Born Into the Wrong Family?
LSB Lectionary, Series A • Sermon • Submitted
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Text: “3 Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” ()
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Last week we told the story of salvation through food. Today the story of salvation is told through births. In fact, these aren’t just births, they’re scandalous births.
The first scandalous birth we’re going to focus on— although not the first one historically— is the birth of Nicodemus. In itself, there’s nothing to indicate that it was a scandalous birth. He was born as a descendant of Abraham. He was born under the promise of . He appeared to be one of the promised descendants. He seemed to have been born into the “Great Nation” that God promised would come from Abraham— even though Abraham was, at the time, childless. On its face, there seemed to be nothing scandalous about Nicodemus’ birth.
Born as a descendant of Abraham, under the promise of . And this was entirely a matter of birth. It went beyond it— into circumcision, for example— but birth was fundamental. Even converts could not be fully “Jewish.”
“You must be born again”— think about what that would have meant to Nicodemus.
“You must be born again”— think about what that would have meant to Nicodemus.
Imagine his shock when Jesus told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
It would really be interesting to know what was going through Nicodemus’ mind during this conversation. Perhaps he had come, ready to discuss some finer application of the law. What, exactly, did the law of Moses require in this situation or in that one. Or perhaps he wanted to better understand what a certain passage of the Old Testament really meant.
I can’t imagine any way that he was ready for this. This wasn’t even up for discussion. This is just fundamental. There just wasn’t any question about this in the minds of Nicodemus or any of his fellow Pharisees, regardless of what teacher they followed. In fact, not even the Sadducees would have questioned it: they were the descendants of Abraham, they were the “Great Nation” that God had promised him. It was, literally, their birthright. They had been born into it.
“You must be born again”— think about what that would have meant to Nicodemus.
“You must be born again”— think about what that would have meant to Nicodemus.
This is scandalous as when we would look down on someone for being born “on the wrong side of the tracks.” Really, if we didn’t know better— and if He wasn’t Jewish, Himself— we might have cause to accuse Jesus of anti-semitism.
Except now his birth wasn’t actually good enough. Not any of them.
“Unless you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Cannot see it? He was born in the Promised Land. Isn’t that the very first thing he saw when, as a newborn child, he first opened his eyes and looked around him?
His birth was not good enough for him to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He needed to be born again.
Born as a descendant of Abraham, under the promise of . And this was entirely a matter of birth. It went beyond it— into circumcision, for example— but birth was fundamental. Even converts could not be fully “Jewish.”
Born as a descendant of Abraham, under the promise of . And this was entirely a matter of birth. It went beyond it— into circumcision, for example— but birth was fundamental. Even converts could not be fully “Jewish.”
But… “Unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
But… “Unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This is scandalous as when we would look down on someone for being born “on the wrong side of the tracks.” Really, if we didn’t know better— and if He wasn’t Jewish, Himself— we might have cause to accuse Jesus of anti-semitism.
Think about what this is saying. He’s attacking a very fundamental part of Nicodemus’ identity. Setting aside the pride that Nicodemus would have felt, up to this point, in his heritage, he had no choice of what family he was born into. Nor is it something that he could change.
If it was true for Nicodemus, then it’s even more true for us. The next scandalous birth to consider is yours and mine.
If it was true for Nicodemus, then it’s even more true for us. The next scandalous birth to consider is yours and mine.
It was supposed to mean something to be born as a child of Adam. Adam and Eve were given dominion over this creation. Adam’s very first job was to give names to the animals that God created. All of it was created for them. All of it was to serve them. There was only one tree in the garden that was reserved and off limits to them. Otherwise, this entire world was created for them, for their use and their benefit.
And this is not some backwater corner of the universe that God gave them dominion over. This was His garden. This was the place where He would come and walk in the cool of the day. And when He did, they were able to visit with Him. It was supposed to mean something to be born a son or daughter of Adam.
It was supposed to mean something to be born as a child of Adam. Adam and Eve were given dominion over this creation. Adam’s very first job was to give names to the animals that God created. All of it was created for them. All of it was to serve them. Only one tree in the garden was set aside and off limits to them. And this is not some backwater corner of the universe that God gave them. This was His garden. This was the place where He would come and walk in the cool of the day. It was supposed to mean something to be born a son or daughter of Adam.
We’ve come quite a distance from that. In our “wisdom” we have made ourselves just another kind of animal. Just an ‘accident’ of nature and chemistry and evolutionary biology. But that’s really just a self-delusion.
The reality is that, now, to be born as a child of Adam means to be born under the curse of sin. As Ecclesiastes puts it, better is the day of death than the day of birth because the daily suffering of this life is over ().
You were born into a world of suffering and toil and hardship. You were born into a world that does not willingly sustain you any longer.
It means to be born into a world that bears the curse of sin and all that entails. You were born into a world of suffering and toil and hardship. You were born into a world that does not willingly sustain you any longer.
Now, to be born as a child of Adam means to be born under the curse of sin. It means to be born into a world of suffering, a world that bears the curse of sin— a world that does not willingly sustain you any longer.
[T]he earth does not willingly yield her increase, to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air does not willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your [body], while you spend your life in the service of God's enemies. (Edwards, Jonathon. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”)
In the moment that Adam and Eve looked at the fruit of the forbidden tree and decided that it was to be desired in order to make one “like God,” it stopped meaning what it once did to be born as a child of Adam.
Not only do you plead guilty, before God, of all kinds of sins— even those you’re not aware of— you also confess that you are, by nature, sinful and unclean. As David wrote: “5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” ()— not because his mother was engaged in sin when he was conceived, but because he was sinful from the very moment he was conceived. From birth, you carry the guilt of Adam. And that guilt of Adam continually gives birth to actual sins, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
Your birth was not good enough for you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You needed to be born again.
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
The King Chooses a Lowly Birth
The King Chooses a Lowly Birth
As usual, this all drives us back to the speaker of this text. It drives us back to Jesus. The next scandalous birth is Jesus’ own— His blessedly, beautifully, wondrously scandalous birth. He is the eternal Son of God. He is the Son of Man, descended from heaven. And He has chosen to be born as one of you. “[T]hough he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (). He was made like you in every respect (); He, Himself, chose to share in flesh and blood. He became a son of Adam, yet without sin. And He did it so that, “through death, he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” ().
“[T]hough he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” ().
He took on flesh and blood for the express purpose of giving and shedding that body and blood into death for you and the ultimate sacrifice for sin. “4 [W]hen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (). Only in the wisdom of God would it make sense that, to redeem a slave, He would give His son. And that is precisely what He has done in Jesus Christ. He loved the world in this way: by giving His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
“4 [W]hen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” ()
“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” ()
“4 [W]hen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” ().
“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” ()
“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” ()
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
That’s the final, scandalous birth to discuss this morning. Once again, it’s yours— your blessedly, beautifully, wondrously scandalous birth. The eternal Son of God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, is not ashamed to call you His brother (). He has, in fact, caused you to be born again by water and the Spirit— born not just into His Kingdom, but into His family. “12 [T]o all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” ()
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” ()
“12 [T]o all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” ()
“6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into [y]our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” ()
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused [you] to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” ()
Not only will you see the Kingdom of Heaven, you will see God just as Adam and Eve did.
born of water and the spirit
born of water and the spirit
By the way, this not only impacts your relationship with God, it also impacts your relationship with one another. That’s why Peter writes: “22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” ()
“6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into [y]our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” ()
born of water and the spirit
“ 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into [y]our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” ()
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12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
“28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.” ()
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
English Standard Version Chapter 4
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
“22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” ()
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
“22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” ()
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
One of the things that we often overlook is the fact that faith not only reconciles us to God, it also unites us with one another. There’s a stronger and stronger pull to insist that “It’s just between me and God.” That statement is blasphemous. If you aren’t united as brothers and sisters in Christ, then God is not your Heavenly Father. You have received adoption into God’s family. You have been born again as sons and daughters of God. You are brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is why Matthew’s Gospel talks multiple times about how important it is that there be no unresolved disputes or unresolved offenses among God’s people.
As some of you heard on Wednesday, if Christ commands us to love our enemies, how much more should you seek peace with everyone here? You are not simply fellow members of the same organization. You are brothers and sisters in Christ. You put up with a lot from your siblings because you all were born of the same mother. How much more unity should you have with others who have all been born again of the same baptismal font? Let there be no unresolved dispute, any unresolved offense between you and a brother or sister in Christ. “23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (). “15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” ().
As some of you heard on Wednesday,
That is who you were called to be in Jesus Christ. St. Paul Lutheran Church is not simply a 501(c)(3) corporation. It is the Kingdom of Heaven gathered here in this place at this time.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
That, too, is part of your blessedly, beautifully, wonderfully scandalous birth. St. Paul Lutheran Church is not simply a 501(c)(3) corporation. It is the Kingdom of Heaven gathered here in this place at this time. It is where children of God are born by water and the Holy Spirit. It is the family of God in this place.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God.” And truly truly, I say to you, “You have been. You have been born again by water and the Holy Spirit. You have received a birth even more scandalous than the first.”