The Teacher & The Light!!!
John 3:1-21
Sometimes we think we know everything, or know enough to be considered as knowledgeable in an area (if not an expert) by others - usually because of our lived experiences and/or our level of training/education. Yet, how often do we encounter situations where we learn that we actually don’t know as much as we think we do.
Sometimes we need a person to come alongside us and show us that while we may be real knowledgeable about those things, we cannot possibly see the whole big picture, and that there is more to life than what we know and have experienced.
Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisees as well as being on the Jewish ruling council - he knew his stuff when it came to all things religious and from the scriptures. Yet, when Jesus talked to him, his ignorance of things greater than human traditions and knowledge was clear.
So, what did Jesus say to Nicodemus that was so mind-bending and life-changing?
John 3:1-15 says…
“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Nicodemus was a knowledgeable, educated man who held a position of high authority within the Jewish community. So, it isn’t a stretch to see him confronting a person who has risen up in the ranks to become a religious figure within the community. The interesting point is that he came to see Jesus at night, becuase he knew that this was a personal mission and not one as a member of the Pharisees.
Nicodemus does note that ‘we know…’ - this indicates that others within the Pharisees could see that Jesus was a man sent by God. And it was the miracles that Jesus was performing that pursuaded them beyond HIS wise words. This shows that so many more in the ruling elite of the Jewish people knew that Jesus was who HE claimed, yet they were too afraid of the political system to step out in their faith and belief.
This should serve as a warning to us in modern times with our church/denominational structures and governance. If people fear the response of governance/leaders of a church or denomination regarding their beliefs - then that is cause for concern, and highlights the lack of the guidance of the Holy Spirit active within that system.
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
This exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus is interesting because Nicodemus is actually stuck thinking within the physical realm and the physical world, while Jesus is speaking of an eternal spiritual realm.
In today’s ultra-modern, hi-tech world that we live in, the type of thinking exhibited by Nicodemus is all too common where things of a spiritual or even supernatural nature are downplayed by Christians (let alone non-Christians like atheists and agnostics).
When we close our mind off to the supernatural, then we limit what the Holy Spirit (who is supernatural HIMSELF) can do in your life. And we close ourselves off to the truths that the Holy Spirit can bring.
The spiritual rebirth is what is important for us to hold onto. For it is our eternity that is being shaped by our present.
This is those whole point of the gospel….this is the whole point of the cross…this is the whole point of Jesus coming in the form of a man - to eneable us to have an eternity in the presence of almighty God (Yahweh).
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
These words by Jesus should be a warning to church leaders - in modern words Jesus is saying “Hey, you’re the teacher and the leader of your congregation, you should know the word of God better than this, you should be seeing these things because it is already written. How can you teach others the things of the Kingdom of Heaven when you yourself cannot grasp the deeper truths. I am HE, you must listen and follow me to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Another curious point is that Jesus even mentions Moses lifting up the snake on the pole, which was a prophetic foreshadowing of HIS crucifixion, that Nicodemus and the other religious leaders should have understood and seen coming (especially in the light of other prophecies about the Messiah being lifted up on a cursed tree).
John 3:16-21 continues…
“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.”
Almost all Christians (and many non-Christians) know the first part of these verses - as it is thrown out there at sporting events, political rallies and church posters like it is some cheap pithy saying…yet it is one of the most powerful truths ever written down.
Belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and as the saviour of humanity is the only way to have our sins cleansed for eternity.
The concept of eternity, of a heaven and a hell is too much for some to comprehend or to beleive in. But yet, it is at the very foundation of what Jesus is talking about. The supernatural, existence outside of time and space. And that is the truly mind-bending, life altering notion that Jesus was bringing to Nicodemus.
Everyone has a choice…it is not predetermined (no-matter what some elements of Christian denomiantions say - free-will does exist) in the sense that God is the ultimate puppet-master and is playing each individual like a marionette on a string - rather God being outside of time and space knows all the permutations of our decisions and knows which we will make.
Jesus warns us in these verses that anything done in darkness is evil and fears to be exposed - and there is great truth to this. All of the greatest evils in this world are done behind closed doors and at night.
Jesus is the light, and if we are to follow HIM, then we too must be willing to stand and walk in the light - even if it means putting aside our pride and having our sinful nature exposed and cleased by the light of the Messiah.
Now, what happens to Nicodemus?
Well, generally, Nicodemus gets a bad reputation (within the church and Christian circles) after this exchange, because it doesn’t seem like he under stands. Yet, this exchange with Jesus is a turning point for Nicodemus, and one that influences the rest of HIS life as a beleiver in Jesus as the Messiah.
The gospels speak of Nicodemus at elast two other times. These are:
A) When Nicodemus spoke up in defence of Jesus in front of the religious ruling council, and ruling elite - John 7:45-52 - this is an important shift for Nicodemus as it shows he is willing to take a stance on Jesus and defend HIM in public, all-the-while knowing it would cost him.
B) When Nicodemus joins with Joseph of Aramithea to prepare and bury Jesus’ body after his death via crucifixion - John 19:38-42 - which means that Nicodemus would have been declared unclean under Jewish cultural and religious laws of the time, and that meant he wouldn’t have been able to enter the Temple grounds or conduct any sort of religious ceremony or teaching in a synagogue.
Nicodemus’s journey is one that many of us can identify with. We start at a position where we think we know the truth and the larger picture - Jesus comes along and shows us that maybe, just maybe we don’t know and understand as much as we think. And then as we begin to understand what Jesus is saying to us we begin to act with purpose, with courage and with strength - no matter what it may cost us here on Earth because we know our eternity is forged and sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
My hope is that like Nicodemus we can put aside the fear we have of this world and other people and to stand up for Jesus, and for the truth that is found in HIS word - the holy and blessed scriptures of the Bible. My hope is that any sense of limitations on the supernatural actions of the Holy Spirit in your life are released and left behind.