Sermons

Pastor Lorraine's Sermon for November 2, 2003

Nicodemus Comes to Jesus
John 2:23 - 3.:21

10 years ago I attended the Billy Graham School of Evangelism and heard Don Posterski speak: He said something that really stuck with me-; He had us look up a number of passages about Jesus' interaction with people; We were to look for Jesus' pattern in how he talked with people; What "form" did he use?; What became strikingly clear was that Jesus had no form; Jesus met people where they were; The church has made a form out of Jesus' words-a form Jesus didn't use; That's particularly true with Jesus' words to Nicodemus; "You must be born again"; Even though I was very familiar with scripture, I had never thought of it; Jesus only told Nicodemus that he must be born again… no one else; We are the ones who have made it a "form" and overused it; Instead it was a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a respected leader of the Jewish faith: Jesus called him a "teacher of Israel"; In today's world-he might be a professor of Old Testament at a well-known Seminary; loved and respected; wise; well versed in the Old Testament Scriptures; able to make them come alive as he talked
He was a Pharisee: A group of religious leaders known for their commitment to the law of God; And a member of the Sanhedrin; The highest ruling body and court of justice among the Jewish people; Nicodemus was a wealthy, educated and powerful man; -- well respected by his people and a descendant of the patriarch Abraham.; The next time Nicodemus appears in the Gospel of John, (John 7:51); he shows a cautious, guarded sympathy with Jesus.; When the Sanhedrin began to denounce Jesus as a false prophet,; Nicodemus counseled the court by saying,; "Does our law judge a man before it hears him; and knows what he is doing?" John 7:51; Nicodemus appears a third and final time in the Gospel of John, following Jesus' death; Obviously a wealthy man,; he purchased about a hundred pounds of spices; to be placed between the folds of the cloth in which Jesus was buried; John 19:39; The first time we meet Nicodemus is found here in John 3
Michael Card wrote The Parable of Joy Reflections on the Wisdom of the Book of John: Share his insight into the story about Nicodemus; The wind had been blowing fiercely all evening… It was late; The old man knocked softly on what he hoped was the right door; He was nervous, ready to bolt, not sure what to expect; Nicodemus had been there earlier in the day when the Nazarene cleansed the temple; He had seen his temper as he overturned tables and became angry with the moneychangers; condemning their practice of getting rich off those who came to the temple to worship; In one sense, he was coming out of gratitude to Jesus for having the courage to finally do something; that should have been done long ago.; It was good to see a young man of true zeal; But Nicodemus also came out of curiosity, wanting to see for himself who this man was; He, like everyone else, had heard the rumors about the miracles the carpenter could do; Finally, he came to seek clarification for the Sanhedrin; The delegation sent to investigate John the Baptist; had come back with more questions than answers; Why should he be baptizing Jews? Wasn't baptism only for Gentile proselytes?; The council needed to know; All these questions, mixed with a thousand hopes, churned inside the elderly man
He was startled by the sound of the latch opening. it was the right place: The passion Nicodemus had seen earlier in the temple had drained from his eyes; He looked smaller somehow, standing alone in the room
"Rabbi," Nicodemus said, "we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one could do these signs You do unless God were with him.": He sounded insincere even to himself
Jesus didn't respond right away: "Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless a man is reborn, he is powerless to see God's kingdom."; Nicodemus began to relax… Here was the theological banter with which he was so familiar; …hours spent discussing and clarifying what was meant be the Scriptures; He countered with a question formulated to force Jesus to clarify what he had just said…; "How can a man be born who is already old?; He cannot enter the mother's womb a second time!"; The problem was that Nicodemus had been so nervous waiting for Jesus to speak; that once Jesus spoke Nicodemus got caught up in formulating his own response; that he didn't listen to what the Nazarene was saying.
Jesus was speaking of the same radical change Ezekiel had prophesied (Ezekiel 36:26): Nicodemus knew the Scriptures backward and forward… he shouldn't have misunderstood; As the question was leaving his lips, he was embarrassed at having said it; Jesus smiled as he said, "You must be born of water and Spirit."; Nicodemus had taken the words at face value and assumed he meant physical birth; But Jesus was speaking from Ezekiel; and the reference to the clean water in which God promised to wash His people (36:25); "I will sprinkle clean water upon you,; and you shall be clean from all your uncleaness…"; For the first time Nicodemus understood the baptism that John was doing in the Jordan River
As the wind howled outside, Jesus said "You should not be surprised.: Hear it? But you don't know where it comes from or when it leaves.; This is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit of God."; The old rabbi was clearly out of his depth.; He muttered to himself, "How is this possible?"
"I'm only telling you what I've seen and heard," Jesus said.: I'm talking about earthly things, of water and wind, of birth, of things you know; Still you don't understand, won't accept it.; How would it be if I spoke to you about the things I've seen in heaven?"; Jesus was intense but not irritated.; He was not cutting Nicodemus off but inviting him into the discussion,; leaving the old rabbi space to make the realization on his own.; Jesus spoke as if the refusal of the people to hear was wounding him.; It had been a long time since Nicodemus had heard someone speak with such passion; and it frightened him; He had only come to talk theology,; not to have the rug pulled out from under his religious world; For Nicodemus and his council associates,; religion was a matter of doing, of keeping the law, of being good; But Jesus seemed to think that true religion was based on something God was doing,; giving birth to new sons and daughters by His spirit.
Jesus had been looking toward the open window.: The expressions he wore spoke peace in spite of obvious pain and passion; Nicodemus did not feel he was being excluded because he did not understand; even though exclusion was the common practice of his own group; Instead Jesus was extending His hand
They said their shaloms, but Nicodemus knew it was not goodbye
As he walked down the dark street, he felt the joy he had first known as a young student when he began to study the Scriptures: "I must look again at the passage in Ezekiel" he said out loud to himself
Read Ezekiel 36:25-28

One of the things John frequently does in presenting his gospel
is pause from time to time and insert a sermon.
The passage of John 3 from verses 13-21 is likely John's commentary
rather than Jesus' words to Nicodemus as we often assume
John sums up what he's been talking about
In one sense all of John's words are his sermon-because he chose them
He has something to say and gathers stories to tell it

So, I'm going to close by reading from The Message-John 3
first, Jesus' words to Nicodemus without the interaction
second, John's words about Jesus
then we'll settle into open worship

Unless a person is born from above,
it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to-to God's kingdom.
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.

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.

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.

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