Born Again, Part 3

Title: From Secret Visitor to Bold Devotion

Series: Born Again: Spiritual Regeneration & Total Renewal (Week 3 Finale)

Primary Scripture: John 19:38–42

Supporting Scriptures: John 3:1–9; John 7:45–52; Numbers 19:11–16; 1 John 5:1–5; 2 Chronicles 16:14

I. ME: The Cardboard Palace of Self-Construction

How much effort do we put into building ourselves?

Think about how much energy, sweat, and agonizing labor we pour into crafting our own identity.

We spend years getting degrees, building careers, perfecting an image, guarding our reputation, and making sure everyone around us sees us how we want to be seen:

competent,

moral,

and successful.

I’ve had to ask myself that very question:

How much effort have I put into building "Reggie"?

How much work have I put into trying to be who I thought I was supposed to be?

The Christian Me!!!!!, the pastor me, the teacher me, the Me!!!!

We build what is essentially an elaborate palace of credentials, achievements, and social standing—what if you went to someone’s home, and you see all this beauty, this carved glory

But you touch it and they say Hey don’t touch that!!!! - but in that quick touch you realized it was all made of cardboard

We spend our lives nervously guarding it against every draft, terrified that one unexpected gust of wind will blow it all away.

You can tell because we get offended so quickly when someone challenges the soft things we believe but we don’t get that offended with what we KNOW!!!!

Politics

Beliefs

Religion

But what if I said you don’t live in that house

You don’t work at that place

YOU KNOW THAT… you just like man never mind… you not offended you just know something this wrong with them because that knowledge is solid, but other things you wonder...they may know more than me. I can stand up on that.

Well when you are born again truly.

God gets hold of your life: grace sweeps in and knocks the cardboard palace flat.

In panic, our ego cries out, "My credentials! My status! My life's work!"

But when the dust clears, you look down and realize the Builder only cleared away the cardboard trash so you could finally stand on the solid granite bedrock of His grace.

When God gets hold of you, all the self-effort in the world doesn't matter anymore. It’s no longer about what we desire to build for ourselves; it’s about discovering what He desires for us.

Now here is the funny part. I’m not saying you shouldn’t strive for:

Education

Success

credentials

None of that is bad. But it doesn’t define you. It doesn’t make who who you are-It is something you have.

II. The Illusion of Instant Fruit & The Hidden Seed

We live in an instant-gratification world.

We want digital-speed results in an agricultural kingdom.

We expect that the moment someone accepts Christ, they should instantly have ironclad theology, unbroken courage, and zero fear.

When we don’t see instant fireworks in ourselves or in the people we love, we get discouraged.

We look at someone who is struggling, asking quiet questions, or hesitant to speak up or show up, and religion says, "They must not be real."

What we fail to understand is that spiritual rebirth is not an artificial plastic plant glued to the floor; it is a living, divine seed planted in the soil of a human heart. That takes time to GROW

When an acorn is buried deep in the dark, damp earth, nothing visible happens on the surface for weeks. To anyone looking at the bare dirt, the seed looks inactive—maybe even dead. But beneath the frost line, moisture is softening the hard husk. Taproots are quietly gripping the bedrock.

You cannot judge the harvest by looking at the bare soil in winter! A seed planted in the dark will not stay in the dark forever. When the season turns, that rooted life must burst through the dirt and bloom in the open sunlight.

Psalm 1:3 says you will bear fruit in your season. Didn’t say that you won’t be growing, that you will be stagnant, or that you will be disheartened. The fruit will come but the growth is STEADY.

Psalm 1:3 NIV

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

That is the journey of spiritual rebirth. It is not a stagnant moment; it is a transformative journey that takes you from the shadows of secrecy into the broad daylight of costly, radical devotion.

So we been studying the journey of Nicodemus. Lets look closer at him.

Remember we spoke of Moses lifting up this bronze snake: Just LOOK at it. Just look to me. But what Happens after Death has lost its power. So the son of man must be lifted up.

III. GOD: The Three Movements of Nicodemus

In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus is not a minor background character. John deliberately tracks this man across three specific chapters to show us the lifecycle of a transformed life.

1. The Seed in the Shadows (John 3:1–9)

John 3:1–9 NIV

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.

Nicodemus first enters the story under the physical and spiritual cover of night.

He is an archōn—a member of the elite 70-seat Jerusalem Sanhedrin. Top 1%.

He comes to Jesus by night because his public reputation and honor are on the line.

Top of the food chain. One of the 70 in the Sanhedrin

Sitting at the top of the political and social food chain!!!

Your public status is everything. Its your protection, your influence, your wealth.

To consult this uncredentialled rogue person. It would have been political and social suicide.

To achieve the rank of archōn (ruler) on the elite 70-member Sanhedrin and to be recognized publicly as the teacher of Israel required decades of meticulous study, peer recognition, and social standing.

In first-century Jewish tradition, high-stakes leadership offices were not handed to the young; many positions and offices did not even become available until a man was at least thirty or forty years of age. Nicodemus had spent a lifetime building his flawless moral and theological resume

While we cannot say whether he was 60, 70, or 80, the sources are unanimous: Nicodemus was an old, highly established man at the very peak of his earthly prestige

He tries to manage Jesus with flattery and academic titles: "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God..."

Jesus doesn't play his academic game. Jesus presses a divine seed directly into his heart: "Nicodemus, your pedigree cannot help you. You must be born from above.

Jesus ignored the flattery and cut down everything Nicademus spent his time on.

He was an expert on the law. He has spent his life on what rule do I follow, what do I do, what don’t I do AND JESUS DIDN’T even recognize it. Didn’t feel honored that someone of his status came to him?

" Nicodemus leaves that rooftop confused, defensive, and silent.

On the surface, nothing seemed to happen. But the seed was planted in the dark soil.

see when you bury that seed. The seed has a hard husk but that husk starts to soften.

2. The Roots in the Council Chamber (John 7:45–52)

John 7:45–52 NIV

45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

What is happening here:

The Festival of Tabernacles: Takes place in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three major pilgrim festivals where hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims flooded the city.

Tension and Whispers in the Courts (vv. 1–31): Jesus went up to the feast and began teaching openly in the temple courts. The crowds were deeply divided—

some called Him a good man,

others called Him a deceiver,

and many began whispering, "When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?"

The Arrest Order Dispatched (v. 32): When the Pharisees and chief priests heard the crowd whispering these things, they panicked over losing control of the people. They officially dispatched the temple guards to seize Jesus.

The Climax on the Last Great Day (vv. 37–39): On the seventh and final day of the feast—during the sacred water-libation ceremony where priests poured water from the Pool of Siloam to commemorate God providing water in the wilderness—Jesus stood up and shouted:

John 7:37–39 NIV

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

People are divided again:

John 7:40–44 NIV

40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Now the council was furious at the guards. Shy didn’t you arrest Him??

The guards had listened to rabbis, scribes their entire lives.

But as they listened to Jesus preach about "living water," they were so overwhelmed by His divine power, purity, and spiritual authority that they physically could not bring themselves to arrest Him. Professional enforcers returned empty-handed because Christ's words disarmed them.

The chief priests and Pharisees are furious that the temple guards failed to arrest Jesus. In a closed-door session of the Sanhedrin, the council prepares to illegally condemn Jesus without a trial.

Suddenly, a voice speaks up from within the ruling body. It’s Nicodemus! In verse 51, he takes a stand: "Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?"

Nicodemus does not make an open, emotional confession yet, but he uses his mastery of the Torah (Deuteronomy 1:16–17; 19:15) to hold up a legal mirror to the Sanhedrin.

Notice what is happening: Nicodemus isn't preaching on a street corner yet, but the roots are quietly spreading. He is taking a procedural, legal stand inside hostile territory.

And look at the immediate cost: his colleagues turn on him with venom and sneer, "Are you from Galilee, too?"

In elite Jerusalem society, calling an aristocrat a "Galilean" was a biting, classist slur designed to strip his social standing. Nicodemus felt the first sting of what it costs to align with Jesus.

3. The Royal Anointing at the Cross (John 19:38–42)

Now we reach Golgotha. Jesus has breathed His last.

John 19:38–42 NIV

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Where are the disciples? Peter has denied Him. The eleven apostles have fled into hiding behind locked doors, terrified for their lives.

And who steps forward? Two men who used to hide in the shadows: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Scripture says in John 19:39

John 19:39 NIV

39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

Look at what Nicodemus brings: 100 Roman pounds (hekaton litras) of costly spices. * In the ancient world, common people were buried with a few ounces of spices.

100 pounds was an astronomical fortune—thousands of denarii, years of wages!

That volume of spices was reserved strictly for monarchs (like King Herod or King Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:14).

2 Chronicles 16:14 NIV

14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.

Do not miss the shift:

In John 3, Nicodemus approached Jesus in the dark and called Him "Rabbi" (Teacher).

In John 19, Nicodemus stands at the foot of the cross in broad daylight and swaddles Jesus as the Sovereign King of the Universe!

4. The Staggering Cost of the Daylight

There is more to this:

Think about what this cost Nicodemus:

Financial Cost: He emptied his wealth on an executed Savior whom the world considered defeated.

This much cost years of wages.

Political Cost: He already spoke up in the council. Now he is publicly identifying with a crucified "criminal," his seat on the Sanhedrin was finished. His aristocratic career was over.

Ceremonial Cost (Numbers 19:11–16): Under Mosaic Law, touching a human corpse rendered a person ritually unclean (tameh) for seven full days.

Numbers 19:11–13 NIV

11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.

Why is this significant:

Jesus died at 3:00 PM on Preparation Day. The Passover Sabbath began at sundown (6:00 PM).

By physically wrapping Jesus’s bloody body, Nicodemus was completely disqualified from eating the Passover meal with his family that night.

He was barred from the Temple courts for the entire feast week!

Intentionally disqualifying himself

He is one of the 70

Gave up the right to eat the symbolic passover lamb at the temple so he could hold the true lamb of God at the cross. He gave up the symbol to hold the savior.

Card board palace completely fell. That quickly

Nicodemus willingly gave up eating the symbolic Passover lamb in the Temple so he could hold the True Lamb of God at the Cross.

Think about Nicodemus at the cross covered in blood and this thick myrh watching the sun go down on passover.

Something he meticulously prepared for and put a lot of effort into recognizing and being seen. The most important meal and event of the year. He is elite.

IV. YOU: The Overcoming Life

This is where the rubber meets the road for us.

In 1 John 5:4–5, John writes:

1 John 5:4–5 NIV

4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

The Greek word for "overcomes" (victory/conquest).

Spiritual rebirth is the root;

overcoming fear,

human opinion,

and social status is the fruit!

Nicodemus overcame the intimidation of the Sanhedrin not by trying harder, but because the divine life of God had matured inside him.

How many of us are living as "secret disciples"?

We love the Lord in private, but we’re terrified of what our co-workers, our friends, or our family will say if we take an open stand.

We are protecting our cardboard palace of reputation.

God has grace for your "night season." Jesus didn't reject Nicodemus when he came in the dark with quiet questions. He let the seed take root.

However, rebirth cannot stay hidden in the shadows forever.

There comes a moment when the Cross demands that you step into the daylight.

When you realize what Christ gave up for you, you will gladly give up what this world offers you.

You stop worrying about what people think of you, and you start living for the One who died for you.

V. CLOSING & SERIES CALL TO ACTION

Church, over these past three weeks, we have walked through the heart of John 3:

We saw that religion reforms the outside, but Christ rebirths the inside.

We learned to drop the exhausting oars of self-effort and sail in the sovereign Wind of the Spirit (Pneuma), fixing our eyes on the lifted-up Christ.

And today, we see the harvest: a seed planted in the dark that bursts through the soil into radical, fearless devotion!

Are you ready to leave the shadows today?

Are you ready to stop protecting your cardboard palace and say: "Lord, take my reputation, take my status, take my resources. I crown You as my King"?

Step out of the night. Step into the blazing light of His grace.

Let us pray.