Born of the SpiritFitchburg Nazarene Church

August 14, 2017

by

Rev. Charles W. Pendleton, Jr.

(These are the Pastor’s notes. He may have said more which is not noted here. He could have ignored certain portions of these notes in our actual service.)

Read: John 3:1-15

It is inherent in us as humans to look to our teachers, as those having the answers for our questions.

Perhaps today, as no other time in history, we also look to specialists to give us our answers.

If we have a question regarding home repair, who do we go to?

Bob Villa – the great teacher of all things “home repair.”

But if we want to get an answer as to what a dangling participle is all about – we go to the English teacher.

If it’s cooking you are looking to learn about, then you go to the Home Economics teacher, or turn on old Julia Childs shows, or we tune in Rachael Ray or Paula Deane.

Here in our text, a teacher of the Israelites – Nicodemus – comes to Jesus at night to get

some answers. It is Nicodemus and his fellow Pharisees who have taught the Jews how to worship God; how to live lives that would be pleasing to God.

But he is looking for answers of his own.

How do we know he is looking for answers of his own, and not simply being an emissary for his fellow Pharisees??

He comes to Jesus at night.

He doesn’t want anyone to know what he is up to, lest they give him a hard time about searching for answers outside of their own little cadre of teachers of the law.

It is quite easy to infer that Nicodemus has been listening to Jesus teaching the people in the Temple or even out in the wilderness. Perhaps Nicodemus had even sat at a meal at the home of some rich man Jesus had been invited to.

Why?

Because Nicodemus is clearly personally intrigued by what Jesus is teaching. His peers are going to call for Jesus execution. They see Jesus as a heretic or worse – a blasphemer.

Nicodemus is not of their opinion. But he is too cautious a man to simply align himself

with Jesus. He didn’t get to his position of power and authority within the Temple order by teaching contrary opinions.

Before I move on I want to point out John’s use of darkness and light in his telling of this story.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus, “at night.” This is not simply “after dark” – it is a declaration that Nicodemus is coming from a place of personal darkness – a place, from where the “light of the world” is drawing him.

Nicodemus is a sincere and thoroughly decent man – but he is an unspiritual man.

Twice here in our text we see that Jesus had a very difficult time lifting Nicodemus’ thinking off of the temporal plane and into the heavenly realm.

When Jesus told Nicodemus (vs. 3) that “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again,” Nicodemus responds in a purely physical fashion.

Now, this is the same man who came to Jesus claiming “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,” but he cannot seem to make the logical step into “spiritual” thinking.

No, instead he asks Jesus how it is that a man can get back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time.

Not a spiritual thought in his head!

1st, Jesus tries to explain it in our text (vs’s. 5 – 8, but again Nicodemus can’t seem to make the leap. Instead, he shakes his head and declares, “How can this be?”

Let’s look at verses 5 – 8.

READ THEM again.

Here Jesus is making a very clear comparison. He is saying, “Look, when you were born into this world, your mothers’ water broke, and you were naturally born into the waiting world.

“Flesh gives birth to flesh…”

“…but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Then Jesus goes one step further and talks about the wind. At first blush this might not

seem very telling, but it should have been for Nicodemus. The very same word used for wind – “ruach” (roo – akh) – is the same word used for spirit in the Hebrew language.

Jesus closes this example by making a direct point – “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.”

Nope! Nicodemus incredulously states,

“How can this be?”

I have a question for you at this point of the message.

Did Nicodemus come to faith or not?

I agree – although scripture never actually states it in a definitive manner – I believe that he did come to faith in Christ.

Let me explain why I think so, and then we’ll wrap up by my telling you how I think Jesus finally drove home the truth to Nicodemus.

John 7:44-52

44Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders45Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”46“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.47“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”50 Nicodemus , who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51“Does our law condemn a man

without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”52They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

By itself, this doesn’t necessarily tell us that Nicodemus has placed his faith in Jesus, but look at the venom the chief priests and Pharisees have for someone who simply wants to let Jesus come and tell them exactly what he has been teaching – exactly what he has been up to.

But let’s go to another passage and I think you will agree with me – Nicodemus is becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. He still may not be there yet, but he will be.

Turn to John 19:38-42

Here we are at The Burial of Jesus38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-

five pounds.  40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.  41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Did you catch that? Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus. It was dangerous to life and limb to be a disciple of Jesus.

Did you think that it was goofy that Jesus very disciples were hiding in Jerusalem after

the crucifixion? No! It wasn’t goofy at all. The Jewish leaders were out to kill all the people associated with Jesus!

Nicodemus may not have become a disciple of Jesus until the very day of his crucifixion. Let me explain.

Let’s move back to our text in John 3, beginning again at verse 10.

10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these

things?  11Very 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.  12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?  13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.  14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,   15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Nicodemus wasn’t making the logical leap from physical birth to spiritual birth. So Jesus did something that preachers and

teachers, and missionaries, and anyone telling the story of the good news of new life in Christ Jesus has been doing from that time forward – Jesus used a reference that Nicodemus could understand – the Bronze Serpent.

Now this picture might mean nothing to some of you, but it meant a great deal to Nicodemus. He was steeped in the Torah (the 1st five books of the Bible).

Many scholars of his day had memorized enormous chunks, if not all, of those first five books.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy – Nicodemus knew these books cold.

So Jesus used a story that would bring home the truth of what Jesus was doing here in his ministry.

Let’s quickly read this story and I think you will see why Nicodemus was finally able to place his faith in Jesus.

Numbers 21:4-9

The Bronze Snake4They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom.

But the people grew impatient on the way; 5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.8The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then

when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Nicodemus knew that it was the sin of the people that had brought about the penalty of death by venomous snakes.

He knew that God had declared only “ONE WAY” One Remedy – for those bitten by the snakes. They had to look at the likeness of the very poison which was killing them, and then they would live.

Jesus taught Nicodemus that night, that he had been sent for that very same purpose. To become the sacrifice for sin.

Listen to Jesus words again,13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.  14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  15that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

This “Son of Man” that Jesus referenced: Nicodemus knew that this referenced “the Christ” – “the Anointed One of God” who

was foretold in the Hebrew scripture to be coming into the world to bring about peace.

This Son of Man had to be “lifted up” on a pole just as the bronze serpent had been, and

“that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Nicodemus eventually saw that everything he had been told by Jesus that evening actually came to pass – and he believed.

He believed enough to take the chance of joining Joseph of Arimathea in burying Jesus after his crucifixion.

He finally believed!

The question is: Have you believed?

Has God answered all of your questions about Jesus role in your salvation?

He wants to, you know.

There is nothing He won’t do to bring you to faith in Christ. He knit you together in your mother’s womb, as Psalm 139:13 tells us,

but he wants you to experience the second birth, too.

That birth which takes place when you believe with your heart that God has made a way of escape from the penalty of sin for you.

Will you believe?

Closing Prayer