The New Birth

John3:1-17

Before we read today’s second scripture lesson I have a pop quiz for you all, after all I am an educator.  Raise your hand if you can recite John 3:16.  Ok, a little trickier, who can recite John 3:16 and 17?  Do I have a volunteer who will recite John 3:16 and 17 right now?

Ok, now raise your hand if you can tell me who Jesus was talking to in John 3?  Go ahead and shout it out.  It’s interesting isn’t it, for as famous a verse as John 3:16 is, so few of us knows anything about its context.  That’s what we are going to look at today.

Reading John 3:1-10 (NLT)

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¹ 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?

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Reading of John 3:11-17 (NLT)

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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?¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. ¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

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Boxes

I have in my hand a box.  It’s not just any normal box, as you can see. It is wrapped up all nice and neat with this beautiful festive paper.  Its creases are smooth; its decorative paper is beautiful.  As you can probably figure out, I did not wrap this box.  I had my wife wrap it for me.  If I had wrapped it, it would not look nearly as nice.  Its creases would be crooked and messy; the paper would not be nearly as pretty.  I would probably use the old sports section from the Grand Rapids press.

There is something you need to know about this pretty box.  If you were to get this box for Christmas you would be disappointed.  You see, if you open it up, you’ll find that it’s empty inside.  I think many of us are like this pretty box, we are so busy trying to look like we have it all together that we don’t address the fact that we are empty inside.  If we are honest with God, others and ourselves, our lives are a little more like a disheveled box, like one I would wrap.

Wesley Pt 1

There is a story, a true story, of an overzealous young minister.  He was considered a “whiz kid” setting himself apart with both his studies and conduct during his seminary years. 

His first appointment was an international mission.  During the trip to his over sees appointment turbulent weather made this young man realize his lack of faith, and his fear of death, which didn’t seem consistent with the concept of Salvation.  To make matters even worse, this young man’s time as a missionary was a complete failure which came to a head after he refused communion to a women he had unsuccessfully courted. 

Confused and bitter, this former “whiz kid” now doubted that he had true salvation and if not for a mentor who told him to preach salvation until he had obtained it, he would have left ministry all together.

Nicodemus

But let’s return to John chapter 3.  When we think John 3:16 and 17 we usually use it as a slogan of sorts for the lost.  We see it on signs and billboards, on t-shirts and bumper stickers.  These verses are often used in Evangelism, and that is a good thing.  But we have to understand something about Nicodemus; he was not a religious outsider.

Nicodemus was definitely one of the who’s who of the Jewish world.  Only the brightest pupils would have been allowed to become Pharisees.  And the Greek word translated as religious leader might actually have meant that Nicodemus was part of the Jewish ruling council.  In any event Nicodemus was some sort of Jewish official.  He was the “best of the best”.  We can safely assume that Nicodemus probably had the whole Jewish Bible, our Old Testament, memorized.

Despite all this, Nicodemus was empty.  He needed something more than what his religious status could bring him.  I think many of us might be able to relate to Nicodemus, I know I can.  We possess the religious knowledge, we can tell someone all about what it “means to be a Christian”, but we still need something more.  We look nice and neat, but inside we are empty, like that pretty box over there. 

Being Real

That is what brought Nicodemus to see Jesus.  Nicodemus is sometimes given a hard time for going to see Jesus at night, but it was still a big step for Nicodemus.  In coming to earnestly talk to Jesus, Nicodemus was admitting that he didn’t have it all together.  Personally, I admire his courage. 

There are a lot of possible reasons why Nicodemus didn’t come to Jesus during the day.  Maybe the only time to catch Jesus without a crowd was at night.  We see throughout scripture that Jesus was often times surrounded by a crowd.  Maybe he would be risking his position and perhaps even his life to genuinely talk to Jesus.  The official stance of the Pharisees appeared to be one of disapproval when it came to Jesus and his teachings.  Perhaps Nicodemus thought Jesus would not receive him if he came by day, you might recall that in scripture, when Pharisees or other religious leaders come to Jesus during the day, they are trying to trap him.  Maybe he thought Jesus would be suspicious.  Whatever the reason, Nicodemus does come, he decides to be real, to admit that he doesn’t have it all figured out. 

Born Again

Nicodemus is confused when Jesus cuts straight through the chit chat and tells him that he must be born again in verse 3.  It’s easy to judge Nicodemus for missing the metaphor, but we need to realize how radical being born again is, even if it is metaphorical.  I mean, wouldn’t it be just as impossible for a person to be reborn morally and spiritually?  How can we wipe out our life’s experiences, all our bad habits? 

Here we have to realize that we are not talking about an improved continuation of the old ways, the old religious practices, the old will power and moral code.  Rebirth means starting from scratch, being made anew.  This is new life given by God himself, through the Spirit.  There is a new order of being, as part of the Kingdom of God. 

Nicodemus, the Conclusion

So does Nicodemus ever figure it out?  This story doesn’t say but in John 19:39 and 40 we learn that Nicodemus is with Joseph of Arimathea when he asks for Jesus body after the crucifixion and that he helps Joseph prepare Jesus’ body for burial. 

Another pop quiz!  Who can tell me what happens to a Jew if they touch a dead body? (unclean).  And what does it mean if a Jew is unclean? (Cannot enter the temple for 7 days). More than likely, Nicodemus was not able to perform many of his religious duties for 7 days because he prepared Jesus’ body for burial.  Nicodemus no longer seemed to be worried about his social and religious status, did he?  It is my belief that Nicodemus did figure it out, that he was a new creation, a new baby. 

    

So What Now?

So what now?  What do us Christ followers who still feel like empty boxes do? 

Wesley Pt 2

To answer this, let’s explore the rest of the story of the former “whiz kid” turned giant failure.  What steps did this young man take to change his situation?  The answer is nothing, except maybe to get out of the way. 

While at a church service, which he reluctantly attended, by the way, the man experienced a new found peace, which he referred to as his heart being “strangely warmed.”  He felt a change, a change that God worked in his heart through faith in Christ.  He felt a renewing, he was born again.  This event is known today as the Aldersgate experience, and this young man was John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, our forefather.   

The Curse is Lifted

Measuring up is the old way of life, a life that leads to failure, to death.  We have to let go of that to be born again.  We need to stop worrying about being judged and allow ourselves to be saved, to be born again.  I am convinced God will not transform us into a new creation if we hang on to the idea that we have to keep our wrapping paper nice and neat.  The old and the new cannot mix.  We have to let that go if we are to be born again.  We have to get out of the way and let God bring about a change in our hearts. 

Sometimes this is a daily matter.  There is a constant temptation to return to the old way of life, to the way of the law, to the way of measuring up.  When we give into this temptation we are no longer living as one who is born again.  We are setting ourselves up for failure.  We cannot possibly measure up; we cannot possibly be good enough. 

I’ve been there; I can relate to Nicodemus, I understand completely what John Wesley went through.  I’ve been labeled the “whiz kid”, the spiritual “golden boy” and when I tried to live up to the hype it’s ended very badly for me.  You know, I am glad so many people here at RUMC approve of the ministry I’m leading as the Director of Christian Education, but I don’t want to be your “golden boy.” When I try to measure up, I’m nothing more than a scared, short tempered, insecure little boy, who falls short as a husband, a father and an education director.  When I worry about being good enough, I’m not.  You are not either.  How can we possibly be good enough?   But, when I realize that I am not good enough, and that through Christ, that’s ok.  When I get out of the way and let go of the old way, then, through faith, through Jesus, I am born again, a completely new creation.  

I’m wondering today, will you join me, will you get out of the way and let God’s only son Jesus, make you a new creation? 

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