Well great, we had a week's break didn't we last week from John's Gospel and we're back in John's Gospel and we're trying to work out what is genuine Christian belief that's if you've been here over the last few weeks what is it what isn't it are we doing it are we not doing it and in our passage today we come to another one of John's belief motifs it's there in verse 23 of chapter 2
there we're introduced to a new group John calls them the many doesn't he the many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing it's exciting isn't it we've been set up to look for this kind of thing as we read through John's Gospel and we're told the many believe in him as a result of seeing their miracles the signs that he
does they believe in his name John picks up of the language that he uses in the prologue in in chapter 1 when he's describing what genuine belief is he uses that language doesn't he a belief in his name those who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God it looks like God's family is growing isn't it as the many believe in his name
John's clear isn't it as the many believe in his name John's clear isn't he that they believe they're not pretending to believe they're not saying one thing and doing another they're not being hypocritical so verse 24 comes as a great shock doesn't it it's a very disturbing verse but Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people
Jesus is reluctant to count them as followers of whom he can be sure the impression made on them of his miracles was no guarantee in Jesus's mind of their perseverance and of their genuine faith the kind of belief that he was looking for and the couple of verses at the top of your sheets there are a kind of set up for the famous encounter between Jesus and
Nicodemus in chapter 3 and Nicodemus in chapter 3 John is teeing us up for that and the key message that John wants us to understand as Jesus and Nicodemus meet is that if you want to know what faith is if you want to know what genuine belief is and whether you're doing it and whether you're not doing it humanly speaking to get it right you cannot get it right
why doesn't Jesus sign up for that and why doesn't Jesus sign up for the church on that morning into church membership it is a problem verse 24 Jesus knows about all people they look legit don't they and John adds that little comment it's really interesting in verse 24
Jesus on his part did not interest himself to them as if to say isn't it everyone else thought they were legit we all thought I mean you know John the apostle thought you could have fooled me
we thought they were genuine believers but Jesus singular on his part with his unique knowledge of humanity sees right through them doesn't he and it's a problem of human nature of all people everyone thinks revival has come but God incarnate he's not being insulting to our species here but he thinks hang on a minute for a second here
you are only human it is your fallen human nature verse 25 Jesus knew what was in man John uses the word anthropos that the human person no matter what you look like from the outside Jesus knows what is in on the inside of a fundamental human person and it's an inability to believe properly
and we've got to realize to get belief right we cannot get it right in ourselves I've got two main points really this afternoon our problem we see is two things first of all our natural human attitude towards Jesus our natural human attitude towards Jesus your only human
Nicodemus he comes to Jesus doesn't he and I want to focus in on a few key bits here look at verse two in the second paragraph this man came to Jesus by night and said to him rabbi we know that you're a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him
now you might think okay that is good isn't it Nicodemus's attitude towards Jesus seems well here he says good things about him he calls him rabbi what a sign of respect that is
God is with you so that you can do these miracles Nicodemus actually puts his finger on some of the things that Jesus will later stress that we must believe about him that he has come from God
Nicodemus gets that right doesn't he his knowledge of Jesus seems right and good but the problem is his deep seated attitude towards Jesus his problem is clear the moment he opens his mouth
what are his first words rabbi we know rabbi we know that you are a teacher come from God notice Nicodemus he comes to the rabbi doesn't he this great teacher but he doesn't come with a question he comes with a statement
he doesn't really ask him a question even to start off with does he he does later but he comes with a statement
Nicodemus's posture in the conversation is one of initial certainty certainty concerning the things that he thinks he knows already about Jesus
so he comes to him doesn't he Jesus your signs are so very convincing
and I've come to tell you that that we now know who you are we know who you are we know who you are we know what you're doing here you're you're a teacher aren't you you're you're you're a good man so good you're here
others thought that he was going to bring about a revolution didn't they others thought that he was just a prophet either way we've got you sussed Jesus
and that carries on today doesn't it people think that maybe he was a social revolutionary
and others think he was a good moral example others a wise sagely teacher others a spiritual mascot others a philosopher
others think he was just a con man or a magician others think he was a trickster but either way whatever you think of him either good or bad
the bottom line is we know who you are Jesus we've got you nailed we've worked you all out all by ourselves
and we just want to let you know that Jesus the point here is not what Nicodemus thinks of him
whether he thinks good things or bad things about Jesus that is kind of irrelevant
the point actually is that he thinks he knows Jesus in the first place
that by himself he's got the know-how that he's got the insight
and we can be like that can't we we've got all the data we've got all the interpretative skills
we've got the intellects and to nail Jesus down to nail the person of Jesus Christ down to make our informed
decisions about him to take him or to leave him to believe him or not we know who he is
and people say don't they your Jesus is clearly not the same as my Jesus
we come to Jesus with a statement of who we know he is
Jesus you are this to me we don't come to him with a question
and Nicodemus is the spokesperson for the human race here isn't he
he represents human certainty based on human deduction of what human beings see in Jesus Christ
he's got a superiority complex hasn't he
but that arrogance actually makes Nicodemus stupid
it makes him ignorant of the things that he should know about Jesus
Jesus says doesn't he later on in this chapter
how can you be the teacher of Israel and not know these things
John shows us here that it's not for lack of information that people don't see Jesus for who he is
or understand what he's come to do
it is fundamentally an attitude problem
it is a posture of certainty in our own inventions of Jesus Christ
that make people stupid as to who he really is
and we all do it don't we
there's a great episode of a TV show
called Undercover Bosses
where an overzealous factory manager
features in the show
and he is so sure that he knows who the new guy
in the forklift truck department is
he's just another lackey
who signed into the company a couple of weeks ago
we as the audience know that he's actually the CEO of the whole company
and he signed on to work undercover
and at one point the manager gets so annoyed with him
without realising it he fires his own boss
the reveal at the end is TV gold
you should watch it
your attitude is that natural pride of having Jesus nailed
isn't it
thinking we know who you are
but Nicodemus
you're only human
and I know what's in humans
Jesus says
I know what's in man
and this is what you do
isn't it
with me
you can't believe
because you are blocked
by this natural
fallen human attitude to me
your natural assumptions
and your sense of certainty about me
that's the first thing
secondly
you can't believe
not only because of your natural attitude
but because of your natural human birth
you can't believe
because of your natural human birth
look at verse 3
Jesus answers him
truly truly
I say to you
unless one is born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God
Jesus is saying there isn't he
that true belief
and entry into God's kingdom
is more than natural human deduction
it's more than simply being impressed by Jesus
it's more than the belief
that you are competent to judge who Jesus is
true belief actually is not at all natural
it is entirely supernatural
Jesus describes it as being born
doesn't he
being born again
or above
what's he saying there
let me say that
if you hear that
and you haven't understood it
then you're halfway to understanding it
because what we're talking about here
are deeply mysterious things
in the work of God
we are walking here
right at the bounds of human language
so much so that John
in the original Greek
he has to use a word
that has two meanings
it can mean to be born from above
or to be born again
but if we can simplify it
Jesus shows Nicodemus
that true belief
is about something far deeper
than what you claim to know
and what you judge about Jesus
from your own experience
it is about something far more fundamental
to your identity in the first place
it's not about how you conceive of him
but how you are conceived
what matters in believing in the right way
is having the right birth
Jesus describes two kinds of birth
doesn't he
in verse 6
if you look there
born of the flesh
or born of the spirit
imagine your birth certificate
Jesus looks at your birth certificate
doesn't he
and with all the details on it
and next to your name
he sees only one of two possibilities
flesh birth
or spirit birth
they're Bible words
flesh
it just means
natural human birth
and spirit
is to do with God
isn't it
it's being born by God
conceived by God
in about an hour
if I go down to Buckingham Palace
after this talk
and I speak to the Queen's guards
at the gate
imagine it
and I could tell him
couldn't I
I want to come in
can you let me in
just me
I really want to sit in the royal suite
I want to be a royal
for the rest of my life
can you let me in
I really want a Range Rover
he'd say get lost
wouldn't he
don't waste my time
and I could say
well actually
don't you know who I am
I am a member of the royal family
Lord Robert
this is preposterous
let me in
to the palace
well what would he say
he would say
well show me your birth certificate
then
if you're conceived
by royal people
if it says
royal birth
on your birth certificate
then come in
to the kingdom
but if not
forget it
birth is everything
isn't it
when it comes to royal things
and when it comes to kingdoms
and when it comes to the kingdom of God
it's true
you can do all you like
to try and be royal
but without the right birth
you're not coming in
and the same goes for belief
that is why this passage is here
after the many
believe
it is explaining to us
what is going on here
it's the same
with belief
true belief
is like birth
in one sense
it is something
that you just
cannot do
by yourself
your first birth
you had no part in it
did you
you did nothing
really
you were a shriveled mess
of flailing limbs
you were so vulnerable
you were so weak
and it's the same
with belief
it's like being born
born again
and it must be done
by God
and God alone
you've got to be born
of the spirit
of God
really
the meeting of Nicodemus
is an exposition
of John
chapter 1
verse 12
to 13
do you remember that
John says
to all who did receive him
who believed in his name
there's that language again
he gave the right
to become children of God
and we're thinking
aren't we
well John
clarify what that means
believing in his name
what is that
and he does that
he said
people who believe
in his name
are people who are born
not of blood
nor of the will of flesh
nor of the will of man
but they are born of God
he says
true belief
in his name
is of God
it comes from him
to get it right
we've got to realise
we
can't
get it right
just as to be born
right
we don't
get it right
do we
that's the point
but here's the rub
with it
because it's the very
impossibility
of it for you
to do it
that will actually
lead you to the
possibility of it
once you grasp
that you cannot
do it
you will begin
to do it
as soon as you
start saying
I can't do this
Lord
I need your help
to get into the
kingdom
even to believe
when you think
you can't achieve
perfect belief
actually
you're well
on your way
the kind of
believing Jesus
is looking for
is the kind of
believing that
is only from God
I've spoken on
Nicodemus
on this passage
quite a few times
before
and because he's
religious
that's always
why I've gone to him
he's an easy target
isn't he
to kind of attack
religious people
John tells us
he's the ruler
of the Jews
but what I've
missed actually
until this week
is that
Nicodemus
is put here
not because of
what is unique
to him
as a religious
person
but actually
what is common
to him
as a man
as a human
being
you see
at the end
of chapter 2
verse 25
there
John ends
with the word
man
doesn't he
Jesus knew
what was in
man
and then
in the next
verse of chapter 3
he uses the same
word again
there was a man
of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus
and John
flows them together
if you've got a
title in your
Bibles at home
it might say
something like
you must be
born again
that's not part
of the original
text
get a black
permanent marker
and scrub it out
because the flow
between chapter 2
and 3
is so important
here
John flows
them together
he says
in chapter 2
doesn't he
Jesus knows
what was in
man
so let me
give you an
example of a
man
here is
Nicodemus
and so
by scrubbing
out the little
title in our
Bibles
we see
don't we
that Nicodemus
is just like
all of us
maybe his
religion makes
the point even
more strongly
doesn't it
that after all
all of that
religion
he's still
only human
underneath the
robes and all
the religiosity
he's just one
of the many
he's one like
us
and Jesus
knows what
is naturally
in us
it's wonderful
as you follow
the gospel
how Nicodemus
later
he stands up
for Jesus
doesn't he
in the Sanhedrin
in the court
he arranges
an honourable
burial for
Jesus
I think
Nicodemus
did believe
in the end
and perhaps
this was the
moment wasn't it
in this
conversation with
Jesus where
he stopped
bringing statements
to Jesus
and he started
asking questions
we like him
with this
superiority
complex
we make
ourselves
stupid
before Jesus
and we
kid ourselves
that we
can believe
by pure
human deduction
without God's
help at all
but we get it
right don't we
when we know
we can't
get it right
we're only
human
and we need
to be born
of God
born again
let's pray