us and make a way for us to be saved from our sin!
16. That’s how much God loved old Nick and that’s how much God loves us!
IX. Jesus explained life.
John 3:19-21, This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
A. You see once we believe in Jesus, once we accept His love, once we are born again, we will start to live in the light of the Word of God.
1. We want to say thank-you for His great love for us so we begin living by His word.
2. We leave the darkness of this world’s teachings and begin to live by the light of His Word.
3. When we have been born again we want to live life by the truth of God’s Word.
4. This truth is what will give us true life.
5. True life is that life that we live when we are born again.
6. True life is the life that will live forever.
7. But hear this: true life is life that is lived to its fullness today!
8. Remember Jesus did not come to condemn us!
9. Jesus died so that we could have LIFE!
10. John 10:10, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
B. The thief is Satan and he comes to steal and kill and destroy!
1. When is the last time you harbored hatred and it made you feel so good about yourself?
2. When is the last time you committed adultery and it made you feel so fulfilled.
3. When is the last time you got drunk and you said, "Buddy, this is LIFE!"?
4. When is the last time you acted selfishly and you were satisfied?
5. When is the last time you participated in an orgy and it made you feel so pure?
6. When is the last time you had an outburst of rage and you felt good about it?
7. When is the last time you got high and it didn’t leave you slavishly wanting more?
8. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy life!--Not only eternal life, but THIS life!
C. But Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full!
1. Friends I’m here to tell you that there is nothing that this world has to offer that can compare to Jesus!
2. There is nothing in this life that will satisfy like Jesus!
3. There is nothing in this life that will fulfill you like Jesus!
4. There is nothing in this life that will make you happy like Jesus Christ!
5. Because of the resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate today, we can have life and have it to the full!
D. Jesus died on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins, but Jesus rose from the dead so that we could have life.
1. Not just life in heaven, but life on earth!
2. Real life!
3. Happy life!
4. Satisfied life!
5. Fulfilled life!
6. You see the cross and the tomb were not the end of the story!
7. The story continues today in my life and in so many others.
8. And the story can continue in your life if you believe that Jesus really is the Son of God!
9. God loves you just as you are!
10. All you have to do is accept His love!
11. All you have to do is accept His hand-out of grace!
12. All you have to do is accept that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins.
X. Nick came to Jesus in broad daylight.
John 19:38-42, Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
A. Earlier, Nick came to Jesus under the cover of darkness, now he comes in broad daylight.
1. Something has happened to Nick.
2. Something has changed.
3. Before Nick was worried about who would see him and what they would think about him talking to Jesus.
4. But now Nick comes in the middle of the afternoon where anyone can see him.
5. Clearly, his Pharisaic cohorts had gotten what they wanted: they had gotten Jesus crucified.
6. I would also add that the normal procedure was to leave the bodies of those crucified for the wild animals.
7. There wasn’t normally any burial at all for those who were crucified.
8. So it would have been highly unusual for someone to bury Jesus.
9. Nick would have been noticed.
10. But Nick didn’t seem to care who saw him.
11. Something has changed in Nick’s heart.
12. Something about his encounter with Christ changed Nick’s life.
13. That something was that Nick allow Christ into His heart.
B. I should also say that the Pharisees thought this would end the embarrassment of Jesus always telling people that they were scripturally wrong and were living hypocritical lives.
1. But now we know that the cross is not the end of the story.
2. We know that Christ’s death demonstrates for us the depth of God’s love for us just as we are!
3. We know that Christ’s sacrifice means that even though we have sinned and are bad people, we can be reunited with God forever in heaven.
4. But we know that Christ’s death and as much as that means to us is not the end of the story.
5. Now we know that Christ rose from the dead and brought life to those who believe.
6. Now we know that Christ’s resurrection can make a big difference in our lives today.
7. Now we know that Christ’s resurrection makes it possible for us to find meaning, fulfillment, and happiness in THIS life!
8. Now we know THE REST OF THE STORY!
Conclusion:
A. So what will be the rest of the story for you?
1. Do you believe that Jesus really is the Son of God?
2. Do you understand that you have sinned and fallen short of God’s original plan?
3. Do you need to accept God’s hand-out of grace today?
a. Do you understand that there is absolutely no way that you could ever earn your way to heaven by doing good things?
b. Do you understand that you are not a good person and you don’t deserve to go to heaven anymore than anyone else?
c. Do you understand that Jesus is the only one good enough to go to heaven because He was the only one who was ever sinless?
d. Do you understand that Jesus is the only way for you to get back into a relationship with God?
e. Do you understand how much God loves you?
f. Do you understand that He knows the bad things you’ve done and loves you anyway?
g. Do you understand that God SO loves you?
h. Do you need to accept His hand-out of grace on this Easter Sunday?
B. Perhaps you need to come…
1. Perhaps you’re an immersed believer and you need to place your membership in this church and start getting serious about your relationship with God again.
2. Or perhaps you need to come forward and let me help you accept His love today.
3. Or perhaps you need to just come and pray about God’s love for you.
4. Or perhaps you need to baptized.
C. Whatever response you need to make to God today, I want to encourage you to make it as we stand and sing #62 "Just As I Am."
