“How Can It Be?”

Scripture: John 3:1-18

We all come to Christ in different ways. For some, it is a gradual process – they experience the life of Jesus through Sunday School and during worship. They see God at work in their lives and in the lives of others. And in time, they suddenly realize that everything that they have learned about the Lord has finally come together, and there is the realization that He has become their Lord and Savior.
For others, it may be the testimony of a friend, or a particular message at church, or an experience while on a retreat that becomes the trigger, and in a moment of sudden, final and complete surrender to the Lord’s call, they give their life to Christ.
For some, it is gradual, while for others, it is sudden and abrupt. But in some way, and at some time in our lives, there must always be the realization and acceptance that the life that Jesus offers, whether we understand it or not, must take precedence over our own efforts of goodness.

Our text for today is about one who thought he had God figured out and did his best to live in that understanding. But he was wrong.

Read John 3:1-3

Who is this Nicodemus? He was a Jew who holds a position of leadership in the nation, a member of the Sanhedrin, and a Pharisee. He is a man who is deeply immersed in the Law of Moses, believing that adherence to the law, and the need for sacrifice when he couldn’t, is the only way to discover Jehovah’s joy. And so, we are told that he comes to Jesus at “night”.

Before we continue, some thoughts regarding the word “night”. First, it implies a hiddenness, a separation, from God. The gospel is telling us that for the Pharisee, even though he believes that he is close to his Lord, the reality is that a great chasm exists between what Nicodemus believes and what God desires.
Second, the timing of “night” also tells us that the Pharisee was hiding his visit from the prying eyes of his friends. It wasn’t that the Pharisees never approached Jesus to confront him with his teaching, because they did – it’s just that Nicodemus’ visit was to search out the truth of Jesus, and not to impart his brand of truth into the mix.

And as he comes, he offers three compliments to Jesus - he refers to Christ as a rabbi, a learned teacher which places some level of authority on all that he teaches, then he acknowledges that Jesus has come from God – that his authority is divinely inspired, and finally, he implies that the miraculous signs that he performs are legitimate. These are all very positive statements for a man in his position.
The only issue, though, is that he places the proof of Jesus’ authority on the signs that he has performed. In the previous chapter (John 2:23-24), we read that Jesus will not give himself to any individual who simply believes because of acts that he has performed. Signs are not enough – faith is what the Lord desires.

So far, Nicodemus has yet to ask a question, at least none verbally, but Jesus begins to teach the Pharisee about his mistaken understanding of who he truly is. The Christ informs the man that he is nowhere near to knowing God until he has been “born again”. The phrase, too, has a double meaning in the Greek, and John skillfully catches the confusion that is inherent in Nicodemus’ understanding.
The word can mean both “born from above”, as well as “born again”. The intent is that in our renewing birth, we must come into being in a new way. Our first “birth” is the one that we are all most familiar with – the birth that we receive through our mother. But the second birth, the “renewing” birth, has nothing to do with the first one, as it must come in God’s way and not in the world’s. Even though the first is physical in nature and the second is spiritual, both create within us a new life, a new experience, a new vision, and a new relationship.

And Nicodemus will miss the point.

Read John 3:4-8

“How can anyone do that?” In his own understanding, Nicodemus is right – no one can experience physical rebirth. That is literally impossible, so Jesus expands on the explanation for his nighttime visitor. “Humanity must be born of both water and the Spirit.”, and this combination is the requirement for entry into the Kingdom. Many believe that the reference to water implies baptism, when in reality, it refers to the water of our physical birth. This understanding is confirmed by the next verse, that “Flesh gives birth to flesh ... and Spirit to spirit”. Jesus is telling us that these two births are distinct and separate, but that both are necessary in our lives. The first, our physical, birth is by water – a birth founded in chaos, in sin – while the second is in, and by, divine means – in Spirit, by God.

And Jesus tells the learned man that because of his years of delving into the scriptures, he should already understand about the Spirit! And he makes the comparison between the wind and the Spirit of God – an interesting comparison, as the Hebrew word “ruah” also has multiple meanings – that of breath, of wind, and of Spirit. We have no control over the wind or the Spirit, and we have no way of knowing where it will go or what it will do next. While we can experience the presence and effect that both have on our lives, they will remain mysteries that we can never understand.

The message to Nicodemus, and to us, is that we can’t even begin to understand what “being born anew” through the Spirit of God means, but we must believe that it can be, and that it is a vital necessity for our lives.

But Nicodemus is still confused over the significance of Jesus’ words.

Read John 3:9-18

“How can it possibly be?” Jesus has just offered Nicodemus the very thing that he had strived to earn all his life, and he couldn’t accept it. Why? The wisdom that had been leading him - his knowledge of the law, his obedience to the tradition of Israel, his study, his position, his honor and respect, all that his life had stood for – none of it could possibly matter anymore. And he just wasn’t willing to surrender it all.

And Jesus begins to show the Pharisee just how little he truly knows. He has taught the masses in terms that any person should understand, and many have claimed the hope that he holds out. But not the learned! And they who know the scriptures, who have access to all that the prophets have proclaimed, who have heard more of his word than anyone else has – the ones who should have understood never would. And they who admire wisdom so much have rejected the truth of heaven in favor of their own brand of hopelessness. Those who could have had it all have lost all that they had ever worked for.

And Jesus gives them an example that they know all too well – the story of Moses and the bronze serpent (Numbers 21:4-9). The image of very thing that the people had seen as death – the poisonous snakes - would become the only thing that could save them.. And now Jesus would become their despised and hated and feared one – the one who they saw as a lie and as spiritual death would also be lifted up for their salvation.

The Pharisees thought that the only way to avoid the great Jehovah’s condemnation was to live the perfect life, which they never could. So Jesus tells them in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t God’s condemnation that they had to worry about – that they already stood condemned by the very lives they were leading, that it was God undying love, the Love that stood before them, that would save them. And he sets the record straight regarding the message and life that he brings, that no matter what they do, no matter what they know and teach, it will fail them at the end, but that simply by believing in him and his words, eternal life can be theirs.

These learned men of Israel were trapped. Nicodemus was being asked to surrender all that he had ever known and all that he had ever done, and to admit that none of it mattered, in favor of following this strange and unknown way of Jesus. And since that day, the people of earth have been offered this same unknown, unfathomable, unshakable, misunderstood way to eternity. And while many have accepted it on faith, far more have rejected it.

And who is responsible for carrying this “strange” word to the world? People like you and me - those who have accepted this narrow way and have discovered the incredible love of God for themselves. And how do they know? By the very Spirit of God that sustained the Lord Jesus, and who has been sent to sustain and teach and reform and remake each of us, the very “ruah” that leads us where it must go and never to where we would prefer to go.

And the thought that continues to encourage and bolster us in faith is none other than those beautiful words - “For God so loved the world ...” How can it be? How can the love of God overcome the condemnation of the world without our lifting a single finger to help? Quite simply, the truth of the matter is beyond all human knowledge, beyond all human understanding, but it is God’s own truth, brought to us by His one and only Son, and all we have to do is accept it and rejoice.

We aren’t worthy of it. We can’t earn it. We can’t define it or clarify it or change it. But if we just accept it, life will be “born anew from above”. And that will always be enough.