John 3:1-16 Nicodemus:                      Calvary 021708 Lent
Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach. He had arrived a little bit early to finish writing a letter for back home. As he finished the letter, he asked a young boy standing on the sidewalk of the location of the town post office. When the boy had given him the directions, Mr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you will come to church this evening, you can hear me tell everyone how to get to heaven.” “I don’t think I will be there.” The little boy replied, “You don’t even know your way to the post office, let alone how to get to heaven.”

In the Gospel reading this morning, we have Nicodemus who is a teacher and leader yet is unable to understand the lesson which Jesus is trying to teach him, we find him asking the same thing 3 times and each time Jesus responds to him in a different way giving him more details every time.

In the very beginning we are told that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. The word “night” is not placed in this text by coincidence or to give us historical setting, rather it gives us a clue for the significance of this story for the 4th Evangelist. The word “Night” is used metaphorically throughout the Gospel of John representing separation from the presence of God. For example in 9:4-5 it says, “We must do the work of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Also in11:10 “But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” This significance of the night visit is confirmed when we read a little farther past our passage in John 3, vs 19-21 “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

So Nicodemus may recognize that Jesus is a rabbi, and a teacher, who comes from God but unless he steps into the light and acknowledges that Jesus is the way to the kingdom of God, he will remain in the darkness for ever, so will we and it won’t matter how many times we went to church or how much we follow the commandments.

Now when Nicodemus comes questioning Jesus, the first thing he is told is that in order to be saved and see the kingdom of God, he must be born “anew/from above.” I find it interesting that Jesus would say these things to Nicodemus; you see, Nicodemus is identified as a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews right from the start. Being a Pharisee meant that he would stay away from immorality and away from anything that would cause him to break the law of Moses. Also as a leader of the Jews, he had committed his life to studying and obeying the law. But somehow in all of his teachings and religious knowledge it seems that he had missed the message.

A lot of times as leaders, teachers, and members in the church we get so caught up in making sure we attend church every Sunday and being good and not breaking any laws so that people will say we are good Christians, that we loose sight of the true way to the kingdom of God. We must be sure that we are born from above, born anew in Jesus Christ.

Yet from Nicodemus’ response it seems that he misunderstood Jesus’ words. The Greek word anothen is ambiguous, it could mean any of 3 things, it could mean “again,” “Anew,” or it could mean “from above.” From his response to Jesus we can see that Nicodemus understood it to mean “again” in the physical sense. He asks Jesus if it is possible for a grown person to go back into his mothers womb, knowing that the answer is obviously no.

That is not what Jesus meant, so Jesus explains to Nicodemus a second time, giving him a little more details as to what it means to be born “anew.” He tells him (vs 5) “Very truly, I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit.” Nicodemus should have understood this on two levels.

First, the use of “water” to refer to the process of human reproduction, particularly to the actual coming out of the mothers womb after the breaking of her water. This was a common understanding in both the OT and other literature of the period. 

You see Nicodemus’ problem is precisely that he thinks being a member of the covenant, which according to Jewish law he was by birth from his mother, is sufficient to qualify him to judge religious reality, including Jesus’ identity and teaching. But Jesus, especially in John’s Gospel insists that being born as a “child of Abraham” is totally inadequate for salvation. If we look in Jn 8:31-40, Jesus is speaking to the Jews who had believed in him and tells them

 ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ 33They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’ 34Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 37I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.
‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did.

Many times we think, how can we not be saved? I was born in the church, all my life I was part of the church, my parents and grandparents grew up in the church, and their parents before them as well, I have to be saved, RIGHT? Jesus here is telling us, nice try, but NO. He said “flesh gives birth to flesh” all that, doesn’t matter if you have not accepted Jesus into your life as your savior.

The SECOND level Nicodemus should have understood these words of water and spirit, is to alert him to the true meaning of spiritual birth. In the OT especially in the promise of the new covenant in Ezek. 36:25-27

25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanly-ness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.

It is the washing of the people in clean water and the outpouring of the spirit that will usher in the new age. Jesus was telling Nicodemus and you and I that he is the fulfillment of the spirit that will usher in the new age, the new life.

Jesus used the parable about the wind to help us understand, he said (vs 8)

 “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We can feel the wind and see its effects, but we cannot see the wind itself. The same is true of the breaking in of the new covenant in those who are born anew. Their new life is obvious, and evident, they can feel it clearly, but those who encounter them from the outside do not understand the source and destiny of that life.

Still Nicodemus does not get it, he asks Jesus “how can this be?” still doubting, it’s almost the same as Sarah laughing when she is told she will bear a child in her old age in Gen 18:12, her earthly knowledge prevented her from recognizing Gods power and ability. Nicodemus claimed to be a teacher and yet it seems that his knowledge based faith was preventing him from understanding Jesus’ message. And so Jesus gives him another illustration, the story of the serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness in Nub. 21. Just as the serpent was lifted up, so the Son of God would be lifted up on a cross, WHY? To save us from sin and death.

So first Jesus tells him that he must be born “anew” but Nicodemus misunderstands that word so Jesus breaks it down for him and tells him to be born “anew” means to be born of water and spirit. Yet still because he is thinking of earthly things he still does not understand, so finally Jesus clearly tells him, It is all possible through me “the Son of Man.”

In John 14:6 we are told the same thing again, very clearly when Jesus is asked the question;

How can we know the way?’ 6Jesus’ answer was, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The whole world has been bitten by sin, we have been bitten by sin and are dying, and the only way out of that eternal death, is by looking to Christ in faith.

Now we can look at this passage as a whole and hear what it says. The birth “anew” is indeed a birth “from above” like that of Jesus who comes as the Son of God.

Why all this, simply because God loves us, in the end we are told vs 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
 AGAIN  “whoever believes in Him shall not parish but have eternal life”

So as we go through this season of lent, the question that I have for all of us to think about is,

Have you been born Anew?
Are you like Nicodemus, you really want to know Jesus? Then you must be born “anew” Don’t let your status or your pride or even your knowledge and understanding prevent you from having and feeling a deep and personal relationship with God.
The question is not have you had a religious experience? But have you been born “anew.” In Christ.     AMEN.