So folks, here's what we need to do with our minds if we're to understand John chapter 3.
We need to walk over to Marchmont. We need to get on the number 24 bus.
And we need to take it all the way to the Royal Infirmary.
And we need to take a walk around the maternity ward.
Okay, you with me?
Tell you what, the last time I was in the maternity ward, it felt pretty useless.
Okay, our youngest Eve was born. Here's the scene, a number of doctors running around the room doing their thing.
Up goes the curtain. And I'm told that the best thing that I can do is to be up top and keep chatting to mum.
And I'd love to tell you in those moments, I offered a few inspirational words and I had sparkling conversation.
But honestly, I looked deep inside and I had nothing.
In fact, I even asked Alex, so panicked was I for conversation, I think I even asked her what she'd planned for the rest of that week.
And I was so aware that I was in that room doing nothing.
I was doing nothing other than take up space in an already overcrowded room.
But I was also aware that there was someone in that room who was doing even less than I was doing.
And out she came.
Crying and contributing nothing other than a lot of pain on behalf of my wife, the kind of which I cannot begin to imagine.
There's the baby.
The baby was doing absolutely nothing.
Except being born.
And so with that image in our minds, here's the puzzle of John chapter 3.
As Jesus explains what it is to be a Christian.
Of all the metaphors that he could have picked.
Of all the sights and sounds that he could have told us to take in.
Of all the places that he could have taken us to understand what it is to be a Christian.
He takes us to the maternity ward.
And he gets us to picture a baby being born.
Verse 3 is the key verse here if you want to follow with me in the text.
No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
Now let me just say two things at this point by way of introduction.
The first is a clarification.
You might hear that phrase born again and immediately alarm bells are going off in your minds, right?
If you're immediately thinking of some kind of spiritual space cadet who looks very much like Ned Flanders from The Simpsons.
Someone who has their heads in the clouds and has nothing to do with everyday life.
Now you might have picked that up from the media.
You might have picked that up from friends.
But let me lovingly plead with you today to put those assumptions, presumptions to the side for one minute.
And come and let Jesus, the one who coined that phrase, let him do the talking.
Let him clarify for you what he means when he uses that phrase.
Come and hear it as it were.
Come and hear it straight from the horse's mouth.
And the second thing to say is an invitation.
As strange as this might seem, I'm convinced that if we can grasp what Jesus is saying here,
if we can see both the source and the shape of the Christian life as he lays it out here,
friends, it is wonderfully liberating news for us.
There is life to be found in embracing what Jesus says is true about following him.
Now listen, if you're still confused.com, let me just say you're right at home in John chapter 3.
Because the man on the other end of the conversation doesn't have a clue what's going on either.
Do you want to meet him?
Come with me to the text.
I'm a bit of enthusiasm here.
Come and meet him.
Here he is in John chapter 3.
His name is Nicodemus.
Do you see him?
His name is Nicodemus.
And this is a one-on-one conversation that he has with Jesus.
And it centers around the two words that you will find at the end of verse 15.
It centers around this thing that Jesus calls eternal life.
That all the way through John's gospel, Jesus has been using this repeated phrase and making this repeated claim that he has come so that we may have eternal life as we hear about him and put our faith and trust in what he's done for us.
Now let's just break that phrase down for a second, will we?
Eternal.
Let's talk about quantity.
Right?
Life that never ends, starting from the moment that we receive Jesus as Lord, carries on right on through after death into forever, except then it will be perfected and amplified as we know it because we know it in God's new creation.
And life.
Talking about quality.
The kind that deeply satisfies the hungry, thirsty, and restless human soul.
Stemming from the knowledge and enjoyment of our creator God who exists as a glorious community of love as Father, Son, and Spirit three in one.
Eternal life as we know and find our place in relationship with the God who made us.
Oh, and friends, in our world of death and in our news screens where the war in Europe doesn't seem to be ceasing,
and in our world of cost of living worries, in our world of political uncertainty and the pain that's coming from that,
in our world of real heart-breaking questions,
those two words, eternal life,
they should come at us today,
should feel like walking into a log fire heated room when you've just come in from a freezing wet walk.
This is Scotland in winter.
Okay?
They should come at us with huge refreshment
and warmth
and life.
As C.S. Lewis once said,
too often we're like children who are too happy making mud pies in the dirt
to contemplate what Jesus means and holds out to us as he offers us a holiday
at the beach.
We're all too easily pleased.
And Jesus comes here and he says,
I've come that you may have eternal life.
Now here's the thing about eternal life.
Nicodemus in this day is the favorite to get it.
Because he has a spiritual CV to die for.
Right?
Follow with me.
Verse 1.
This man is an Orthodox Jew.
He is part of this devout group called the Pharisees.
He is deeply committed to external purity, legal observance, and Bible knowledge.
And this man is part of the religious ruling council of the day called the Sanhedrin.
Nicodemus holds those cards in his hands.
We've got to understand in our terms,
he would be holding all the aces.
You're not just,
you are not beating this guy.
I think that's the point.
You're not beating him.
If you've asked anyone who's around this day,
who is the favorite to get this thing called eternal life?
The whole neighborhood is pointing straight at Nicodemus.
And here's the thing.
However good you think you are here today,
however religious you think your life might be here today,
Nicodemus beats you.
And it's the guy up front who's meant to be the religious guy.
He beats me.
He outprays me.
He outreads me.
He outthinks me.
He outworks me.
Nicodemus beats me.
Hands down.
He's just not beating them.
And Nicodemus goes to see Jesus.
Do you see at night in the text?
Just the time of day he went.
I take it if you're going to suss somebody out,
you don't want others to see you doing it.
You go at night.
Maybe he's intrigued by Jesus
because he's gathering quite a crowd.
If you remember at the end of chapter two,
as a result of the signs that he's doing.
He goes at night.
But John, in his classic style of double meaning,
night is also a window into the true state
of this man's heart before God.
Because spiritually speaking,
the lights might be on,
but there ain't nobody home.
Nicodemus, despite having all the aces,
he's in the dark.
To see being spiritually in the dark, friends,
it is not a matter of the intellect.
It's a matter of the heart.
Famous story told about William Wilberforce
and his good friend and parliamentary colleague,
William Pitt.
Great week to pick a parliamentary illustration,
I tell you.
Pitt, one of the brightest minds of his day,
eventually becomes prime minister
and Wilberforce takes Pitt to hear George Whitefield.
George Whitefield,
one of the greatest preachers this country has ever known
when he was speaking in London.
And George Whitefield does his thing.
People come to faith in Jesus.
Wilberforce turns to Pitt and he says,
what did you make of it?
And Pitt simply replies,
I didn't understand a word that that man said.
I just didn't get it.
You've had that experience before
when you've spoken to a friend about Christ.
I remember at university taking a friend along
to a CU event
when there was one of my favorite speakers speaking.
So excited afterwards, my friend just,
what was that all about?
Friends, what we all need to understand
is that this is all of us,
by nature,
outwith Jesus Christ.
All of us.
We are creatures deserving his judgment.
We are following the course
of our own sinful hearts and desires.
We want nothing to do with God.
In the words of Christopher Rash,
each of us are like musicians in an orchestra
who want nothing to do with the conductor
because we want to play our heart's own song.
Outwith Christ,
we are creatures
who are spiritually dead.
It's exactly what the Bible says to us.
And what our hearts need is not CPR.
What our hearts need is not resuscitation.
What our hearts need
is the thing that the Bible calls regeneration.
We need to be made new.
We need, in other words,
we need God.
We need him to do something in here.
That's what we need him to do.
So the problem is.
So there's the problem.
It's in here.
So Nicodemus makes his play.
Do you see it?
Verse two.
And in turn,
Jesus challenges and flips
the entire way that Nicodemus
understands himself
and he understands the world
in which he lives.
He flips it on his head.
Because Jesus says
two things to Nicodemus
about eternal life.
He says,
first of all,
that there is nothing
you can do
to earn it.
So the word born
appears there six times.
Do you see it?
Born, born, born, born, born,
born.
Which is a bizarre metaphor,
especially if you consider
that Nicodemus at this point
in time in the text
is an older man.
Now what does that mean?
It means that
he's not some kind of
teenage boy
giggling in the classroom
when he hears somebody
explain the birds and the bees,
right?
He's an old man.
He's been already,
he gets it.
But it's a metaphor
that if Nicodemus
is to understand
his true spiritual state
before this holy God,
it's a metaphor
that precisely makes
the point.
Because Nicodemus
has lived his whole life
probably according
to the mantra
that to behave
is to belong.
Perform well,
keep the rules,
stay in line
and demonstrate
that you're on
the right side of God
and you're in the kingdom
because you're behaving
like you belong.
But I just won't
wash with Jesus.
According to Jesus,
this isn't about Nicodemus
trying to turn over
a new leaf.
We've got that phrase
that we use in our culture,
don't we?
We always use it
on the 1st of January.
It's not about
turning over a new leaf.
It's not going to cut it.
It's not going to make
a difference.
You're not going to
know your own heart
well enough to know
that when you try
and change,
it just doesn't happen.
Right?
That's why gyms
are rammed in January
and they're nearly dead
in February
because we always
make these resolutions
to do things
with our lives
and we realise
after a while,
actually,
it's just too much
hard work.
I can't do it.
No,
this is not about
Nicodemus turning
over a new leaf.
This is about
Nicodemus,
by God,
by his grace,
giving Nicodemus
a new heart.
This is about God,
by his spirit,
giving him
a new heart,
working in him
to bring
a complete
inner
cleansing
from his sin.
That's what it is
to be born with water,
if you're wondering
what that word
is there for,
and transforming
his entire being.
This is something
that only God
can do
in the soul
of a human being.
Only God
can do this.
Nicodemus needs
a new heart.
All of those
out with Christ,
we need new hearts.
All of those
that are in Christ,
we're only there
by the grace of God
because he's given
us a new heart.
Now,
to stop you thinking
that I've driven you
into some kind of
cul-de-sac
with nowhere to go,
let me just tell you
why my soul
was so refreshed
by the truth
of this passage
this week.
Friends,
is it not
incredibly good news
that when Jesus
wants us
to understand
what it is
to be a Christian,
he doesn't take us
round the religious
hall of fame,
show us all the
heroes of the faith,
sends us away
and says,
try again.
No,
he takes us
to the maternity
ward
and he says,
come to me
and be born again.
Do you see
the difference
between the two?
Not try harder,
not try again,
trust that I've
done it all,
look to me
and be born again.
Oh friends,
I'm a Christian
not because
I am the man.
I am a Christian
because I am
the baby.
that's the
liberating truth
of this passage.
This is what it
is to know
God's grace.
Oh friends,
this is what it
means to have
God as our
gracious
heavenly
father and
this is what it
means.
This is an
invitation to
run to him
knowing that
we're saved
by grace,
to run to him
and ask for
more grace.
Oh and here's
a wonderful
book and I
don't mean to
cost you tons
of money at
this time,
this is just
books that I
found really
great.
Dane Ortlund
and his
wonderful book
Gentle and
Lowly.
Friends,
if you want
to recapture
Christ's love
for you,
his child,
here is a
wonderful book
where he does
this, okay?
Here's the quote,
when you come
to Christ
for mercy
and love
and help
in your
anguish
and perplexity
and sinfulness,
you are going
with the flow
of his deepest
wishes,
not against
them.
Do you see,
this is what it
is to be saved
by grace alone.
This is how
the grace of
God works,
working in us
because this is
how the spirit
of God works.
And that's
what Jesus
means there
at verse 8.
What does he
describe the
Holy Spirit?
He's like the
wind.
Remember,
the spirit
is not an
it,
the spirit
is the third
person of
the Godhead.
He is like
the wind.
You can't
see the wind,
but boy can
you see the
effects of the
wind.
Likewise,
you don't see
how the spirit
is moving,
you don't see
how he is at
work,
but boy can
you see the
effects of him
moving.
The words
of that
old hymn
that some
of us
might have
grown up
singing,
I know
not how
the spirit
moves,
convincing
men of
sin,
revealing
Jesus
through the
word,
creating
faith
in him.
And here's
what I want
to do,
I guess,
as your
pastor this
morning,
I want
to encourage
you as
a church,
our church
family,
that I see
the spirit
at work
in you.
some of
you seeking
to investigate
Jesus,
whereas six
months ago
that wasn't
even on your
radar.
Friends,
that is the
spirit at work.
Some of
us installing
things in our
computers so we
don't go near
stuff we
shouldn't be
looking at.
Some of us
thinking twice
about relationship
for us that's
just not helpful.
Friends,
that is the
spirit at work
in our lives.
Some of us
giving sacrificially
of ourselves
to our
children,
taking the
time that it
needs,
pouring in the
hours to
seek to try
and raise
them and
nurture them
in the ways
of the Lord.
Friends,
that is the
spirit.
And I went
to see Audrey
and Donald
ten days ago
just before I
went on holiday
just listening
to what life
is like for
them.
It's hard.
Listen to Audrey
tell me about
the fact that
she's in a lot
of pain.
But let me
tell you,
I heard a lot
about pain
but I heard
nothing
about panic.
Do you know
what she said?
She said,
I'm just ready
to go.
And then she
added one
little word
at the end,
home.
First Peter,
the spirit of
God,
we've been
born again
to a living
hope in
Christ Jesus.
Friends,
that is the
spirit.
Some of us
putting our
hands up and
asking for
help and
opening up to
brothers and
sisters about
the struggles
in our life
because we
understand we're
saved by grace
alone.
That's the
spirit.
It's one
thing I
picked up
in America,
friends,
to always
be on the
lookout,
how God's
spirit is
at work
in everyday
unspectacular
ways in
our lives.
Let me
just encourage
you,
the urge
to fight
sin and
pursue
Christ is
not a
sign of
failure,
it's a
sign of
faith.
Do you
know why?
Because it's
God who's
put that
desire there.
It's the
spirit working
in our
lives that's
given us the
desire in the
first place.
that we
would want
to pursue
Christ and
not pursue
our own
agenda.
That's the
spirit.
You know,
Alex and I
were walking
around Bath
this week.
The two of
us had a
night off
without the
kids,
walking around
Bath City
Centre,
people pouring
out of pubs,
out of work,
students doing
their thing,
things going on
in the city
centre that
go on in any
city centre.
Do you know
what the two
of us said?
If it wasn't
for God at work
in our lives,
we'd be doing
exactly the
same.
Oh,
friends,
do you see
how he's
put these
desires here?
He has
caused us to
be born again
by his
spirit.
He's washed
us clean
by his
blood,
cleansed us
through his
work on the
cross.
Friends,
I look at
you,
just to finish
this little
bit off,
I look at
you,
do you know
what I see?
Term of
endearment.
I see
babies.
Nicodemus,
this is how
it works
in God's
kingdom.
When it
comes to
eternal life,
there's nothing
that you can
do to earn
it except
secondly,
trust that
I've done
everything that
you might
have it.
Verse 9,
how can this
be true?
Well,
according to
Jesus,
do you see,
and I think
this is a
surprise in
the text,
if you come
with me to
verse 9,
Nicodemus
should have
known this.
This ain't
coming from
left field,
as far as
Jesus is
concerned.
You're the
leader of
Israel,
you're the
religious
guy,
you've read
the stuff,
you should
know this.
If you think
back to what
Fiona read in
Ezekiel 36,
this is what
God promised
he would do
for his
Old Testament
people,
for his
people,
his all
nations,
hear about
Christ and
are gathered
in.
He was
going to
do this,
he was
going to
work to
bring about
that heart
transformation
that his
people need.
He was
going to
make a
way for
them to be
cleansed from
their sin and
uncleanness.
he was
going to
do the
taking out
of the
heart of
stone and
he was
going to
do in
its place
put in a
heart of
flesh.
And if you
also remember,
what else was
God going to
put in his
people's hearts?
His law and
a desire to
obey it,
that they would
long to walk
in his ways in
obedience and
worship of
him.
That's what God's
going to do,
a heart
transformation in
the lives of
his people.
It's almost
as if the
God who
first breathed
life into
the very
first human
being.
And I love
that bit in
Genesis that
you get,
it's almost
like God,
I breathe the
breath of
life into
Adam in
the Garden
of Eden.
It's almost
as if the
God of the
universe through
Christ is
going to do
it again.
He's going to
breathe spiritual
life into his
people.
But here's the
question,
what gives
Jesus the
right to
speak so
authoritatively
on this
one?
It's a good
question to
ask,
isn't it?
Verse 13,
what does he
say?
He says he's
been there.
That's how he
can speak in
these things,
because he's
been there.
Some of us
might learn the
hard way when
you book a
holiday,
listening to
what the
hotel says
about itself
is not always
the best
policy,
is it?
Because they
always big
themselves up,
food,
to die for,
entertainment
out of this
world,
staff are a
charm,
complete with
wide-angle
lens photos
to make
things look
more beautiful
than they
actually are.
So what do
we do?
We go on
the website
and what do
we look for?
We look for
reviews of
people that
have actually
been there.
And even
though you
get 800
positive reviews,
you search
for that one
review,
because of
course that
one person
is the only
person that's
actually been
there.
So what we
do, we
listen to the
voices of
people who
have actually
been there.
And that's
what Jesus
is saying
here.
He can
speak of
heavenly
things.
Why?
Because he's
from there.
He's been
there.
In fact, he's
been there
since time
began, except
now he's
taken on
flesh and
he's come
down to
reveal the
Father to
us.
Because of
the pursuing,
loving
determination
of God,
the God
that so
loved the
world that
is perishing,
he came to
bring forgiveness
and transformation
to bear in
the hearts
of his people.
So Christ
can come
and say,
I've come
to reveal
the Father.
Why?
That this
is how it
works in
the kingdom
of God.
Do you
need to
be born
of the
Spirit and
of water?
Why?
Because he's
been there.
And he's
come to
tell us.
And he's
come to
give us.
Verse 14.
He's come
to give us.
And he uses
his Old
Testament story
from the
book of
Numbers.
from when
the Israelites
were wandering
in the desert.
A time in
Israel's history
where people
are just
complaining,
they are
bitter,
they are
angry about
God and
about his
chosen leader
Moses.
And God
so angry
with his
people's sin,
his righteous
anger,
he sends
snakes among
them who
bite many
of them.
Because a
holy God
must deal
with sin.
But in
his mercy,
God says
to Moses,
would you
make a
statue of
a snake
and would
you raise
it up and
put it on
a pole?
Lift it up
and tell
everyone who's
been beaten
all they need
to do to
be healed,
to be saved,
is to look
at the snake
on the pole.
Look
and live.
And the
thing about
that episode
is that people
would be saved
not by being
in proximity
to the
snake.
People
would be
saved and
healed not
by acknowledging
the mere
existence of
a snake.
Well,
friends,
people would
be saved
solely by
looking to
and trusting
what God
has said
was true
about the
snake.
And Jesus
says,
in the same
way,
my earthly
life will
end with
me lifted
up on a
cross.
and what
we need
to understand
as human
beings is
that our
sin is
way more
eternally
deadly than
a snake
bite.
What do
you need
to do to
be healed
and to
live,
says
Jesus?
You need
to look
at me.
I need
to trust
in what
I've done.
You need
to look
at my
blood pouring
out of my
side,
my blood
shed for
you.
And I
love this.
Friends,
I hadn't
seen this
until this
week.
John
writes as
Jesus dies
in chapter
19,
that he
gave up
his spirit.
The image
there is
of him
breathing
his last.
Psalmist
John
symbolically
saying,
through what
has happened
here,
through the
death and
the subsequent
resurrection of
Jesus,
as he
inhales
and as he
exhales,
this will
be the
means by
which he
will breathe
the spirit,
the breath
of life,
into his
people.
All those
who would
look on
him for
trust and
for forgiveness.
And so the
invitation for
all of us
here today,
maybe particularly
if you don't
know this
Jesus as
your Lord
and your
King and
your Saviour,
is to look
at him on
the cross,
embrace it,
trust him,
love him,
and look
and live.
Here is,
if you think
back to what
Archie said,
shared a few
weeks ago,
is Jesus
came on the
scene in
John's
gospel as
the
substitute
groom.
Here then
is Christ
the divine
bridegroom
come to
breathe
life
into his
bride.
And she
lives.
And we
live
because of
him.
Friends,
let me just
take you to
a cracking
little Italian
restaurant in
Louisville,
Kentucky
called
Martinis.
Alex and
I had a
night out
with our
dear friend
Betsy and
our friend
Gary,
a night that
will live
long in my
memory for
two reasons.
Number one,
hands down
the best
lasagna I've
ever tasted.
So big with
the portions I
couldn't finish
it all,
I had to
take it
home,
got a
doggy bag
to take
it home
the next
day to
have for
lunch.
Friends,
you can
take the
boy out
of Scotland.
But the
second reason
it will
live long
in my
memory is
hearing
Betsy's
story of
how she
became a
Christian.
Do you
know what
she said?
She started
telling us,
she said,
it was this
difference I
noticed in
my older
brother,
CJ.
You see,
neither of
them grew
up in a
Christian
family,
and CJ,
the oldest
brother,
had grown
long,
hippie hair,
loved to
smoke pot,
he was
obsessed with
sports,
and he
couldn't wait
to move
out of
home.
As soon as
the opportunity
came,
he was
gone.
And she
said,
years later,
all of a
sudden,
my phone
went,
and it
was CJ
on the
phone,
and he
wants to
meet,
he wants
to talk,
and I
find out
he's done
the exact
same thing
with all
my family
members,
so I
meet him,
and one
by one,
he goes
around our
family,
and he
tells us
how he's
gone away,
he's met
people at
university,
he's put
his faith
in Jesus
Christ,
and she
said,
I don't
know what
happened,
but the
guy I
was looking
at was
not the
same guy
I was
spoken to
before,
what have
you done
with my
older
brother?
But you
know what
she also
said,
she said,
whatever had
happened in
him,
whatever had
gone on
in here,
I didn't
understand it,
but I
wanted it.
And you
know what
she said,
here was
her line,
how was
it manifesting
itself in
CJ's
life?
Here's what
she said,
he couldn't
stop saying
sorry.
And so
here is
John chapter
three,
telling us
what has
gone on
in CJ's
life,
explaining to
us,
if we're a
Christian here
today,
what has
gone on
in our
lives,
that there's
been a
baby born.
And why
has he done
it?
What is this
all about?
How should
we leave
here today?
Why has
he done
it?
He's done
it so
that we
would walk
in the
newness of
life.
He's done
it so
that we
would pursue
righteousness
and Christ
likeness.
Oh friends,
I am a
new creation.
No more
in condemnation.
Here in
the grace
of God
I stand
and I
will praise
you Lord.
I will
praise you
Lord and
I will
sing of
all that
you have
done,
a joy
that knows
no limit,
a lightness
in my
spirit.
Here in
the grace
of God
I stand.
Let's
pray,
will we?
Father,
I'm so
aware of
the
parable
of the
sower
that tells
us when
your word
goes forth
so often
the evil
one comes
and tries
to snatch
it away.
And
Father,
I pray
that just
now by
your living
and abiding
spirit in
us,
Father,
that you
would do
your work
in our
midst.
O
Father,
bring
comfort,
bring
challenge,
bring
rebuke,
bring a
wonderful
reminder of
your
fatherly
care and
love for
us.
O
Father,
for those
who don't
know life
in your
son,
the Lord
Jesus,
may today
be the
day where
they put
their faith
in him.
Father,
we thank
you that
we are
saved,
not because
we tried
again,
because that
could never
work.
Father,
thank you
that we
are saved
because you
tell us
by your
grace,
by your
spirit,
that we've
been born
again.
O
Father,
receive our
praise,
we pray.
In Jesus'
name we
ask.
Amen.