One Way Access (2)

John 3:1-21

Memory Verse—“Seek First the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. All these things will be added unto you.

Refresher—Kingdom of God—this is God’s rule—His reign. We are to seek it—study it… 

Today’s passage shows us how we enter it. 

Backstory—We’ve been traveling through the book of John on Sunday mornings. I’ve been following the Narrative Lectionary passages.  Last week we focused on John’s account of the Temple cleansing. This week, we get to eavesdrop in on a one-on-one conversation. And the topic is… How we gain access into the Kingdom of God. 

This is important—this passage includes the most quoted, the most familiar verse in all the Bible. We see big signs that say “John 3:16.” Jewelry, even sports heroes and fans paint it on their face. This is a verse it seems the whole world has heard of. 

It’s so interesting that Jesus didn’t shout it to a crowd. He didn’t preach it to the masses, but he spoke this to a “Seeker” in a one on one conversation.

We’re going to clearly see—There is only one way into the Kingdom of Heaven—The Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Light. Here’s the thing… We are citizens of the Kingdom of Light, or the Kingdom of Darkness. 

READ PASSAGE:  John 3:1-21

Let’s unpack it: “Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night…

A Pharisee. A Pharisee spent their entire lives observing every single detail of the law. They were devout. Nicodemus was not only a Pharisee, but he was also a member of the Jewish Ruling Council—that’s like a special task force. 

They had a job to do. One of their main duties was to examine and deal with anyone who was suspected of being a false prophet. 

So Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. Maybe he was afraid— Maybe  the other Jewish leaders put him up to it? Maybe curiosity got the best of him—he wanted a closer look at the man behind the miracles. 

The scripture before this passage says  it was Passover time. It would have been crowded and noisy in the daytime—and maybe Nicodemus just wanted to catch Jesus alone.  It’s not that important to dwell on WHY he came at night, but instead…. he came.

He took a step toward Jesus, respectful, but with flawed theology. He thought of Him as a teacher that Came from God—not God come to teach.

Can you imagine Jesus looking up and seeing a Pharisee there right after what had happened in the Temple? But, Nicodemus wasn’t hostile, he was actually respectful.

Nicodemus says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

That sounds good, right? Nicodemus came with a compliment, but Jesus wasn’t flattered? He didn’t say… Well Hi, Nic… Thanks dude… By the way, I’m so impressed with your devotion to my Father. You work so hard to please Him. 

Instead, He gets him right in the heart. This may sound more familiar from the King James… “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 When Jesus said “Kingdom of God”—That should have grabbed Nic’s attention. As a Jew, Nic had been longing for the Messiah to come and free Israel from the bondage of Rome.

Nicodemus would have been longing for the Messiah to set up His kingdom on earth. After all—this is Passover, maybe Nicodemus is wondering if something is about to go down! 

But Jesus says—-Truly…Verily Verily—in others.. LISTEN UP buddy, this is important.. You need to get this. You need to write this down. You need to pay attention.

If you want to enter the Kingdom of God- You have to be, you must be, there is no other access unless you’re born again. 

What’s going on here—Nicodemus hears the term “Kingdom of God” and he thinks—earthly reign… He doesn’t get it.

Jesus says—You must be Born again— means “Born from above.”

Nicodemus Responds: “How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!”

The concept should not have been new to Nicodemus. When people converted to Judaism, they were referred to as “born again.” So maybe Nicodemus was saying figuratively …I’m too old to change? Or…How can a man change his ways radically? 

This had to be shocking to Nicodemus—He’s a Jew. Isn’t he automatically “In” because he’s a Jew? Shouldn’t he already be in because he carefully keeps the law? 

Jesus replies 5) I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

At the very core this being “born from above” is more than religious reform. It’s not turning over a new leaf.  The theological term is “regeneration.”

We are born with inbred sin problem—our flesh—-broken, guilty and in bondage. This is a universal problem. Flesh gives birth to flesh. Spirit gives birth to spirit! 

Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand that getting access to the Kingdom of God required a spiritual re-birth. All people are dead in their trespasses and sins, and only God can give new life.

Being a Jew didn’t cut it. Being a religious leader wouldn’t cut it. 

And these words must have stung a little…

Jesus says— You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He knew his OT! This teaching wasn’t strange. He would have known that Ezekiel spoke repeatedly about the New Heart that had to be created.

Jesus continues… “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 

Jesus switches gears from the idea of new birth to that of a breeze. Human effort can only produce human results…the spirit? When a person is saved, a radical change comes over them. They are a new creature. Not an improved rendition, but a complete change.

The wind—you can hear it, but you don’t see it. You can’t control it, but you can see its effects. God’s Spirit does work—a transforming work on the inside- We can’t see it happening, but we see the results. 

Nicodemus Responds: I can see him shaking his head back and forth. I see his eyebrows furrowed. Maybe a tear in his eyes? Maybe with a soft voice he says, 

9) ”How can this be?” Maybe this is confusion, maybe this is a plea. It’s important to note that when Proselytes converted to Judaism, they were washed completely, issued new clothing and received into the common wealth of the people; but Israelites were regarded as sons of Abraham and children of God by covenant from birth. 

Maybe it’s starting to sink in…His descent from Abraham wasn’t enough. He—a Jew by birth, a Pharisee by choice and effort, but even he would have to repent and begin a new life in the spirit if he ever would enter the Kingdom of God.

10) Jesus responds: “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.  

And then Jesus tapped on his OT memory to drive his point home: “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.

That may sound weird to us—but Nicodemus’ mind went tstraight o the story found in Numbers 21

In Numbers 21, the Israelites complained and went so far to regret their rescue from Egypt. As punishment, God sent a plague of fiery serpents.

When the people cried out for mercy, God instructed Moses to make a bronze image of a serpent, put it on a pole and then hold it up in the midst of the camp. 

The ones who looked at it were healed. So long as Moses lifted up the serpent, they believed on him who had commanded Moses to do this.

It was God who healed them, not the brazen serpent. It was a symbol to TURN THEIR THOUGHTS TO GOD.  

Do you know repentance starts in the mind? Ezekiel 18:28 says: And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. 28 They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins.

This is a picture of repentance and faith! To look at the symbol meant, they had to stop looking at their sin. They had turn their eyes toward their Savior. This was a conscious effort. This is repentance. 

Repentance isn’t just about feeling sorry. I can agree with God all day long (that’s confession) that what I’m doing isn’t right, but be helpless to change. God grants repentance! We don’t seem to understand that. Repentance and faith go hand in hand.

If we look to Him, He will help us forsake the sin! The steps to repentance and faith is to decide it over in your mind, turn- and look to Him lifted up.

As you see Him on that Cross, you will be drawn to Him. Get your eyes off your sin and onto your Savior! Repentance had three components. 1. Decide you want to, 2. Turn and look, Forsake…. 

Look to Him… And see Him on that cross saying… “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 

Salvation originates with God…It is His idea…and this must have blown Nicodemus’s mind because God loves the whole entire world. Every nation, every tribe, every people.

Love that prompted God to action. Love that moved God to give. Extravagant love to give generously—His only Son.

Whosoever—that whosoever was me… you… Whosoever  believes—-Puts their faith in—-that means you turn from your sin, and look up to the cross to Jesus as your Savior—will not perish.

Everlasting life. This is more than an extension of life—as in never dying… This is God sharing a God quality life with you. A life of abundance for now—peace, joy. Relationship. 

And He keeps going verse 17… “God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it. Isn’t this good news? God’s heart isn’t harsh. He isn’t cruel He doesn’t force us to submission, He woos us withlove.

18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Jesus divides the whole world into two groups right here… You’re saved or you’re not. No fence riders.

Hear me when I say…We exist in a state of condemnation by birth- remember—Broken, Guilty, Bondage. We enter the world with a sin problem, and then our sinful behavior compounds the problem. Even if we could fulfill the law, we still have a problem. 

19) The Light of God has now come into the world, but the hearts of people love their darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil.

20) So the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for their lives are fully exposed in the Light. 21) But those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure for the Light will reveal that their fruitful works were produced by God. 

Salvation is the work of God internally—that radical change—and it demonstrates itself outwardly in godly living. This is transformation

We have to understand…Jesus’ words for Nicodemus are words for us too.

It is still true that no one will ever see the Kingdom unless they have been born again.

The qualifications haven’t changed. We are still divided into those categories...born of the flesh or born of the Spirit. The way of salvation hasn’t changed a single bit..

Christ still offers salvation by grace obtained through Repentance and faith. The choice is still ours to love the darkness rather than the light. Or to walk toward, or come out of the darkness—into the Light.

There is only one access to the Kingdom of God...You must be born again.

To be born again, you must turn from sin and believe/ trust, place your faith in Jesus.

CONCLUSION: What a powerful story! Nicodemus...a serious keeper of the law. A descendent of Abraham. Devout, committed, religious with no access to the Kingdom. No access to the  kingdom where the citizens are free. No access to the King where peace rules and love is the theme. There’s only one way.

This passage doesn’t tell us what Nicodemus did with that information. This passage doesn’t tell us that Nicodemus fell to his knees, admitting and confessing that he needed a Savior. It doesn’t tell us that he decided to forsake his sin and look to Jesus to save him.

But—we do see later on that Nicodemus defends Jesus, and then he was there to bury his body. I’m seeing that as hopeful- that Nicodemus did in fact do that.

But my quesion for today is—What about you? What about you? I can’t see straight to your heart, but can I ask…Are you a citizen to the Kingdom of God? Access requires new birth. New birth requires repentance and faith—Have you been born again?