The New Birth

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John 3:1–15 “There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus. “Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?” J…”

Sermon Illustration

Credentials

Meet a man tonight that had all the right creditials, however, he at this time, did not hold the key

And that key is Christ, because no matter how good you think you are or how many this or that you have done.

There is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven

Introduction

Last week we left off probably where this section should have started

See those nice heading and even numbers in our bibles are not inspired

Those were added for reference

And most of the time they made sense, and others well, it seems like they split the thought in some ways

The end of our text last week in verses 23-25 served as John’s commentary of what occured as well as his introduction into what was coming.

The previous section discussed Jesus’ time in the temple

**Briefly describe cleansing the temple**

So Johns commentary brings us out of that account and into a series of accounts that follow.

Each of these following accounts are based on conversations

We will meet religious leaders, an outcast woman, a government official, and a lame man.

and in each conversation Jesus essentially looks into their souls

However, many others listen only because they want him to perform more miracles

So first up on our list is the religious leader

A man with a ton of creditials, but they may not be the ones required for access to heaven

This man is named Nicodemus

Our 4 points this morning are:

The Man

The Must

The Message

The Method

The Man

John 3:1–2 “There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.””

Verse 1 starts with…

“There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

If ever there was a man that was serious about his religion it was this man

Why? Well Verse 1 says that he was a pharisee

Now a Pharisee is a leader of the Jews

This is only our second encounter in John with a Pharisee and this is Jesus’ first with the Pharisee’s, however, we will see much more of it later

They not only were considered leaders in the broad spectrum but they were also regarded as the leading teachings and leaders in the interpretation of the scriptures

There are 613 commands in the OT

248 do’s and 365 don’ts

** Jews wont even turn on a light**

There were roughly 6000 pharisees at this time

And to be become one you had to pledge in front of 3 witnesses to keep every detail of the law for the rest of your life

They would even create more rules in order to ensure they followed the original rules better

Saul, or whom we know better as Paul, was a Pharisee before his conversion

Along with being a Pharisee Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin, which is an even smaller group of lets say elites

If we could imagine merging the Supreme Court and the US Senate, we would have the Sanhedrin

And there were only 70 of them

So as we get into this we must understand that it doesn't get much better in 1st century Israel than Nicodemus

He is about as accomplished, dignified, and respected as it comes. Religiously he is the gold standard

And likely he had heard and seen Jesus during the passover festival.

It is also likely that he was stirred by Jesus

He is very likely one of those that “believed” in the previous verses. At least on the surface..

But remember, Jesus knows whats in a mans heart

Verse 1 continues

This man came to him at night and said,

Why come at night

Was it fear?

Did he not want to get caught?

He was afraid of the implications that would arise should he get caught speaking with a man like Jesus

Was if faith? It later says he knew Jesus was from God

Well it was most likely a combination of both

Either way we know he had questions, and we know he wanted to meet in private

Thats what we see on the surface,

But we also have this picture in Johns gospel of light and darkness

He says to Jesus..

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.””

1st of all he addresses Jesus as “Rabbi”

this means teacher

This tells us a little more about Nicodemus

See most men in his position would have been arrogant or haughty

But Nicodemus comes honestly with kindess and respect

He even acknowledges that the signs Jesus are doing are from God

Now he isn’t confessing Jesus’s deity, he is just simply saying that he thinks God is behind them

Now remember how Jesus knows whats in a mans heart?

This is no exception

He knows why Nicodemus is there

He knows where this conversation is going

so Jesus cuts to the chase

instead of answering Nicodumises eluded question to satisfy his curiosity and intelectial need

Jesus exposes his spiritual need

See he skips Nicodemus implied question about him being a sign producing rabbi and gets straight to the point

Which leads us to our second point..

The Must

John 3:3–4 “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?””

“Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus jumped to the heart of the matter here

If ever there was a man that could earn his way to heaven it would have been Nicodemus

He had every credential in the book

exceeded every standard

Unless…

Unless these credentials, this perfection, wasn’t enough.

Jesus in Matthew 5:20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.”

See the bar that is and was set by God is so high that the perfection must exceed that of Nicodemus

And this is what Jesus is saying here.

He’s saying Nicodemus, while you have maintained every letter of the law

it will not get you into heaven

In fact, the only way into heaven is by being born again

Brothers and sisters this should come as some relief,

See there is nothing that we can do that will earn the love or grace of God

No task, no bible study etc that we can do to earn our salvation

not by being a good person

not by being a deacon

not by upholding all the commandments not even by being a pastor

but only, by being born again

This catches Nicodemus off guard as he responds with what would seem like a half scared half sarcastic reply

He say.. John 3:4 ““How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?””

We know that Jesus is speaking of a spiritual birth

But the only thing Nicodemus knew of was physical birth

This concept of being born again was new to him

So Jesus, drawing from the OT that he knew Nicodemus would have known very well explains deeper

The Message

He says in John 3:5–6 “... “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

Jesus mirrors Ezekiel 36:25–27 “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”

See the water here speaks of our cleansing and the spirit that is from God

Where we are washed clean of our transgressions as we are baptized into the family of God

Referring back to Ezekiel

he says, I will place my spirit within you

See the spirit and the water are synergistic or they work together

See as we are washed clean through the blood of Jesus we are also washed by the spirit in the fact that the spirit comes and lives within us

guiding us and changing us from the inside out

Brothers and sisters our earthly births are just that,

flesh on bones and born from other flesh

But when we are born again, that is from God

Not from us..

Nicodemus, is just floored by this concept because Jesus is turning his world upside down

Recognizing the confusion Jesus further tells Nicodemus

John 3:7–8 “Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.””

This is Christs 2nd explanatory aid to help Nicodemus

Christ now compares the new birth to the wind,

We cannot see the wind, but we can feel it

Just like we cannot see the spirit

But we can feel it

Again eluding to Ezekiel Chapter 37:9 which says it was “breath” from the “four winds” of God that brought life to the dry bones

So it is the breath, or wind of God that brings the spirit

Remember in Genesis when God breathed his breath into Adam

that breath was the spirit, Adam’s soul

We do not bring the spirit, we cannot control the spirit

The spirit goes and does what ever is the will of God

So essentially saying that it is not us that controls salvation, but God

And when we feel or hear presence

or hear his voice through the gospel

or whatever means it is displayed it is the spirit that guides us to Jesus

Then, when we believe, when we accept Christ as our savior and redeemer

Then we are born again

Not because we did anything, but because God did everything

Remember Ephesians 2:8–9“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”

Now some upon being convicted by the spirit of their need for a savior will believe

Some will begin to question things

and some will turn from Gods gift of grace and choose to continue living in the flesh

We can see by Nicodemus's next question that at this point he is not rejecting Christ or this concept of new birth

But he is still puzzled,

he is not yet convinced

Which is why he askes

“How can these things be”

These are Nicodemus last words of this discourse..

But Jesus answers with verses 10:13

John 3:10–13 ““Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied.

Christ acknowledges Nicodemus intelligence and sincerity by calling him a teacher of Israel

But he also eludes to Nicodemus's’ ignorance in the witness of Christ

The fact that he has seen the signs, and heard the testimony

Remember it was the Pharisees back in chapter 1 that questioned John the Baptist and heard what he testified about Jesus

So Nicodemus knew a lot more about Jesus than what we find in this conversation

So it was not only the ignorance of these things that were Nicodemus’ problem

But it was also unbelief

As Jesus continues I want to to notice the change from the singular I to the plural we

He says

“Truly I tell you, we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen,

as we continue lets also understand that in the Greek, the word you coming up moves from singular to plural as well

but you do not accept our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

If we look back verse 2 Nicodemus said WE know that you are a teacher who has come from God

Nicodemus is not only asking questions for his own personal benefit and understanding but he is also a representative of the Jewish people as a whole

Thus we have the change from singular to plural as Jesus expounds on his teachings

And also remember John 1:11 “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

See Jesus was speaking of heavenly things,

eternal things

while Nicodemus, and for the most part the whole nation of Israel could only speak of early things

Because they had yet to be born again and into those heavenly things

And no doubt at this point we have to ask ourselves

Well then, how are we born again

And Jesus tells us right here

in our final point

(he saw the signs and did the deeds, yet there was one thing lacking

The Method

John 3:13–15 “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended 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, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

We have already discussed via our message at the end of Chapter 1 that Christ is the son of Man and that he is the ladder or the link between heaven and earth

Man and God

And just like Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness

Eluding to Numbers 21:8

Where Moses formed a bronze snake to deliver the Israelites from the self induced onslaught of snake bites that killed many of them

God told moses to make a snake image out of bronze and lift it up so that anyone would looked upon it would be recover and be saved

And in that same way Christ was lifted upon a pole (here he is predicting it) but now we know it happed

But it is in that same way that Christ was lifted up on a pole for us

and any of us, who believes in him will have eternal life

Thus, being born again

Conclusion

See it doesn't matter who we are, were we are from, or what we have done

One day we will stand before God

And we will have to show him our credentials

And we will not be able to fool him or pass through because we led a good life or did all the right things

All that will matter when you show him your credentials is does it say born again on it

Does it show that you / we were transformed from the inside out

Have we been made new

That is what he is looking for

we are all going to display that differantly

some of us are still a little rough around the edges while some are practically walking saints

and that is the beauty of being born again, see we are’t going to accept Christ then it all will be great and we will have it figured out

not at all

But when we have Christ we will be made new and we will begin to grow

Just as we grew in our fleshly bodies we will grow in our spiritual journey

So please don’t think you have to have it all figured out as Nicodemus thought

Because you don’t

And we will see that Nicodemus eventually came around as well

So for now lets focus on the only credential that matters

that of Christ and him crucified, sealing our eternal life

should we simply turn to him, repent and believe

Let us pray