NICODEMUS & JESUS
Notes
Transcript
1 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 and said, “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.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly 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.
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
8 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.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
There are moments in life when the noise of the day finally dies down, and the questions we’ve been avoiding start speaking louder than our pride. It’s in those quiet, late-night hours—when the house is still, when the mask comes off, when the soul stops pretending—that God often does His deepest work.
Nicodemus knew that feeling.
He was a respected Pharisee, a teacher of Israel, a man who had answers for everyone else… but questions he couldn’t answer for himself. So he waited until the city slept. He waited until the streets were empty. He waited until no one could see him wrestling with the truth. And under the cover of darkness, he went searching for the Light.
He didn’t come for a miracle. He didn’t come for a blessing. He didn’t come for a public moment. He came because something in him was hungry—hungry enough to risk his reputation, his position, and his comfort to get close to Jesus.
And what Nicodemus discovered that night is the same truth many people in this room need to hear: You can be religious and still be empty. You can know Scripture and still not know the Savior. You can have position and still lack transformation.
Nicodemus came with questions, but Jesus came with an invitation— “You must be born again.” Not improved. Not polished. Not educated. Born. Again.
This is the story of a man who stepped out of the shadows to meet the Light of the world… and it’s the story of what Jesus still does for every searching heart today.
Spurgeon said:
“If we were asked to read to a dying man who did not know the gospel, we should probably select this chapter as the most suitable one for such an occasion; and what is good for dying men is good for us all, for that is what we are; and how soon we may be actually at the gates of death, none of us can tell.”
Vs.1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus… He came to Jesus at night…”
Nicodemus had everything people think matters:
Position
Knowledge
Respect
Influence
But something inside him whispered, “There’s still more.”
So he comes at night.
We don’t know every reason—but we know the symbolism:
Night represents fear
Night represents hiding
Night represents spiritual darkness
There are people sitting in churches every Sunday… They look like they have it together on the outside…
But inside, they are still searching in the dark.
You can know Scripture and still not know the Savior.
You can teach truth and still not be transformed by it.
It’s like having a map of a place you’ve never actually been.
You can describe it—but you’ve never experienced it.
Nicodemus comes with compliments—
But Jesus cuts straight to the condition.
Born again: The ancient Greek word translated again (anothen) can be also translated “from above.” Either way, the meaning is essentially the same. To be born from above is to be born again. Essentially, this means to have new life. A theological term for this is regeneration. It isn’t simply a moral or religious reform, but the bringing of new life. “To belong to the heavenly kingdom, one must be born into it.” Jesus clearly said that without this – that unless one is born again – he cannot enter or be part of (see) the kingdom of God. Moral or religious restructuring isn’t enough. One must be born again. This isn’t something that we can do to ourselves. If Jesus had said, “Unless you are washed, you cannot see the kingdom of God” then we might think, “I can wash myself.” A man might wash himself; but he could never birth himself. “All over the New Testament this idea of rebirth, re-creation occurs.”
Romans speaks of dying with Jesus and rising anew (Romans 6:1-11).
1 Corinthians speaks of new believers as new-born babes (1 Corinthians 3:1-2).
1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.
2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
· 2 Corinthians speaks of us being a new creation in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Ephesians says the new man is created after God in righteousness (Ephesians 4:22-24).
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
“No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
That word “must”changes everything.
Jesus is saying:
Not optional
Not for a few
Not just for the worst sinners
Everybody must be born again.
Jesus didn’t say, “You must be educated.” He didn’t say, “You must be baptized.” He didn’t say, “You must join a church.”
He said: “You must be born again.”
This is not reformation—this is regeneration. Not behavior modification—but heart transformation.
In our Wesleyan understanding, this is the beginning of a life that is not only forgiven—but transformed by grace.
God doesn’t just pardon sin— He breaks its power.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Transition to verse 4
John vs. 4 How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
He’s thinking naturally… Jesus is speaking spiritually.
And people still make that same mistake today.
They think salvation is:
Being a good person
Going to church
Cleaning up their life
But you can clean the outside and still be dead on the inside.
Illustration;
You can wash a pig, dress it up, and perfume it— But its nature hasn’t changed.
It will go right back to the mud.
Why? Because transformation requires a new nature.
Most assuredly… you must be born again: Jesus was emphatic in saying that man does not need reformation, but a radical conversion by the Spirit of God. We must be born of water and the Spirit.
“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
Jesus uses the wind as an illustration:
“The wind blows wherever it pleases… You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”
You can’t control the wind. You can’t fully explain it. But you can see the evidence of it.
When the Spirit of God moves in a life— You may not understand everything that happened… But you will see the difference.
Old desires start dying
New desires start forming
Sin loses its grip
Holiness becomes a hunger
This is not just a moment— It’s the doorway into a Spirit‑filled life where God continues to sanctify and purify the heart.
The wind blows where it wishes: Jesus’ idea to Nicodemus was “You don’t understand everything about the wind, but you see its effects. That is just how it is with the birth of the Spirit.” Jesus wanted Nicodemus to know that he didn’t have to understand everything about the new birth before he experienced it.
The only way to experience spiritual life is to be born of the Spirit (3:6). It’s like the wind. You hear it, but you don’t see it. You can’t control it; all you can do is see its effects. It’s the same way with being born of the Spirit (3:8) God’s Spirit invisibly does its work inside the human heart. We can’t see it happening. All we see are the results.
Vs.9 How can these things be? Nicodemus was confused. He was so set in his thinking that the new birth has already happened to him and all of faithful Israel, that he had a hard time thinking differently. Jesus had to keep explaining.
Nicodemus was perplexed: How can these things be?(3:9). Jesus’s reply probably stung: Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things? (3:10). The concept that Nicodemus couldn’t understand concerning the new kingdom age of the working of the Spirit was clearly taught in the Old Testament LETS Look at Joel 2:28–29. As a teacher and leader, Nicodemus should have known that. If he could not grasp earthly things that were plainly taught in the Scriptures, how could he grasp the heavenly things that only Jesus could reveal that is, that God in grace can give people a new heart (see 1 Sam 10:6; Jer 31:33)? Jesus could truly reveal deep heavenly truths since only he had descended from heaven[1]
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
A HEAVENLY EXPLANATION (John 3:14–15)
Jesus points Nicodemus back to the Old Testament:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…”
When Israel was dying from snake bites, God didn’t tell them to fix themselves.
He said: “Look and live.”
They didn’t earn healing. They didn’t deserve healing. They simply looked in faith—and they lived.
And Jesus says: I will be lifted up— And whoever believes in Me will live.
**SERMON OUTRO — “LOOK… AND LIVE”
Church… before Jesus ever said “For God so loved the world,”
before He ever spoke of eternal life,
before He ever declared God’s heart to save—
He gave us a picture.
A picture from the wilderness.
A picture of a dying people.
A picture of a lifted Savior.
Jesus said:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Don’t miss this.
Israel was not sick—they were dying.
They were not wounded—they were poisoned.
They were not improving—they were perishing.
And God did not tell them:
“Try harder.”
“Fix yourselves.”
“Earn your healing.”
He said one thing:
“Look… and live.”
Church, that is the gospel.
You don’t climb your way to salvation.
You don’t work your way into grace.
You don’t behave your way into the kingdom.
You look to the One who was lifted up—
and you live.
When Jesus hung on that cross,
He became the cure for the poison in our souls.
He took the venom of sin into Himself.
He bore the judgment we deserved.
He became the sacrifice we could never offer.
And now—
in this moment—
the Spirit of God is whispering the same invitation:
“Look… and live.”
Look away from your failures.
Look away from your shame.
Look away from your religion.
Look away from your self‑effort.
Look away from everything you’ve tried to fix on your own.
And look to Jesus.
Because the moment you look—
life enters where death once ruled.
Hope rises where despair once lived.
Light breaks in where darkness once hid.
A new birth begins where an old life ends.
This is not complicated.
This is not distant.
This is not for someone else.
This is for you.
Right now.
The Son of Man has been lifted up.
The cross is still standing.
The invitation is still open.
And eternal life is still available.
So church…
if you’re tired of the poison,
if you’re weary of the darkness,
if you’re done trying to save yourself—
Then hear the voice of Jesus calling you:
“Look to Me… and live.”
And if that’s you—
if your heart is stirring,
if conviction is rising,
if the Spirit is drawing—
Then don’t wait.
Don’t hesitate.
Don’t stay in the shadows like Nicodemus did that first night.
Step into the light.
Step toward the cross.
Step into new birth.
Because the One who was lifted up
is here to lift you up.
Come.
Look.
Believe.
And live.
