Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.”
Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. (New Revised Standard Version)
Christians serve a triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit. This Holy Trinity of three persons, yet one God, conspires to plan and orchestrate the deliverance of people from sin, death, and hell. The Lord makes it possible for people to be born again.
Maybe you’re ready to tune out with the phrase “born again” or “born from above” because either this is old hat to you; or you want to distance yourself from the obnoxious evangelist who is the pester pup toward others’ salvation.
However, today’s Gospel lesson is for me and you. So instead of tuning out, consider the person of Nicodemus in the story:
- Served God
- Good guy
- Upstanding Jewish citizen
- Devout and pious man
- Faithful temple worship attendance
- Member of a prestigious religious group
And yet, it was to Nicodemus that Jesus said, “You must be born again.” But why? Because although Nicodemus was a really good egg, he was an adoring fan of Jesus, but not a committed follower of Jesus.
Admiration and kudos isn’t the same as taking up your cross and following Christ. Nicodemus didn’t need to adjust his life and make some tweaks here and there; it was time for a new life in walking the path of discipleship with Jesus.
The further away we are from birth, the easier it is to take God for granted; and to have a spiritually settled way of life in which the mystery, wonder, and awe of life is slowly drained from us. That’s why I think two year olds probably know more about God than anyone around – since they can articulate the wonder of life being only a few short years from their birth.
One night I came home and walked into the kitchen to find my then four-year old grandson unashamedly crawling on all fours with his face barely off the floor. I said, “What in the world are you doing?” He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eye and a serious tone in his voice and said, “I’m sniffing for clues.”
I honestly do not expect you to sniff for clues on your kitchen floor. But would any of us be found sniffing for clues of God? Would we seek hard and doggedly pursue the Lord?
Because Nicodemus was such a good guy, he did not see himself in need of new life. Meeting Jesus at night is deeply symbolic of the fact that Nicodemus was literally in the dark about his spiritual condition. He was actually clueless to many of God’s ways, and how the world works in God’s kingdom. Nicodemus maintained a respectable distance as a fan of Jesus.
How do we move from being a fan to a follower of Jesus?
Believe. To believe in Jesus means to move from only an intellectual faith of acknowledging doctrinal beliefs about Christ and God. There is to be movement from observing the works of God to a life of complete trust as a dedicated follower of Jesus.
Christian discipleship is more than asking Christ to help out in a jam or bad situation. And it is certainly more than praying a particular prayer. Rather, it’s letting Jesus decide what to do with us and remove any shortcomings, character defects, guilt, shame, and general crud from us.
We are to be made pure, to be cleansed – as if we were a new person or born again, from above. There is the willingness to depend on something other than myself, my resources, and my connections.
In Christianity, Jesus is much more than a wise teacher and a miracle worker; Christ is Savior for whom the follower gives complete allegiance to. In other words, we let Jesus use us for divine purposes, instead of us using Jesus for our own puny human purposes.
Let us intentionally and deliberately relinquish control of our lives, and of everything, to Jesus and become his faithful followers. Information is not transformation; and, seeing transformation in another person’s life is not a substitute for transformation in my own life.
Nicodemus had to grab ahold of the reality that Jesus did not only come to save others, but to save him, as well. We must be born from above, to have a new life, to be “born of water and spirit.” Nicodemus would have immediately been reminded of John the Baptist’s ministry of a baptizing for the repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Jesus was letting Nicodemus know that he, too, needed repentance from trusting in those good deeds, and of simply acknowledging Christ. The practices of fasting, praying, and giving; and the dedication to thrift and morality is quite admirable. Yet, these are not the things which move a person from darkness to light. And they don’t give us a leg up to heaven.
Jesus is the One who has worked hard for us. God conceives us as Christians, and then nurtures us in the womb of faith. At some point, we come to full term, and God births us spiritually into new life.
Maybe it’s time to move from darkness to light; from staying warm and cozy inside the womb to the bright outside world; from being a fan of Jesus to a follower of Jesus; from being in the dark audience to the bright lights of the stage for all to see.
The issue is not in saving yourself, but to let God be God; and let God do the work in you that God wants to do.
If there is no gestation from Jesus as Teacher to Jesus as Savior, there is no birth. If there is no gestation from Jesus as Miracle-Worker to Jesus as Savior, there is no birth.
The Apostle John was making the point here in describing the conversation that if Nicodemus, who is the upstanding religious citizen, needed to be born again by Jesus, then how much more do we need to have a new life, to move from the comfortable confines of being a fan to the playing field of being a follower of Jesus?
Jesus does not need a bunch of groupies admiring him at night. But conversely, we need Jesus.
Fans sometimes confuse their admiration for devotion; people mistake their knowledge of Jesus for an actual relationship with Jesus. Fans assume that their good works and good intentions are sufficient. Yet, new life requires giving up an old life. And that, my friends, is what’s at stake in Christian discipleship.
May God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love, and birth us into new life through Christ our Lord. Guide us in truth and peace; and may the blessing of God Almighty – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – be among us, and remain with us always. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 