“Encounters with Jesus: A Teacher”
Introduction:
In Jesus’ life here on Earth he said and did amazing things. I believe that one of the most amazing things about Jesus’ ministry is the way in which he dealt with people here on Earth. He encountered in his short life all different type of people. He encountered Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans. He encountered Pharisees, Sadducees and unbelievers. He encountered all different types of people. In each case that he came across a different type of person Jesus responded to them in an amazing way.
Over the next several weeks I want to look at the encounters with Jesus. I believe that in each of these encounters that Jesus had we can learn something and apply it to our lives. I believe that as we look at the people Jesus dealt with we will all see one of these people that is a little bit like we are. Early on in Jesus’ ministry he came across a man named Nicodemus, this is the encounter with Jesus that I want to look at today. I want too look at what Jesus said to this man. I want to look at how Jesus dealt with the religious elites of his day like Nicodemus.
I believe if there was one of the people that Jesus encountered that I am most like it would be Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very religious man, he was a Pharisee. I love looking at the way in which Jesus dealt with those people who thought they were so religious. I think we are all a lot like Nicodemus. Sometimes we think we understand things, but we really do not.
We do not know a whole lot about Nicodemus, but I think that although he was ignorant of some things, his heart was in the right direction. I believe that he was a seeker of the truth in search of the savior. I always have pictured Nicodemus as a well respected Pharisee and teacher of the Law in Israel. He would have been very well known and very well respected. He would have been very well studied in the scriptures. He would have known the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. He would have recognized that this man named Jesus fit the Old Testament description of Messiah. I believe that all the other Pharisees would talk with him about this man Jesus who was doing all these miracles and teaching that he was the son of God. They probably say around and mocked Jesus for what he was doing and who he claimed to be. The text does not tell us, but I believe that the day before Nicodemus came to Jesus he watched Jesus performing miracles, maybe he was in the temple when Jesus drove them out of the temple. I believe he saw him heal the blind and the crippled, I believe he heard Jesus speak to the crowds; I believe he saw the compassion that Jesus showed. I believe Nicodemus saw the love beaming from Jesus’ eyes. I believe Nicodemus saw that Jesus was different from any of the other people of his day. Then the text tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. I believe he did that because he was scared of the ridicule from the other Jews for coming to Jesus. I believe the whole day Nicodemus could not get this Jesus out of his mind. I believe he kept thinking that this man could be the savior of the world, so he came to Jesus to find out first hand.
Usually when Jesus encountered the Pharisees they tried to trap him by asking him tricky questions. One time they asked Jesus if they had to pay taxes to Caesar, another time they asked him about marriage and divorce. They would ask these questions trying to make him look bad, but when Nicodemus came to Jesus he came hungry for the Truth. He came wanting to know about Jesus. He came wanting to know if he was the long awaited Messiah. Nicodemus came searching and seeking after the Savior. Let us look and see how Jesus responded to this teacher of the law.
We all are a little bit like Nicodemus at times. We all want to know who Jesus is. We all want to know how to inherit eternal life. Let us look at Jesus’ response to this teacher of Israel.
Text: John 3:1-21
I believe that there are four things which Jesus said to this teacher of Israel that are especially profound and I believe these words still apply to us today.
I. You Must Be Born Again
One of the most profound comments that Jesus made to Nicodemus was that in order to see the Kingdom of God one must be born again. I believe this would have been a hard teaching for Nicodemus to accept for several reasons. First, is because he was a Pharisee that was so used to the Old Law that he probably had no concept of grace. He probably thought that Jesus would give him a list of things to do in order to be saved and he would do them all. The Pharisees were so bent on obeying the letter of the law that the missed the spirit of God’s commands. They thought they would be ok in the eyes of God if they held strictly to the scripture. The problem was they missed the main point. When Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again he could not understand that meaning.
The second reason why Nicodemus could not understand what Jesus was saying is because he was thinking in a worldly manner. Jesus was not trying to convey a physical Truth, but a spiritual truth. Jesus was not speaking literally, but he was saying we spiritually need to be born again.
Nicodemus had such a tough time with this teaching he asked, “How can a man be born again when he is old, can he enter into his mother’s womb a second time?” Again Jesus clarified saying, “unless you are born of the water and the spirit you can not enter the kingdom of God”.
Jesus did not just give that command for Nicodemus. The command to be born again applied to everyone who wants to go to Heaven. The question I want to ask you is, are you born again today? Christians a lot of times claim that they are born again, but what does being born again really mean?
a. Washed
Jesus said being born again meant being born of water and the spirit. He was not talking about a physical birth. He did not mean that we were to go back into our mother’s womb. He meant we were to be born of water and of spirit. The way in which we are born of water and of spirit is to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing magical in the waters of baptism. It is not holy water. Baptism though is the place in which we are born of water and of Spirit. Baptism is the starting line not the finish line. Baptism is where we are clothed with Christ and washed in His blood.
Galatians 3:26-27
When Jesus told Nicodemus to be born of water and of spirit I believe he had baptism in mind.
b. A New way of thinking
Sometimes I see a bumper sticker that says, “I am a born again Christian”, is there any other kind of Christian though? Being born again means that you change your mindset and way of thinking about things.
II Corinthians 5:17
Being born again means you think of your family differently. Perhaps you have family members whoa re not Christians and after you become a Christian, you have to consider them lost because they have not been born again. After I became a Christian my view of people changed in many ways. First of all, I saw people as either lost or not, but I also began to think of people in a better way. I did not hate people any more, but loved them. Being born again may make you change your view of work. Perhaps because you are born again you will have to work harder at what you do, because God’s word says to work as unto the Lord. Being born again may make you think differently of Jesus. Before you are born again, Jesus may be to you a good moral teacher or even a fictional character. After you are born again, Jesus becomes your savior, and the Lord of your life
Jesus told Nicodemus that if he wanted to see the kingdom of God that he must be born again. Jesus is brining the same message to people today. Are you born again? Have you been washed in the waters of baptism, and have you changed how you view life. If you have then you have been born again. It is easy for us to claim to be born again Christians, but are we really? No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
II. The Son will die for your sins
As Jesus carried on this conversation with Nicodemus he stated early on that his intent on Earth was to die for the sins of the world. As Jesus came into this world he knew early on that he would be the sacrifice for the world’s sin. This is the point that Jesus is trying to convey to Nicodemus. Many times throughout Jesus’ ministry he said similar things implying His death, but no one understood what he was talking about. Jesus said at one time that if the temple is destroyed he will rebuild it again in three days.
Matthew 16:21-23
The disciples could not understand why he must die. They did not understand that Jesus would be handed over and killed so that he could fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and to remove the separation between man and God.
I believe that Nicodemus especially had a tough time with this teaching because he was a Jew. The Jews did not expect Jesus to come as he did. They expected the Messiah to come into the Earth and to reign in Jerusalem and overthrow the Roman government. They expected him to rule forever and never to be overthrown. They expected Jesus to come as a mighty warrior. When Jesus came and did not do those things, the Jews had a tough time accepting Him as the Messiah.
In my opinion Jesus showed more power than he would have coming in the way that he did. He let himself be handed over as the sacrifice and then he showed his power by raising himself from the dead. Jesus was not the Messiah that was expected, so when Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be lifted up, Nicodemus did not understand why the Messiah must die.
Jesus knew that he would die early on and he was determined to obey the command of the Father. I believe there were times when Jesus was tempted not to die on the cross, but when it came down to it, he knew the importance of that sacrifice.
Jesus knew that sin separates man from God. He knew that one little sin separates us eternally from God. Jesus knew that in order to restore that He must die as a sacrifice taking on the guilt of all the sins of the world.
In a sense all the sins of the whole world since the creation until the second coming were on Jesus at the cross. He felt the guilt, he felt the shame.
The act of Jesus’ death on the cross is not simply a flippant, pointless act, but it was done so he could take our punishment on himself. Jesus died as our sacrificial lamb taking our sins upon himself.
Jesus knew that he was going to die early on in his life. It amazes me that as Jesus lived his life he never took his eyes off of Jerusalem, he willingly died for our sins.
God did not send his son in the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony
Lest I forget thy thorn crowned brow, lest I forget thy love for me
Lead me to Calvary
Let us never forget that great sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins, he willingly died for us, and it is by his stripes that we are healed.
III. God Sees All
I believe that years after this was written John was commenting, when he said that men’s deeds are exposed by the Light. The lights he was referring to was clearly and plainly Jesus. I think it is valuable for us to remember that all of our deeds are exposed and that God sees everything.
We cannot lie and say that we are good, because our goodness is not good enough. I hear a lot of people imply that since they are good moral people they will go to Heaven. Being good and moral does not get us to Heaven. God knows our hearts and all our evils are exposed before him. He knows we all have sinned. That sin seprates us from him. In the beginning when God made man, He made them perfect without sin. He had fellowship with them and walked among them. Adam chose to sin, and this separated man from God. Our sin still separates us from God, and He knows we all have sinned at some point in time. I honestly believe that most people I am speaking to are good people. We may not have people in here who are murders or rapists, but we all still fall short of God’s glory.
Do you remember the story of Cornelius? Cornelius was a god fearing man, who was very good; he even gave a percentage of what he earned to the poor. Peter came and preached to him and told him that he was lost apart from Jesus Christ. We need to realize what Paul realized that our righteousness is as filthy rags in the site of God. No matter how much we try we are lost without Jesus.
All of our deeds are seen by God. There is nothing that is hidden from his site. We must realize also the importance of integrity. Integrity is simply who you are when nobody sees. Perhaps you have a struggle that you think no one knows about. You can hide sin from men, but you cannot hide it from God because he sees everything, and everything is exposed by Him. My question to you is that since God sees all that you do and will judge you how ought you to live? You are not living to please the church. You are not living to please your family, but to please God. Perhaps you may be thinking today that your sin is not hurting anyone, that may be true, but we must realize that there are two people it hurts. First it hurts you because there are consequences for your sin. Secondly, it hurts God. God is concerned about your eternal state. He is concerned about how you act.
God does not want you to come to Him and beg him for grace and mercy, but God stands open armed waiting to take you into his arms as His son. God is begging and pleading, “come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. How will you respond to the all knowing, all powerful God’s invitation for you to be a child of His.
Conclusion:
John 19:38-40
Nicodemus came to Jesus secretly at night, and apparently Jesus impacted this man. He was so moved by Jesus’ love that he stood up boldly and carried the body of Jesus to be buried. I cannot help, but wonder what become of Nicodemus after he helped bury Jesus’ body. I wonder where he was three days later when Jesus rose from the grave. I cannot help, but think that Nicodemus left his Jewish Pharisaical roots and became a follower of Jesus. I cannot help but to think that on the Day of Pentecost that Nicodemus was one of the 3,000 that we baptized. I do not know what became of this man you sough Jesus, but I do know that he was impacted by his encounter with Jesus. Have you been impacted by Jesus? If so how will you respond? Will you respond in obedience to Christ’s command to be born again?
Jesus said that as the serpent in the wilderness saved those who looked on it, how much more should the Son of Man save those who look upon Him. The invitation is offered today. If you want to see the kingdom of God you must be born of water and spirit.
