Chapter 3 Verse 9, “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?”  Jesus answered and said to Him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

 

Nicodemus was educated, refined, religious, popular, loved, powerful...but none of these things are what is necessary to understand the things of God.  Jesus taught Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  The word for poor can also be translated broken, wholly dependent. 

 

As refined and renowned as Nick was, how difficult it was for him to declare bankruptcy on himself as a person...all his work, all his efforts, apart from being a new creation in Christ, all loss.  How difficult it was for him to accept that his righteousness, his power, his education, his refinement, his religiousity was as beautiful as filthy rags in the presence of a holy God...(according to Is 64:6).  Truly, brokenness is the position of faith.  Face down with nothing to bring to a holy and righteous God.  And its almost like Jesus was saying here, Nick, what have you been teaching son?

 

But at least he was honest.  “How can these things be?” he asked Jesus.  At least he was not ashamed of his ignorance, at least not too ashamed to ask a question.  And I see so many that are kept in ignorance by foolish pride.  And foolish pride, at the core of it...is dishonesty. 

 

 

Job once remarked (Job 34:32), “What I don't see, teach me!”  yet I find so many that desire to teach without having first accepted the position of humility unto the Holy Spirit Himself.  And so they teach and they harm and they remain in darkness, and if they are Christians, they remain confused and stagnant in their spiritual walk. 

 

Pride is a lethal drug for sure!  Rips so many off of the freedom, the life, the love, the joy, the peace that God has procured for them by the cross of Jesus Christ. 

 

Pride blinds...a lack of humility, brokenness...it BLINDS!  Paul discussed Jesus Christ, pursuading the Jews from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets from morning to evening it says there in Acts 28 and then Paul rose up and said “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers saying, “Go to this people and say, Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”

 

What closes ears and shuts eyes and ultimately hardens hearts to that all of these things are true...?  Hebrews 3:15 says that it is the deceitfulness of sin that hardens hearts...same thing that got Nebucadnezer as Daniel remarked in Daniel Chapter 5, “his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.” 

 

That is exactly what sin and pride does, takes and takes and takes.  Don't let it be said of you.  Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up!

 

Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a spokesperson for self-righteousness, Jesus tells him time to die, time to be reborn because blessed are the broken, the humble, the dependent!

 

Jesus continued, “Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what we know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.”

 

Nick, we're not dealing with metaphysical speculations or theological hypotheses...those are the things that the the Jewish elite delight in...I'm talking about reality...I'm talking about what I know to be true because it can be seen, witnessed by anyone desiring to see.

 

You can see it even with your eyes...you came to me mystified by the signs, you called me Great One...And so Nick, If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

 

 

 

 

Look earthly things are evident and in measure comprehensible, but heavenly things are invisible and altogether beyond our intellectual grasp...and so they must be revealed to us...at least now...there is a time coming when all will be plainly seen...

 

God is so wanting, is eagerly ready to reveal to us all spiritual things yet it is our pride that boxes Him out...if we lack understanding of spiritual matters then it may very well be because we refuse to accept that we do not already know them!

 

I have found that in my own walk, God will not reveal to me a higher truth until I have thoroughly apprehended, accepted, embraced the simpler ones first.  The writer of Hebrews speaks of elementary principles of Christ calling repentance from dead works and faith toward God in what was accomplished at the cross of Calvary...the foundations of the faith.  Without a foundation, a house cannot be built.

 

And so Jesus is going to break down the essentials...the foundation upon which understanding and faith may be built into a glorious home for the Holy Spirit....

 

Verse 13, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in Heaven.

 

 

Nick, I am who you think I am.  I am The One.  The Messiah.  I am the One that has full free reign to ascend and descend from Heaven...I am in the Father and the Father is in Me...we are One and so the Son of Man, the One whom you speak with now...is in communion, is One, even in Heaven with the Father just as the Father is here on earth in Me.  I am the Christ...The foundation of a true saving faith is that Jesus is God...the second person of the Holy Trinity...and Paul said in 1 Cor 3:11, No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Any other foundation will crack and crumble on its own and come to nothing! 

 

The basics...Nick, throw out all the junk...declare spiritual bankruptcy, become poor, take the position of a child, and establish upon the one and only true foundation, Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus continues, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up...”

 

I love that Jesus is meeting Nick right where he is at...Nick has said, “How can a man be born again, I'm confused...and how can these things be?” but now Jesus speaks to him in a way that he can understand...and He doesn't invalidate Nicodemus but rather He reveals the truth and meaning behind the serpent on the staff...but recall Nehushtan!

 

 

 

 

Nicodemus is no doubt well versed in the scriptures.  He may even have them all memorized!  There were no TVs, most of the night time chillin' was not playing xbox or watching Netflix, it was spent reading, it was spent reciting, rewriting, memorizing and Nicodemus was probably no young man and so he knows very well the story of the serpent on the staff.

 

Jesus chooses the perfect biblical exhortation to make a perfect connection with Nicodemus.  Why do I say that?  Well first, recall the story of the serpent on the staff...the children of Israel had to believe Moses and obey Moses and look upon the serpent on the staff in order to be healed.  But later, recall in 2 Kings 18, King Hezekiah saw that the people were offering sacrifices to it, worshipping it, twisted ya know...worshipping the creature rather than the creator and he took it and declared “Nehushtan!”  IT IS JUST A THING in the sight of the people and dashed it into pieces!  And that is exactly where Nicodemus is!  Worshipping the creature...worshipping the righteousness of man...

 

But also I say that this was the perfect exhortation because there are no more questions recorded by John of Nicodemus...it may even be that at this moment, Nicodemus' eyes were opened and we know that Nick was a man that loved Jesus after this meeting because after Jesus had been crucified it was Nicodemus who hauled 100lbs of spices and myrrh to anoint the body of the crucified Messiah!  Oh the shame that would have caused him, the rejection, the pain...Nick believed you see!

And so I believe Jesus made a real deal connection by this point in the conversation with Nicodemus...and now once the line is open, Jesus will deliver to Nicodemus the gospel of God's grace...the perfect foundation of true faith...the absolute and only foundation of our faith folks...that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, and that it is only by Him that man is able to inherit eternal life!

 

Verses 15 “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

 

And so the foundation to a glorious house is laid.  Whoever, meaning anyone, meaning all, meaning all are invited, all are called...whoever chooses to believe though he may die, he will live forever...eternal life...but not only that, the moment true belief enters in, the moment one puts their faith, trust and life in the hands of a faithful, trustworthy and true God, everlasting life begins.  Why, simply because God so loves you! 

 

Everlasting life!  Different than eternal life!  Why, the fruits of the Spirit > love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...where are they relevant > THIS LIFE!  You see when we are with God in eternity, then we will all together be changed!  We will shed our sinful flesh and live unto God's glory forever! 

So profound, so simple, so glorious.  God's grace spoken forth by God's Christ, the savior of all men...

 

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

 

Through baptism, through speaking in tongues, through 10 prayers a day, through 10% tithing, through persistent confessions, through confirmation, through 2 year missions, through knocking on doors, through pilgrimage to Mecca once in your lifetime, through washing in the Jordan...none of that!...that's not it Nicodemus...all those things you do but the free gift is God's work, its My work!...not through you, through ME says Jesus!

 

Just simply Jesus.  Jesus is all.  You and Jesus.  Simply coming to Jesus Christ, believing not that He existed but rather believing what He has shown and said...that He is the truth and then in reaction to that reality, a life lived unto God through the fellowship, power and spirit of His Holy Spirit!

 

And Jesus continues, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

 

Why Jesus?  Why do they choose not to believe?  Why do they choose condemnation?

 

“This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil (sin, pride, pleasure, me mentality!  They don't come to me, they don't believe in Me because they don't want to...they have chosen the love affair with their flesh, they have chosen to worship self and self cannot save) 

For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen , that they have been done in God.

 

Everyone who remains in their sin is fully responsible for their unbelief, their consequences, and ultimately their condemnation.  God sends no one to hell.  He takes no pleasure over the loss of one single soul...

 

And the flesh wars with the spirit so that if one, as Jesus says, practices evil...continues in evil, they will not only be in darkness, they will love darkness and therefore hate the light....

 

But Jesus also says here that if anyone does the truth, which He says in the present perfect tense...in other words, if anyone practices the truth continually, then he will come (present perfect tense again) to the light...he will come constantly, daily, time and time again...he will long for the gathering of the body of believers, he will not feel an urge that he has to study his bible but rather an excitement to see what God will reveal to him on a particular day....

He won't feel condemned because he hasn't prayed, he will recognize that he's just hungry for prayer and right then acknowledge God while walking from his desk to the coffee pot at work! 

 

You christians, you ever feel condemned because you haven't found time to get in the word over the last few days...or felt condemned about a way you handled a situation...stop it!  Recognize that you're just hungry!  You need to be fed by the word and Jesus said that you will hunger and thirst for righteousness...get fed!  Feed on His word, not because you have to, but because you're hungry!

 

When I go without food, I'm weak.  We must be nourished by time in the word, time in communication with God, and time in fellowship and service to our brothers and sisters but also to the world!  God so loves the world!  And so we are fed by walking in the light!  Don't be condemned, pull your chair up to the Father's table which has been prepared for you in the sight of your enemies...your flesh, your propensity to sin, the demons even, and feast on the word of God so that you may stand strong in the day of testing (every day) and cast off condemnation which is just an impotent tool of the devil to keep you on the sidelines of the battle!

 

Eternal, everlasting life to the one who chooses to believe the word of God, that He has sent His Son, that the Son and the Father are indeed One, and that through Him and only Him, salvation is available...

...and belief produces practices...produces actions or rather reactions to the truth and those that truly believe, those that live their lives in such a way that it He is proven, Jesus says, they continually come to the light...you can even say, they abide in the light so that their deeds may be clearly seen by all, to guide others in from the darkness.

 

And this is the darkest of seasons...so whatever you do, do it unto the Lord and fulfill your calling, to come to the light, abide in the light, and then guide others in from the darkness, in Jesus name.