Of Rebirth

God So Loved The World That He Gave & Saves

3.1.26 [John 3:1-17] River of Life (2nd Sunday in Lent)

You probably don’t know the name Rollen Stewart, but you’ve seen his impact. In the late ’70’s, he was known by some as Rock’n’Rollen or by many more as the Rainbow Man. Rollen had a knack for getting on TV at all the biggest sporting eventswith his colorful wig. College and pro football games. The NBA Finals. The World Series. By ’79, he’d become an exasperating nuisance to TV producers who felt that his flamboyant antics were ruining their iconic moments. 

In 1980, TV changed the Rainbow Man. Rollen heard a televangelist proclaim God’s plan of salvation and his energy was channeled in a new direction. From that point on, he began showing up at games with custom shirts and signs that said John 3:16 and Jesus Saves. 

Others coopted the trend that the Rainbow Man started. In 2009, Heisman trophy QB Tim Tebow wrote John 3:16 on his strips of eye black for the CFB National Championship game. As the winning QB, Tebow was in the spotlight and people noticed what he wrote on his face during the interviews. In the next 24 hours, John 3:16 became the #1 Google search with more than 90 million searches. 

Rollen and Tebow aren’t the only reasons, but for my entire life, John 3:16 has been the best-known Bible passage. Everyone, it seems, knows this reference. Jn. 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Many have described it as the Gospel in a nutshell. A short, simple, memorable way of conveying God’s grace. 

But look at the setting for this crown jewel. It’s not a ball game. You might think Jesus would proclaim John 3:16 from the cross as his dying words. Or that it would be the closing remarks from his sermon on the mount. You might think Jesus would proclaim the Father’s gift of eternal life to his disciples after he stilled the storm, or to those gathered in Bethany who saw him raise Lazarus from the dead. Even the next chapter, when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well, would make good sense. But the setting for John 3:16 is none of those. 

Instead, we find these words at the conclusion of a private, evening conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Not only that, but Jesus himself may not have even said these words! They are still the living Word of God, as John, the author of this Gospel, was carried along by the Holy Spirit to perfectly encapsulate the plan of salvation in 26 English words.  

So who was Nicodemus? Nicodemus was an important man. An influential man. A serious man. John tells us all these things in his short character sketch of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee—a group of men who were very serious about the Law of Moses and maintaining Israel as a distinct and special group of people. He was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council that had jurisdiction over every Jew on earth. Later on, Jesus describes him as Israel’s teacher. He wasn’t the only teacher in Israel or even the most prominent. But as a teacher of Israel, he was influential. 

This important, influential, and serious man took the time to meet with Jesus at night. Some suggest Nicodemus wanted their conversation to remain secret. But Rabbis also often met at night with one another to discuss spiritual matters. Yet his opening statement is interesting. 

Jn. 3:2 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. Nicodemus doesn’t say anything about Jesus’ message. He calls him Rabbi and a teacher from God. Basically, he says: We can’t deny the power of what you’re doing, but we’re not so sure about what you’re saying. We want to more thoroughly vet you. We want to further examine & scrutinize you.    

But Jesus gently turns the tables. Jn. 3:3 Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born from above and Jn. 3:5 no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. And Nicodemus struggled to understand these things. 

He struggled to understand these things for the same reasons you and I do. Nicodemus thought of himself as a good and wise man. Not perfect, but serious in his striving to do right and live better. He came to Jesus with skepticism and hesitations about Jesus. Here Jesus was telling Nicodemus that Nicodemus couldn’t rely on his own ancestry, strength, power, intellect, or personal commitment.  

Even now, we tend to think of ourselves the same way. Many times, I hear people complain about the state of our world. I’ve never once heard someone say, man, I really gotta clean up my act. When we compare ourselves to the world around us, we think of ourselves as better or wiser people. We do the good things that the rest don’t. We know spiritual truths that others have ignored or rejected. 

These two things are true. And they should be true about you. But we must not forget why they are true. If you are good in God’s eyes, it is not because you buckled down and did good things. If you are wise in God’s sight it is not because you applied yourself, sat down and learned and accepted the truths of the Bible. 

You are good because God is good and has made you his child and that makes you good. You are wise because God is wise and has made you his child and that makes you wise for salvation. 

Flesh gives birth to flesh. Every single time. It cannot do anything else. Sinful people produce sinful people. And the sinful nature infects every fiber of our being. It makes us crave wickedness rather than pursue righteousness. It fabricates excuses for not doing what is good and right. Our sinful nature will help our neighbor only when it feels like they deserve it, it will make us feel good, and it won’t come with any trouble. 

It darkens our intellect and our will. Even when God is right, we argue with him. Even when God is good, we try to do things our own way. Even when God is merciful, we try to explain our sins rather than confess them freely. Even when God is gracious, we try to take credit rather than receive it.  

This is who we are, by nature. And the only reason you are not that way today is that God has blessed you with the gift of being born from above, born of water and the Spirit.  

And God didn’t do that with just a sign. He didn’t just write a sign and hold it up at a ballgame. He didn’t just perform a miraculous sign and hope you’d figure out that God is good and you’re not. 

He sent his Son. God knew that the sinful flesh problem each one of us has was so dire that we were going to die eternally without a Savior. So he sent the Son of Man from heaven to earth to do what sinful flesh could not & would not. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He was good, truthful, & righteous in every single thought, word, & deed. He never shirked his responsibility to do what was good and right, even when it made his life more frustrating or difficult. He served his fellow man, even when they despised him. 

Jesus fully submitted himself to his Father’s will and timing—even when it meant that he had to be lifted up on a cross. Just imagine for a moment that you were tasked with setting aside the glories of heaven and taking on the awful load of dying for the sins of the world. Wouldn’t you want that to be over and done as quickly as possible? Compare it to physical rehabilitation after an injury or surgery. You just want each session to be as short as possible. You want the number of sessions to be as few as possible. And that’s for your recovery. That’s for your health. That’s for your wellness. Imagine going through rehab for someone else! Your God did more. 

Your heavenly Father did what is unthinkable even to sinful parents. He gave up his one and only Son. 

Your brother Jesus did what is unimaginable for sinful people. He stood in the place of his enemies and died the most shameful, painful, and humiliating death that the Romans could conceive. He was beaten and mocked, whipped, stripped, and crucified. His enemies were allowed to encircle him and tear him apart with their words. He did this for you. 

And the Holy Spirit did what we would never dream of. He does not sit us down and make us an offer. He does not brainwash us. He does not reprogram us. He gives us new birth from above. Through water and Word, the Spirit makes us alive when we were dead in our sins. He gives us a clean heart and a renewed mind. He allows our weakness and even our doubts to remain and gives us his strength and his Word and nurtures our faith. And that’s the beauty of this promise.

Maybe before today, you did not know the name Nicodemus. There are signs throughout John’s Gospel that this conversation changed Nicodemus eternally, even though the last thing we’re told he says is How can this be? Five chapters later, he is described as one of Jesus’ followers, defending Jesus’ right to be heard before a portion of the Jewish ruling council that wanted to kill Jesus. In chapter 19, Nicodemus was there when the Son of Man was lifted up on the cross. Nicodemus & Joseph of Arimathea, another secret disciple of Jesus on the ruling council, ask Pilate for Jesus’ body after his crucifixion and wrap it in spices and linens. Nicodemus was among the last to see the Lord of the living dead in the grave. Why? So that he would see the power of the Spirit in raising the Son of Man back to life. So that he would enter into the kingdom of God. So that he would be a witness of these things. Just as you are. 

Whether you are old or young, rich or poor, whether you are influential or  isolated, intelligent or ignorant, whether you are serious or flaky, God gives you the same gift. By his love, you are born from above. You are gifted new life, a new identity, and a new purpose. By grace, his undeserved, unearned, unconditional love, he has made you his own. You believe that God gave and that God saves. Because he is love and because he loves you. Just like Nicodemus.