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Second Sunday in Lent
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, March 17, 2019


First Things First


Text: John 3:1–16

Years ago, I was talking on the phone to a dear friend who was suddenly interrupted by voices in the background. He came back to the phone and told me that he had to go. Another friend had come by to tell him that his mother's house had caught on fire during the night. As we hung up, I told him that I would meet him there.

As we pulled up to his mother’s house there was still a fire engine and the fire chief and several firemen walking out of the house. When we walked up someone told the chief that the son of the lady who owned the house was there. The chief walked up and introduced himself and began to tell my friend what happened and how much damage had been done to the house. My friend interrupted him and said, “But what about my mother? How is she?” The chief looked embarrassed as he said, “I’m sorry, I thought you knew. Your mother died in the fire.”

You see what the chief was telling my friend was true, and it was important, but it didn’t answer the most important question on my friend’s mind. The house was far less valuable to him than the life of his mother.

Today, we will be comparing the question that was on Nicodemus’ mind with Jesus’ response to him. We will see that Nicodemus wasn’t asking the most important question, so Jesus revealed to him what he really needed to know—the only way to truly know God.

Although I’m going to focus on the conversation in John 3:1–16, we need to see the context by reading chapter 2:23–25,

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

John is pointing out that when Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, he did many signs, and many believed in him because of that. However, Jesus knew that the nature of their belief was rooted in the miraculous things that he did, not in who he was. He knew the condition of their hearts, and what was really in them.

It’s important to remember that in the original text there were no chapter breaks. So, we must assume that there is a clear connection between the last part of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3. So that we can see the connection let me read 2:25 and 3:1 together,

(Jesus) needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

The implication is that Jesus could see past the religious exterior of Nicodemus and knew what was lacking in his heart. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and if you could be somehow transported back to Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, you would be able to identify those who were Pharisees. They took the statements found in Deuteronomy 6:6–8 and 11:18 literally. Motivated by self-righteousness and superstition, they strapped a case (phylacteries) containing scripture to their left arm and at times bound one to their foreheads. In addition, the Pharisees not only wore fringes on their garments, as directed by the law, but also lengthened the fringes so they would be more conspicuous. There were other things as well, and I read that in one sect of the Pharisees they had 18 different articles that they wore. Of course, today many clergy wear clothing that readily identifies them as clergy but that doesn’t tell you anything about what is in their hearts. As a matter of fact, anyone can buy clergy clothing. You don’t need to present any identification that proves you are clergy to buy the clothing or jewelry.

In the four gospels, Jesus tends to be very hard on the Pharisees and, because of that, we may be inclined to have a very negative view of them. However, in the first century they were usually highly respected for their study of Torah and their devotion to obeying God’s law. Josephus, a Jewish historian, who some say was a Pharisee himself, estimated that there were only around 6,000 Pharisees at this time, which would make them a fairly exclusive group. In John 3:1, John identifies Nicodemus as a “ruler of the Jews” which would mean that he also a member of the 70-member Jewish ruling council called the Sanhedrin. That council would adjudicate and settle both civil and criminal matters among the Jews so the Romans wouldn’t need to be involved. In the Jewish religion that would be a position that received great respect.

So essentially, John is telling his reader that Nicodemus was possibly an outwardly righteous man that was respected by the community. But in reality, he was all dressed up on the outside but inside was lacking the very thing that would bring him into the relationship with God that his occupation suggested that he already had. In other words, he was like everyone else, he needed Jesus.

Nicodemus only appears in John’s Gospel and he shows up two more times. In chapter 7 he comes to Jesus’ defense before the other Pharisees and in chapter 19 he accompanies Joseph of Arimathea as they anoint Jesus’ body for burial.

Let’s read John 3:1–3,

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “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.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

There has been a lot of speculation as to why Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Some have suggested that he was afraid to be seen with Jesus after he had turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple and created quite a ruckus (John 2:13–17). At this point in John’s gospel, Jesus hasn’t become a super irritant to the religious leaders of Israel just yet, so I’m inclined to think that Nicodemus came at night because he wanted uninterrupted time with Jesus. Trying to sit and have a conversation with Jesus during the day would have been difficult because of the crowds. I think that this is clear because of the opening statement that Nicodemus gives. Unlike most of the Pharisees, Nicodemus sees the signs that Jesus has performed as evidence that he is more than just an ordinary man. It doesn’t say what the signs were that he had seen and in John’s gospel the only miracle so far is turning water into really good wine. John 2:11,

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Even though the disciples were suitably impressed with this miracle and believed in Jesus, I suspect that their belief was at this point superficial. I imagine that Nicodemus was one of those who had seen signs that Jesus performed at the beginning of his ministry like those recorded by Mark and Luke in their gospels. Either way, Nicodemus was coming because his interest was piqued and may have already begun to wonder if Jesus might be the one that Israel had been looking for.

Last December my uncle, who lived in Richmond, passed away. He spent 63 years as a pastor in the Methodist church and was an amazing prayer warrior. He used to call me just to let me know that he prayed for me daily. He once told me that he was ordained as a pastor for 10 years before he actually met Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Once he met Jesus the difference in his ministry and the joy in his life was phenomenal. In our passage, Nicodemus was likely a good man and a faithful Pharisee but I suspect that he came to see Jesus because something was missing in his heart and his ministry. He begins by acknowledging Jesus as a Rabbi, and as one who demonstrated a power and authority that Nicodemus was not familiar with in his own life.

Apparently, he was coming as a spokesman for a group of people who were curious about Jesus because he began by saying “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God…” which is a statement, not a question. Jesus gives him an answer to the question that he should have asked, which is “How do I receive the power and authority that you have?” So, Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus does not take the time for social pleasantries but begins his answer by declaring that what he was saying was the truth and must be seen as that. Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus shattered the Jewish assumption that their racial identity—their old birth—assured them a place in God’s Kingdom. Jesus made it plain that a man’s first birth does not assure him of the kingdom; only being born again gives this assurance. It was taught widely among the Jews at that time that since they descended from Abraham, they were automatically assured of heaven. In fact, some Rabbis taught that Abraham stood watch at the gate of hell, just to make sure that none of his descendants accidentally wandered in there. Most Jews of that time looked for the Messiah to bring in a new world, in which Israel and the Jewish people would be pre-eminent. But Jesus came to bring new life, in which He would be preeminent.

David Guzik in his commentary on John makes this observation:

In His description of new birth, Jesus recalled a familiar theme from Old Testament promises of the New Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1–6, Jeremiah 23:1–8, Jeremiah 31:31–34, Jeremiah 32:37–41, Ezekiel 11:16–20, Ezekiel 36:16–28, Ezekiel 37:11–14, 37:21–28). These passages essentially made three promises in the New Covenant:

· The gathering of Israel.

· The cleansing and spiritual transformation of God’s people.

· The reign of the Messiah over Israel and the whole world.

In Jesus’ day, the common teaching among the Jewish people was that the first two aspects of the New Covenant had been fulfilled. They saw Israel gathered—at least in part—after the Babylonian exile. They saw strong spiritual movements like the Pharisees, which they believed fulfilled the promise of spiritual transformation. All they waited for was the reign of the Messiah. That’s why Jesus’ statement about the new birth was so strange to Nicodemus. He thought that the Jewish people already had it; they certainly weren’t looking for it. They only looked for a triumphant Messiah.

Jesus is making it clear to Nicodemus that no matter how sincere or devout he and those in Israel may be, it would not be enough to get them into the kingdom of God, they needed to be born again.

Now this is a term that we are very familiar with in our day and time. I have heard people refer to Christians as “born agains”, although it is usually used in jest or in a derogatory way. In the Greek it is translated as "Born a second time" or also "Born from above". Either way, Jesus is saying that being “born again” means to undergo a radical change that was very different from what they expected. From the beginning of time no one had anything to do with their conception or birth and Jesus is showing Nicodemus that he couldn’t do anything to bring about a new birth either; it had to come from above—from God.

Nicodemus still misunderstands and takes it as meaning a second physical birth and replies, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb?” Now it could be that Nicodemus is being sarcastic, but I think that he was being sincere in questioning what Jesus was suggesting in this term “born again”. Jesus’ reply goes right back to teaching Nicodemus that he can’t rely on the fact that he is religious and moral. Let’s read John 3:5–8,

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

It is common for people to assume that by water Jesus was referring to amniotic fluid that accompanies physical birth but nowhere else in Scripture is the word used that way. Others have thought that it refers to Christian baptism, but such a meaning would have predated the institution of that sacrament and would have been meaningless to Nicodemus. The “water” reference alluded to Old Testament passages where the terms “water” and “Spirit” are linked together to express the pouring out of God’s Spirit in the latter days or end times. Listen to Ezekiel 36:25–27,

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

The presence of such rich imagery from the prophets would account for Jesus’ reproof of Nicodemus in verse 10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” The water here most likely refers to “John’s Baptism” which, like Christian baptism, signified cleansing from sin. It also couples with the story of John the Baptist in chapter 1. After Ezekiel’s prophecies in chapter 36 concerning the connection between water and the Spirit we see in the next chapter (Ezekiel 37) the result being the Spirit moving over and within a Valley of Dry Bones and by the breath of God renewing life to that which was not merely dead but without the means of life. They were just bones that were dry and represented bodies that had long been dead, no organs, muscle or sinew.

The prophetic word here was like God’s own word at creation. God spoke and new life was created. The vision was a revelation that Israel’s restoration would be God’s testimony to his own rule and power. What is needed is a new heart and a new life, that is, the Spirit must give birth to spirit. Only those alive in the Spirit will be able to recognize and enter that realm.

Nicodemus, who was a teacher of the scriptures, should have recognized and made the connection between being “born again” and Ezekiel’s prophecy of new life being formed by God’s power and authority. Instead, he is stammering the question, “how can these things be?”

The issue here is one of receptivity. Although it was acceptable for a student to question his rabbi, if Nicodemus really believes that Jesus is from God, then he should have received what he said, but he doesn’t, and his heart is revealed. The signs have shown him that Jesus is from God, yet he doesn’t receive his teaching as coming from God. Jesus was showing that his focus on external morality had blinded him to the real condition of his heart and left him unable to recognize who it was that stood in front of him.

Charles Spurgeon wrote concerning this passage,

A man may cast away many vices, forsake many lusts in which he indulged, and conquer evil habits, but no man in the world can make himself to be born of God; though he should struggle ever so much, he could never accomplish what is beyond his power. And, mark you, if he could make himself to be born again, still he would not enter heaven, because there is another point in the condition which he would have violated — ‘unless a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’

Jesus points out to Nicodemus that he doesn’t know where the wind came from or is going and in the same way he didn’t need to fully understand the workings of the Spirit to experience the healing and empowering effects of it. He would never control or fully understand the working of the Holy Spirit because it was the Spirit that would lead him to new birth and change the course and direction of his life. Nicodemus had come to find out who Jesus was and where his power came from, and Jesus was inviting him to a deeper walk with God through a new birth and relationship with the workings of God.

In conclusion, let’s look at John 3:11–16,

“Truly, truly, I say to you we speak of what we know, we bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into Heaven except he who descended from Heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

A simple look at earthly things—like the illustrations Jesus used, and even a look at his own life—should have made the point plain to Nicodemus. If he could not see that he needed this spiritual transformation, what more could Jesus tell him? Jesus makes it clear that He can speak authoritatively about things in heaven, though no one else can. In short, we have Jesus’ own testimony as to who he is line up with John description of him in chapter 1:14,

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Finally, Jesus shows us what it means to believe in him in verses 14–16. Verse 14 points the reader back to a story from Numbers 21. Israel once again was complaining and speaking out against Moses and God, so God sent venomous snakes to bite them leading to death. They come to Moses repenting of their sin against him and God and asked for mercy. Listen to Numbers 21:8–9,

8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Jesus’ point was that when he was lifted up (referring to the cross) then in the same way that Israel had looked to the bronze serpent and were saved, all who would look to Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross for salvation would be saved. This gives us a vivid illustration of salvation by faith. Many in Israel refused to look at the serpent and died and the same would be true of all those who refuse to turn to Jesus Christ for salvation.

So, what should be our take away this morning? In John’s gospel the word “believe” is used 92 times and in each usage, it is a verb, not a noun. This is because in Hebrew thought, to believe is actually more than just mental assent or intellectual acknowledgment. It is a change in thought that leads to a change in action. James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God? Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

To believe in Jesus is to adopt his words and actions as truth and as the foundation for how life is to be lived for his glory. It does require a change in thinking, but it also requires a change in direction. Jesus was showing Nicodemus that this wasn’t about merely external changes, but internal ones born of the Spirit. Jesus becomes the focus of life and obedience to him is not burdensome but a joy. This kind of belief is not optional. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” It’s not about simply praying a sinner’s prayer or faithfully going to church, It’s all about surrendering your life to the one who created you and living according to the way you were designed for. That’s where joy, peace and fulfillment begins and that’s where eternity with God is assured. If you have not asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, dot leave here today without doing so.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:32–33,

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Let’s pray

©2019 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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