John 3:1-10
John • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
I first want to say thank you for the Pastor’s Appreciation gift you guys got me. So, me and Darcy ate out last night on the gift card you gave us at The Parish (how fitting). Yesterday was Darcy’s 44th birthday.
Speaking of birthday’s I had one last week, on the 21st. I’m 43 years old now. I had 142,873 people… “friends” wish me happy birthday this year…on Facebook. I knew about 5 of them.
But…Im 43 years old now. If all goes well, barring no accidents, I project I’m at least halfway dead.
And due to this sobering fact, i do not have time for a long introduction into this sermon...
So let’s read our text this morning:
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Prayer:
Just look at the TITLE of chapter 3. You MUST BE born AGAIN! So…here is what Jesus is saying in this section…
You can get to Heaven without a lot of things:
You can get to Heaven without a lot of money. It’s not needed
You can get to Heaven without a lot of knowledge...
You can get to Heaven without being popular...
But YOU CAN NOT GET TO HEAVEN without being BORN AGAIN!
In this passage of Scripture Jesus does not say,
you might need to be born again
You might want to think about being born again
You probably SHOULD be born again
HE SAYS YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!
So…if we MUST be BORN AGAIN to go to Heaven…let me ask you…do you want to know? Don’t you want to know what you have TO DO to go to Heaven?
I mean, that is what we are here for right? Isn’t our goal in life to take as many people to Heaven as we can? And if that is your goal…if that is our goal…surely we have a formula to tell people what they must DO to be BORN AGAIN.
But, that is not your biggest goal in life. That is not your primary purpose.
What is the chief end of man?
What is mans primary purpose?
To glorify God and enjoy Him forever
So, in saying all that…your’e about to find out what you can do to be BORN AGAIN!
Let’s look at verse 1...
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
Context right?
When we read about a Pharisee, we think of a self-righteous, legalistic person don’t we? And they are, or, they were… for the most part.
But think of a Preacher. Think of a Sunday School Teacher. Think of an Elder at some church. Think of someone who you think knows a lot about the Bible. Someone you really respect when it comes to the Bible.
That is like being in the context of this passage.
A Pharisee was the most respected person back then. The Pharisees were the most moral group of men. They were the most religious and they tried harder than anyone to do what was right and moral.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee.
But not only a Pharisee, he was a “ruler of the Jews”.
He was part of the Sanhedrin. The ruling council. The highest governing body of the Jews.
Nicodemus was at the top of the top. The dude knew his Bible…or did he?
Look at verse 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.”
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night:
Why?
Maybe because he was doing what Pharisee’s did during the day....studying the Scriptures, teaching the Scriptures.
Or maybe Nicodemus is like us in some ways
Maybe he was scared to come to Jesus during the day because of his fear of man. Maybe he was worried about what the people he hung around would think of him if we came to Jesus and wanted to know more.
Maybe he was scared to lose some friends, or his status
Maybe he came at night because there is some theological thing going on here that he wasn’t aware of…maybe the darkness of night is a picture of the darkness that is in him. A darkness that his good deeds can’t do anything about?
Nicodemus calles Jesus Rabbi:
Here, the “ruler of the Jews”, the “Teacher of Israel” (in verse 10) comes to Jesus and calls Him, “Rabbi”.
He is ready to learn something…but he wasn’t expecting what he got. And for some of you in here this morning…you might get something you weren’t expecting either.
Let me stop right here and tell you all something. And I know many of you in here have felt the same but I want to tell you this:
This is one of those passages that just made me… a little…irritated. When I first understood, really understood, what this passage is saying…I was just dumbfounded as to why NO ONE had ever told me this.
It was amazing and I just couldn’t understand WHY I had never heard it!
And this is what this passage will do to you. You will love it....or you might hate but I pray if you hate it, that God does to you what he did to Nicodemus 2 years after this conversation he had with Jesus. I pray that He does something in you that changes everything about you.
2 years after this conversation Nicodemus had with Jesus…Nicodemus carried Jesus in his arms and placed him in a tomb.
Nicodemus calls him Rabbi:
Nicodemus, The teacher of Israel… WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS? WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM THIS?
Always be willing to learn from the Word of God. That is what you and I can learn from Nicodemus.
Never be so full of yourself that you think you know everything.
When you think you KNOW EVERYTHING there is only ONE THING YOU CAN NOT DO…and that is LEARN ANYTHING.
Always be willing to listen to the WORD…and remember John 1…the Word became flesh…When you read this book you are reading the very words of Christ.
When you reject the words in this book…you are rejecting Christ.
Look at verse 2 again…and look at what Nicodemus says:
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.”
I just want to point out something pretty neat here...
Nicodemus says that “we know that you are a teacher come from God”…how does “he” or “we” know....how do “they” know this?
because no one can do “these signs” that Jesus is doing unless God is with him.
“THESE SIGNS”? In Chapter 2 we see the miracle at the wedding…turning the water into wine. That is the only miracle we know about...
Remember why John wrote his Gospel:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
He wrote the things he wrote so that you would believe that Jesus is the Christ...
And why didn’t he write down everything Jesus did? You find it in the last verse of his Gospel:
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Look at verse 3:
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Let’s be real here okay?
Thats a pretty odd response to Nicodemus’ remark don’t you think?
Wouldn’t you think the more appropriate response would be something like:
well thank you Nicodemus
Im flattered
more please
Before we look into what Jesus meant by this I want to know why he responds to Nicodemus this way?
After Nicodemus gives him a pretty good compliment Jesus responds with:
“Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Think about that for a second. Isn’t that odd? Why in the WORLD does Jesus respond with that?
So, we have walked from John 1 verse 1 and we are now at John 3 verse 3. Imagine us walking down the road from John 1:1 to John 3:3. We find ourselves at this weird response from Jesus and we need to know why he said this to Nicodemus.
Lets walk back a little and see if we can figure it out okay? Because there is a reason the Bible is written in the order it is written. We just need to take the time and read it slowly…meditate on it, pray over it…ponder it…SO…lets start making our way back...
Nicodemus… a Pharisee. Very moral and religious man. He reads the Scriptures all day, studies all the time.
He came to him at night…worried about what other might think of him possibly
Now we are back in chapter two…and we read this:
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
So…wow…Jesus knows what is in man. Interesting.
Now…lets make our way back down.
Nicodemus: a Pharisee, a good moral man…very religious…reads his Scripture all the time, studies the Scriptures all the time. A law keeper at the highest degree.
He comes to Jesus at night…possibly worried about what others may say about him if they knew he was asking questions...
He tells Jesus that he knows that God must be with him by the signs that he is doing
And Jesus says, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
why did Jesus respond this way?
The clue is verse 25 of chapter 2. Because he knew what was in Nicodemus.
It is the same thing that is in everyone who is trying to earn their way to Heaven. It is the thought, “have I done enough”.
It is worry…its the thought, “Am I going to make it to Heaven”
Jesus KNEW what Nicodemus was struggling with deep in his soul. Jesus knew that Nicodemus felt like a fraud on the inside even though on the outside everything seemed great with Nicodemus.
Jesus knew that on the inside Nicodemus was dying while on the outside he worked and worked and worked…hoping that he would one day “make it”.
Jesus knows what is in a man…and he wastes no time to blow his mind!
This is what I love about Jesus…and you know what…I want to be like Jesus…don’t you? Of course you do…but don’t answer too quickly....
I’ve had a ton of people say to me, “Trey, you don’t need to start off talking about these DEEP things with people. They can’t understand them.”
or...
“Trey, why can’t we just talk about the things we agree on…”
But…if you want to be like Jesus…take them to the heart of the matter.
Take them to the Sovereignty of God.
Take them to the doctrine of REGENERATION.
This is what Jesus does and this is what Jesus did with Nicodemus. HE blows his mind.
Look at verse 3 ON THE SCREEN
Before one can SEE the Kingdom of God he must first be Born Again!
This is why you see some and they could really care less about the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus couldn’t see it.
He saw signs that Jesus did…but He couldn’t see the Kingdom of God. He was spiritually dead.
If he could have seen it he would have called Jesus King in verse 2, not “a teacher”.
If he could have seen it he would have called Jesus “God in the flesh” and not just that God was with him…as he was with great prophets that came before.
All the Religious awards and titles that Nicodemus has…and he is still blinded, spiritually dead on the inside.
Here is why…he hasn’t been born again.
So what does it mean to be “Born again”?
Look at that phrase in your Bible. There is a little letter or number beside that phrase and it says “OR FROM ABOVE”. The Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above”.
There has to be a transformation from the inside. There must be an intervention from Above for there to be a rebirth.
Jesus knew what Nicodemus was struggling with…his own emptiness, his own worry if he was good enough because Jesus knows what is in a man.
And he knows what is in YOU!
So you want to know what you NEED TO DO to be Born again? You want the formula to be BORN AGAIN?
Here is the SHOCKING THING: THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!
You have to be BORN FROM ABOVE!
You have to have a NEW BIRTH!
Did you have anything to do with your first birth? No!
And you have nothing to do with your New Birth!
Back to that phrase in your Bible: “Born again”
You will see a letter beside it:
If you are reading an NIV it will take you back to John 1:13.
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
just about every other translation will have these verses to cross reference:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
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,
since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Jesus doesn’t give a FORMULA to be born again. He makes a statement. A TRUE statement. HE did not give a TO DO list.
Nicodemus asks a fair question in verse 4:
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Look at Jesus’ response in verse 5:
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Some would tell you this is talking about baptism.
Lets think about that for a minute and lets just be honest about it:
What would Nicodemus know about Christian baptism? Christian baptism, according to Romans 6 is rein-acting the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Either that is what it is or its not. If that is what baptism is then this would make absolutely no sense to Nicodemus.
what Jesus is telling Nicodemus, you, and me, is that there must be a reformation within you.
there must be a change of heart
there must be a change of will
There must be a resurrection
There must be a new creation
AND WE CAN’T DO THAT TO OURSELVES. Only God himself can do that in us.
This is the prerequisite to enter the Kingdom of God!
Look at verse 6:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Nicodemus, flesh can only give birth to flesh. The flesh can not give birth to spirit. Only the Spirit of God can bring to life the spiritually dead.
Look at verse 7:
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
So here I am telling you that there is nothing YOU can do to bring your dead spiritual life back to life.
I am telling you that in order for you to be born again…there is nothing you can do about that…it is the work of God.
Some of you might be shocked at this. You may be astonished that I would say such a thing...
But it is not me saying it…It is JESUS and if this is how you feel:
astonished
in wonder
marveled
DON’T BE!
I want to read verse 7 to you again:
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
look at verse 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.”
How much control do you have over the wind? Do you tell it to come here? Do you tell it to go over there?
You have no control over the wind…and you have no control over who is born of the Spirit of God.
He goes where He wishes. You had no control of your first birth and you have no control over your spiritual birth. It is not up to you…it is up to Him.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
Let that marinate for while.
Look at verse 9:
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
You know how I know that Jesus isn’t talking about baptism when he tells Nicodemus that he must be born of water and the Spirit before he can enter the kingdom of God?
You know what blows that whole idea out of the water?
Verse 10!
Look at it:
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Jesus blew his mind so much that this dude had forgotten everything he supposedly knew.
What is it that the teacher of Israel taught? It wasn’t the book of Acts, I promise you that.
King David…you know, King David…he understood these things. But this is a hard teaching to swallow for a lot of people.
King David knew it was all God and Nicodemus should have known it was all God.
I want us to look at this passage from King David in the Psalms…we use to sing it as a song…and some still do and it pretty close to a Scriptural song…some of you might know it…look at it on the SCREEN.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
It is all God!
So back to what Nicodemus should have known....it should not be such a shocking thing for Jesus to tell him that he must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
It should not be shocking to Nicodemus…this TEACHER OF ISRAEL…to understand that he must be born again of water and Spirit in order to be right with God.
It should not be shocking to Nicodemus that this is a work of God and God alone...
Pharisees…Nicodemus was a teacher of the Old Testament.
If we want to know what Jesus was telling him then we need to look at what Nicodemus should have known…he should have known this…C’MON Nicodemus....
Look at Ezekiel 36
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. 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. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
And chapter 37 of Ezekiel...
So what can you do to be born again? There is nothing you can do. You cant bring life to your dead spirit.
But here is one thing you should do…Beg God for mercy…Look to His Son on the Cross…come to him and realize that they only thing you can offer hi is your sin. Acknowledge that even your righteous deeds are filthy rags in is sight. Fall on your knees, acknowledge your sins, acknowledge your brokenness. Look to Christ alone for your salvation and beg him to give you a new heart…beg Him to change you from the inside out.
And you will know when you have been reborn. You will crave His Word…you will hunger to Know Him more. You will want to be around His people. You will truly love your neighbor as yourself. You will be changed. It might be small at first as if you were a baby but the Spirit brings new life and the Spirit will grow you into a mature Christian…the water, the Spirit, that Jesus gives to a person will become like a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
For those who have experienced the new birth…never forget that it was God who brought you to a new life.
The life we live is for his glory…not our own.
Our chief end…Our primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
To live in thankfulness for what He has done for us:
Christian, I leave you with this passage this morning:
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
To God be the Glory!