By Pastor Greg
Howard
dragged himself into his doctor's office one day looking very exhausted.
"Doctor Kane," he said, "dogs are
barking in my neighborhood all night long, and I can't get a wink of
sleep!” Doctor Kane pulled out a bottle
and said, "Here are some sleeping pills. They work like a dream. Just a
few of these and your troubles will be over.”
"Great," said Howard, "Let's give it a shot.” Two weeks later, Howard came back to Dr.
Kane's office looking worse than ever. "Doc, your plan didn’t work", Howard exclaimed. I'm
more tired than ever!" .
"I don't understand how that could be," said Dr. Kane, shaking
his head. "Those are the strongest pills on the market!" "That
may be true," answered Howard wearily, "but I'm still up all night
chasing those dogs, and when I finally catch one, it's really hard getting him
to swallow the pill!"
There are many people like
Howard; people who just don’t seem to get the message. Jesus met people like this as well. One evening, a Pharisee named Nicodemus
visits Jesus. It is clear that he wanted to discuss something, but Jesus drops
him a bomb almost before he finishes saying hello. Apparently, Nicodemus had witnessed the whole
incident at the Temple a few days earlier
and thought he and Jesus could discuss some Kingdom issues. So he walks up to Jesus and says, “Hi Jesus.
Loved your last sermon. And that last
miracle was soooo cool”. But Jesus, He starts talking about being
“Born Again”. And poor Nick. He just can’t seem to make the connection.
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a
Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with
Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your
miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you
the truth, unless you are born again, you
cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What
do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s
womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus
replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born
of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human
life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So
don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The
wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell
where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are
born of the Spirit.” 9 “How
are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher,
and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we
tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But
if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you
possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? [1] (John 3:1-12).
This is probably one of the most
significant conversations that ever took place on
the face of this earth. To see God, to
get to Heaven, a person needed to be born of the Spirit, and that will only
happen by placing their faith in Jesus. Now, what makes this conversation so
significant is that a faithful Jews in Jesus’ time was not (and they still are
not) looking for a Savior.[2] A good, faithful Jew like Nicodemus already
had someone to mediate between themselves and God. That was the responsibility of the High
Priest. The High Priest offered
sacrifices and stood before God as their representative. The High Priest, who at this time was
Caiaphas, was their spiritual advocate before God. The High Priest kept the people of Israel in good standing with God. However, Jesus turns it around and says to
Nicodemus “You must be born again.” You are responsible for your
relationship with God, not someone else.
That’s the thrust of this whole conversation. Nicodemus wanted to talk about Israel’s
future king and the future Kingdom.
Jesus says that Nicodemus will never see that kingdom unless he takes
responsibility for his relationship with God.
Nicodemus needed to be born again.
He could not expect some other man to do the work for him. Jesus even explained to Nicodemus how this
happens. He talked to Nicodemus about
being born of the Spirit, an allusion to several Old Testament prophecies; passages
like Isaiah 32:15 where God says “a spirit [will be] emptied out on us from on high.”
[3] Or Ezekiel 36:27 where God promises to, “put My Spirit within
you.”[4] Surely, Nicodemus knew what the Prophet Joel
had written. “It will come about after this that I will pour
out My Spirit on all mankind; and your
sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young
men will see visions. Even on the male
and female servants I will pour out My
Spirit in those days”[5]
(Joel 2:28-29). However, Nicodemus did
not make the connection. He still didn’t
get it. “How can these things be?” he
asks (verse 9).
Like Nicodemus, you and I must
take responsibility for our Salvation.
Although Jesus has purchased our Salvation, something He will later
discuss with Nicodemus, you and I need to respond to that work so that we might
be born of the Spirit. Talking about
religious things, doing religious things,
and hanging around religious people will not permit us to see the Kingdom of
God. Jesus says quite clearly that the
only people who will see Heaven are those who are born of the flesh and born of
the Spirit (verse 6) – those who have received God’s Holy Spirit.
When a person is born of the
Spirit, there will be noticeable differences in their life. It will be something they can feel, like cold
cheeks on a windy winters day. It will
be something they can see, like the rustling of leaves on a bright summer day. How this happens might remain a mystery, but
the effects can clearly be seen. You
will notice it and so will others. You
might look like the same person but you certainly will not act like the same
person. And, according to Jesus, no one
else can do this for you. You must make this choice for yourself.
I imagine you are a little like
Nicodemus. You have this desire to see
God’s Kingdom as well. After all, you
did come to church today. I suspect you
want to go to Heaven when you die. If
that is true, you only have one option.
Jesus has said it here. You must
be Born Again. You must be born of the
Spirit. That process is quite straightforward, really. It’s just a matter of confessing your
sinfulness, accepting Jesus as Savior, and then allowing the Spirit to wash you
and make you whiter than snow. No one
else can do this for you. You must make
this decision on your own. You must take
responsibility for your relationship with God.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 3:1–12). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm
[3] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition
[4] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Eze 36:27). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Joe 2:28–29). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
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