The Mother of All Truth Bombs

In 2002, the United States began to develop a bomb that they would designate the GBU-43/Massive Ordinance Air Blast (GBU-43/M-O-A-B). It was, at the time and could very well still be, the largest conventional (non-nuclear) bomb ever developed. This, along with it's initials, MOAB, earned it the nickname the Mother Of All Bombs. The MOAB is so large it must be carried by a cargo plane and shoved out the back of the cargo bay.

The Mother Of All Bombs has been used exactly once in combat since its production in 2003 and that was in 2017 in Afghanistan. The bomb was dropped over an area that had previously been bombed by smaller munitions carried by bombers and drones as they attempted to destroy a tunnel system being used by ISIS. None of these attacks were very successful so the decision was made to drop this massive weapon, the Mother of all Bombs, on April 13th, 2017. It effectively destroyed the tunnel system and produced casualties of nearly 100 ISIS fighters and 13 of their high ranking commanders. Today, as we continue to study the Life of Christ through the Gospels, we will see Jesus drop truth bomb after truth bomb on a lone individual. This sets up the very last statement that we will see today, the statement that contains the Mother Of All Truth Bombs.

So open your Bibles with me to John chapter 3 as Jesus meets with a leader of the Jews, a Pharisee by the name Nicodemus. As we study the weighty conversation these two carry on, we see this ruler, or master, of the Jews, a man who would have had many students under him, become a student in the presence of Jesus.

John 3:1-2 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Nicodemus is a character that is only mentioned by John. John presents this prominent Pharisee as a man so prudent it amounts to almost to timidity. Notice that Nicodemus not fully convinced of who Jesus is but believing that he is from God, comes to Jesus at night. This was to be a private meeting, not in the open, not in broad daylight where others could witness it. Jesus had a following during the day, and Nicodemus, being a ruler of the Pharisees, would have had his followers as well. So he sets this meeting up with Jesus.

So you can picture the setting and the conversation a little better, we are going to play a clip from the show The Chosen. Sometimes when we read conversations in the Bible we forget that these are real people having real conversations. We often don't think about the emotions that are present during these conversations. I believe this clip captures the setting and the emotions that were very possibly present during this clandestine meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus.

This is only a clip, and it is a representation of what that conversation may have looked like. But I want you to keep the setting in mind; keep in mind the expression of Nicodemus as he is being told these things by Jesus, a man he recognizes is from God. Keep in mind the inner turmoil it is causing Nicodemus to hear all this. And keep in mind the implications it will have for him, his status, his position, and his public image if he accepts these things as true. Nicodemus has reached what we call a "Crisis Point". A crisis point is a point in time where a situation will become really bad or begin to get better. The outcome of a crisis point in someone's life is often determined by one decision or a series of decisions, and Nicodemus has reached a critical juncture, a point in his life where he must decide which path to take on this fork in the road. That decision will resonate throughout the rest of his life. So bearing in mind all of this, let's begin to breakdown this conversation that Jesus and Nicodemus have.

Nicodemus calls Jesus "Rabbi" which, if we remember from our last session, means "my master." A Rabbi in his own right, Nicodemus is rendering a great honor to Jesus, especially for being a ruler, a leader, in the sect of the Pharisees. But what Nicodemus does next is a bit of a back-pedal. Instead of saying, "Jesus, Rabbi, Master, I know that you are a teacher that has come from God," he says, "We know that you are a teacher that has come from God." Even in the privacy of the night, Nicodemus would only assert what was commonly admitted by many. The ruler knew that Jesus was not a product of any of their schools and that his miracles distinguished him from all who were guided merely by reason and logic and knowledge.

Nicodemus goes on to assert, "No man could do these miracles except God be with him." This goes to show the effect of Jesus' miracles. Miracles demand attention and drive people to further investigation; when they investigated Jesus, people were finding that his power was from God.

At this point, Jesus does a thing that is uniquely Jesus-y. He answers Nicodemus' thoughts, not his actual words.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Isn't it great, how despite what was coming out of Nicodemus' mouth, Jesus knew the questions in his heart? Jesus had declared himself the "Son of Man," a title that Nicodemus, the Pharisees, and any part-time Jewish scholar would have understood as a claim to the dominions and powers of the world. Jesus had declared himself as the Almighty whose kingdom would encompass the whole world. Nicodemus came that night to ask about the kingdom, and Jesus knew it. So as Nicodemus beats around the bush a little, Jesus cuts right to the chase and says, "Nicodemus, if you want to see this kingdom, you must be born again."

I like learning new things, and Friday night as I started doing a study on what Jesus words were, I learned a new thing. The word that Jesus uses that is translated "again" has a second meaning to it. That word also means "from above." Isn't that something?!

Jesus is telling Nicodemus with one word that he must be born again and that this birth must be a birth from above, a spiritual birth. Something that Nicodemus does not catch onto very quickly. But Jesus talks about "seeing" the kingdom. Jesus is not saying, "Nicodemus, if you hope to catch a glimpse of the kingdom," Jesus is saying, "Nicodemus, if you hope to experience, possess, enjoy the kingdom, you must eb born again."

John 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Knowing the physical impossibility of a person being born again, Nicodemus asks Jesus about the literal meaning of his words. But Jesus is using a metaphor. As Nicodemus saw it, he was now barred from ever entering this kingdom of which he was so curious. And here is the thing,

So Jesus clarifies his meaning.

John 3:5-7 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Jesus makes the statement that a person must be born of water and of the Spirit. Many throughout the years have taken that to believe that this is in reference to baptism, and judging only by what we have looked at in the book of John, this could very well seem to be the case, because what has happened in the last week of Jesus' ministry? John the Baptist has been baptizing repentant believers and Jesus himself was baptized as a way for God to reveal his glory.

However, I take issue with this interpretation of the passage because baptism is work, and over and over again the Bible tells us that works of righteousness are not capable and thus cannot possibly save us or regenerate us.

Jesus clarifies his words a bit more in the very next verse: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

The water which Jesus refers to therefore must have to do with the flesh. Well, isn't it interesting that when a baby is conceived, within twelve days of conception it is surrounded by amniotic fluid? What is it called when that amniotic sack breaks, indicating that birth is very near? They call it the breaking of the water. Thus, from Jesus' own commentary, we can surmise that being born of water is experiencing a physical birth, but being born again is something that happens wo our spirit, and it happens by the working of THE Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

It is the spirit, not the flesh that undergoes a change. The new birth is no mere superficial change that occurs in someone, it is supernatural regeneration of a spirit that was dead because of the condition of sin.

"So don't be surprised, don't be in a state of bewilderment," Jesus says, "that I say, you must be born again." No one is exempt from this second birth requirement if they wish to experience the Kingdom of God. Man must obtain something more than just his fleshly nature.

Jesus goes on to say in verse 8 The wind [this is the same word that so far has been translated spirit and will once again be translated "spirit" in this very verse] [SPIRIT] bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

An alternate translation would be, "The Spirit blows or moves where it will, and you hear it..." This would support the teaching that scripture was written down by men that were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and spoken by Holy Spirit inspired men. This would then be equivalent of the phrase that Paul uses in Romans stating that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," and that people will not hear unless Spirit filled people speak the word of God to them.

And what is Nicodemus' response to all this? Basically, he looks at Jesus and says, "I don't get it." John 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

And Jesus points out that the man sitting in front of him, master of Mosaic law and the sayings of the prophets, is but a learner, a student. Verse 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

When Jesus tells Nicodemus this, Jesus is not being condescending. He is showing concern that a teacher that held the title of didaskalos, doctor of the law/teacher/master did not understand that such a spiritual change was necessary. Over and over again in the Old Testament in the books of Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, Psalms, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah the teaching that there must be a heart change and not just a behavior change is taught very clearly.

Jesus continues to explain to Nicodemus in Verse 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

Just like Nicodemus used a non-comital "we" earlier in the conversation, Jesus uses a rhetorical "we" here. Jesus' words were not founded upon reasonings, speculations, and guesses, but were the plain testimony of an eye-witness, who was able to see and had seen things which to us are invisible.

Then Jesus says, "And ye," that is the teachers of Israel, the "we" that Nicodemus spoke of earlier, the ones who should more readily receive the revelation and manifestation of the Messiah, "you guys don't listen to the eye-witness testimony."

John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

Jesus here clearly indicates that when he said "we" in the last verse, he is meaning himself as he switches to the first person. "I have told you of earthly things, and ye (that is you in the plural form. If the translators would have been from Texas they would have written the word "y'all" in there, but since they were from Shakespearean England, then we have the word ye.) I have told you of earthly things and y'all don't believe, how will y'all believe me when I speak of heavenly things?"

The religious view of the Jews, whether it was at the forefront of Nicodemus' mind or not, was that spiritual change needed to happen and that it would be wrought by God's Spirit.

This was knowledge that was already present in the earth. These were teachings that were millennia old. If Nicodemus and the other religious rulers were stumped by this, how would they possibly believe the new teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus was about to lay down for them to hear?

And who is capable of teaching these things? Only Jesus is. John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Jesus clearly is telling Nicodemus that he is the only person ever that has ascended into heaven. Until that point, those that died having had God's righteousness were in a place called Paradise, more on that subject further down road, but this was, until after Jesus' resurrection, a separate place from heaven, the dwelling place of God the Father.

Jesus can teach these heavenly things because he did not start out on earth, he started off in heaven, then descended onto earth. Jesus' divine nature was still in communication with the Father in heaven, which is why he refers to himself as being in heaven in the present tense.

Are you starting to see why Nicodemus' head is just continually exploding here? This is no lighthearted conversation. Jesus isn't just "shootin' the breeze" with Nicodemus. He is laying down some rapid-fire, mind-blowing truths. Truths that Nicodemus is having trouble wrapping his head around. Truths that if Nicodemus fully embraces, even without complete understanding, will mean that Nicodemus will have to give certain things up and will suffer blows to his identity.

All this truth that Jesus is telling Nicodemus is building up to one thing.

- Jesus has now explained that He is there as the Son of Man, the ruler of the Kingdom of God. He is God in the flesh.

- Jesus has explained that the Kingdom of God is spiritual, not fleshly. It has nothing to do with overthrowing Rome, or any other nation at that time, it has everything to do with changing hearts and regenerating the spirit of man.

- Jesus has also explained that without experiencing this spiritual change that he calls a "new birth," no one will experience the Kingdom of God or be a part of it.

- The dead spirit of man is not made alive by works of righteousness that the Pharisees were so keen on practicing, but by the power of the Spirit of God.

And Jesus has made these points so that he can drop the Mother Of All Truth Bombs on Nicodemus, and this is going to rock his world and everyone else's that hears it.

Follow along as we unpack, not the GBU-43/MOAB (mother of all bombs), but the GOJ31415/MOATB (Gospel Of John 3:14-15/The Mother Of All Truth Bombs)

John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus begins verse 14 with a well known event in Israels history. After they had left Egypt and before they had entered the promised land, the Israelites wandered throughout the wilderness. They were fed and maintained by God, but Israel had a habit of murmuring and complaining against God. In the book of Number chapter 21, we find the account of a time that Israel sinned with its murmuring and complaining so much that God sent, as punishment, serpents into the camp. Thousands of these serpents slithered throughout the camp and bit everyone they could find. People quickly began to die because of the venom. When Israel realized that they were being punished, they cried out to God. God told Moses to make a brass serpent and to lift it on a pole in the center of the camp. He was to tell all those that had been bitten to look at the brass serpent and they would be healed and live. True to God's word, every person that had suffered a bit that looked at that brass serpent hanging on a crossed staff, lived.

Jesus references this story to Nicodemus and then says that he, the Son of Man, must be lifted up in similar fashion. Jesus is indicating that this passage in the book of numbers was prophetic. It is a veiled disclosure of Jesus' own crucifixion that would happen in about three more years.

At first glance, this may not seem like much of an impactful statement, or at least not the expected Mother Of All Truth Bombs, but I will beg you to once again consider the context.

Who is Nicodemus? A Pharisee.

What are Pharisees concerned with? Keeping the law, and being righteous in word and deed so that all may see their works of righteousness.

What has Jesus just told Nicodemus in previous verses? Flesh, all the deeds that you can do in the flesh, cannot get you into the Kingdom of God. The spirit of man is not regenerated by flesh, it is only made alive by the Holy Spirit of God.

And this is when Jesus drops the truth bomb. The Son of Man is going to be lifted up, crucified, stuck to a wooden fixture shaped like a cross, similar to what that bronze snake would have been lifted on.

WHY? And here it is, here is the truth bomb that is going to rock Nicodemus' world, "That whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" in that Kingdom of God that is eternal. The Kingdom of God is attained by faith, not by works. By faith, and by faith in the man that was sitting right across from Nicodemus.

For YEARS Nicodemus has been practicing the law, teaching the law, following additions to the law, living the best he can thinking that all of this was going to please God. Nicodemus' pride, along with every other Pharisees' was based on the fact that they were descendants of Abraham and had been following the law.

And with these statements that Jesus has just made, Nicodemus' understanding of what righteousness is and where it comes from and who is able to get into the Kingdom of God is absolutely obliterated.

There on that rooftop (or wherever they happened to have met) was ground zero for the final head explosion that rocked Nicodemus to the core. His whole identity in shambles. Nicodemus just realized some very important truths that had been staring at him from the Scriptures that he had studied for so long. Scriptures of which he was called a doctor, a teacher, a ruler among the religious class. He had read and heard these Scriptures for years, never understanding their significance, until now.

Salvation had come to the world at last and it wasn't physical salvation from the hold of Rome, it was spiritual salvations from the hold of sin.

Salvation was not dependent on ones ancestors, it was dependent on a new birth, a regenerated spirit.

That regeneration was not a work of the flesh, it was the work of God's Spirit.

God's Spirit would regenerate ever person that looked to Jesus and believed in Him.

Just like those Israelites back in the book of Numbers. All they had to do was look. That look was a look of faith, believing that God would keep his word. They looked at that bronze serpent believing God's word, and now Jesus is telling Nicodemus in a private conversation that if men would simply look at him, at Jesus, in faith for their salvation, everyone of those people would be saved, freed from the bonds of sin, and become newborn citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Invitation: There is more to this conversation and we will get into it during the Life Group time, but at this time we will close this sermon with a brief invitation. I am going to ask Tahsha to come and play the piano as I ask you a few questions.

What are you depending on for your salvation? Think, analyse. Are you trusting your good works? Are you trusting that your good deeds outweigh your sins? It doesn't work like that.

Are you trusting that you grew up in church and are a member of a church, even of this church? That cannot make you born again.

Are you trusting baptism? Baptism is a good thing, but it cannot wash away a single sin from you.

Are you trusting your heritage, perhaps? Maybe your parents were saved, dad or grandpa was a preacher, mom was Sunday school teacher. That can't save you.

The only one that can wash away your sins is Jesus. He shed his perfect blood on a cross to wash away your sins, and all you have to do is trust him and ask him to save you. He is God; he did not stay dead. He defeated death and showed once and for all that he is ruler over even death when he rose from the grave three days after his crucifixion.

And just like Jesus said to Nicodemus after dropping all those truth bombs on him, God so loved you that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.

Are you trusting Jesus and only Jesus for your salvation?

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LIFE GROUPS

We left Nicodemus suffering from the most massive mind explosion he has ever experienced. His identity shattered. Everything that he was trusting on to get him a spot in God's Kingdom completely wiped out and counted as worthless. His whole life is a heap of rubble now, and he knows it.

How much self-worth do you think he is experiencing at this moment? NONE. His life, all his endeavors, all his studies, all that he has sacrificed so that he can have rank and position and title among the Jews, and now even those ranks and titles, all of it has been exposed as worthless when it comes to experiencing the Kingdom of God.

So I think it is really amazing that the next words out of Jesus' mouth are, "But God so loved the world..."

"Nicodemus, even as you sit in the rubble of worthless achievements that is your life, God loves you so much that He gave His Son for you!"

Matin Luther called John 3:16 "the Bible in miniature." The verse shows the fullness of God's love.

1. It's reach - the world

2. It's magnitude - he gave his only son

3. It's impartiality - to whomever believes

4. The depth of it's richness - it provides eternal life

5. It's limitations - Can anyone tell me what the limitations are of God's love? God's love cannot be experienced in its fulness by those who do not believe in Jesus.

According to verse 17, what was Jesus' primary mission? To save.

How do you reconcile this verse with John 9:39? And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. Jesus' primary mission was to save. He attracted those that knew their need. In John 9 we find the story of a blind man that was healed by Jesus. After the healing, the man believed in Jesus as the Son of God, but was cast out by the religious leaders of the day.

Jesus' actions that day brought salvation on one man and judgment on others who refused to believe in Jesus. So even though Jesus' primary mission was to seek and save those that are lost, the result would be that those that stubbornly continued in their self-sufficiency would be under judgement.

We see this in John 3:18-19 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

J. W. McGarvey says it this way: "God's judgments are in a state of perpetually present enactment. Just like the believer is saved now, the unbeliever is now sitting under the condemnation which he fears someday God will pronounce on him."

What does verse 19-21 mean to you?

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

A commentary I read puts it this way:

"Men believe according to the secret aspirations and desires of their nature. Christ, as the example and model of life, shines out as the light of the world; those who approve and love such a life are drawn to him and constrained to believe in him. Spiritually, they abide in his presence, that they may compare their lives with his, and that they may be assured that their works are wrought under the renewing and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit, who is sent of Christ. But one whose desires are evil shrinks from Christ, and struggles to disbelieve in him: he seeks to know as little of Christ as possible, because such knowledge exposes the wickedness and depravity of his own sinful nature."