John 3:1-2 Nicodemus seeks entry into the
Introduction: In last Sunday’s text there were 8 things
given which testified that Jesus is the Christ.
1. His mother and brethren. Mary, James, Jude, Joses,
Simon.
2. His disciples. Peter, Andrew, Philip, Nathanael, and one
unnamed.
3. The Passover. The lamb, spotless, slain,
blood of deliverance.
4. His Zeal. Foretold by David and fulfilled by Jesus.
5. His father’s house. The Lamp, the altar, the
shew bread, the mercy seat.
6. His resurrection. Foretold and accomplished.
7. His miracles. Healing of the sick, blind, lame, deaf, dumb,
demon possessed.
8. His knowledge. He knew all men and knew what was in man.
In today’s text we are introduced to
a man named Nicodemus. He will serve as
a witness that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. Nicodemus will become a secret disciple of
Jesus at first but in just 3 short years he will declare openly that Jesus is
the Christ the son of the living God.
His witness is important for He is called by Jesus “a master of
John 3:1 There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Nicodemus means “victory of the
people”. He is a Pharisee. This is the strictest most moral group of
people in all of
John 3:2 The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him.
He
came to Jesus by night. I believe that
he feared what his fellow counsel members would think. Some have said that it only indicates he was
a busy man and the only time he would have to meet with Jesus was after working
hours. His work was all about religious
matters. There would be no higher
priority than to seek out a known prophet of God and hear his words. Jesus was controversial. The ruling counsel as a whole did not accept
John the Baptist’s claim that the Christ had come. They had gotten an official statement from
John that he was not the Christ and that satisfied them. They would deal with any other person the
same way if they came claiming to be the Christ. They asked Jesus for a sign and he gave them
one. They would indeed destroy His body
but He would raise it again in three days.
Nicodemus
recognizes Jesus as a Rabbi. This is a
term of respect. He sees Jesus as a
master and teacher who has come from God. He uses the pronoun “we” in his opening
statement. The “we” he referred to is
explained in John
John 3:3 Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the
Nicodemus
did not ask a question of Jesus but Jesus answered him anyway. You see Jesus knew what question Nicodemus
had on his mind. He knew what question
Nicodemus needed to have answered. Remember
Jesus knows what is in man. Jesus knows
just what to say to a person to lead their minds to where they may understand
Spiritual truth. Jesus says to him
“Verily, verily”. This is the same as
saying “what I am about to tell you is absolutely true and certain.” Allow me to paraphrase what Jesus says in
this verse. I shall put this in words
which will help make its meaning clear.
Unless a man experiences a second birth he cannot understand or perceive
the
Jesus
reveals to Nicodemus and to us the details of what happens when one is
saved. There is a new birth which occurs
inside of man when he repents and trusts in Jesus as the Christ the Son of
God. He becomes a new born child of
God. This birth is spiritual in nature
and is not seen by the physical eyes.
The term used by Jesus “born again” means to be born from above. To a man who is not saved the kingdom and all
its laws and attributes are a mystery.
A lost man understands only physical things not spiritual things.
John 3:4
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be
born?
Nicodemus has a humble attitude.
He freely admits when he does not know or understand something. When I was in seminary I had a class with my
son-in-law. During the class the
instructor made a very deep and profound statement. I had no idea what the statement meant but I
was too proud to ask for an explanation.
I lacked knowledge and understanding of this deep theological
terminology and did not want my piers to know of my ignorance. My son-in-law exhibited a much more humble
attitude and spoke up and asked what the instructor meant. I thanked the Lord right then and there for my
son-in-law’s humility. I decided then
and there that if I did not know or understand what was said by a teacher that
I would ask. Nicodemus did not just nod
his head and pretend to understand in order to save face. He knew that these words were of God and he
knew that it was vital for him to have an understanding that he might know what
God required of him. He knew Jesus did
not mean that he had to return to his mother’s womb. He knew he was talking about something else
and wanted to know more.
John 3:5 Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the
Jesus
begins his explanation to Nicodemus by using the term “Verily, verily”
again. What he is about to say to him is
absolutely true and certain. Unless a
man is born of water even the Spirit he cannot enter into the
In
the Old Testament there was an offering called the “red heifer” offering. The ashes of this red heifer were mixed with
water and this water was used to ceremonially cleanse one who had become
unclean by touching a dead body. There
was in the temple a basin which was filled with water for the cleansing of the
priests. They could not enter into the
temple without being cleansed first. The
young man who took the scapegoat away had to wash himself and his clothes in
water for cleansing before he could enter into the camp. The leper who was pronounced cured of leprosy
had to wash himself with water before he could come into the camp. The person who was made unclean in any way
had to go out of the camp and wash himself in water for cleansing before he
could come into the camp. Nicodemus was
well familiar with the concept of washing with water for cleansing. One could not be in the camp of
John 3:6 That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit.
There are two major parts of man, his flesh and his spirit. The flesh will always be flesh. It will always be sinful and being that the
wages of sin is death this flesh body must and will die. The Spirit is dead because of sin but it may
be born of the Holy Spirit of God and be regenerated into a new creature in
Christ Jesus. It becomes a partaker of
the divine nature and after it has been regenerated it will never sin for it is
born of God.
John 3:7
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Jesus
tells Nicodemus not to be so amazed or puzzled that he said “Ye must be born
again”. A leper can not change his spots
nor an Ethiopian the color of his skin. Some one who is a sinner can not change
himself. He must be changed by God. He can only be made new by the blood of Jesus
as applied by grace through faith. The
Holy Spirit of God convicts the lost sinner of his sin and when that lost
person throws himself upon the mercy of God and begs for forgiveness the Holy
Spirit regenerates and renews the soul of that man making him a new creature in
Christ Jesus.
John 3:8 The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
of the Spirit.
Jesus gives Nicodemus a physical
example of a spiritual thing. You do not
have to see something in order to know it is there. The wind can not be seen yet its effects are
apparent and through its effects we know that it does exist. The college professor told his students that
there is no God for, said he, you can not see God and you can not touch
God. A student applied the same logic to
the professor’s brain. He could not see
it nor feel it so it must not exist.
You do not have to understand the
doctrine of regeneration in order to be saved.
You do not have to understand all that takes place inside with the
spirit in order to be saved. I am glad
that I did not have to understand spiritual things in order to be saved. The lost person can not understand spiritual
things until he has been born again.
What you must understand is that there is a God against whom you have
sinned. God has provided a penalty for
sin and that is condemnation in the lake of fire. God has also provide
man a way of escape from this damnation.
He has sent His Son to die in your place. He offers to all men this free gift of
salvation. He requires of you that you
repent of your sin. This means that you
must regret having sinned against God and you must turn to him seeking
forgiveness and salvation. This is done
by believing in Jesus that He is the Christ, the savior of men. He is the only one who can save you. He is the only one who died for you in your
place. If you will believe in Him He
will save you. The bible says that
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
You will not see any outward evidence
that you have been born again when it first happens. You get assurance that you have been born
again when you trust Him. You will want
to seek the will of God for you life after you have been born again. You will want to follow Jesus in baptism for
He has commanded that those who are saved should be baptized. You will want to learn more about Him and
what He wants you to do. The love and gratitude you have will drive you to
serve Him. Those who truly have been
saved will be led by the Spirit of God to Join one of His Churches and bring
glory to him by serving in the church.
If you have no desire to serve God you might ought to take a personal
inventory of your salvation experience.
Make sure that you have repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus
Christ as your savior.
Be like Nicodemus, if you do not
understand what God requires of you speak up and ask questions for your eternal
destiny is at stake. Do not delay, come
to Jesus now.