The according to John

Sermon 9

5 26 19

The New Birth

“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the , during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But , on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. Now there was a man of the , named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?” (:23 – 3:10 – NASB)

Introduction:

Today, we will move forward in our study of the . It has been a few weeks since we have had our last sermon from John, so a brief recap is in order.

 Chapter 1

 Jesus is almighty God  Jesus is the  Jesus became flesh and dwelt among men  Jesus showed who the Father was in His earthly life  was the forerunner of  John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God  John the Baptist pointed his disciples toward Jesus  Jesus began to amass a following of disciples

 Chapter 2

 Jesus turned the water to wine --- this was the first and beginning of signs Jesus would do  Jesus showed His authority in the Temple cleansing  Jesus showed His authority over life in predicting His death and resurrection  Jesus showed His authority by His omniscience --- He knew what was in the heart of man

We have also been continually reminded throughout of John’s purpose in writing the Gospel. It is found near the end of the book in 20:30-31.

 “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

As we continue today, I need to let you know up front that this will be the first of three sermons from this section. Though the text is not lengthy, it contains subject matter with monumental ramifications. So rather than hurry through it and overwhelm you with information, I would rather give 1 you three shorter sermons that can be digested and absorbed. So in the first sermon we will give an overview of the text with some explanation, in the second sermon we will give an exhaustive biblical view of the true nature of unregenerate man and lastly we will give a thorough treatment to the true nature of the new birth. There are two reasons why it is important to cover these issues here. One is because it is the content of the text. The other is because both of these subjects come up repeatedly in the Gospel of John and if we treat it properly now will not have to go so deep when we hit it again in a later text.

As we get started it is also important to note that the chapter division here does not mark the end of the pericope. A pericope is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, suitable for public reading or teaching from a text. Each pericope is typically marked in your by bold type at the beginning and end of each one.

The story in chapter 3 is tied directly to the final verses of chapter 2, which reads…...

 23 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.”

 24 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,”

 25 “and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

I. A Secret Visit from Nicodemus (1-2)

A. The background of Nicodemus (1)

 “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;”

 Man of the Pharisees  The Pharisees were the more conservative party  The religious right  Most of them were in the middle class

 Nicodemus  Many believe he is from very prominent family of aristocrats or nobles  This is a rather rare name  This being the case would elevate him above the middle class

 A ruler of the Jews o A member of the o The 70 elders going all the way back to o The ruling body made up of and Pharisees (priests / Levites / others) o The Sadducees were more about politics and the Pharisees about religion o The Pharisees related more to the common people and were more readily accepted in society

 Erdmann: He was “a ruler,” i.e., a member of the Sanhedrin, a man of high reputation, of learning of influence, of power;” (37)

B. The details of the meeting (2)

1) The timing of Nicodemus (2a)

 “this man came to Jesus by night”

 By night

o It could have been fear of what others thought and he didn’t want to be seen o It could have been an attempt to have a conversation without a crowd around 2

2) The intention of Nicodemus (2b)

 “this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

 Nicodemus addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” o “Rabbi” means “teacher” o This is the highest title he could give to Jesus and shows respect

 Nicodemus recognized that Jesus came from God o He said “we know that You have come from God”

 Nicodemus acknowledged the signs Jesus did as being from God o He said “no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” o He recognized the very thing John said he wanted his readers to understand

3) The debate about Nicodemus’ sincerity

 Option #1: Nicodemus was sincere and really wanting to know the truth

 Option #2: Nicodemus was not sincere and was actually being antagonistic

 The options compared

 Option #1

 Merit

 He came  He came in private  A normal reading of the dialogue seems sincere  That he came shows he took Jesus seriously

 Demerit

 He used the pronoun “we” which indicates he represented a larger group of inquirers  It is clear that the Pharisees as a whole did not believe Jesus was from God and would not acknowledge Him as being from God

 Option #2: Nicodemus was not sincere and was actually being antagonistic

 Merit

 History records an orderly style of debate that this dialogue fits into  A reading of the dialogue with this in the backdrop would make sense  Each comment by Nicodemus could be construed as sarcasm or chiding  Each comment by Jesus could be seen as an answer that topped the challenge by Nicodemus

 Demerit

 This motive is not reported plainly by John nor made clear in the text  Nicodemus’ short term and long term responses indicate sincerity . Nothing is recorded regarding anger, frustration or disbelief (or belief) . We know from later texts that he was born again at some point

 This view does not have nearly the support as option #1

 Erdmann: “The time may indicate timidity, but the fact and the sequel, reveal sincerity.” (37)

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4) Nicodemus as a representative

 It makes no difference which option you hold to  Either way Nicodemus was up against something he did not understand  Whether sincere or insincere Jesus informed him of his greatest need  Nicodemus represented:

 the religious lost (those trying to earn salvation by their religious works)  all of mankind (every person ever born – all were born dead in sin spiritually)

II. A Shocking Statement by Jesus (3)

 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

1) The abrupt change of direction

 Jesus does not really reply to Nicodemus’ statement… nor does He ask why he came  Perhaps this is because Jesus knew what was really in Nicodemus’ heart (2:24-25)  Perhaps Jesus knew what Nicodemus really needed even if he didn’t have it in his heart  Either way Jesus directed his attention to the new birth and the kingdom of God

2) The emphatic repetition

 “Truly, truly”  Only appears in John  Is only used by Jesus  It is used 25 times  It translates “ajmhvvvn” (am-ane) and means “so let it be” – and shows agreement o “in truth I tell you” o “believe me when I say” o “I do assure you” o “most assuredly” (NKJV) o In essence --- “this is a thing you need to hear, understand and believe

3) The natural human restriction – inability

 “Unless” – introduces a qualification that must be met  “one is born again” – names what has to happen to meet the qualification  “he cannot see the kingdom of God” --- shows the limitation and lack of ability to reach the desired goal  Nicodemus was seeking the kingdom – this was the expectation of the Jews  As one who knew Scripture he would have been aware of the coming kingdom  Like the others he misunderstood and was seeking deliverance from physical enemies  “Cannot” is important here o It shows the state of a person without the new birth o Cannot translates “duvnamai” (dunamai) and means: . to be able . have power whether by virtue of one's own ability and resources o this word is used by Jesus in vs. 3 twice by Nicodemus in vs. 5 and again by Jesus in verse 5

 Jesus is basically saying that Nicodemus or any lost man left by himself the way he is in his natural state does not have the power or ability to see the kingdom of God (have eternal life / go to heaven / etc.)

3) The mysterious concept of the new birth 4

 “again” translates “avjnwqen” (an'-o-then)  from above, from a higher place  of things which come from heaven or God  anew, over again

4) The intended destination – the kingdom of God  apparently the intended destination for Nicodemus was the kingdom  Jews like Nicodemus would have been looking for their Messiah to bring in the kingdom  After Nicodemus’ initial statement Jesus turns the focus to the kingdom of God

III. A Spirited Pair of Questions from Nicodemus (4)

 “Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’”

1) Question #1

 “How can a man be born when he is old?”

 Some scholars believe that the concept of the new birth was known by the Jews in that day --- a gentile was considered to be “born again” as they left their old life  Some view this as Nicodemus basically saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”  The next question may reveal the limit of his understanding

2) Question #2

 “He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’”

 It seems clear that no matter what Nicodemus understood, he did not get what Jesus was saying  He rightly understood the first birth as a physical birth  He wrongly understood that the second birth would be physical as well

 Tasker: “He has yet to learn that God’s creative power is not limited to the material and the physical. There also exists a realm of spirit in which God is at work.” (67)

IV. A Significant Statement by Jesus (5-8)

A. A restatement of verse 3 (5)

 “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

 The second use of “Truly, truly”  The second mention of the new birth  The second mention of the natural human restriction  The second mention of the kingdom of God

 Tasker: “No-one, Jesus told him, can experience the reign of God, no matter what his race or his degree of piety may be, apart from the experience of the new birth; for neither racial privilege nor the punctilious observance of religious practices can efface the sin that is inherent in every child of Adam.” (67)

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B. A comparison between the physical birth and spiritual birth (6)

 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

C. An explanation of the new birth (7-8)

 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (7)

 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (8)

D. 2 important truths that demand a lengthy treatment

1) The true nature of unregenerate man (3-6)

2) The true nature of the new birth (7-8)

V. A Third Question from Nicodemus (9)

 “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”

 The necessity of the new birth was stated twice and explained --- yet Nicodemus still did not understand

VI. A Sharp Response by Jesus (10)

 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”

1) Jesus addressed Nicodemus as “the teacher in Isreal”

 The definite article is a distinguishing mark  This elevates Nicodemus to a prominent place

2) Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand the truth He was speaking

 Nicodemus should have known the Law and the Prophets  Nicodemus should have been able to lead the sheep of Isreal to true salvation

 Tasker: “Nicodemus, the distinguished master of Israel (10), ought not to be ignorant of the power of God to change human lives.” (67)

Conclusion:

 Reminder: This is part one of 3 sermons from this text. The next two sermons will deal with…

 The True Nature of Unregenerate Man (3-6)

 The True Nature of the New Birth (7-8)

 Challenge:

 Take some time to consider what says about the nature of unregenerate man

 Note as many verses as you can

 Note any verses you find that commend the unregenerate to God

 Meditation:

 Look up all the verses you can find regarding the new birth

 Note the details (God’s part / man’s part)

 Spend some time worshipping God and thanking Him for your new birth 6