Sermon Tone Analysis

Easter invites

Love Rock Hall Day

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I went to Michigan this week for a couple of days to spend a little time with my daughter.

I hadn’t seen her since Christmas.

Anyway, I also got to meet her new boyfriend.

The first day I met him, she asked me that night, so what did you think?

Did you like him?

Short answer …not really.

But not because of him.

He’s in the Air Force, he seems to be a nice enough kid and seems pretty responsible, but still.

Now normally I am pretty comfortable with applying the GOOD ENOUGH principle, but this is one of those times where GOOD ENOUGH isn’t good enough.

Why is that?

It’s not because of him…it’s because of my love for my daughter.

I love her so, that only the best would ever be good enough for her…in my mind.

Spiritual People need Jesus

We are in this series COMPLETE…in these series of messages from ch 2-4 of John, we are going to see that the people around Jesus believed that their way of knowing God was the best way, but Jesus knew there was more.

He had come not only to complete what was lacking, but also to ultimately bring completion to us.

A couple of weeks ago Scott taught a message from John 2 titled Religious people need Jesus.

What we found was that religion over time…becomes our God.

We begin to serve our religion rather than the one who religion is designed to point us.

That religious people need the real Jesus, because he is the point of it all.

Today we are looking at this interaction with Nicodemus, we are going to see that even the most spiritual person needs Jesus too.

But let’s start in chapter 2

Now.....John says, let me show you how God knew ever man’s heart…how he knows every man and woman’s heart today.

Who was Nicodemus?

He was a Pharisee…temple, prayer, tithe, study, fast

He was a member of the sanhedrin…a federal judge & senator…one of 70

He was a believer in Jesus, why?

Because he has seen the miracles.

Nicodemus isn’t asking a question yet, but the implied question, the one Jesus understands he is asking because he understands the heart of man is “Jesus, are you bringing the Kingdom to earth?”

Jesus interrupts the politeness of Nicodemus.

Jesus’s response is “Nicodemus, you are going to hell.”

That’s right…all his spirituality was worthless when it came to seeing the Kingdom of God.

Jesus tells him he will never see it, unless he is born again.

Seeing for a Pharisee meant participating in it.

In the NT the Kingdom of God is understood as more than a future event.

In the NT, the kingdom of God is being seen in Jesus.

He’s saying to Nicodemus, unless you are born again, You won’t see it in the future and further....if you aren’t born again, you can’t see it right here in front of you.

He says your church going, your prayers, your fasting, your teaching, your tithing is doing nothing to get you to the Kingdom of God if you aren’t born again.

Now if a spiritual leaders like Nicodemus can’t be saved…what does that mean for us?

That’s the tension in the text.

Jesus leads Nicodemus and us to see that at our best, we are still in desperate need for his saving grace.

We hear that this troubles Nicodemus....he loves Jesus and wants to do what is required.

Nicodemus was confused with this idea of being born again, and he asks his first question of Jesus…how can I experience rebirth as an adult.

This has become a common phrase today…when Chris Davis starts hitting again we will say that he has new life; when a company reinvents itself and become profitable we will say they are born again...

Jesus still doesn’t answer Nicodemus’ question…HOW?

instead he explains to him this isn’t a recommendation, it is a requirement.

Verse 5 has been interpreted in different ways over the centuries, from Christian baptism to natural birth to repentance of John the Baptist, and others.

But rather than try to discover a deep meaning, I believe we should look at the text and when we do we see in v 4, Nicodemus was asking about a natural birth, and in verse 6 Jesus was comparing natural and spiritual birth.

Given this, when I read verse 5, Jesus saying that we must be born of water and the Spirit, I understand Jesus to be saying that it’s not about being born Jewish, but we need to be born spiritually as well.

We need a new birth that cleanses us completely and renews us from the inside; not just the outside.

The problem was you see, Nicodemus, like other pharisees, was too confident of his own obedience to think he needed much repentance, let alone to have his whole life cleansed and his heart transformed, he didn’t need to be born again.

He was a spiritual leader.

I’ve been thinking a lot about why in third world or global south countries, it seems the spirit is moving so much stronger than it is here in America.

Why is it so hard for influential people to admit their need to be born again?

I think it’s because we are used to not really needing much.

We have plenty of things to distract us from our spiritual need…we have many things to pacify our need.

If we feel it at all, in spite of all our stuff, makes it clear that what Jesus said is real, new birth is essential to living a new life.

Then in vs 27, Jesus finally answers his question…how am I to experience new birth?

Jesus says, I do it.

There is nothing I can do, there is nothing you can do to be born again…it is something Jesus does in us.

Gives us a new life, new heart, new love, new hope.

Since I can’t do it, I must surrender to the one who can.

That’s what we mean when we say Jesus is the Lord of my life.

I submit to what he wants to do in me, and in return he gives me new life.

And how does this new life work?

The wind you see can’t be controlled or understood by humans.

We can’t see it only it’s effects, we hear it, we see the waves, we hide in storms.

So it is with people born of the Spirit.

Their lives don’t makes sense to the world.

The way they serve, the way they live.

The direction of their lives is clear, the effects can be seen, but what empowers them is mysteriously spiritual.

You see it’s not about sights, smells, sounds.

It’s not about the time and place of our new birth.

Regeneration, what John Wesley referred to as Justifying grace comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We are not improved caterpillars but by faith we have become spiritual butterflies.

When we are born again, we are transformed…we are made new.

He takes addicts and turns them into sponsors.

He takes cheaters and turns them into mentors.

He takes gossips and turns them into prayer warriors.

That’s how you know if you have been born again.

This is too much for Nicodemus.

What does all this mean? he asks.

I know the OT, how is this new to me?

Jesus says how do you NOT understand.

The whole Bible has been pointing to this.

John the Baptist and Jesus, and the prophets have testified to this yet so many don’t accept it.

Jesus says, if you can’t accept what is clear, how can I begin to teach you about the things of the Kingdom?

The things that Nicodemus came wanting to know about remember.

Jesus then gives him the Gospel

It was a strange reference to Moses in Numbers 21 to the brass snake on the staff.

If you remember, when the Israelites were on their way to the promised land, they continued to complain about God.

To the point that God cursed them with poisonous snakes.

Many died, but when they repented, God told Moses to make the bronze snake and lift it up on his staff and when people looked at it they woudl be healed from the poison that would kill them.

Jesus compares himself to this deliverance from death of sin and his removing our condemnation of sin.

But instead of looking upon him, we are called to believe on him.

That everyone is infected with the poison of sin, but he comes to be the cure.

I feel like we need to talk about this believing Jesus describes.

And that’s where Jesus leads us.

You see we are born dead in sin as Romans explains very well.