2023.01.22 That's Not What My Birth Certificate Says

That’s Not What My Birth Certificate Says

Psalm 96:1-6 • John 3:1–9

John 3:1–9 NASB 2020

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

Nicodemus — Pharisee — “ruler of the Jews”

Nicodemus is only mentioned in John’s gospel.

We see a warmness with Jesus that progresses. Many scholars teach that Nicodemus became a believer, but was slow about it.

In this story, he comes to Jesus at night so he could ask real questions without his fellow Jewish leaders wondering why he wasn’t challenging Jesus’ authority.

In John 7, the Pharisees are discussing the process and charges for arresting Jesus. Nicodemus defends him and reminds the Pharisees that he deserves a fair trial according to Jewish law.

Finally, in John 19, after the crucifixion, Nicodemus shows up with about 75 pounds of myrrh and aloe to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Joseph of Arimathea offers a tomb and is identified as a disciple. John doesn’t label Nicodemus as a follower of Jesus, but his action certainly would suggest at the very least a high regard for Jesus. The amount of spices Nicodemus used was sufficient to bury a king. No commoner or even Pharisee would have had 75 pounds of myrrh used in their burial.

So, at the time of this event, I would suggest Nicodemus was AT LEAST seeking God’s truth through Jesus. We would label him a “seeker”.

What do you learn about __GOD__ from this story?

Signs and wonders prove someone is sent from God. (vs. 2)

This may seem like a simple enough concept, but repeatedly the Pharisees confront Jesus even as he’s performing these signs and wonders. And when they challenge his authority, he expects Jewish leaders to recognize the signs as his identification card.

Turn over to John 4… starting in vs. 46, we see a story where an official comes to see Jesus in Capernaum. His son is sick and dying. Without even going to the house, Jesus heals the boy. Right before he performs this miracle, he says [not on screen]:

John 4:48 NASB 2020

48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”

Then, he said, “Go; your son is alive...” and he was!

Continuing into John 5, we see a healing at the pool of Bethesda … but it was on the Sabbath. Apparently, healing someone is considered work, so the Jewish leaders in vs. 18 want to KILL HIM! Jesus doubles down by telling them he is God’s Son … he teaches a bit … and then,

look at vs. 36 [not on screen]

John 5:36 NASB 2020

36 “But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

Look at John 10. Jesus is teaching, and SURPRISE! the Jewish leaders don’t like it. In vs. 24, they demand he tell them if he is Messiah or Christ. And he goes off on them! vs. 25 I told you … and you don’t believe. The works I do testify about me! But you don’t believe! Look at verse 37, and hear how the New Living Translation records this quote [not on screen]:

John 10:37–38 NLT

37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”

Someone sent by God will have miraculous works to prove his credentials

Returning now back to John 3...

Jesus sometimes speaks in figurative language

He makes a statement about someone being born again.

In one of my Greek classes in seminary, I looked at the language of this passage closely. In the church, we tend to throw around phrases from Scripture as if everyone understands them … but we probably don’t.

The Greek in verse 3 that is translated “...unless someone is born again...” could be translated differently.

First, the verb “born” could easily have a shade of different meaning. The Greek word here γεννάω “gennao”, has three translation senses that are similar, but do have shades of meaning differences. The first sense is to beget someone - to “take on” a parental role. The term you’ve likely heard is “begotten”. In the technical sense, it means the same thing as being born, but it puts the emphasis on the parentage rather than the one being born. Begotten could easily be rendered “fathered”, so this could be a requirement that someone is “fathered again”. I think ‘born’ is the correct translation, though. I’ll tell you why in a minute.

Before that, let’s look at the adverb. The Greek word ἄνωθεν “anothen” has four senses of translation. “Again” is the FOURTH sense, so it could be considered the least likely translation. The third sense is “for a long time” … but “born for a long time” doesn’t make sense. The second sense is “from the beginning”, which also doesn’t make any sense in the statement. The first sense of the word “anothen” is curious to me. It means “from above”. So this phrase could have been “born from above”, or even “fathered from above” which are both interesting to consider: “...unless someone is fathered from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Logic will ultimately dictate that “again” is the proper translation, but I’ll wait to get into that for a moment.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he’s speaking metaphorically about being reborn in spirit. The second thing we learn about God is that he sometimes speaks in figurative language.

How do I know the language here is figurative? We know it’s figurative because of Jesus’ response in vs. 5, but we may have missed it if Nicodemus hadn’t ...

demonstrated the first thing we learn about humans in this story:

What do you learn about HUMANS?

Humans usually miss the metaphor.

Many times throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches a crowd using a parable or metaphors, and the disciples wait till the crowd is gone. After the crowd’s gone, they approach Jesus … uh … hey, Jesus … what did you mean by that? And Jesus is forced to explain the parable to them.

If you’d like to look up a great example of this later, write down Mark 4. In the first verses, he teaches the Parable of the Sower and Soils. Verse 10 says [not on screen]:

Mark 4:10 NASB 2020

10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables.

Then, he explains the parable’s symbolism to them. Even those closest to Jesus didn’t get it.

Humans usually miss the metaphor.

Nicodemus missed the “born again” metaphor, so he demonstrates that misunderstanding, but he also demonstrates a second thing we can learn about humans:

Humans assume a literal meaning until we’re taught differently.

Here is where we learn why “born again” is the right translation. Looking at verse 4, Nicodemus’ followup question tells us the implication of the words is being birthed a second time [not on screen]:

John 3:4 NASB 2020

4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”

He can’t imagine that Jesus is being figurative, because he … like most of us … assume a literal meaning unless we’re told there’s reason to think differently. “Uh … Hey, Jesus … How can a person crawl back in his mother’s womb and be born a second time.”

He missed the metaphor because he assumed a literal meaning. This is a teacher of the Law. A Leader in the Jewish faith doesn’t look behind the surface … even when the literal meaning sounds thoroughly ridiculous.

So, let me change the wording of this one a bit. Instead of “Humans assume a literal meaning until we’re taught differently”, let me say: Humans don’t usually choose to dig deeper.

If Nicodemus had thought for just a minute, he would’ve realized being physically born a second time isn’t possible … and perhaps he would’ve thought a little deeper. Maybe even studied a little bit further.

Are you familiar with the Dunning-Kruger Effect?

The Dunning-Kruger Effect demonstrates how confidence and expertise often interact. Consulting firm The Decision Lab explains: “The Dunning-Kruger Effect occurs when a person’s lack of knowledge and skills in a particular area leads them to overestimate their own competence. By contrast, this effect also causes those who excel in a given area to think the task is simple for everyone, and underestimate their [own] relative abilities as well.”

In other words, the less you know, the more confident you are. This chart doesn’t demonstrate any measurements, it’s just to help demonstrate the concept.

[examine the graph]

Because of our overconfidence in a subject, we tend to stop studying subjects far too soon. We've decided to only listen to voices we agree with.

That’s a dangerous practice. Last week, I told you something in the sermon that was COMPLETELY WRONG! I didn’t do it on purpose, I just made a mistake. It wasn’t consequential to the point of the message, but it was wrong, and only one person caught it. Everyone else just trusted that I knew what I was talking about.

Humans don’t usually choose to dig deeper. We choose to listen to voices we agree with.

What do you learn about YOURSELF?

Nicodemus discovered in this late-night conversation that he had a lot more to learn than he realized. Even though he was considered an expert in the Old Testament Law, he wasn’t even able to think in the same framework Jesus was using.

Considering the Christian faith … in what knowledge are you most confident?

Is it possible you’re falling prey to the Dunning-Kruger Effect? Before you dismiss that question too quickly, let me remind you that God’s Kingdom was the Pharisees’ specialty. And when Jesus explained the reality of the Kingdom of God to Nicodemus, he was befuddled. Jesus said [not on screen]:

John 3:10 NASB 2020

10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

From our 21st Century armchairs, it’s easy to think the Pharisees were fools. But the Pharisees aren’t any different than you and me.

Where might you be overconfident?

What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?

Where might you benefit from a little more study?

What area might God want to teach you deeper things?

When I see him face-to-face, I have no doubt my eyes will be opened on some things I’m currently wrong about. But I’d like to shorten that list while I have time in the physical life. Wouldn’t you?

I know 2 Sunday School classes that would gladly make room for you.

I know a Bible Study about discipleship starting in February that will gladly make room for you.

I know a book you could crack open, and lots of free resources you could use to dig deeper on your own.

One of the most important things we can tell people when we’re sharing our faith experience is, “I don’t know.” Most unchurched people expect church folk to be know-it-alls, and the minute you tell them “I don’t know” your credibility climbs.

Maybe it’s time we tell ourselves “I don’t know” about some of these things, and start doing something about it.

What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned today?

Are you willing to admit there may be more to this than you thought? Let’s pray

That’s Not What My Birth Certificate Says