Father God, with this creed before us,
we confess to you that we don't always understand
who you are.
We don't always understand your three persons in one.
Father God, would you open our eyes to see who you are,
to see who you are as Father,
to see who you are as Son and who you are as Holy Spirit.
Father, you're here with us this morning.
We ask that you would show yourself to us.
Amen.
Please be seated.
When I was in school at the University of Ottawa,
I had a favorite professor.
He taught mechanical engineering.
And his specialty, the thing that he researched,
the thing that he spent all his time doing
when he wasn't hanging out with students,
was studying fuel combustion.
That was his thing.
He burned things.
And if you went into his lab,
you would see big equipment.
And all that equipment did was burn things.
And every student of his,
who was even just a little bit of a peromaniac,
loved having him.
Because whenever there was a chance for a demonstration
that had anything to do with burning something,
he would come to class with his demo equipment
to make fireballs, to make explosions,
to blow little fuel droplets into the air to burn,
and things like that.
Basically, whatever you'd expect from a professor
who studies combustion.
He did it in class.
It was great.
However, one day,
one day, instead of his burning demo equipment,
he brought a big fat stack of paper in a folder.
That was his demonstration for the day.
Instead of burning equipment,
inside that folder were plans,
were schematics,
were drawings,
were instructions
for all manner of machines and gadgets
that were supposed to be
perpetual motion machines,
machines that never would stop.
Never would stop.
People would just sort of walk into the university,
bring these into his office,
and show him,
and ask him to verify that they really did work.
And in 30-odd years of teaching,
he still had yet to find one,
believe it or not,
that worked.
Our assignment that day
was to sit down,
each with a plan,
and to figure out
why each one didn't work.
To debunk
why each scheme wouldn't work.
I got to meet
one of these
crackpots one day.
I was working in a machine lab.
I had a bunch of stuff in front of me,
and this fellow just sort of walked in
out of nowhere
and just started talking.
And he was a nice enough guy.
He was a nice enough guy.
He was quite pleasant to talk to.
He knew his engineering history.
And he was quite practical.
He knew how to put things together.
And he told a good story.
But what he did not have, however,
was an understanding
of the fundamentals of thermodynamics.
The fundamentals that would tell you
that you can't build
a perpetual motion machine.
One that will work forever.
And I can only just imagine
that Nicodemus
must have felt
something similar,
going to see Jesus
as a professor would feel,
coming with plans
and documents
that clearly aren't going to work.
Nicodemus the Pharisee,
member of a ruling council.
He was well-educated.
He was smart.
He was probably wise.
He was certainly well-respected
among his peers.
He probably had a tremendous
amount of influence
among Jews.
Maybe he even had a few
Roman contacts
in the government.
Jesus was just some
upstart preacher
from Galilee,
from Hicktown nowhere.
No training,
no contacts,
not even any sort of
noble birth
to get him started.
Nicodemus probably felt
like my professor
talking to one of these
crackpots.
He probably felt like
he was beneath him
to talk to Jesus,
to talk to this
upstart preacher.
Just like my professor
probably could have sent
any one of us students
to talk to these
crackpot inventors,
Nicodemus probably felt
like he could have just
sent a student
to deal with Jesus.
Send a student
to straighten out
this upstart
and move on.
But,
Nicodemus is there
in person
and if you have
your Bible,
open it up will you
to John chapter 3.
Now there was a man
of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews.
This man came to Jesus
by night
and he said to him,
Rabbi,
we know that you're
a teacher come from God.
We know that you're
a teacher come from God
for no one can do
these signs,
these miracles
that you do
unless God
is with him.
Nicodemus is there
in person.
He's there under
the cover of night
quite possibly
to hide the fact
that he's there at all.
And that's because
there's a problem.
He's there because
there's a problem.
Just as if my professor
found among that
giant stack of papers
a machine that
actually did work,
a machine that
actually did work
forever,
Nicodemus has found
a crackpot preacher
with God's power.
And that's troubling.
That's troubling.
You see,
Nicodemus is a good Jew.
Being a Pharisee,
he's zealous for holiness.
He's zealous for the law.
He follows the customs
of his people.
He follows the traditions
of his people.
He has stature.
He has respect.
But Nicodemus does not
have power from God.
And Jesus does.
This nobody from Galilee
has power.
So Nicodemus comes,
representing himself
certainly and maybe
a couple of like-minded
friends among the leaders
of the Jews to find out
what's going on.
He's there alone.
His friends haven't
come with him.
Maybe they're too chicken
to ruin their reputations.
Maybe they don't want a crowd
walking down the street.
It's a small gathering,
just the two of them.
And finally,
they're going to speak frankly.
Finally,
Nicodemus hopes
he's going to finally
see who Jesus is.
Finally figure out
what's going on.
He's going to see
who Jesus is.
Being the in-charge
fellow that he is,
Nicodemus starts
this conversation
by just simply
stating what he knows.
Stating what he knows.
Let's read it from
John chapter 3.
Teacher,
we know that you're
a teacher come from God.
For no one can do
these signs that you do
unless,
unless
they come from God.
Unless God is with them.
There you have it.
That's what Nicodemus knows.
That's what Nicodemus
comes with.
It actually seems
like pretty sound logic
to me.
It tells us that
Nicodemus knows
something about God.
He knows that God
is not a magical force
that you can control.
He knows that God
is a person.
God is someone
who's never coerced.
Therefore,
God chose to work
through Jesus.
This is important to know.
He knows that
if God chose
to work through Jesus,
then there's something
important about Jesus.
There's something
important about Jesus.
And Nicodemus concludes
that the important thing
about Jesus
is that he's a teacher.
A good teacher,
certainly.
Maybe at best,
Jesus will turn
the Jews back to God.
Maybe he will turn
the Jews back
to God's law.
That's what Nicodemus knows.
That's what he sees
in Jesus.
And how does Nicodemus
know these things?
He has seen.
He has seen the signs
that Jesus has done.
He's seen them.
Perhaps he's even seen them
with his own eyes.
He's seen these signs
that Jesus is doing.
So God is clearly
with this Jesus.
I'm sure that Nicodemus
thought that his statement
was perfectly reasonable.
And it seems so.
But instead of responding
with a question,
maybe a clarification,
Jesus simply makes
another statement.
And here it is
from the text.
John 3, verse 3.
Jesus answered him,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
unless one is born again,
he cannot see
the kingdom of God.
Unless one is born again,
he cannot see
the kingdom of God.
Let's put that up
on the screen.
I don't get a chance
to do this very often,
so put it up
on the screen.
And in two sentences,
this conversation
starts to go off the rail.
Nicodemus makes a statement
and Jesus makes
another statement.
Okay?
And in two sentences,
this conversation
seems to be
going off the rails.
Where is it going?
You see,
you might even have
a note in your margin
of your Bible
if you look carefully,
stating that the words
for born again
might also be
born from above.
Now our translators
have picked one of those.
Nicodemus would have heard
both of those things.
He would have heard
born again
and born from above.
And he would have to guess
which one Jesus meant.
Nicodemus would have heard
those two words
and had to guess
what Jesus meant.
Did he just say
born again?
Or did he say
born from above?
Which did he just say?
Let's put that up there.
Again,
I don't get to do this
very often.
There we go.
When I was growing up,
my dad had a friend.
A friend.
And we used to go
on these long
road trip vacations
every year
with this couple,
this man and his wife.
We traveled all over
the country.
We camped in all sorts
of places.
But thinking back,
the only thing
that I actually remember
about this guy
besides the way he looked,
the only thing I remember
is that he and my dad
spoke almost exclusively
in puns
to each other.
One of my
crowning achievements
as a young guy,
I was probably like six,
one of my crowning achievements
of my young life
was coming up with a pun
that was worthy
of this conversation
that these two men
were having.
Some 25 years later,
believe it or not,
I can still remember
what that pun was.
My pun was funny,
and if you ask me
about it after the service,
I'll tell you,
you'll probably be disappointed.
Jesus' pun, however,
is not funny.
Jesus is pointing out
something very important
in this conversation
that Jesus is having
with Nicodemus.
Nicodemus chooses
one meaning.
He has two meanings
to choose from,
or both together.
He chooses one meaning,
and it's the farthest
from what Jesus
is actually trying to say.
He takes Jesus
to mean born again,
born again here and now
on this earth right now.
Hence his question,
which isn't quite a question.
Let's read it
from the text here.
John 3, 4.
Nicodemus said to him,
How can a man be born
when he's old?
How can he enter
a second time
into his mother's womb
and be born?
Not really a question.
The important thing
that's betrayed
by Nicodemus' answer
is that he isn't looking
at this situation
with what we might call
spiritual eyes.
He has an earthly perspective
on everything
that's going on here.
Remember what he's seen.
He's seen miracles.
He's seen signs.
He has an earthly perspective
of what's going on.
And this has often been
Jesus' critique of Pharisees,
other Pharisees certainly.
They have a spiritual heritage
that's second to none.
They have a great grasp
of the scriptures for sure.
They have tradition
to back all of this up
for better or worse.
But they have no spiritual sight.
They can't see
what God is doing before them.
can't see who truly Jesus is.
It's the same reason
why Nicodemus mistakes Jesus
for just another teacher.
That brings me to my next simple point.
Unless you see Jesus
for who he really is,
you cannot see the kingdom of God.
Let me put that on the screen here.
Nicodemus has completely misjudged
where Jesus is coming from.
And so he's completely missed
what he's being told here.
He's being told that he doesn't just
have to be born again,
but he has to be born again
from above as well.
I find it kind of funny
that Nicodemus doesn't really even mention
the second part of what Jesus said,
talking about the kingdom of God
in his follow-up question.
We've used the term
a couple of times this morning already
without comment.
We regularly use the term
as we see Jesus using it
here and in other places
in other parts of the gospel.
He frequently uses it
to refer to a spiritual reality
that people are a part of
as they come to Jesus.
Now, I can't actually know
what Nicodemus would have thought
of this term.
There's a lot of possibilities
and maybe the top two
are most likely.
The term kingdom of God
would have had a strong
messianic association
to some Jews.
They would have seen it
as a coming king
sort of thing to say.
If that's the way
that Nicodemus saw it,
it seems a little odd
that he misses the reference completely.
Just goes right over his head.
The other strong possibility
is that he would have heard it
as referring to Israel
as the kingdom of God.
And if that's the case,
it should have seemed
very odd to Nicodemus
that in Jesus' conversation,
he's referring to Nicodemus
as being outside
of the kingdom of God,
not being included.
Nicodemus probably
had a good lineage.
Why on earth
would he have to be reborn
to be a Jew?
Why would he have to be
reborn to be a better Jew?
It doesn't make any sense.
Why would you ever
preach that to Jews?
Yet again,
it seems the most earthly answer
is the one that Nicodemus
is using in his head.
The most earthly reason.
Nicodemus doesn't see Jesus
for who he is.
And unless he can see Jesus
for who he is,
he won't be able to see
the kingdom of God either.
He won't be able to see
this new thing
that God is doing.
This new reality
that's giving birth
right in front of him.
This new thing
that's happening.
Let's go back to the text.
Starting at 5,
let's continue reading.
Jesus answers Nicodemus
talking about
being born again.
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 flesh
is flesh.
And that which is born of spirit
is spirit.
Do not marvel
that I have said to you,
you must be born again.
The wind blows where it wishes
and you hear its sound.
Do not know where it comes from
or where it goes.
So it is with everyone
born of the spirit.
So Jesus mercifully
rephrases his original
statement for Nicodemus.
Maybe make this a little clearer.
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
unless one is born of water
and the spirit,
he cannot come
to the kingdom of God.
So to clear up the confusion,
Jesus uses the terms
water and spirit
spirit,
or water and wind,
as it is in the text,
instead of this
again from above word.
So we're left wondering now,
instead of what he meant
by the first thing,
what he means by
water and spirit.
At least we're not
left wondering
if there's some sort of
natural birth in mind.
At least Nicodemus
isn't wondering
if Jesus is that
sort of crank anymore.
The problem is
that it's not a matter
of natural rebirth.
earth.
We're talking
about then,
if it's not
natural water
and wind,
we're talking about
water and spirit
from above.
And this starts
to remind me
a little bit
of the Samaritan lady
who Jesus runs into
when he and his disciples
are traveling
through Samaria.
In fact,
the story comes
nearly directly
after this one,
so if you get curious
later,
you can just turn the page
and read it.
Jesus offers
this woman
sitting at the well
living water
that will quench
her thirst forever.
It's a fantastic story.
And do you remember
her response?
Living water
that will quench
her thirst forever.
And she says,
yeah,
please give me that water.
I don't want to come back
to this well every day.
And I always thought
that was a funny answer.
Funny,
mostly because
it sounded like,
I don't know,
something my mom
would say
when we would complain
about chores
that we had to do.
However,
it's the same
earthly vision,
the same
earthly thinking
that Nicodemus
is showing.
So Jesus goes on
from the text,
that which is born
of the flesh
is flesh
and that which is born
of the spirit
is spirit.
That makes it
pretty clear
that to be born again
we're talking about
spiritual rebirth.
If only spirit
can give birth
to spirit,
then that's our
only chance
of entering
this kingdom
of God
that Jesus
is talking about.
We can see
this now,
today,
as a clear reference
to the Holy Spirit.
It's so clear
that probably
most of your Bibles
use a capital S
on spirit.
George said
Holy Spirit
directly
when he was
reading it.
It's clear
from this
that unless
you see
the Holy Spirit
for who he is,
you cannot see
the kingdom of God.
that's just
one more point.
It's the Holy Spirit
who fills us
with life everlasting.
It's the Holy Spirit
who regenerates
our broken spirits,
our spirits
that have been broken
in years of sin.
Without him,
we cannot be part
of what God
is doing in eternity.
He goes on
to describe
what it's like
to be
born of the spirit.
This is
verse 8.
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.
Again,
we see that
those born
of the spirit
have a direction
that can't be seen
with earthly eyes.
It can't be seen
from an earthly's
perspective.
The work of the spirit
goes unseen
when all you have
is an earthly perspective.
Think,
for example,
of Jesus himself
and his own work.
He was born
of the spirit.
Early in his ministry
he was baptized
and the spirit
came down on him.
He was
born of the spirit.
And remember
that the spirit
pushed him onward
to Jerusalem
to die.
His purpose
was real
and his purpose
was clear to him.
People couldn't
see it from the outside.
Even when he talked
to them about it,
it was hard
for them to see.
But to Jesus
his purpose
was clear
and it was real
but invisible.
But Nicodemus
sees just signs
in Jesus' life.
He doesn't see
that clear,
real purpose
which is portrayed
so well
in the Gospel of Luke
as we've been reading.
Nicodemus
just doesn't see it.
He sees
just signs.
Jesus' purpose
is huge.
Jesus' purpose
is glorious.
Jesus
is working
on a scale
bigger than anything
that we've ever
seen before.
And Nicodemus
sees the very tip.
He sees
miracles.
That's what he's seeing.
Just some signs.
He must be
a good teacher
because I see
some signs.
Nicodemus
sees neither Jesus
nor does he see
the work
of the Holy Spirit.
He doesn't see
either one
for who they are.
And so he can
neither see
the kingdom of God
that's about
to be born.
So here's
Nicodemus' answer
to everything
that Jesus
has just said.
You ready?
This is verse 9.
How can these
things be?
That's it.
How can these
things be?
There you go.
Nicodemus can't
see it.
He started off
not being able
to see
who Jesus is
and he still can't.
Now in a move
that's very unusual
for Jesus
he continues
to explain
himself
to someone
who's already
tuned out,
who's already
lost the plot.
He's about to
state his purpose
and identity
more clearly
than he does
for most people
in the Gospels.
He's about to
show Nicodemus
who he is,
who Jesus
himself
sees himself
to be.
Nicodemus
can't see it.
Nicodemus
can't see
who Jesus
is,
but he's
about to
state it.
Let's continue
reading,
starting at
verse 10.
How can
these things
be?
He said.
Jesus
answered him,
Are you a
teacher of
Israel and
yet do you
not understand
these things?
He's implying
you should be
able to see
these things
reading the
Old Testament.
Truly,
truly,
I say to
you,
we speak
of what
we know,
we bear
witness to
what we
have seen,
but you
do not
receive our
testimony.
You do
not receive
our testimony.
If I
have told
you earthly
things,
things that
are happening
here and
now,
how can
you believe
if I tell
you heavenly
things?
He's saying,
you haven't
been able to
see who I
am and
you haven't
been able to
see who
the Holy
Spirit is and
you haven't
been able to
recognize the
work that
either of us
are doing.
You haven't
been able to
see what
we're doing
here on
earth.
You haven't
been able to
see the
kingdom.
How can I
ever describe
to you what
things will
look like in
the end?
Where this
kingdom is
actually going?
And here it
is.
Here's Jesus'
grand statement.
Here's who
Jesus himself
sees himself
to be.
You ready?
Starting at
verse 13.
No one has
ascended into
heaven except
he who descended
from heaven,
the Son of
Man.
That's a
self-reference.
And as Jesus
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.
That's who
Jesus sees
in himself,
the one
descended from
heaven,
the one who
will be
lifted up.
Jesus has
descended from
heaven,
the very Son
of the
Father,
not confused
in their
persons,
as we said
earlier,
but also
not divided
in their
substance.
He has
descended to
earth only
to be lifted
up on a
cross and
further to be
lifted up on
high so that
we can be
born again of
God's Holy
Spirit,
Holy Spirit
sent from the
Father to us
by Jesus'
will.
Again,
not confused
in their
persons and
not divided
in their
substance.
Our good
news this
morning is
that our
God is
three persons,
that's
good news,
all three
working
together for
our salvation.
It's
something we
don't deserve,
three gods
in one
person,
one single
God rescuing
us.
Our good
news is
summed up
so well in
these words
that we
just read.
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
the Father
did not
send his
Son into
the world
to condemn
the world
but in
order that
we might
be saved
through him.
Let's
pray.
Father,
would you
help us
to see
you clearly?
Would you
teach us
who you
are?
Would you
teach us
who Jesus
is,
Father?
Father,
we love
you and
we thank
you that
you revealed
yourself to
us in
three persons.
Father,
we thank
you that
we are
not
completely
ignorant
as to
who
you
are
and
what
you
look
like.
Father,
we thank
you for
this
unmerited
favor and
this grace
that you
show us.
Father,
we thank
you and
we pray
these things
in the
name of
Jesus
who came
to earth
to save
us.
Amen.