Wednesday,
October 21
Mid-week
and we’re reading in the Gospel of John.
My brother, Ed is collaborating with me to shape these devotionals in
the Gospel of John. Our reading today is
from John 3:1 – 21, a very familiar passage to many of you. Please come back after you’ve finished
reading.
John shifts from the action-packed beginning in chapter 2, to one of two
conversations Jesus is about to have with individuals. The first one is in this chapter, introducing
us to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who comes seeking Jesus – “by night” – which
probably is a good hint that he didn’t want to be seen with Jesus alone!
“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’” (3:1-2).
There
are two major parties among the Jewish religious orders: Pharisees and Sadducees.
Pharisees would be strict adherers to the Law of Moses. It is obvious from the
dialog that Nicodemus had heard Jesus speak before, and later in this
conversation, Jesus calls him a “teacher” (3:10). Nicodemus is impressed with Jesus’ words and
works and he speaks of the ‘signs’ that Jesus has done. Signs are one of
the main themes in John’s Gospel. Interestingly, Jesus steers the conversation
away from the flattering to the main issue – Nicodemus’ spiritual need.
“Jesus
answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot
see the kingdom of God” (3:3).
When
Jesus says, “you must be born again”, he literally says, “you
must be born from above” – the Greek word is “anōthen”,
meaning “anew, or above”. As Jesus’
birth was supernatural – from above – so we will soon see that the “birth
from above” comes from the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts and mind. When Jesus begins with “Truly, truly” he
wants to create attention and Jesus uses it often to make sure the listener realizes
the importance of what he is saying. It’s like a teacher saying to the
students, “Now listen up! What I am about to tell will be on the next test.”
Jesus is saying that what he is about to tell him is truth, so listen
carefully. Nicodemus heard the words but he did not understand what Jesus
wanted him to see.
“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” ( 3:4-8).
Nicodemus
focused on the word “again” and, clearly, he is thinking of physical birth,
which is a sign of his religious background, Jesus is pointing to a much
different way. To be ‘born from
above’ is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is speaking about regeneration, which is the work of the Holy Spirit, as in John’s
opening words in 1:12-13 – “But to
all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man, but of God” (1:12-13). To be “born from above” takes away
from Nicodemus any idea that being a Jew and a Pharisee was a guarantee of
salvation. “Being born from above” is
not a religious work of attending church (not bad to do), or trying to be good
(not bad either), nor any other work. It
is to “receive him…believe in him” (1:12,13) – that is Jesus. What Jesus is telling Nicodemus is simple – “you
cannot work your way to salvation by being a Pharisee, nor do any other
religious work that you might think will make you right. You have to have a heart response of faith,
completely in me as your Savior”.
Like
many who think of salvation as something to be ‘earned’, Nicodemus does not
understand. As Jesus responds to his
statement, don’t read it as a rebuke, or finger-pointing, because we can see Nicodemus
is trying to understand. His problem to
overcome is that he is a Pharisee and has been taught that he is first in God’s
salvation class. He has an identity,
but... First, the dialog –
“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? Truly,
truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have
seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly
things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly
things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from
heaven, the Son of Man… as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have
eternal life” (3:9-15).
Jesus
lays out the problem for Nicodemus – “you…do not understand” (3:10), “you do
not receive” (3:11), and so, “how will you believe?” (3:12). Jesus uses three significant OT word
pictures found in the words in verses 13 & 14. The first one in verse 13a is
about “ascending and descending” and is a reference to Jacob’s vision of
a ladder between earth and heaven (Genesis 28:10-22). In verse 13b, Jesus refers to himself as “the
Son of Man” which refers back to Daniel 7 where the Son of Man (Jesus) appears
before God the Father, called the Ancient of Days. Lastly, he throws in one
more illustration (3:14), which references Moses’ bronze snake in the
wilderness where those who had rebelled were told to look upon this in order to
be saved (Numbers 21:8-9).
What
is Jesus trying to communicate to Nicodemus? “I am the One who descended
from God. I am the Son of Man. I am the One whom people need to look to for
their salvation.” God will lift Jesus
up on a cross in order to bring salvation and life to the dead, sinful mankind.
The Bible’s most familiar verse, John 3:16, follows, and in context, it’s a
reminder that being “born from above” is only possible because God initiates
Salvation.
“For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s
one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but
people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light
for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth
comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done
has been done in the sight of God” (3:16-21).
He
sent the Son into the world – not because people are by nature good, but
precisely because in our natural state, we are “enemies” of God! (see Romans
5:10). Being “born from above” is
necessary for everyone, in our sinful nature, “loves darkness rather than light”
(3:18) - that light comes from Jesus. We
have had nearly 2,000 years to see the light
of Christ in Jesus, and in his followers, yet still, people reject
him. Why do they reject him? Indwelling Sin is moral darkness that blinds
unbelievers from seeing the truth (3:19-20). Those who desire the truth about Christ, come
to the light of God’s revelation in Scripture about Jesus (3:21).
Think
of Nicodemus, a devoutly religious person. He was not able to comprehend the
truth of what Jesus was saying because he was seeking God in his religious
efforts, in works, and his own sin darkened his ability to understand. Nicodemus had been taught, as a Pharisee, that
everything depended on obedience to the law.
It was never about faith in God with an understanding that he could
never keep the law perfectly. He had the
obedience dimension, but not the belief part.
Chuck
Swindoll writes in his commentary:
“Nicodemus—the
very personification of religion—had removed belief from the equation. But
trying to achieve salvation through obedience is impossible, and it always
leads to hypocrisy and despair. Religion is ultimately nothing more than faith
in self, trusting one’s own ability to be good enough to impress God. Sooner or
later, the religionist’s deeds will be exposed for what they are: the fruit of
pride. Salvation requires a second birth “from above,” because we are powerless
to save ourselves. Moral perfection is the standard and we have all fallen
short (Rom. 3:23); therefore, we cannot become good enough to earn our place in
heaven. Fortunately, the penalty for sin has been paid in full by Jesus Christ.
Rather than try to overcome evil on our own, we must respond to His free gift
of eternal life with complete trust that He alone will save us (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation
cannot be earned; it can only be received as a free gift. We accept God’s gift
of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sins.[1]
This
reveals to us the significance of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in any person who
seeks to understand how to come to God. Are you a believer? One who has come to Jesus to “receive him”
(1:12). Why did you do it? It was because “God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, and whoever believes him shall not perish,
but have everlasting life” (3:16). God
sent His Son, the Son died for our Sin, and the Spirit convinces us to receive
Him, believe in Him. As a Christian,
I think about the time when God the Holy Spirit enabled me to see and
understand my need for Jesus as my Savior, and thank the Lord God for that
every day. I hope you have that
assurance. If you don’t, contact me, I’d
love to help you understand. If you do,
then daily, give thanks to God for his salvation…sent in love by his Son. If you know Christ as Savior, pray for
someone you know who needs this spiritual rebirth.
Peace
[1] Chuck Swindoll, John, Presentation of the Word, Living Insights Commentary, page 74.
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