Sermon 03 - A matter of life and death - 3,1-21
INTRODUCTION:
1. ((illus)) A cardiologist at the University of Tennessee by the name of Dr. Maurice Rawlings along with his colleagues interviewed more than 300 people who were revived from clinical –death experiences.
What made Dr. Rawlings' study distinct is that the interviews were not conducted months or years later but immediately after the experiences had allegedly occurred—while the patients were still too shaken up in the immediacy of the moment to gloss over or to re-imagine what they had experienced.
Nearly 50 percent of them reported encountering images of fire, of tormented and tormenting creatures, and other sights from a place very different from heaven.
In follow-up interviews much later, many of these same people had changed their stories, apparently unwilling to admit to their families, maybe even to themselves, that they had caught a glimpse of something like what the Bible calls hell.
Dr. Rawlings concluded, "Just listening to these patients has changed my life. There is a life after death, and if I don't know where I'm going, it is not safe to die."
2. Jesus talked about life and death issues.
3. And one of those occasions is mentioned in our text for today.
a. There is a heaven to be gained.
b. And a real hell to be shunned – avoided.
John 3:1-21 - After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, 2 came to speak with Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. 7 So don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. 8 Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “What do you mean?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe us. 12 But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? 13 For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, 15 so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
18 “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19 Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.”
4. Here is this famous text that talks about being “born again” or “literally, born from above.”
5. It occurs in the first year of Jesus’ public ministry and with a very religious person.
a. What I call, “a church going sinner.”
b. Why would I describe him that way?
6. :1 tells us that this man Nicodemus was both a Pharisee and a religious leader or member of the Jewish ruling council.
a. After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee,
b. What does this mean?
c. Read one description = If ever there was a group, which could be called religious fanatics, it was the Pharisees. They were a select group -- never more than 6,000 of them -- who had each one taken a solemn vow before three witnesses that he would devote every moment of his entire life to obeying the Ten Commandments, as a way of pleasing God and gaining entrance into heaven. The Pharisees took this very seriously. As you know, the Ten Commandments speak about worshipping the true God and not having idols in your heart, honoring your father and mother, refraining from lying, adultery, and various other sins. The commandments are given in rather general terms. In order to be specific it was felt necessary to define those terms and to spell out how they applied to certain situations, so there had grown up in Israel a group of people called the scribes, who were members of the Pharisees. These men spent their lives studying the Ten Commandments and applying them to situations of life so that the Pharisees could carry out these commands and thus obey God.
d. The scribes took their work very seriously. In fact, to demonstrate how seriously they took it, they had compiled a very thick book, which the Jews still have today, called the Mishnah, made up of sections devoted to applying the Ten Commandments to life. In the Mishnah, the section on obeying the rule of not working on the Sabbath occupies twenty-four chapters. Besides that they have another book, the Talmud, which is made up of commentaries on the Mishnah. In the Talmud 156 pages are devoted to the Sabbath as it applied to life! We can see how serious the Pharisees were about keeping the Law.
e. As a member of the Jewish ruling council meant that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the council of seventy men who ran the religious affairs of the nation and who had religious authority over any Jew anywhere in the world.
7. But in this conversation, Jesus explained three things to this church-going sinner.
a. The need of being born again
b. The nature of being born again.
c.
8. And this happened in the evening hours.
a. Not so much because Nicodemus was a chicken.
b. But because he did not want his reputation tarnished by this encounter being found out.
c. From the pronouns use, he may have been representing other of the Pharisees as well.
d. I think this man took some substantial risks to do what he did, but in so doing revealed a searching heart – one that God had obviously prompted.
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
John 3:1-21
1. THE NEED OF THE NEW BIRTH
a. :3 - “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.”
b. Not all Pharisees were hypocrites.
i) Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night, not only because of personal protection of his reputation as a Pharisee.
ii) But also because he could be along with Jesus and ask honest questions.
iii) He was a SEEKER of truth – there’s nothing wrong with that.
iv) And Jesus provided an honest answer to an honest seeker.
c. ((illus)) For years the church has done itself a disservice by not listening to some of the honest questions individuals have been asking.
i) Rather than being respectful of people’s searching, as Jesus demonstrates here, there has been an aggressiveness that has often turned people off to the Gospel.
ii) Nicodemus had observed Jesus and felt “SAFE” in his presence.
d. HERE WAS A MAN WHO HAD IT ALL:
i) Respect
ii) Position
iii) Reputation
iv) Discipline – he fasted two days a week as a Pharisee.
e. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING MISSING
i) Jesus was saying to Nicodemus that all his activity would not cut it with God.
ii) There was something that only God could do and that would be the difference between life and death.
f. NICODEMUS NEEDED TO BE BORN AGAIN
i) So close, but so far
ii) ((illus)) Man who walked by pet store and admired animals in the window. Saw beautiful bird with sign “This bird is guaranteed to sing.” Ask owner price and was told $1,000. Man came back next day and bought bird. Took bird home and wouldn’t sing. Came back to store and was told he needed to buy a $25 ladder; came back and needed to buy a $35 bell; needed to buy a $30 mirror; $40 swing. Bird finally dies and man returns. Asks “What went wrong?” Owner says, “Oh, did I forget to tell you? He also needed birdseed.”
iii) The bird had everything it needed, except for the most important thing – birdseed.
iv) How about you.
¨ Is there something missing?
¨ Has your search for your “song” for joy, happiness, meaning caused you to look in the wrong places?
(a) You’ve bought the ladders and climbed up in your career.
(b) You’ve bought a bell or two and drawn attention to yourself.
(c) You’ve even bought a mirror and remained your image.
(d) You’ve bought your swing and have thrown yourself into all the entertainment you can get.
¨ But, there’s something still missing?
(a) In fact, you’ve died on the inside.
(b) Has anyone ever told you – you need birdseed.
(c) You need the basic Necessity for real life.
(d) You need Jesus, you need to be born again.
¨ That’s what Nicodemus needed.
g. But Nic can’t quite understand.
i) He wasn’t dumb.
ii) He had a heart for God.
iii) He was a student of the Scriptures.
iv) There was something missing.
v) :4 - “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
h. Here is the Gospel in John’s terms and he uses the conversation of Jesus with Nic to explain it.
- THE NEED OF THE NEW BIRTH
2. THE NATURE OF THE NEW BIRTH
John describes Jesus as the intimate Savoir who takes Nic and starts where he is, and leads him along in his understanding using common images.
It’s good for us to review this because this beautiful, sharp Gospel phrase has been dulled by Madison Avenue advertisers as they describe everything from the Volkswagen Beetle which made it’s comeback after 20 yeas to fashions like bell-bottom trousers.
Sports commentators have used it to describe rejuvenated teams.
News commentators have used it to describe comebacks of those on the political trail.
Cynics have used it to mock Christians who believe that the Bible is God’s infallible Word and that faith in Jesus is the only way to heaven.
a. BIRTH :5-7
i) We’ve already seen this image this morning and now we hear Nic’s struggle.
ii) :4 - “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
iii) In verse 5-7 Jesus explains that this birth is a spiritual birth.
¨ Man cannot produce it.
¨ Only God can.
iv) It is a birth within a person that comes from the Holy Spirit taking the “cleansing water of God’s Word” and producing spiritual, eternal life.
¨ Ephesians 5:20 - cleansed it (the church) by the washing of water with the word
¨ This has nothing to do with water baptism
v) IN OTHER WORDS, JESUS IS TELLING NICODEMUS THAT HE HAS TO START ALL OVER AGAIN.
¨ He must realize that salvation as the new birth has nothing to do with human achievement.
¨ It was impossible for him to attain.
¨ Nicodemus had to be totally helpless
vi) Not reincarnation
¨ Not something that someone else among family and friends can do for you – like pray you into heaven.
vii) God does the rebirthing
¨ By his Spirit and He reproduces His life in us.
¨ Just as our human parents reproduced physical life in us, God reproduces spiritual life in us.
viii) We must let go of “control” and that is scary for some and hard for others.
¨ :11 – To jump ahead, the problem for Nic was not so much his intellect but his will.
¨ I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe us.
¨ Isn’t that the core of faith – not intellect or emotion, but will.
¨ “birth” – start over; admit that everything you understand or have been taught is wrong. Wow.
¨ Before there can be a rebirth, there has to be a death. (repentance)
¨ ((illus)) Talking to 4th year psychology student from USC. When asked if this make any sense, he said that it made more sense than anything he had heard in four years. He knelt and accepted Jesus and was reborn.
b. WIND :8-13
i) :8 - Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
ii) Maybe the wind was blowing that night
iii) Maybe Jesus was trying to connect in Nic’s mind with Ezekiel 37 and the valley of dry bones which came to life as the wind of God’s Spirit began to blow.
iv) The idea here is that
¨ The wind is invisible
¨ But real
v) You can see the results of the wind being there but you can’t see the wind.
vi) This makes it hard for people to give up there pride and come to Christ.
¨ They want to be able to put this “born again” thing into a test tube.
¨ They don’t want to have to say, “I know it happened, but I can’t explain it.
¨ Friends, I’ve been saved for 47 years and I still can’t fully explain how or why.
¨ I just know I have the real deal – Jesus
vii) ((illus)) It’s almost like the experience neurologist Oliver Sacs had with a man by the name of Virgil - a man who had been blind from early childhood.
When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.
Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult.
Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. [It is the interim that’s sometimes difficult to explain.]"
c. SERPENT ON A POLE – 14-18
i) Building on Nic’s unbelief and discerned arrogance, Jesus reaches back into the OT to the story in Numbers 21:4-9.
ii) ((illus)) It’s a story of sin, for the nation rebelled against God as they wandered in the wilderness after being delivered from Egypt.
iii) Theirs was sin of unbelief and had to be punished.
¨ God sent fiery serpents that bit the people so that many died.
¨ It is also a story of grace, for Moses interceded for the people and God provided a remedy.
¨ He told Moses to make a brass serpent and lift it up on a pole for all to see.
¨ Any stricken person who looked at the serpent would immediately be healed.
iv) Today, a symbol for the medical world
v) The provision for salvation was made, but the choice was theirs to claim.
vi) :15 - The “lifting up” of Jesus was not only the fact that he must be the one we promote over ourselves, but also a reference to the cross.
¨ From their Jesus launches into those beautiful words found in John 3:16
¨ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
vii) But don’t leave out :17,18 - God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18 “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.
¨ If there is faith in Christ, God says to you, “I can’t think of one reason to condemn you.” (Good News)
¨ IF there is not faith, you have already been judged.
(a) God the Judge has condemened you
(b) The Holy Spirit condemns you
(c) Your own conscience condemns you.
¨ Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood to write in bold red letters that He has provided everything for your salvation.
viii) BUT YOU MAKE THE CHOICE
ix) ((illus)) The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
d. LIGHT AND DARKNESS :19-21
i) Here Nic is told that all of his efforts have been put under God’s light of truth and those efforts are insufficient to satisfy a perfect God.
ii) Can you hear the religious world of Nic starting to shatter?
CONCLUSION:
1. We know the end of this story.
a. Somewhere along the way he moved from the midnight of confusion to the sunlight of confession and was BORN AGAIN.
b. Read John 19:38-42
2. He faced these matters of life and death and choose life over death.
3. So I ask you this morning,
a. These are life and death issues.
b. Have you trusted Jesus who was lifted up on a cross for you?
c. And, are you born again?
4. ((illus)) On January 6, 1850, a snowstorm almost crippled the city of Colchester, England; and a teenage boy was unable to get to the church he usually attended. So he made his way to a nearby Primitive Methodist chapel, where an ill-prepared layman was substituting for the absent preacher. His text was Isaiah 45:22—“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” For many months this young teenager had been miserable and under deep conviction; but though he had been reared in church (both his father and grandfather were preachers), he did not have the assurance of salvation.
The unprepared substitute minister did not have much to say, so he kept repeating the text. “A man need not go to college to learn to look,” he shouted. “Anyone can look—a child can look!” About that time, he saw the visitor sitting to one side, and he pointed at him and said, “Young man, you look very miserable. Young man, look to Jesus Christ!”
The young man did look by faith, and that was how the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon was converted.
5. This morning, LOOK TO JESUS AND BE BORN AGAIN.
6. It is a matter of life and death.
John 3:1-21 (The Message)
3 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we all know you’re a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren’t in on it.”
Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.”
“How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up? You can’t re-enter your mother’s womb and be born again. What are you saying with this ‘born-from-above’ talk?”
Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind hovering over the water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.
“So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”
Nicodemus asked, “What do you mean by this? How does this happen?”
Jesus said, “You’re a respected teacher of Israel and you don’t know these basics? Listen carefully. I’m speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don’t believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can’t see, the things of God?
“No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”