04 4th Sunday in Lent

When I was in high school, my buddy and I were hanging out, bored, and didn’t really have a lot to do. So we decided to do a physics experiment. We wanted to determine how different velocities of mass impacted a stationary object. The Mass, was our bodies. The stationary object was the wall. Translation. We were literally running and bouncing off the walls. I was anyway, and I did it until the wall developed a nice big crack. Whoops. So what did I do? I told my dad that we were coming up the stairs and my buddy tripped on the dog and fell into the wall. I didn’t want to get in trouble. I didn’t want to get caught. So I did something stupid and wrong. My dad does know the truth, I told him about six months ago. But I think he figured it out a long time before that.

That was a skit that I did when I was in cub scouts. Kind of cheesy huh? But I think it is a good illustration of how, sometimes, we just don’t get it. Sometimes things are just not what we were expecting them to be, or working in the way that we had wanted them to work. You can relate to that though can’t you? You know that feeling where you feel like you are going around in circles and you just have to stop and ask, what is going on here? I don’t get it.

Our Gospel lesson for today tells that kind of a story. But you would never know from where it begins. Jesus is speaking here, and it picks up right in the middle of a conversation that he was having with a guy named Nicodemus. Does that name ring a bell? Do you know who Nicodemus is?

John’s gospel describes him as a man of the Pharisees and a leader of the Jews. In other words he was an important and probably rather intelligent kind of guy and he comes to Jesus one night looking for some answers. You see, Nicodemus knew his religious system and the Scriptures. He knew what he was supposed to do, and what God was going to do. He knew what to expect from God. And yet Jesus was not what he expected. And yet somehow, he also knew that there was something special about Jesus. So he comes to Jesus one night with some questions. And that is something that I think we can all relate to. What are the questions that you have? What are the kinds of things that you would ask God about if you had a chance to do so? How do you think God would respond? How do you think you would respond?

For Nicodemus it didn’t make sense. Jesus was not what people were expecting. A might warrior to ride in and save the day, and right all the wrongs, that they got. Someone who would come in and kick out all of their enemies; that made sense. Someone who would come along and restore the glory of their religion and relationship with God in the world. Yes, Come on, Lord, we have been waiting for far too long.

And yet, that is not what they got. Instead, what they got, was so much better than what they were looking for, that it was absolutely inconceivable. What they got was not only way better than what they were looking for, but it was way better than the best things they could dream up. They were looking for a superman and what they got was God himself. They were looking for freedom from tyranny and oppression, and what they got was the One who would bring about the forgiveness of sins and freedom from powers of death and the devil. They were looking for a glimmer of hope, and what they got was the light that shines in the darkness.

So here is Nicodemus and he is having this conversation with Jesus, and he says, “we know you are from God, because otherwise you could not do the things that we see you doing.” Jesus says, “Unless you are born from above, you can’t see the kingdom of heaven.” And Nicodemus kind of scratches his head and says, “What do you mean be born again? How can a person be born again?” By the way the word that is used here I the Greek is the same word. It can be either “from above” or “again” it all depends on the context.  Jesus says, “I’m not talking about the flesh, but the Spirit.” And Nicodemus says, “I still don’t get it.” Jesus says, “How do you not get it? You are a teacher of Israel. You of all people should get it. But if you don’t believe me as I talk about earthly things, how will you believe me as I talk about heavenly things?”

So Jesus makes this reference to the story that is in our Old Testament lesson for today. And what a story this is. The Israelite find themselves plagued with fiery serpents in their camp. It really was something that they had brought upon themselves. They complained against what God was doing in saving them from Egypt. Now these kinds of stories are a little difficult for us to grasp and understand. But look at it like this. As the people were complaining, they were , in a sense, rejecting God’s salvation from slaver to Egypt. So he sends these snakes, not in a petty way, it is not like God is saying to them, “You hurt my feelings, so now I am going to hurt you back.” Because God does not work that way.  Instead, see it as God’s way of bringing the people back to him, almost as a call to return to their senses and to repentance.

But the serpents and the sending of the serpents are not the point to this story. They are not the focus, although something like this easily captures our attention. The point is not the serpents but the life and healing that came from the bronze serpent that had been raised up on a pole. So that those who looked upon that serpent were saved and lived.

Jesus says, that just as Moses lifted that serpent up in the wilderness so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Now that is kind of strange isn’t it? What does it mean? Well, Jesus tells us. The Son of Man must be lifted up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. So how is it that the Son of Man is lifted up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life?

First, Jesus was lifted up where? On the cross. That is right. The sinless and perfect one. The one who is truly God and truly man, takes all of your sins. All of the junk and garabage that you and I have filled our lives with. All of the things that seek to destroy our lives and our relationships, he has taken those sins upon himself and he paid the price for them on the cross. Where he was lifted up. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the debt that was incurred from our sins.

Second, Jesus was also lifted up from the grave. Three days after his death, he rose victoriously over the grave. This means that death has no mastery over him. It means that he is more powerful than death. It means that death is only temporary, it does not have the final say. It does not win in the end.

Thrid, Jesus was lifted up as he ascended into heaven. Where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father. There he sustains all things in the universe. There he rules for the sake of his church, especially as she is about the work and mission that he has given her to do.

And so because Jesus was raised up, on the cross, from the dead and into heaven, this means that all who believe in him have life that is everlasting. And we don’t have it just after we die. It is not like we are sitting around waiting to die so that we can experience everlasting life. But it is a gift that we have, experience and enjoy right now. It is not just life after death, it is life before death as well.

And this gift is for you, and me, and for the whole world. It is the desire of our God that all would be saved that all would know of the eternal life that comes from the lifting up of his son. He didn’t send Jesus into the world so that the world would be doomed. He sent Jesus so that the world would know life. God’s love for you and me and the world is big and vast, that he sent his son to die, so that through him, that world would be able to know him.

The problem is is that we don’t often want Jesus to be God’s salvation. Our sinful natures, our philosophies and understandings would rather work and earn our way to God. We would rather be able to take credit for our salvation. We would rather do things our way.  The problem is that we too often love the darkness rather than the light. And yet, when it is easy to be discouraged by this picture. That is when we cling to the love that God has for the world. That is when we hold tightly to fact that nothing can take the love of God away from us. That is when you remember that because Jesus has been lifted up. We will be lifted to life as well.

There are a lot of things that go on in the world around us. And a lot of them don’t make sense. But in the midst of things that are just beyond our ability to grasp, we have a God who is faithful, who loves us more than we will ever know. Who saves us, not based on things that we don, but for the sake of his son. And who then sends us out to make that love known to others.

May God’s love be a source of comfort and strength for you, and may you be blessed in your sharing it with others. Now and always.  Amen.