Jesus Lifted Up

John 3:1-21

I. Introduction

II. You must be born again (1-8)

A. Explanation

1. Nicodemus –

a. A powerful and influential leader of the Jewish People

i. Pharisee

ii.Ruler of the Jews – Most likely a member of the Sanhedrin

b. He came by night

i. Possibly to avoid detection

ii.More likely because he was troubled by unbelief and trying to figure out who Jesus was

c. Nicodemus treats Jesus as an equal

i. He refers to Jesus as Rabbi and teacher. Normally, the scholars saw themselves as the only Rabbis and teachers. People like Jesus wouldn’t have time to study while also maintaining a job as a carpenter

ii.Nicodemus is still discovering who Jesus is. He is not yet convinced of His commonality nor His divinity

iii. He acknowledges that there is something of God behind Jesus’ great signs, but wants to know more

2. Jesus’ response to Nicodemus – You must be born again!

a. Ignores the comments just made to Jesus and Jesus’ dives right in!

b. No one can see the Kingdom of God unless He is born again

i. It is not about being born into the Jewish Kingdom

ii.It is about being born spiritually into the Kingdom of God

3. Nicodemus asks the logical question – How can you be born again – He is only thinking in the physical realm where he is looking for his kingdom and his king, the Messiah

4. Jesus answers with a truth from the Old Testament that the scholars should have known – Ezekiel 36:24-28

a. A person must be born of the water and the Spirit

i. Water – the sprinkling with clean water from God to deal with their sin and uncleanness

ii.Spirit – to give new life and understanding

iii. Both are necessary to come into His Kingdom

5. The illustration – the wind blows but you only hear its sound. You cannot see it. The Jewish people longed for something tangible, something they could do and point to for their righteousness. Jesus is saying that their righteousness comes from the Spirit and you can only trust in Him for it.

B. Application

1. This the ongoing problems for sinners. They are looking for something they can do to make them righteous. They should be looking for the work of the Spirit that cleanses them and gives them new life

2. You cannot work your way to heaven. You must trust the Work of Christ on the cross that cleanses and the work of the Spirit that gives new life

III. You must know that Jesus is our only hope (9-15)

A. Explanation

1. Nicodemus displays confusion about what Jesus is saying

2. Jesus says Nicodemus should understand because he is a teacher of Israel – He should have been looking for these things from the New Covenant

3. Jesus asserts His authority

a. Plurals point to Jesus and His Father

b. They speak of what they have seen – Not just heard through traditions. Jesus and the Father were there throughout the Old Testament and history, Whereas the members of the Sanhedrin only speak of the experience of their lives

c. Jesus can speak of heavenly things

4. Jesus, through experience, connects Himself to the serpent lifted up by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9)

B. Application

1. By connecting Himself to the serpent on the pole Jesus is pointing to the fact that He will be lifted up on the cross

2. Salvation comes through looking to Jesus lifted up on that cross

3. He is the only way of salvation

4. Illustration – Someone paying my bill in a restaurant. There is nothing left to do. You cannot go ahead and pay it again. You can simply accept it and leave. It would be foolish to stand and argue about it.

IV. You must have faith in Jesus (16-18)

A. Explanation

1. For – Connecting to the image of the serpent

2. This is how much God loved the World – He sent His only Son

3. That through faith we can be saved – We do not have to perish

4. Jesus did not come to condemn the world – He was not here to see the world as sinful and bring condemnation

5. On the contrary, He came to the world to offer salvation.

6. Faith is the key to salvation

a. Whoever believes is not condemned

b. Whoever does not believe is condemned already because He has not believed

B. Application

1. We are all condemned due to our sin

2. It is through faith in Jesus that our sin is wiped clean

V. You must come into the light (19-21)

A. Explanation

1. The judgment is seen in our actions – We loved the darkness rather than the light

2. Everyone (all of us) who does wicked things hates the light and does not come into the light

a. His works may be exposed

b. Light reveals the wickedness and wrong that we commit

c. Jesus is that light

3. Whoever does what is true comes to the light – Why, because he wants to show how good he is? No!

4. So that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God – It is His work in us

B. Application

1. If you are still in your sin it is difficult to come into the light

a. You must humble yourself

b. You must admit your sin

c. You must see your need and submit to Jesus

2. To not come into the light is to stay in your sin and darkness

3. To come into the light means that Jesus covers you – It means looking to Jesus on the cross and receiving His salvation

VI. Conclusion

Riding the First Elevators Required Act of Faith

You have undoubtedly been on an elevator that bears his name. Otis elevators have been the industry standard for more than 150 years. While Elisha Otis did not invent the elevator, he did devise the braking system that ensured its safety. At the time, most elevators were little more than open platforms, and they'd come apart and people would be seriously injured if the cable broke. And without a trustworthy braking system, elevators were earthbound and building heights were limited to a mere six

stories. With it, the sky was the limit. The braking system for elevators made modern skyscrapers possible.

But initially Elisha Otis had trouble selling his elevators, until 1854 when he concocted a creative sales pitch at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in Manhattan. Every hour at the exposition, the World's Fair of its day, Otis stepped into his machine. He gave the order to an assistant who cut the rope. The crowd held its breath. The brake kicked in, the elevator stopped and Otis announced: "All safe, gentlemen. All safe."

With this demonstration, Otis quickly sold his first three elevators for $300 apiece. Today, New York City alone has about 70,000 elevators, and it's estimated that the equivalent of the world's population travels on an Otis elevator, escalator, or moving walkway every three days.

Possible Preaching Angles: Faith; Trust; Belief—This story shows the critical difference between knowing about something or someone and putting your faith in something or someone.

Adapted from Mark Batterson, The Grave Robber (Baker Books, 2014), page 191; James Barron, "A Mid-19th-Century Milestone in the Rise of Cities," The New York Times (4-3-13)

Man Forced to Accept Paid Debt

I was having breakfast with my dad and my younger son at the Real Food Café on Eastern Avenue, just south of Alger in Grand Rapids. As we were finishing our meal, I noticed that the waitress brought our check, then took it away, and then brought it back again. She placed it on the table, smiled, and said: "Somebody in the restaurant paid for your meal. You're all set." And then she walked away.

I had the strangest feeling sitting there. The feeling was helplessness. There was nothing I could do. It had been taken care of. To insist on paying would have been pointless. All I could do was trust that what she said was actually true and then live in that—which meant getting up and leaving the restaurant. My acceptance of what she said gave me a choice: to live like it was true or to create my own reality in which the bill was not paid.

That is our invitation—to trust that we don't owe anything. To trust that something is already true about us, something has already been done, something has been there all along.

To trust that grace pays the bill.

Rob Bell, Repainting the Velvet Elvis (Zondervan, 2005), p. 151-152; submitted by Chris Maxwell, Royston, Georgia

Priest Serving Lepers Becomes a Leper

Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers. He moved to Kalawao—a village on the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony. For 16 years, he lived in their midst. He learned to speak their language. He bandaged their wounds, embraced the bodies no one else would touch, preached to hearts that would otherwise have been left alone. He organized schools, bands, and choirs. He built homes so that the lepers could have shelter. He built 2,000 coffins by hand so that, when they died, they could be buried with dignity. Slowly, it was said, Kalawao became a place to live rather than a place to die, for Father Damien offered hope.

Father Damien was not careful about keeping his distance. He did nothing to separate himself from his people. He dipped his fingers in the poi bowl along with the patients. He shared his pipe. He did not always wash his hands after bandaging open sores. He got close. For this, the people loved him.

Then one day he stood up and began his sermon with two words: "We lepers…."

Now he wasn't just helping them. Now he was one of them. From this day forward, he wasn't just on their island; he was in their skin. First he had chosen to live as they lived; now he would die as they died. Now they were in it together.

One day God came to Earth and began his message: "We lepers…." Now he wasn't just helping us. Now he was one of us. Now he was in our skin. Now we were in it together.

John Ortberg, God Is Closer Than You Think (Zondervan, 2005), p. 103-104