How Can These Things Be?

Recap

Week 1 - Pharaoh & Matthew Levi

Week 2 - The woman at the well.

Intro

This week we are going to be speaking about being at a level 3. Maybe you think you have it all figured out, but you are starting to become suspicious of wether or not its working.

John 3:1–21 ESV

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Let us set up what is happening here.

We are introduced to our character of Nicodemus. Just a little profile on who he was:

Apart of the religious ruling class - the Sanhedrin

The sanhedrin were not great to Jesus, often antagonising him in the various parts of the 4 gospels.

Because of this, it doesn’t surprise us that Nicodemus would want to come to Jesus by night. He wouldn’t have wanted his buddies to see him.

So Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the middle of the night and sets up for and ultimately asks the big question

V2 is the setup!

John 3:2 ESV

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus, knowing what was on his mind replies.

John 3:3 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Then Nicodemus asks the big one!

John 3:4 CSB

“How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

Nicodemus is basically saying here - “Jesus, i don’t get it, what you are saying is weird”

Jesus then replies with the final message of the story.

John 3:9–15 CSB

“How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus. “Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. “Truly I tell you, we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Nicodemus had Knowledge, Jesus had TRUTH

There was this one time that a guy named Ron needed some help with his Girlfriend’s mums car.

Are you relying on what you “Know”?

Some of us in this room are all studied up but we have yet to believe.

Rockefeller tower story

Jesus is calling us to “Believe”