Born from above
The Gospel According to John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
Today’s theme is very important in our eternal destiny. You need to know the background of today’s story. There appeared some people who believed in Jesus’ name because they saw the signs that he was doing. Apostle John did not use the word ‘miracle’ but the word ‘sign.’ Miraculous works Jesus was doing indicate something. They recognized Jesus as the teacher come from God.
I want to introduce brief history of Israelites. God chose Abraham and made a covenant.
Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This covenant was spoken repeatedly to Issac and Jacob. His promise was fulfilled about 500 years later. God chose Moses and rescued Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh of Egypt. They were slaved but now liberated. And they possessed the promised land. After several centuries later, God established the Kingdom of David. But Israelites of later generations betrayed God and made false gods. They mixed true religion with idol worshiping. So God used the hand of Babylon and scattered Jews to all around Babylon. They could come back about 70 years later by the help of Persian Emperors like King Darius and Cyrus. They repaired Jerusalem temple. After several generations, Greek Empire ruled the world. And a governor deconsecrated the temple with pig’s blood. So Jews revolted and consecrated the temple again…
Background
Exodus
Conquest
Davidic Kingdom
Exile to Babylon
Returning to Jerusalem by the help of Persian Emperors
Greek Invasion and Deconsecration of the Temple
Roman Empire
Waiting for The Restoration of The Kingdom of God
Keep the brief history of 1st century Jews and read the next verses.
John 3:1–2 (ESV)
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
Nicodemus was ruler of Jews and the teacher of Israelites. HOW COULD HE KNOW THAT JESUS A TEACHER FROM GOD? He also recognized Jesus as a teacher come from God because no one could do those signs that he was doing.
John 3:3 (ESV)
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again(anothen) he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus was waiting for the Kingdom of God. Jesus said to him “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He cannot see the kingdom of God. Most Jews expected the coming of the kingdom as the political liberation from Roman Expire. But his teaching was very different from their expectations. He said “unless one is born from above…” The adverb ‘anothen’ in Greek is interpreted as ‘agin’, ‘from above’. Being born again is being from above. He explains the meaning again,
John 3:5–6 (ESV)
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
What does it mean being born of water and the Spirit? You can understand if you read the next verses. Ezekiel was a prophet of 598-582 B.C. He prophesied like this.
Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV)
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
It’s like a heart transplantation. God exchanges a dead heart with a warm, active and blood pumping heart. He cleanse our hearts. He removed all idols in our hearts. Prophet Isiah began his prophesy 742 B.C.
Isaiah 32:15 (ESV)
until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
The Spirit pouring was compatible with water from above. God pours His Spirit upon human being. Compare with the next verses.
therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Why did God expelled them?
Genesis 3:4–5 (ESV)
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
What was the motivation of their eating the forbidden fruit?
They wanted to like God. They wanted to be autonomous judging what is good and what is evil. They tried to be independent from God to be a supreme being. It was a kind of treason. So they have lost the previous blessed state.
They became like a broken branch. They are actually dead. So Apostle Paul said like this.
Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:4–6 (ESV)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
John 3:8–11 (ESV)
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.
(ESV)
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Galatians 3:13 (ESV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
