WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.380 Thanks for reading, Simon, and thank you, Luca, as well. My name is Archie. As has been said, I'm one of the ministry trainees here. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:15.800 Let me say Happy Easter and add my welcome to Luca's as well. If you want to keep your Bibles open at John chapter 3, 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:21.359 it might also be worth having a bookmark in Numbers chapter 21 because we will go there too. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:31.119 I don't know about you, but I absolutely love this time of year. Not just this weekend in particular, but springtime. 00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:42.600 There are lambs in the field, daffodils, little bunny rabbits. I think I love this time of year because it's all about the miracle of new life. 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:53.560 And today we celebrate the central life-giving miracle of the universe. It's what Easter Sunday is all about. 00:00:54.020 --> 00:01:04.599 Jesus making that journey from death back to life. And even more amazing than that, in making that journey, 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:16.780 Jesus paves the way for us to join him. He paves the way for us to make that same journey from death to life. 00:01:18.399 --> 00:01:26.979 And I just say, if you're here this evening and you don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus, I totally get that. 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:36.200 Honestly, really, I do. I understand. I mean, that story, that death to life story is literally impossible, isn't it? 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:43.500 But this is what it all hangs on. This is the heart of the Christian faith. 00:01:45.240 --> 00:01:50.960 And if you don't believe that, I would urge you to really look into and explore the historical resurrection. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:57.099 Because I really do believe that it isn't just a fairy tale, that it is grounded in history. 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:00.379 And what if it's true? 00:02:02.179 --> 00:02:05.319 It might just make all the difference. 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:14.639 So this evening, as we celebrate the resurrection together, we're going to listen in on that conversation from John chapter 3. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:18.439 It's a conversation between Jesus and this man called Nicodemus. 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:25.639 Now, Nicodemus was a Pharisee, so a super religious Jewish man. 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:31.400 He loved to follow all the rules of scripture and to be seen to follow the traditions of his forefathers. 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:40.419 And not only that, but did you notice he's part of the Jewish ruling elite, probably wealthy, certainly a great teacher. 00:02:40.419 --> 00:02:44.639 His religious CV could not be any better. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:55.959 If anyone is in a position to understand what it's going to take to make this journey from death to life, it's got to be this guy, doesn't it? 00:02:57.419 --> 00:03:07.639 And yet, in this conversation, Jesus shows Nicodemus that actually what he needs is an eternal identity shift. 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:13.739 Not more religion, but a heart transplant. 00:03:14.959 --> 00:03:19.219 What he needs, as Jesus puts it, is to be born again. 00:03:20.079 --> 00:03:22.659 It's what this passage is all about, new birth. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:26.939 And there are three questions about the new birth that I think Jesus answers here. 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:30.379 First of all, why do we need new birth? 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:35.419 Secondly, why we're incapable of new birth on our own? 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:40.060 And thirdly, why the new birth is possible? 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:48.360 But before we let Jesus answer those questions, I want you to notice something really strange in our passage with me. 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.160 You might have noticed it already in verse 3. 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:59.740 Before Nicodemus asks anything of him, Jesus comes out with this statement. 00:04:00.660 --> 00:04:01.780 Have a look at verse 3. 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:08.420 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:13.540 I mean, isn't that just such a strange thing to say, completely out of nowhere? 00:04:14.980 --> 00:04:17.780 Nicodemus hasn't asked anything about the kingdom of God. 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:20.059 He hasn't asked about being born again. 00:04:20.159 --> 00:04:23.519 In fact, Nicodemus hasn't asked anything of Jesus at all. 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:27.459 So why does Jesus come out with this statement? 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.799 Well, I think the immediate context here is key. 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:37.119 In John chapter 2, verse 23, maybe just turn back to that and have a look at it with me. 00:04:37.799 --> 00:04:38.619 Verse 23. 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:45.279 Now, while he, that is Jesus, was in Jerusalem at the Passover festival, 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:50.479 many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 00:04:52.159 --> 00:04:57.959 Then have a look at what Nicodemus says halfway through verse 2, back in our passage in chapter 3. 00:04:58.819 --> 00:04:59.699 Verse 2. 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:04.979 Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God, 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:10.680 for no one could perform these signs you are doing if God were not with him. 00:05:11.540 --> 00:05:15.360 So I think it appears as though Nicodemus is one of those who Jesus, 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:20.220 who had seen Jesus's signs in chapter 2 and believed in Jesus, 00:05:20.520 --> 00:05:22.340 at least as a miracle worker. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:30.100 But why does Jesus engage with this believer of miracles in such a strange way in verse 3? 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:34.760 Well, have a look at verse 24 with me, chapter 2, verse 24. 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:41.120 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:48.500 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person. 00:05:50.340 --> 00:05:54.320 Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:06:00.839 What did Jesus know was in him, in this man who says that he believed in him? 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:05.779 Well, I think that Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus that we're about to explore, 00:06:06.420 --> 00:06:09.659 his encounter with one of these new believers, answers that question. 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:12.839 What does Jesus know about them? 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:16.300 Well, he knew that they were not born again, 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:20.579 that this eternal identity shift had not taken place. 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:26.180 And so he didn't need to wait for a question out of Nicodemus to know what was in him. 00:06:26.599 --> 00:06:27.919 He already knew that. 00:06:28.219 --> 00:06:32.899 He sees Nicodemus and he sees that he has not yet been born again. 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:39.139 So let's get stuck into our three questions about new birth. 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:42.199 Firstly, why do we need new birth? 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:45.459 Why did Nicodemus need to be born again? 00:06:45.459 --> 00:06:53.019 The following verses show us, I think, Jesus' view of what is in humanity. 00:06:54.379 --> 00:07:00.299 And it's not flattering, but it is utterly essential for us to understand. 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:05.339 Four things Jesus tells Nicodemus about those who have not been born again. 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:07.620 Firstly, in verse 6. 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:10.879 What does it say at the start of verse 6? 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:14.599 Flesh gives birth to flesh. 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:19.020 So notice, those who haven't been born again are flesh. 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:23.240 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, natural man. 00:07:23.320 --> 00:07:25.820 In other words, they are without the Holy Spirit. 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:29.540 Paul unpacks this for us in his letters. 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:31.320 He unpacks the implications of this. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:34.080 In Romans chapter 7, verse 18, he says, 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:38.760 Nothing good dwells in me, that is, my flesh. 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:57.920 And in Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 to 21, Paul lists the works of the flesh there as sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:04.759 It is a very low view of humanity not yet born again. 00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:10.200 And notice that Jesus isn't talking about a particular sort of person here. 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:18.219 When he says that flesh gives birth to flesh, he's not talking about those who are especially badly behaved. 00:08:19.599 --> 00:08:29.319 No, this is all people, everywhere, utterly depraved and naturally cut off from God. 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:33.899 So firstly, people without the Spirit are flesh. 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:37.319 And flesh is utterly depraved. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.039 Secondly, see in the second half of verse 6. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:43.799 Have a look there with me. 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:47.059 The Spirit gives birth to spirit. 00:08:48.580 --> 00:08:55.000 And I think the implication here is that without the Spirit, we are spiritually dead. 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:58.620 Because birth brings forth life, doesn't it? 00:08:58.620 --> 00:09:01.700 It's what we've been talking about seeing at this time of year. 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:07.240 And so if a spiritual second birth has not yet taken place in someone's life, 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.779 it follows, doesn't it, that they must be spiritually dead. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.159 Now this wasn't always the case. 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:20.519 Genesis chapter 2, when God created man, he breathed life into him. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:22.179 Spiritual life. 00:09:22.179 --> 00:09:24.939 But then came the warning. 00:09:25.859 --> 00:09:30.099 That eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil meant that man would surely die. 00:09:30.199 --> 00:09:31.959 That's spiritual death. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.639 And well, that's exactly what happened in Genesis, isn't it? 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.059 They ate from the tree. 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:41.079 And ever since, humanity has been spiritually dead. 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:46.599 So naturally, humanity is flesh, utterly depraved. 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:49.219 They are spiritually dead. 00:09:49.220 --> 00:09:56.519 And thirdly, the consequences of this depravity and spiritual deadness is eternity in hell. 00:09:57.960 --> 00:09:59.379 Have a look at verse 3. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.180 No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. 00:10:05.920 --> 00:10:07.940 And verse 5, same thing. 00:10:08.040 --> 00:10:11.720 No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.480 Jesus is crystal clear. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:20.399 One must be born again to see the kingdom of God, to enter eternal life. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:27.480 Without being born again, humans are on a one-way trip to the grave and eternal death. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.060 In other words, without new birth, humanity is destined for hell. 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:40.539 Naturally speaking, flesh and depravity, spiritually dead, destined for hell. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:49.399 And finally, his, that is, the man who has not yet been born again, his religious efforts even are works of the flesh. 00:10:49.479 --> 00:10:52.119 And therefore, they have no moral value to God. 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:57.340 We've already seen in verse 1 that Nicodemus is a Pharisee. 00:10:57.560 --> 00:11:00.240 A Pharisee, a highly religious man. 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:05.399 But religion is not a guarantee of spiritual rebirth. 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:11.200 Without being born again, we are incapable of moral good. 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:15.879 Now, of course, people who have not been born again, they can have the appearance of goodness. 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:19.820 In fact, in God's grace, they really can do good. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.659 But their actions remain of no moral eternal value to the God of this universe, 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:31.340 performed such as they are out of flesh and spiritual deadness. 00:11:32.419 --> 00:11:34.279 So what does that mean for us? 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:40.620 Well, I think one of the things it means, certainly, is that we can be perfectly upright sort of people. 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:51.580 Even in the church, you could be an elder, a ministry leader, a pastor even, an embassy leader, a ministry trainee or whatever else, 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:53.580 and yet not be born again. 00:11:56.060 --> 00:12:00.960 Jesus looks at a fallen humanity and he knows what is in them. 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:07.600 That they are flesh and depravity, dead in their sin and without spiritual life, 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:11.240 excluded from God's kingdom, destined for hell. 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:17.320 And that they might even deceive themselves to all of this through religious activity. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:23.340 And so a dose or a shot of religion will not save us. 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:29.600 What we all need is a heart transplant, a total identity shift. 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:36.519 What we need is to be born again, moved from the sphere of death to the sphere of life. 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:40.100 This is the position that we all find ourselves in. 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:45.699 Now, I'm aware you might be sitting there thinking, I'm kind of standing here thinking, 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:47.139 come on, this is Easter Sunday. 00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:50.679 Where is the good news that we were promised? 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:52.860 And I promise you it is coming. 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:57.159 But before it gets better, I warn you, it does get worse. 00:12:58.100 --> 00:12:59.860 Because this is our second question. 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:04.480 Why is it that we are incapable of this new birth on our own? 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:09.279 Do you see the question that Nicodemus asks in verse 4? 00:13:09.920 --> 00:13:12.000 It is, I think, a very sensible question. 00:13:13.060 --> 00:13:15.680 How can man be born again when they are old? 00:13:16.300 --> 00:13:19.779 Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb and be born. 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:23.659 There are questions like this all over the Bible. 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:29.360 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard change his spots? 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:32.639 Can a camel pass through the eye of a needle? 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:36.680 We can't change the colour of our skin. 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:38.340 A leopard can't change its spots. 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:42.039 A camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle. 00:13:42.300 --> 00:13:46.340 And old men cannot be born again. 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:51.139 It is impossible for man to cause himself to be born again. 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:58.879 What Jesus is saying to Nicodemus is that the position he is in is utter helplessness. 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:03.899 It's as though Nicodemus is stuck in a room and all the door handles are too high. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:04.899 They're out of his reach. 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:06.960 And Jesus is calling him out of that room. 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:09.879 He says, if you want to see the kingdom of God, come out. 00:14:10.580 --> 00:14:11.120 Come out. 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:12.080 You've got to come out of there. 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.600 And Nicodemus simply can't reach the door handle. 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:19.700 With man, these things are impossible. 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:23.480 But with God, all things are possible. 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:25.840 That's the crux of it. 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:33.100 Man is incapable of new birth because new birth is a work of God by his spirit. 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:36.279 Have a look at verse 8 with me. 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.300 The wind blows wherever it pleases. 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:46.399 You hear it sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.979 So it is with everyone born of the spirit. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.639 I think that's a wonderfully mysterious sounding verse, isn't it? 00:14:54.979 --> 00:15:01.419 And there's a wordplay at work here because the word in Greek for wind is exactly the same as the word used for spirit. 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:05.079 It's been unbelievably windy here today, hasn't it, in Edinburgh? 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:13.879 And with wind, we cannot see or tell where the gust of wind that strikes us started or where it came from, can we? 00:15:14.900 --> 00:15:16.340 So it is with the spirit. 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:23.700 It's as though we're at the total mercy of the direction of the wind, like a sailor lost at sea. 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:34.759 Because new birth happens only by a power that is not our own and blows like the wind, according to its own doing. 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:40.700 No one will enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again for a second time. 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:45.500 But no man can cause himself to be born again. 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:51.539 Christian, it is so important that we remind ourselves of this. 00:15:52.779 --> 00:16:01.000 That we didn't bring about our new birth through our own good works or our own religion or even our own desire for God. 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:05.559 We cannot bring on our new birth by ourselves. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:08.500 Remember who Jesus is speaking to here. 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:09.559 It's Nicodemus. 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:11.940 He's as morally upright as they come. 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:14.659 He has the strongest religious CV you've ever seen. 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:18.659 Not even he could cause himself to be born again. 00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:25.799 And so let that burden of trying to earn God's approval fall from your shoulders. 00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:34.220 If you're a Christian here today, if you've been born again, you can rest in him and his work having done that. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.860 So we've asked why we need new birth. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:43.360 And we've asked why we're incapable of it on our own. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:47.159 But how then is the new birth possible? 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:51.759 Well, verse 13 is a key verse in this passage, I think. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:57.560 Up until verse 13, Jesus speaks sort of as any born again person might. 00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:01.419 He's witnessing to the state of man and his need for rebirth. 00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:10.319 But in verse 13, he begins to talk about himself as the one who makes the new birth possible. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:13.579 Do you see what he says in verse 13? 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:15.740 Have a look at that with me. 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:22.220 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the son of man. 00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:31.740 In other words, the reason that I can give you heavenly explanations is because I have come down from heaven. 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:36.860 See, before verse 13, Jesus has been talking about the process of new birth. 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:39.839 He says it happens by a work of the spirit. 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:41.460 It comes like the wind. 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:42.860 You cannot do it yourself. 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:49.979 But after verse 13, he's talking about the basis of the new birth, how it is possible. 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:54.539 He's talking about what he, the son of man, has come to do. 00:17:55.659 --> 00:18:03.519 He begins to show Nicodemus what must happen for man to receive the spirit's work of the new birth. 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:07.099 So what did the son of man come to do? 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.619 Well, the God of this universe is a perfectly just God. 00:18:13.439 --> 00:18:20.099 And so when he sees the fleshy and depraved state of man, his right response is wrath. 00:18:20.899 --> 00:18:22.740 And something needs to be done. 00:18:23.179 --> 00:18:31.439 Something needs to happen to remove the wrath of God so that he will release the power of the spirit and cause his people to be born again. 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:41.899 In our passage, you might have noticed Jesus uses quite a strange story, an analogy to explain to Nicodemus what he's come to do, 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:43.420 how it is that he's going to do that. 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:50.080 And it's a story that might be strange to us, but one that Nicodemus would have been extremely familiar with. 00:18:50.580 --> 00:18:54.420 Have a look in verse 14 for Jesus's retelling of that story. 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:55.800 It says, 00:18:55.880 --> 00:19:11.480 Now you'd be forgiven for thinking, why on earth is Jesus comparing himself to a snake? 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:12.960 I just don't get that. 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:19.519 So let's go back and we'll have a look at that story that Jesus is referring to as we try and make sense of this. 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:26.180 Keep a finger in John 3 and turn back to Numbers chapter 21 that Simon read for us. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:31.279 If you turn there now, it's very near the start of your Bible if you're lost. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:33.599 Numbers chapter 21. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:43.720 Just four observations from this passage that help us see how Jesus uses it to make sense of what he's come to do. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:49.019 First of all, the serpent in this story is not preventative. 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:54.420 The serpent in this story is for people who have already been bitten. 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:56.779 Do you see that in verse 8? 00:19:56.839 --> 00:19:58.279 Look at the second half of verse 8. 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:03.000 Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:06.480 The serpent is not preventative. 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:09.079 Second in verse 6. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.639 At the start of verse 6, it is the Lord who sent the snakes. 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:14.299 Do you see that? 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:20.680 They are the curse of his wrath incurred for the Israelites. 00:20:20.899 --> 00:20:24.539 Sin of impatience and grumbling in verses 4 and 5. 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:28.180 An example of that impatience and grumbling. 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:29.779 Have a look at verse 5. 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:30.839 What do they say? 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:32.740 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:38.119 It's the Lord who sent the snakes. 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:44.440 Third, the means of rescue is a picture of the curse itself. 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:51.019 They are rescued by a snake just as they were cursed by snakes. 00:20:51.019 --> 00:21:01.559 And finally, in order to be rescued, the Israelites simply need to look at God's provision hanging on a pole. 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:02.859 Do you see that? 00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:04.940 At the end of verse 9, what does it say? 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:07.059 They lived. 00:21:07.059 --> 00:21:15.779 Jesus reads a passage like this in the Old Testament and he knows that it points to himself. 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:24.460 I wonder, just as a brief aside, when we read passages like this in the Old Testament, maybe in our own time, do we do that? 00:21:24.940 --> 00:21:27.859 Do we see how they point to Jesus? 00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:33.819 What is it that Jesus sees about himself in this passage in Numbers? 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:36.519 Well, turn back to John with me. 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:38.240 I hope you kept a finger in it. 00:21:39.879 --> 00:21:42.399 Verses 14 and 15 of John chapter 3. 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:43.719 I'll read that again. 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:55.220 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.380 I just want you to notice three things about Jesus here. 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:02.680 First of all, Jesus is the Son of Man. 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:08.000 So when Jesus says that the Son of Man must be lifted up, he is talking about himself. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:10.500 He's talking about what he's come to do. 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:12.579 He's looking ahead to his crucifixion. 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:17.779 Secondly, Jesus is the source of rescue. 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:21.819 Jesus is in the place of the bronze snake. 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:23.140 He's the source of rescue. 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:26.779 He's the source of healing from the poison of sin. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:31.120 And he is the means by which God's wrath is removed. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:37.559 And thirdly, Jesus himself is portrayed as a curse. 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:43.700 Just as the rescue in Numbers was a picture of the curse, snake for snake. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:50.740 So Jesus's rescue is a picture of the curse because God made him sin in our place. 00:22:50.740 --> 00:23:00.039 In Galatians chapter 3 verse 13, Paul writes that Christ redeemed us from the curse of law by becoming a curse for us. 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:08.620 In other words, Jesus took our sin, the curse of our sin on himself, and in doing so incurred the wrath of God. 00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:16.339 So Nicodemus came as a man who believed in Jesus as a great miracle worker. 00:23:16.979 --> 00:23:18.500 And he was that. 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:20.819 But Jesus looks at him. 00:23:20.899 --> 00:23:22.679 He sees what is in him. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.079 He sees what is in those like him. 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:33.740 He sees that despite their religion, they are fleshy, depraved, spiritually dead, and destined for hell. 00:23:35.199 --> 00:23:38.339 Maybe you're here tonight and you sort of know that about yourself. 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:46.319 Maybe you can't see how you could possibly be good enough for a perfect God. 00:23:48.139 --> 00:23:50.319 See the standards set by Jesus. 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:55.159 And can't see how you or anyone else could possibly measure up to that. 00:23:55.160 --> 00:24:01.480 Perhaps you feel as though there's no coming back from where you've been, from what you've done. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:06.779 That your guilt and your shame are simply too much. 00:24:08.800 --> 00:24:10.440 Jesus saw Nicodemus. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.360 And Jesus sees you. 00:24:14.600 --> 00:24:15.680 He sees us. 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:21.580 And he sees that what we all desperately need is spiritual rebirth. 00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:25.500 A complete heart transplant. 00:24:26.699 --> 00:24:29.819 To be moved from death to life. 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:37.839 The wonderful news is that just as the Israelites looked at the bronze snake, 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:46.599 we can look to Jesus hanging on the cross as the way that God has made it possible for us to be born again. 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:51.759 And that's just the start of the Easter story, isn't it? 00:24:51.899 --> 00:24:56.279 On the cross, Jesus won an incredible victory over sin. 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:58.819 But of course, the story didn't end there. 00:24:59.819 --> 00:25:03.500 Because the Easter story isn't just about Jesus's death. 00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:11.359 No, today, on Easter Sunday, incredibly, Jesus paved the way for us to be born again. 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:16.899 When he was the first to walk the path of death to life transformation. 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:21.399 Three days later, he smashed the grave to pieces. 00:25:22.919 --> 00:25:26.699 In doing so, he made a way for us to be born again. 00:25:27.019 --> 00:25:30.819 From spiritual death to life and life eternal. 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:38.299 He doesn't just offer us medicine by which we might escape our depravity and our destiny. 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:40.859 He offers us a heart transplant. 00:25:41.879 --> 00:25:44.279 He offers us a new identity. 00:25:45.220 --> 00:25:47.059 He offers us new birth. 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:49.359 He offers us himself. 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:53.519 That's why I love this time of year so much. 00:25:54.419 --> 00:26:00.159 Every time I see a lamb bumbling in a field or a daffodil just starting to come into flower. 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:03.700 Or a young bunny rabbit hopping around its warren. 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:09.240 I remember the new life that Jesus offers us in him. 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:12.240 Will we look to him? 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:17.660 Him who has walked through death to the other side. 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:21.360 And will we accept his offer to join him? 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:23.700 Let me pray. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:31.140 Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for Easter Sunday. 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:38.180 We thank you that your son died and that he rose again. 00:26:38.820 --> 00:26:42.800 That he, in doing so, made the way for us to follow him. 00:26:44.100 --> 00:26:45.720 Today, to be born again. 00:26:46.840 --> 00:26:48.380 To have a heart transplant. 00:26:48.580 --> 00:26:51.320 To be made new creations in his name. 00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:54.380 And Lord, we thank you for your Holy Spirit. 00:26:54.380 --> 00:27:00.280 Who does that work, that miracle in us, just as he did in Jesus. 00:27:02.300 --> 00:27:07.220 Lord, I pray that each of us would look to your cross and see our sins nailed there. 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:14.740 That we would feel the burden of our guilt and our shame released from our shoulders. 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:17.900 And we would step into that new identity. 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:20.900 Lord, would your spirit be at work in each of us. 00:27:21.700 --> 00:27:24.400 Causing us to be born again. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:28.160 In your son's precious name. 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:29.299 Amen. 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:29.440 Amen. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:29.480 Amen. 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:29.500 Amen.