Salvation To Believers

The Spirit Gives Birth To Believers

3.5.23 [John 3:1-17] River of Life (2nd Sunday in Lent)

Have you ever walked into a conversation about the deep things of life between two very thoughtful people? It’s not like walking into an argument, because it’s not combative. It’s not like watching a debate, because you’re not looking for a winner. But like an argument or a debate, it can be a pretty intense experience.

Part of you is very interested in what they are talking about and where it’s headed. Another part of you is more than a little overwhelmed. Maybe they’re batting back and forth so quickly that it’s hard to keep up. Perhaps they’re using words you don’t understand or thought you understood. It could be that they’re really into some subject that you just don’t know a whole lot about. But there is something fascinating about an intense conversation.

That’s what it seems like is happening in John 3. An intense conversation about the deep things of eternal life between two thoughtful individuals. One is (Jn. 3:10) the teacher of Israel. The other is a remarkable Rabbi who has (Jn. 3:2) come from God and has done miraculous things, or (Jn. 3:2) signs, that no one else has done before. They are discussing theology and anthropology late into the night. But we could say more simply they’re discussing God and man. The big questions they are tackling are Who is God and what does he do? and Who is man and what does he do?

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was part of an energized group of lay leaders in Israel. This group looked around their people and saw them straying from their unique identity as the blessed people of God. They felt it was paramount for their survival as a people that Israel obey the Law faithfully. Nicodemus wasn’t a priest or a Levite, but he was very serious about the Law of Moses and the Word of God. The typical Pharisee would have spent years learning from a well-respected Rabbi. They would know the Word of God backward and forwards and live it faithfully. Not only that, but Nicodemus set himself apart even among this serious sect. He was (Jn. 3:1) a member of the Jewish ruling council—the Sanhedrin.

And he had questions about Jesus. But you’ll notice, he doesn’t start with one. (Jn. 3:2) Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. Your signs don’t happen without God’s help. He’s building up to a question. So who are you, Jesus? We know you didn’t train under any Rabbi in Jerusalem. In fact, you aren’t even from Jerusalem. You’re from Nazareth. Who are you, Jesus?

And Jesus says to Nicodemus: You can’t understand who I am until you understand who God is and who you are, Nicodemus. And it’s not just you. (Jn. 3:3) Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

Can you hear how hard this was for Nicodemus to get? (Jn. 3:4) How can someone be born again when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!

To Nicodemus, this was all very confusing. But remember what they were discussing. 1) Who is God and what does he do? 2) Who is man and what does he do?

Nicodemus, like most Pharisees, would have been quite confident in his answers to both those questions. God is holy and God tells you how to be holy in his Law. Man is either born either bad or blessed. If you’re born bad—as a Gentile or a Samaritan—you are going to have to work really hard to become blessed. If you are blessed, part of the nation of Israel and a descendant of Abraham, you must continue on this blessed path. Don’t be bad, and you will stay blessed.

But Jesus blows that bad theology and anthropology to smithereens when he said: (Jn. 3:6) Flesh gives birth to flesh. Everyone is born sinful because their parents are sinful. Everyone has fallen short of God’s glory. Nicodemus’ categories didn’t exist. Everyone, Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans, were bad. In fact, they were so bad that they were born (Eph. 2:1) dead in their trespasses and sins. So everyone needs to be (Jn. 3:3) born again from above, by (Jn. 3:6) the Spirit.

Maybe this is news to you as it was to Nicodemus. But I also know that it isn’t news to all of us. Some can recall King David’s confession that he was (Ps. 51:5) sinful from conception. We all are guilty at birth.

But just because we know this, doesn’t mean that we remember it all the time. We so quickly forget that we are not, by nature, good people and that this world is not full of good and bad people, but people who are spiritually dead and those who have been given life by the Spirit.

When we look in the mirror, we see a good person. We’ve done the right thing—in situations where others might not have. We have moral fiber. We don’t take shortcuts. We don’t cheat or steal. We treat people with respect. We’re generous and grateful. We’re helpful and thoughtful. We’re principled people and one of our principles is that we worship God. Not enough people can say all that, right?

As we look at our world, we see a bunch of people who have not done what we have done. They constantly take shortcuts. They treat people like garbage. They cheat and steal—taking advantage of systems and people who are just trying to help other people. They hurt and abuse. Maybe they’ve even killed somebody. They don’t have our principles. They don’t have much of a moral compass. They don’t care about other people and they don’t care about God.

We compare ourselves at our best to the world at its worst and come to the conclusion that we are pretty good people. Yes, God blessed us and we’d be the first to admit that. But even being willing to admit that just shows what great people we are, doesn’t it?

Yet, even at our best, God tells us plainly that the reason we did those good things wasn’t out of love for God. It was out of love for ourselves. We wanted to look good to our supervisors and neighbors, our friends and our family. We wanted to feel good when we looked in the mirror.

You see, Jesus knew this about (Jn. 2:25) all people—you, me, Nicodemus, and everyone else who thinks their shiny, sterling reputation is good enough for God. (Rom. 3:12) There is no one who does good. Not even one.

This was the (Jn. 3:12) earthly things that Jesus was speaking about. Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he was spiritually dead. Totally incapable of doing anything righteous. And Nicodemus didn’t believe Jesus.

But Jesus came to tell Nicodemus and us (Jn. 3:12) heavenly things. He came not just to show us that every person is dead in sin and incapable of doing anything righteous. He came to teach who God is and what he does. Jesus didn’t just (Jn. 3:2) come from God. He is the Son of Man who (Jn. 3:13) came from heaven. And he does that through a beautiful nugget of good news. God knows how bad the world is. But he (Jn. 3:17) did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (Jn. 3:16) 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.

The only way we could be spared death and have life was if the Son of Man faced death in our place. So Jesus takes the teacher of Israel back to the Old Testament. He says, you remember how the people of Israel were dying because of the venom coursing through their veins? You remember what God told Moses to do?

(Num. 21:8) Make a snake of bronze. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who looks to it will live. So he did. And anyone who looked to it, anyone who believed God’s promise, lived.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, I am going to be like that snake. I will be lifted up and anyone who looks to me in faith will no longer be dead, but alive. They will have eternal life in my name.

This is how a sinner is born from above or born of the Spirit. We are not born of natural descent or human decision. (Jn. 1:13) We are born of God. God gives the promise. God gives the faith. God gives it all. (Jn. 3:6) The Spirit gives birth to spirit. We are born from above by a gift from above, by water and the Spirit. A gift we know as Baptism.

In Baptism, dead sinners are made alive. The Spirit gives birth to the spiritual. The new spirit, or new man, learns of the love that God has for the world. For you personally. The new spirit trusts in God’s promises.

In Baptism, you are connected with the Son of Man. He, too, was baptized. He took our place. He took on our sins and paid for them in full. In Baptism, we are connected with his substitutionary and sacrificial death. In Baptism, we are washed and renewed.

In Baptism, we are made like him. He blesses us with a certain inheritance. We are God’s beloved children. We are (1 Jn. 5:4) kept safe by God. The evil one cannot harm us. We are destined for heaven.

In Baptism, we also receive him. We are given his status and his strength. We are gifted his wisdom, his love, his power, and his renewal. He gives us a clean heart and works a new spirit within us. (1 Jn. 5:18) We despise what he despises. (1 Jn. 3:9) We cannot keep on sinning in ways that we once did. We have been reborn. We are inwardly renewed. We love him and his Father, our neighbors and our enemies, because he loved us first. His love changes our concept and practice of love. His love gives us confidence and boldness.

This same Spirit brought new life to Nicodemus. John 3 might seem like two smart guys having a deep discussion. But it’s more than that. Nicodemus sees God and man in a new way. And over the course of Jesus’ ministry, he is brought to faith. The Spirit gives birth to spirit.

And there is a clear sign for us. After Jesus’ death, it is Nicodemus who went to Pontius Pilate to request Jesus’ body. He intended on burying this man who was lifted up before him. (Jn. 19:39-42) Nicodemus wrapped and anointed his body and placed him in the tomb. Three days later, Nicodemus got the greatest of signs. The one who came down from heaven, came out of the grave. He rose from the dead. No one could do this, unless they were the Son of Man and Son of God! And because he did that, we have eternal life in him. The Spirit has given birth to spirit and we are living proof! Amen.