Jesus: Creator, Savior, Lord and King #16 Jesus Instructs Nicodemus John 3:1-18

 

Jesus: Creator, Savior, Lord and King #16 Jesus Instructs Nicodemus

John 3:1-18

 Introduction:

Not only was Benjamin Franklin a great statesman and inventor, but he was also a great correspondent and received letters from famous people from all over the world. One day he received what could well have been the most important letter ever to come to his desk. It was from the well-known British preacher George Whitefield, who led the Great Awakening here in the colonies and in Britian just before the Revolutionary War with England.

“I find that you grow more and more famous in the learned world,” Whitefield wrote. “As you have made such progress in investigating the mysteries of electricity, I now humbly urge you to give diligent heed to the mystery of the new birth. It is a most important and interesting study and, when mastered, will richly repay you for your pains.”

 Background

The earthly history of Jesus was about 3 to 3 ½ years. The years are labeled as “The year of Obscurity” The Year of Popularity” and finally “The Year of Opposition” which ends with Christ crucified at Calvary.

In John 2 we are in the year of obscurity, but it is going to end very abruptly when Jesus overturns the money changers tables on the Temple grounds. John’s Gospel is the only account of the that first year of obscurity. Jesus has been baptized, he has faced the temptation of Satan in the wilderness, He goes up to Galilee and calls his disciples. In John chapter 2 they attend the wedding feast at Cana, also in Galilee and Jesus performs his first miracle in secret, turning water into wine.  

Then in John 2:13 we read, John 2:13-16 And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Jerusalem at the time had a population of around 80,000 to 100,000 citizens. But millions of Jews, living in other countries would come to their ancient capital for the yearly festivals, 3 of which every male was required by the law to attend. Passover was by far the most important of all the festivals and holy days and it has been estimated that Jerusalem would swell with upwards of 3 million people, visiting Jerusalem during the days of Unleavened Bread and the Passover, which overlapped and occurred during the same week.

Jesus during the Passover Holy Days sees the money changers in the temple area, with 3 million people having to come through the temple and exchange their money for temple money in order to buy a sacrificial animal, this was a major source of income to the Temple and especially the Temple officials. Jesus in anger, flip over the tables, scatters their money, disrupts their business and then drives them physically from the temple, with 3 million people in the city, this got Jesus noticed.

Jesus overturned the tables at the end of the first year and the end of the third year. (Mat 21:12 and Luke 19:45.) These two events mark the beginning and the end of Jesus work on earth.

This action at the Temple and the miracles we read about in John 2:23, caught the attention of everyone in Jerusalem, especially the Pharisees and in particular, one Pharisee who was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jerusalem ruling council this man was named Nicodemus. And it is no wonder that John records this story, Nicodemus was an important man. Even his name means “Victorious among his people.” Later in John 3 it literally says Nicodemus was "the" teacher of the Jews.

Probably, that same night as the events of Chapter 2 or at least while Jesus was still in Jerusalem that week, Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus. Many think this took place in a home of a relative of John’s. This would explain why John, the disciple who was always the closest to Jesus, recorded this discussion. He may have been quietly sitting nearby while Jesus talked with Nicodemus.

Jesus instructs Nicodemus about salvation using three illustrations: childbirth, a blowing wind and the serpent in the wilderness. All physical things or events that had spiritual significance. Nicodemus could see the physical, but he was blind and ignorant of the spiritual, so Jesus used the physical things to instruct Nicodemus in the spiritual things.

Nicodemus And the Lesson of The New Birth - John 3:1-3

     There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Born Again From Above

Nicodemus comes at night because he feared his peers, the Pharisees or simply because he wanted a quiet conversation with no interruptions from a crowd.

We can see that he was searching for answers to deep questions, there is a ture sincerity in his questions and reverence in his approach to the Lord. He calls Jesus, Rabbi, which means, teacher or master in the sense of someone who teaches and leads disciples.

He also seems to be sincerely looking for answers about eternity. He begins with this introduction, “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 can see that you are from heaven, sent by God, Nicodemus says.  

But Jesus cuts him short and tells him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Ie. “Let me set you straight, Nicodemus, you can’t even recognize what is or isn’t from heaven unless you are born again.”

The word “again” here in the Greek is ἄνωθεν / anōthen; 5x in the KJV it is translated from above; 3x it is translated again, the implication here to Nicodemus from Jesus was you are lacking a new birth, a new beginning. Before you can recognize heavenly things you must be born again, born from above, reborn spiritually from heaven itself.

Seekers Today

Nicodemus was someone looking for answers in about spiritual things. He is like many people today, both in seeking for answers and in their ignorance and inability to recognize true spiritual things. Like Nicodemus, they don't know how to even recognize what they are looking for, nor how to attain it. All they know is that they are seeking fulfillment, peace, or the great goal of human life, “Happiness”

Ah, happiness. Isn’t happiness the greatest thing you can find. Sure seems like it if you watch any entertainment show. The parent or spouse says to their child or partner, or soon to divorce your ex-partner, “I just want you to be happy.” Really, even if that means doing something so stupid it destroys your life and family. Oh well at least they were happy.

Its popular to write songs about it - (Because I'm happy), Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof, (Because I'm happy), Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth, (Because I'm happy), Clap along if you know what happiness is to you, (Because I'm happy), Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do.

Or what about “ Here's a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, Be happy. In every life we have some trouble. But when you worry you make it double. Don't worry. Be happy. Don't worry, be happy now. [Chorus] Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy

 I have news for the world, Wake up! Happiness is not the ultimate fulfillment or goal in life, it should be a byproduct, a part of a life well lived but it not the goal of life.

There are others seeking things like relief from pain, fear or hopelessness. They think they can find the solution to what they seek in many different worldly ways, some good but many very, very bad, but in the vast majority of the cases they don’t find what they are seeking because they don’t know that they are looking for.

For too many, the wrong goals, the wrong answers and the wrong searches bring them to terrible solutions for their emptiness, fear, sorrow or loneliness. Somewhere along the way their search ends horrifically.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the United States among people from the age of 10 to the age of 34. Overall, for all ages in the United States suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. In 2023 Over 49,000 people died by suicide. That is 1 death every 11 minutes. 12.8 million adults seriously thought about suicide. 3.7 million made a plan for suicide and 1.5 million attempted suicide.

Alcohol abuse is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. From 2020 to 2021, excessive alcohol use led to about:119,600 deaths among boys and men and 58,700 deaths among girls and women. These are increases of 27%, and 35% from just a few years earlier. Another one-third of alcohol-related deaths (about 61,000 deaths) were from binge drinking or drinking too much on one occasion. This would include motor vehicle crashes, alcohol-involved drug overdoses, alcohol poisonings, and deaths by suicide.

As of 2013 24.6 million Americans over 12 years old, 9% of the population had used illegal drugs in the past month. Marijuana use has risen from 6% in 2007 to over 7.5% in 2013 and that number is soaring now that several states have legalized pot. In 2022, an estimated 62 million people aged 12 years and older (25% of the population) reported using good ole, harmless, healthy cannabis.

Nor is it just alcohol and drugs that people use to try and find the answers they need for the questions of their soul. Some turn to promiscuity, some are driven to extreemes in order to succeed in business, some risking their lives for thrills, some seek answers in cults and religions that only deepen their need and steal their soul instead of saving it.

Like Nicodemus these people are searching, but too often they don’t even know what they really need, and they certainly don’t know how to find it. What they are seeking is salvation, forgiveness and reconciliation with God, but they can’t find it because they are not seeing Jesus Christ as He truly is, or they are seeking Him for the wrong reason, the wrong way or in the wrong place.

Transition:  Ask yourself, What am I seeking today?  What are my family and friends seeking?  

The only place anyone can find true joy, peace, fulfillment, and escape the fear and sorrow of this life is in the savior, Jesus Christ. He is the answer for all we seek. Now, go back now to John 3:4-11 and listen as Jesus breaks this down for Nicodemus.

Nicodemus and the Lesson of The Wind - John 3:4-11

     Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is  born of the Spirit.  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?   Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

Born of the Spirit

Nicodemus asks three questions of Jesus. The first two after Jesus tells him, “Unless a man is born again, he can’t recognize the Kingdom of God.” As Nicodemus listens, he naturally thinks that Jesus is talking about a physical birth so he asks, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus then explains there must be two births, one of water (this is the physical water from the embryonic sack the baby grows inside the womb) and a second birth of the Spirit (this is the spiritual, being born again or born from above). One is an earthy birth and the other is an heavenly birth.

Jesus tells him, that this new birth is through the power of the Holy Spirit and he explains it with His second illustration, using the wind. It could very well have been that as they talked the desert night wind may have been blowing outside and Jesus then uses this as an illustration of the salvation.

He says, “Just like the wind, the Holy Spirit, can be felt and experienced but not fully comprehended or predicted. “The wind blows where it wills and you hear it but can’t tell where it’s going or where it’s been. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit”

Nicodemus then asks his 3rd question, “How can these things be?” How is any of this possible? Jeus now asks Nicodemus a question, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” Literally it says, “Are you the master teacher of the Israel.” “How can it be that you don’t know this, you are the teacher of the nation of Israel. You, above all other people, should know and understand this.

It was vital that Nicodemus understand this truth and so must because eternity is at stake.

The Spirit’s Work In Salvation

To find answers that I seek, to fill the emptiness of my soul, I must understand the truth that Jesus was teaching Nicodemus. It begins by understanding the two natures of man; physical and spiritual, corporeal and incorporeal, temporary and eternal.

Once I realize that there are two parts of me, then I must understand that the spiritual part must be born anew, I need a new beginning in the part of me that is eternal. I need to be born again, not physically but spiritually. That new birth, Jesus says, is accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I can experience it, just like I can feel the wind on their face, but I cannot control it anymore than I can control the wind. I can accept it, but I cannot seize it. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, the gift of Heaven and not something I can fully understand or control at will.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

The Word of God must be heard, the Spirit of God must move, and then we must believe. Warren Wiersbe, the prolific Bible scholar and teacher, said this, “The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and, when the sinner believes, imparts the life of God.” – Warren Wiersbe, Bible Exposition Commentary - Be Alive (John 1-12).

Illustration: The Valley of Dry Bones

When Jesus asked Nicodemus, “Aren’t you the teacher of Israel and yet you are ignorant of these things?” He might have been thinking of a passage in Ezkiel, that Nicodemus should have understood as teaching the new birth by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel 37:1-10 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, … Ezekiel 37:13-14 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live,

The dead lived when the Word of God was preached and when the Spirit of God moved upon the dead. That is what Nicodemus should have known, and it is what we must know today. God’s Word and God’s wind bring the new birth.

Jesus has explained how the new birth comes but there is one thing left before the new birth can actually occur. We see that in vss 12-18

Nicodemus And The Lesson of The Serpent - John 3:12-18

      If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned:  but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Born By Belief 

Nicodemus had to believe three things in order to be saved according to what Jesus told him that day.

First, He had to believe Jesus’ words. Jesus begins the last part of instructing Nicodemus by telling him. “I have told you.” He had to believe what Jesus told him. He had to believe that Jesus was who He said he was, One come down from heaven. This means He was much more than just a teacher, He was God the Son, come in human flesh to save sinners. Listen and obey His words.

Secondly, He had to believe the scriptures.” Jesus reminds Nicodemus of a story in the Old Testament. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.” The story of the Brazen Serpent was one of God’s punishment for the people’s sin> He sent poisonous, fiery serpents that attacked the people and after being bitten they died in a matter of minutes. Moses prayed and God told him to make a bronze serpent and raise it on a pole in the middle of the camp. Then to tell the people when they were bitten and dying in their sin, to look to the middle of the camp and see the serpent that was raised there. Look and live, Moses told the dying people.

That story was about faith, trusting and believing that God would provide a means to save his people. If they believed they would look to the raised symbol of hope provided by God and they would be saved from death.

The final thing Nicodemus had to believe was that Jesus was that hope, the One who brought salvation from God. That He had been sent by God to be the salvation of mankind, by taking on the sin of man and just as the Hebrews looked upon the serpent, the symbol of their sin, so must Nicodemus look to Jesus Christ, who would take on his sin. This would happen when Jesus would be lifted up on the Cross of Calvary. Faith in Jesus, God’s sacrifice for sin, would save Nicodemus.

This is what Jesus said John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Have You Looked To Jesus?

All our seeking stops at Calvary. All our questions are answered at Calvary. True, peace, true joy, true fulfillment are found only at Calvary. When we lift our eyes up to see the One who died in my place, for my sin, when I see Jesus lifted up and believe, then like the children of Israel and like Nicodemus, we found salvation.

Blaise Pascal, who lived from 1623 to 1662 was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and writer.  He is one of the scientist upon whose discoveries, writing and inventions all our modern science is based upon. He was also a believer. One of his most famous quotes was this, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

This is what we must understand about salvation.

1st, Believe what Jesus said. “Ye must be born again.” He is still speaking to us today. The words he said in that upper room somewhere in Jerusalem, are the words He is speaking today in Calvary Baptist church, Athens, Texas. “You must be born again.” Those are His words and you or your friends or your family members who are seeking must believe them.  

Secondly, I must believe that Jesus died for me.

Isaiah 53:4-6   Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Wherever the Gospel is preached, wherever the story of Jesus and the cross is told, the Holy Spirit sweeps like wind over the hearts of the hearers and moves us, shows us, and convicts us, that his death upon that cross was for me.

Finally, I must believe that I am also dying in my sin, as those in Moses time were dying from the bite of the serpent. Their death sentence took place in moments, mine may take years but it is still a sentence of death for the sin of unbelief.

So important was it to believe that John emphasizes it in verse 16-18

John 3:16 -18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

What does it mean then to believe in this way? I think there is a great illustration that explains this.

Illustration: The Tightrope walker

One day in 1860, there was a huge crowd preparing to watch a famous tightrope walker from France, Charles Blondin. 25,000 people gathered at the Niagara Falls on both the American and Canadian sides, where Blondin had stretched a wire from one end of the falls to another. As they watched, he crossed the Falls on the rope several times, a 1,000 foot trip one way, and over 160 feet above the raging waters. He walked it backward, blindfolded and even stopped in the middle, made an omelet and ate lunch. Finally, he asked the crowd if they believed he could take one person across. After seeing all that he had just done, the crowd clapped and cheered showing, “Yes, they believed he could carry someone across.” Then he pointed to one man in the crowd and asked him to get on his back and go with him. The man refused. He pointed to another and another and another. They all laughed and shook their heads no. They didn’t really believe at all. His manager then calmly walked out from the crowd, got on Blondin’s back and together they walked across the chasm. He believed in Blondin.

When it comes to our salvation, it is the work of Christ accomplished upon that cross and all I can do is look up and put myself in loving arms of grace and mercy. I can accept the gift, but I cannot earn it. I can only believe as the Holy Spirit sweeps across my heart and be born again. I must put my eternal soul fully into the protection and care of Jesus Christ, that is truly believing and that brings new birth from above.

Conclusion:

 Jesus said, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” – John 3:7

The new birth is salvation and unless you have experienced it, then you are not saved, nor can you be saved without experiencing it. This morning did you feel the wind of the Holy Spirit as Jesus instructed Nicodemus? Did you hear the word, did you feel the wind then look and live. See Jesus lifted up, before you this morning and if you will look to Him and believe, you will find everything that you seek.