Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro- For anyone who has ever witnessed the birth of a child, you know what an amazing thing it is to welcome a newborn child into this world… The day my daughter was born is a day I will never forget.

When this precious newborn baby, grabbed my finger with her entire hand, and smiled.

thinking about all the possible directions that her life would go.

I remember praying with my wife just the three of us, that God would bless us with wisdom and that this girl would be faithful… I’ll also never forget that day because, during labor I made the mistake of holding my wife’s hand and she broke my thumb…

One thing is certain.

No one who has ever lived left an impact on the world like Jesus did.

(Most of us probably cannot name every president of the united states) Yet, just about every person who is alive today, knows the name of Jesus.

They may not know all that He did, or why He did it.

They may not know what they believe about Him, but they know His name.

Jesus caused quite a stir throughout His ministry.

He would make claims that others found shocking, He would take bold stands when no one else would.

In we read of a time when Jesus went into the Temple, and saw that people had turned the house of God into a place of trade, it infuriated Him, and he flipped over the tables and drove people out with whips.

— I have often heard people joke saying, “When someone asks you “what would Jesus do” just remind them that flipping over tables and driving people with whips is within the realm of possibility.”

Jesus behaved in ways at times that seemed to be polar opposite.

He would show gentleness when no one else did, he would show force and authority when no one else would… What could explain all this behavior?

Well, Jesus knew what men needed to hear because he knew what was in their hearts.

(You and I don’t)

Immediately following this Temple episode where Jesus overturned the tables… He had caught the attention of one of the most powerful men in all of Jerusalem.

Nicodemus.

The meaning of a New birth.

Jesus often spoke in ways that confused people.

He often said things that were hard to understand.

Jesus spoke just prior about the temple being destroyed.

Nicodemus really wrestled with what Jesus had said.

In part because Nicodemus only latched his mind to earthly things.

- Daniel had a vision of 4 beasts, We come to find out that these 4 beasts represented great kingdoms or empires.

Then there was a final kingdom that was to come, and it would destroy the 4th beast, strip all the others of their power, and that kingdom would last forever.

This was God’s promised kingdom.

Nicodemus

When Jesus told Nicodemus that He must be born again He actually used a word that had a double meaning.

The Greek word ἄνωθεν - Can either be translated “again” or “From above”

In fact this exact word is used in , , and is translated “From above”

What Jesus was quite literally saying to Nicodemus was, that he must be born from above.

Nicodemus had already been born.

He was alive… But, He needed to be born from above.

However, Nicodemus being of the flesh, could only focus on the fleshly meaning, and he struggled with this and he asked, how can this be?

He was missing the point and at the exact same time proving Jesus’ point.

The Necessity of the New Birth.

In order for us to appreciate the weight of what Jesus was saying, we need to appreciate who He was talking to.

A Pharisee, a great teacher, one who loved God and studied the law faithfully.

- Daniel had a vision of 4 beasts, We come to find out that these 4 beasts represented great kingdoms or empires.

Then there was a final kingdom that was to come, and it would destroy the 4th beast, strip all the others of their power, and that kingdom would last forever.

This was God’s promised kingdom.

Nicodemus, was a Pharisee, on the sanhedrin council, and Jesus Himself referred to Nicodemus as “The teacher of Israel”.

He knew the OT.

He has been waiting for the kingdom of God his entire life.

Jesus told Nicodemus that if he weren’t born again, or quite literally, “born from above” he wouldn’t see the kingdom.

Jesus was telling him that if He wasn’t born from above, this kingdom of God could come right before his eyes, and he would miss it because he was looking at the world the way a man does rather than the way God does.

The Method of the New birth.

Jesus didn’t just simply make an obscure comment about being born again.

He hinted toward the method by which one must be born again.

Garrett is going to deal with what that means in his sermon this morning, so I won’t dive into it here, but what is important to know, is Jesus specified that this new birth is connected to water and Spirit.

The result of a New birth.

What happens following this new birth?

Similar to what happens following our natural birth.

We slowly begin to grow.

When my son was born I didn’t celebrate by throwing a football at him to play our first game of catch… It takes time to grow.

It takes time to see things in a different way.

We think of the Apostle Paul.

He did not all of a sudden start preaching the Gospel

The apostle Paul spent 3 years away before he met with the apostles and began his ministry.

Likely spent much of that time re-studying the scriptures, so that he could see things in a new way.

Nicodemus’ progression

- He came to Jesus by night.

Something about Jesus seemed to catch his attention but He wasn’t quite convinced as to who Jesus was.

Nicodemus, the man who at first sought out Jesus by cover of night, raises a question to his peers, an angry Mob, and encourages them, to listen to Jesus before passing Judgement.

The last picture that we have of Nicodemus is following the death of Jesus.

Having been condemned by the Pharisees and the Romans and treated like a criminal.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee steps out from the darkness, and publicly takes the body of Jesus along with Joseph of Arimathea and anoints the broken body of Jesus with 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes.

This was not the way the body of a criminal was treated.

It was the way you would treat a King.

Nicodemus now sees.

Conclusion- What does being born again look like for us?

Well, we are going to be getting into that in the following lessons, but for now, what we need to understand is that no one is “above” this call to be born again

Nicodemus was an extremely wealthy, Pharisee, member of the sanhedrin.

He excelled in every aspect of his life… Jesus told him, if he didn’t start over, he would miss the kingdom.

It is exciting to have a new beginning… Maybe you need a fresh start.

I want you to know, Jesus wants to give you that fresh start.