Meaningful Conversations

Intro

John 3:1-21

Secret conversations at night. Where does your imagination take you? What do you think might be said at such times and under such circumstances? You don’t have secret conversations at night when you are okay with people knowing where you are and what you are doing, or who you are with. John’s gospel paints a picture contrasting the light from the darkness. It began back in John 1:4–5 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” It’s a motif you can watch for throughout John’s gospel and it’s quite interesting to see how he uses it to contrast Jesus from others.

Today we will be tackling perhaps the most memorized verse in scripture and I find it fascinating that God has so ordained this passage to come up today, as it was prominently featured at the funeral I attended on Wednesday. It is for good reason we memorize this passage and it would benefit us if we familiarize ourselves with the story. It is a great explanation of salvation put in the simplest of terms. It is clear and concise and can be put into practice by anyone who hears this simple message.

However, there are subtle complexities to the passage that go deep. John, the former fisherman, now fisher of men has become a deep, theological speaker and writer and wants to share his gospel with anyone who would read it in the hopes that they would come to understand that Jesus is the savior of the world. Do you believe in Jesus? As we read through today’s passage, you will be challenged to put your faith in Him!

This passage describes for us a meaningful conversation at night, and likely only part of the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus. We see three questions Nicodemus asks of Jesus, and Jesus’ three responses. And then we see John come in for the benefit of the reader and offer up some commentary on the theological significance of this conversation and what it means for his readers.

Question 1 & 2

John 3:1–8 NASB95

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 have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Again, I remind us of the motif of how the Light of the World has come into the darkness of the world. Nicodemus, a rather prominent religious leader comes to Jesus, not during the day, but under the cover of night. A teacher, that should have been a source of light, pointing people to God, seeks out Jesus at night, under cover of darkness. Jesus, the Light of the world meets with this man… He comes into the darkness, but the darkness does not comprehend it.

To further point out the irony hidden within the passage, I want to draw your attention to Nicodemus’ first words… “Rabbi.” This is important because we have a religious leader acknowledging that Jesus is a teacher… a man worth leanring from, despite not having the necessary background for what they would have assumed would have been higher education (Son of a carpenter). Secondly, “… we know...” Nicodemus, the wise and learned teacher declares from the beginning things that he knows. Ironically, it will become clear by the end of the conversation that he in fact knows very little and understands even less.

Nicodemus is an interesting character to study as he shows up three times in scripture and in a way illustrates a growing relationship with Christ. Here in this first encounter, he is curious to learn more, but doesn’t want anyone else to know… perhaps you could consider him a secret disciple, but at this point, and without any definite commitment to follow Jesus, let alone letting others know about it, it might be generous to call him a disciple yet. But regardless, he wants to know more. Jesus’ actions have spoken loudly enough that he wants to learn more and he declares that Jesus couldn’t do the things He was doing unless God was with Him.

Jesus’ response however confuses him, as it would have confused us had we been in his shoes. “Born again” is an idea that evangelical Christians have held on to for quite some time because of what Jesus says here in this passage. If you want to see the things of God’s kingdom, you must be born again.

Nicodemus can’t see the spiritual realities Jesus is talking about because he is stuck on natural birth. He asks a natural question but then Jesus’ second response points to a supernatural answer. Yes, flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit to spirit. Jesus uses the analogy of the wind… something which you cannot see and understand very little about. Where does the wind come from and where does it go? Even with our modern study of meteorology and such, we are never 100% certain about what the weather is going to do tomorrow. But the wind is something that you feel and you can see the effects of, despite not fully comprehending it. You see branches and other such things waving as the wind blows. Therefore we know that it is there and that it is an active force. Interestingly, there is wordplay going on here in the Greek language. The word for wind and the word for Spirit is one and the same… pneuma, where we get the roof of the word for pneumatics.

To understand the Spirit is to understand something beyond the natural, and yet we can use the natural (such as wind) to help us understand by analogy and comparison.

Question #3

John 3:9–15 NASB95

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

Nicodemus’ third question demonstrates that he is really lost and doesn’t get it. This teacher of the law just doesn’t understand what Jesus is talking about.

Jesus’ answer leaves no doubt in the readers mind that He expects a man steeped in the teachings of the Law to be aware of the spiritual reality He is talking about. And yet, Nicodemus can’t think outside of the natural order. But that is the point of what Jesus was saying wasn’t it? That which is natural is natural, that which is supernatural is supernatural. Therefore the natural cannot comprehend the supernatural without some kind of intervention. Those who are natural and can’t believe what Jesus says about the supernatural, especially if he can’t even understand what Jesus says about the natural order of things.

Jesus’ credentials to speak on the subject come from the fact that He has in fact descended from heaven.

What Jesus says in verses 14-15 give us a picture of salvation, but you need to be versed in the Old Testament in order to understand. Perhaps this is why He shares this story with Nicodemus. Not long ago, we walked through the book of Exodus, but we didn’t fully cover Israel’s journeys int he wilderness. Numbers goes on to chronicle the ups and downs of the nation’s time in the wilderness and the nation found itself in trouble often enough. God’s anger was kindled and in several instances executed swift judgment. One such instance involved poisonous snakes that were sent to torment and kill the people. But then God provides a means of salvation from the snakes. Numbers 21:8–9 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

I want you to picture that in your mind for a moment. A bronze snake lifted up in the wilderness was the cure for snake bites. It wasn’t an antivenom or some kind of cure you put in your body. People were dying from these snake bites and yet all they had to do to be saved was to look at the bronze snake. There is no logical connection to being cured just by looking at it. It requires faith and obedience. Just as that snake was lifted up in the wilderness for the salvation of the people from the punishment of snakes, so too must the Son of Man be lifted up to take away the punishment of sin from all people.

And what does it require? Verse 15 is clear… whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. Whoever believes in the Son of Man. Nicodemus is presented with a shockingly simple means of salvation that makes absolutely no sense from a natural perspective. It is a spiritual reality that requires the Spirit of God to understand any better. The same is true to thsi very day. Many think the message of the cross to be foolishness, but to those of us who are saved, it is the salvation of God!

Commentary

John 3:16–31 NASB95

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— for John had not yet been thrown into prison. Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. “He must increase, but I must decrease. “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

Before diving into verses 16-21, I want to draw attention to a subtle change in language being used here. Depending on your translation, if you’ve got a red letter Bible with Jesus’ words in red, and you look over to a neighbor with a red letter Bible of a different translation, you might notice the red letters may or may not stop at verse 15. The ESV has verses 16-21 in red as does the NASB, but the NIV doesn’t. If you look at verse 12, Jesus talks in the first person… “If I told you earthly things...” Verses 13-15 avoids any first person pronouns, but what is said fits within the context of what Jesus is saying… He is describing those heavenly things. But in verse 16, the language shifts to the third person… “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...” Other than referring to Himself as the Son of Man, Jesus typically doesn’t speak in the third person, and so the thought here is that John has begun to introduce some commentary on the conversation intended for his readers to better help them understand what is being said.

Regardless of how you interpret who is doing the talking, the fact of the matter remains that these verses are clearly and concisely explaining some of the most fundamental truths of scripture. God loves the world and sends His Son into it to save it. And what does that salvation require? Belief in the Son.

It is important for us to consider how John presents what he has to say. Our beloved verse not only identifies Jesus as God’s only Son, but also as the only way to have eternal life. Verse 17 should be one we consider carefully. Some would present Jesus and the Christian faith as all love and no judgment, adn on the surface, this verse might seem to support that. But we need to consider all of scripture, not to mention the context of the very passage that we find ourselves in.

John is presenting Jesus as the connecting point between God (the Father) and humanity. He has come down from heaven in order to make heaven known. This is Jesus’ primary purpose. Part of that is the salvation already mentioned, because to know God is to be in relationship with Him, which can only be accomplished once our sinful natures have been dealt with, which requires belief in Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to condemnt he world, but to save the world. And verse 18 is clear that salvation requires belief in Jesus. To believe is to skip the judgment… and that is a gift given to anyone and everyone who will believe. But those who reject this gift… literally reject salvation, stand in their own sin awaiting the judgment that was always theirs from the beginning. Jesus came to save people from their own sin, but some are foolish enough to reject that offer and will pay the wages of that sin for themselves.

To pretend that Jesus is not involved in the Final Judgment (see Matthew 25:31-46 as one such example) is to ignore what John continues to say.

John 3:19–21 ““This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.””

This is a division… a judgment. This is the salvation Christ offers. He is Light and offers that light freely. To reject that light is to remain in judgment and condemnation.

Conclusion

In wrapping things up this morning, let’s review some of what we’ve learned.

Nicodemus was a religious leader representing the current elite religious practices. When Jesus turned the water into wine, He did so using the waterpots reserved for purification rituals. When Jesus cleansed the Temple, He rejected what the nation had done with worship and sacrifice. When Jesus meets with Nicodemus, He engaged in a conversation to see if the educated actually know anything about the kingdom of heaven… and it turns out they have no idea.

Nicodemus, regardless of him walking away from this conversation without having made any commitment to Jesus, represents those of us who have questions and want to learn more. Nicodemus shows up again in two places after this incident. The first time, he comes to Jesus’ defense when a division occurs among the religious leaders. He is a voice of peace when others want to stir up trouble and aim towards what would happen on the cross.

John 7:50–52 “Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.””

The next time we see Nicodemus is after Jesus’ death where along with Joseph of Arimathea, prepares Jesus’ body for burrial by providing spices and such according to the customs of the day.

John 19:39–42 “Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

In a way, John’s gospel has this sub-story of Nicodemus coming to faith and it would seem to me that whereas he first meets Jesus at night in secret, he eventually starts to declare a relationship with Jesus culiminating in that final instance where he unashamedly is involved in Jesus’ burial, providing no small expense.

Jesus in the narrative tries to explain salvation to Nicodemus and what is required. And the requirements are simple… believe. Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Romans 10:9–10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

As I wrap this up I just want to mention John 3:22-36 as another narrative passage about John the Baptist, and that it echoes much of what we’ve seen before in John’s gospel about the Baptist, as well as the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus we just covered. As such, we won’t be tackling that particular passage from the pulpit this time around, but I would encourage everyone to find time to read it. We’ll be diving into John 4 next time.