The Curious Case of Nicodemus
How many of you like movies? I like movies, but don’t go to the movies as often as I use to especially since I received a subscription to Netflix a while back. One of the movies I recently rented was called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It is a strange movie that came out in 2008, it is also a long movie.
Anyway, without being a plot spoiler it was about a person who was born old. Unlike a normal person who is born young and grows older the years go by, this person actually grows younger with the passing of time. The movie chronicles the life of this strange person. So it is as a very strange but interesting movie. It is a movie that at the end you can’t help but ask the question: “how can a man be born old?”; which happens to be the same question that Nicodemus asks Jesus when he encounters him one night. If you have your Bibles with you please open them up to John Chapter 3.1
We have been looking at the Gospel of John for the last couple of months which follows the ministry and miracles of Jesus. We recently looked at the wedding feast of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. Last week we looked at Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. All this began to draw the attention of a lot of people including a group known as the Pharisees. In today’s reading we find that one of those Pharisee’s a man named Nicodemus decided to pay Jesus a visit to inquire more about some of his teachings and this the story in our reading today. [Read John 3.1-21]
There is a lot of scripture here today, too much to be covered in one sermon but we are going to touch on a few of the key points. In this story we have this man named Nicodemus who is a member of the Jewish Ruling Council, which means he has a high rank within the temple system. He was likely a man of power and esteem. But for some reason he chose to visit Jesus at night. We don’t know why he visited Jesus at night some scholars suggest that he was afraid of being seen by his Pharisee friends, some suggest that the night was symbolic of his spiritual condition i.e. that he had been living in the dark and was know progressing towards Jesus who was the light. Or it could be that it was the only time that he could meet with Jesus. So we really don’t know why Nicodemus came visiting Jesus at night but what we do know is that Nicodemus came looking for answers.
But instead of Nicodemus starting out asking questions, he started out with a bit of flattery. He says to Jesus in verse 3.2:
“Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” (John 3:2)
So Nicodemus is flattering Jesus and we know that Jesus knew what Nicodemus was up to as we read in an earlier passage that Jesus knew what was in a man. In fact He knew a lot about Nicodemus. He knew that he was likely not being sincere. He knew that he was a man of stature, an official in the Jewish system, but he also knew that along with that status comes a lot of baggage.
He also knew that Nicodemus was an educated man, a scholar of the Torah. Nicodemus would know the scripture so well that he had likely memorized large parts of it, so he could quote scripture by heart. He knew that all that knowledge would be accompanied by pride and possibly even fear. Maybe Nicodemus was fearful that he didn’t know that scripture as well as people thought and possibly had a lot of unanswered questions, and even doubts about his faith especially since hearing some of the things that Jesus said. So Jesus knows all these things but Jesus also knows that Nicodemus is a man who seeks truth. That is why when Nicodemus approaches him with a flattering comment Jesus doesn’t say something like: “thanks for the compliment Nicodemus you are a nice guy and a good teacher too.” No Jesus comes at him head on with the truth that Nicodemus is seeking. He says in verse 3.3:
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
I guarantee when Nicodemus hears this he is feeling a bit uncomfortable, possibly thinking that Jesus does know him and his doubts, especially as they relate to the Kingdom of God and how one enters it. But he is likely taken back by the shear absurdity of Jesus’ statement. So Nicodemus comes back with the Benjamin Button statement:
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” John 3.4
And if Nicodemus’ mother was around she may be thinking: “well I don’t think I would want him back in there if he could!” I have obviously never been pregnant but I suspect if you carry a baby around for nine months the mother is more than ready to deliver. I suspect that some moms are not only glad to get their children out of the womb, some may be wishing their children would get out of the house thinking: “Come on son, you are thirty years old, time to go and get a job!”
Anyway Jesus seems to be messing with Nicodemus’ head a bit because he knows that he is a man of high status, an educated yet insecure man and a man who is seeking truth. So he says to him, okay if you want truth I will give you some more truth to chew on. Jesus goes on to say:
I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:5–7)
So about this time Nicodemus is not only curious but he is likely getting a little confused. And what Jesus is basically saying to him is: “You have read the scriptures Nicodemus; this is not new stuff that I am telling you, remember the prophets?”
You may recall that last week we talked about the prophet Isaiah. Another prophet that was popular among the Jews was the prophet Ezekiel. Like Isaiah, Ezekiel was one of the prophets who prophesized during the captivity of the Jews. He would prophesy wrath to them because of their association with idols and marrying foreigners who followed foreign gods. But he also prophesized about a coming transformation.
You may remember last week we spoke how the prophet Isaiah spoke about a time when Jews and Gentiles would come together and worship under one temple. And now Ezekiel is basically saying that I am not talking about transformation of the temple, rather I am prophesying about a transformation of the heart i.e., I not simply talking about putting the Spirit of God back into the temple in Jerusalem but putting the Spirit of God right inside you. And we see this if we look at Ezekiel (The Message Translation):
I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. The Message : (Ezekiel 36:25–27)
When Jesus says to Nicodemus “you should not be surprised at me saying, you should be born again”, I suspect that this is the passage that he has on his mind. As a scholar Nicodemus should be very familiar with this passage. So here is Nicodemus thinking about what Jesus is saying and getting really confused. He may be thinking about the last encounter with Jesus at the temple when he cleansed the temple, and now he is getting the sense that Jesus is saying it is time to scrub him clean too. He may be thinking: “One minute Jesus says that he is going to put a new Spirit in the temple and now he is going to put a new Spirit within me. I am not sure I get this!” Nicodemus’ head is likely spinning, and Jesus likely knows this. So he basically goes on to tell Nicodemus in verse 8 don’t try too hard to figure this out because it is very difficult, in fact it is impossible to follow. It is kind of like attempting to follow the wind:
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).
About this time Nicodemus is probably thinking to himself: “what is going on here?, I really am not tracking you Jesus.” Then he makes the mistake of asking Jesus another question. In verse 9 he asks: “How can this be?” In other words I can’t figure it, I need more information.
And Jesus pretty much lays into him and in a nutshell says, “Listen Nicodemus you are Israel’s teacher, you are a scholar, an educated man and a big shot among the Jews. You have been teaching all these years, leading the Sunday school classes in the synagogue, and you don’t get this?” And then Jesus goes on to tell him another story about snakes that Nicodemus should also recognize.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14–15)
After this comment curious old Nicodemus is likely scratching his head. But Nicodemus knew that he knew this story. In fact he had probably told it a number of times. I don’t have time to go back to the original passage in Numbers 21, but the story is subsequent to the Israelites deliverance from the hands of Pharaoh. They had been delivered through the sea and were in the wilderness heading towards the promise land. They were encountering all sorts of obstacles but God continued to preserve them.
But at some point they get cranky and begin to whine about things. They acknowledge that God provided them food and water, but they are not content with it. In so many words that complained that the manna provided by God to save them is detestable. In fact they had even suggested that life was better back in Egypt. They were very ungrateful. Well, as you imagine, God didn’t take that well. In fact he disliked their attitude so much that he sent snakes into the camp. Not just your average little garter or green snakes, but venomous snakes like copperheads, cobras, and rattlesnakes. So these people that were complaining are now getting bit up by these venomous snakes and many are dying. So in their desperation they cry out to Moses saying: “we have sinned against you and against God”, so Moses intercedes to God for them and asks God to stop his wrath against them.
And so God tells Moses to do something that Moses may think quite weird, he tells Moses to carve out a bronze snake and to place it on a wooden pole and to lift it up high and all those people who look to the snake will be saved from His wrath. Moses may have not understood it but he did it and the people who looked to the snake instantly healed and the ones who don’t died.
So Nicodemus likely does remember this story and how he may have told it a number of times in the synagogue and maybe even his youth groups maybe in a way that would scare them when they were not paying attention. “You better quit that talking and pay attention or I am going to toss some snakes in the room.” Today it would be more like, “you’d better quit that texting or posting on Facebook when I am talking, or I will bring in the snakes!”
So Nicodemus remembers this story but is likely very confused as to why he combined it with these other ideas about the need to be born again, scrubbed clean, etc. And if Jesus has not confused Nicodemus enough he gives him another scripture. A scripture that is totally familiar to Christians but is the first time Nicodemus would have ever heard it, John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Nicodemus is probably saying or at least thinking to himself. “Jesus this is a little too much for me to process all in one session, I think I am going to head back out into the night and come back another time.” So Jesus likely keeps talking as Nicodemus is heading back out into the darkness, and decides he is going to give him one more thought to chew on. He says, hey Nick, I have one more thing to say:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19–21)
So once again, the curious Nicodemus leaves as confused Nicodemus. Just as some of you are looking like confused Nicodemus with all this talk of being born again, snake handling, etc. But if you have been a Christian for a long time (which many of you have), you too like Nicodemus should not be surprised our confused by these words, especially that you must be born again. This is Christianity 101.
But if you haven’t been a Christian for a while or a Christian who likes religion on his or her own terms, you may struggle with this. And you may be struggling with this because like Nicodemus you may have some baggage. Maybe like Nicodemus you have some intellectual baggage that you are dealing with, in other words too much head knowledge and this born again idea seems to elementary or seems like nonsense. Or it could be that you have some religious baggage. Maybe somewhere along the line you received some bad religion. That you came into Christianity thinking that it is about following a bunch of rules and regulations. That if I follow the right rules, do the right things, etc. that you would be able to enter the Kingdom of God. And so you build this spreadsheet in your brain with two columns. One column is for the good stuff you do, like going and working at the soup kitchen (10 points), or donating money to missions (20 points), or working in the nursery and changing stinky diapers when no one else will (50 points). So you fill out the positive column and feel you are doing fairly well.
But then you recall that Jesus said you were supposed to do a lot of other things, or not do some things. You recall that he set a high standard on behavior. He said you shouldn’t kill but he also said that you shouldn’t be angry. He said you shouldn’t commit adultery but He also said that you shouldn’t lust. And you know that you have been angry at times and also have lusted at times, so you are forced to put some things in the second column too. You take off 20 points for last week when you shouted at a co-worker or 30 points when you failed to turn off that R rated movie in your hotel room.
So you keep this mental spreadsheet in your head all through life, and you rationalize that the positives likely outweigh the negatives. So you get to your death bed thinking everything should be okay. And then you pass away and find yourself standing at St. Peter’s gate (or wherever you end up standing), and you ring the door bell. St. Peter answers it and he says: “who is it?” And you reply: “it’s Chuck I am ready to come into heaven.” And Peter asks you, “Why should I let you in here?” And you answer: “I have my spreadsheet here that proves I did more good things than bad.” And Peter says: “yes I can see you did a decent job but I think you missed a few in the negative column. But let me see what I can do. I will ask God.” And he says to God: “I have Chuck standing here at the gate and he wants to know if he can come in.” And God replies: “Who?” And Peter replies, “You know, Chuck, the guy with the spreadsheet.” And God says: “well you can tell him to just go away because I don’t know him.”
And as you are being taken away, you scream, “God please let me in. I really did all these things, I served lunch at the soup kitchen, I worked in the nursery, I gave to missions, so please let me in.” And God’s reply is: “Yes that is true but you failed to do one thing, you failed to become born again.”
And you say: “you never told me about that requirement”. And God says something like: “That is not true, I told you in dozens of ways what it means to be born again, you just had too much intellectual and religious baggage that kept you from hearing it. You should have learned that it is not about what you learned or what you did, it is considering what I have DONE for you through the cross. It is considering that John 3.16 verse that you thought you knew so well. You see somehow you missed the class that it is not about what you do, it is about faith; it is about belief in the One who I sent, the One who did the things that you could not do yourself. In other words as you should have learned in the Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, it is by grace you have been saved through faith, it is a gift from God, so that no man may boast like Nicodemus in his intellect or talents, or actions.”
You see in some sense we have this snakebite and it is called sin. And we live our entire lives in pain, agony, and guilt related to our past, present, and future sins. So we attempt to do good things to fix it. And we can’t do it on our own. Only God can heal it and he does it through that born again experience. Fortunately we do not have to raise or look to the snake on a pole but to look to the Christ. In other words we lift the Name Jesus high, not on a pole but in your heart. Jesus says later in verse 12:32: 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
You lift Jesus up when you accept His sacrifice on the cross. Specifically you accept the full Gospel i.e., the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the moment you do that just like that you are immediately been washed (scrubbed clean). You are like a brand new baby right out of the spiritual womb. And you not only have a clean slate but you have the Spirit of God in you, so you come out of that womb on the one way road to heaven. You now have a sense of purpose, direction, and passion for your life. You know why you are living; you seek out Christ with all your heart mind and soul.
Now some of you may be saying: “well that is too simple.” My response is that it may be simple but it is not easy because as Nicodemus saw, the hardest journey is from your head to your heart. i.e., to move from your intellect to your faith. It is a hard leap for some. And that is why many people do not make it.
But it is not always about an intellectual or even religious obstacles. What Jesus implies in this last verse is that it is a “moral thing.” He says: This is the verdict: Light [Jesus] has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
You may say: “my deeds are not evil.” But my response is that if your actions are not for God they are evil. Jesus uses the extreme to basically saying, if you are not with God you are against Him. He is not suggesting that you cannot do good things. But if you are not doing it for the One who created you, redeemed you, and sustained you then you are not doing it for the right reasons and you are living in the dark rather than the light. So you say, “Well Chuck I don’t know what to do”.
Some of you don’t really know what to do and prefer to keep it that way. In other words, you prefer to take your chances that Jesus’ won’t hold you accountable for not knowing, so you don’t do anything. Some of you really want to know what to do. And my answer is the same one Jesus gave, “you must be born again.”
You may recall that the 1st Chapter of John touched on some key themes of the Gospel. John 1.11 points towards what is needed to become new born children.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. [i.e., become born again] (John 1:11–13).
So it is about receiving and believing that you can’t do anything on your own. That it is only through the sacrifice of Christ that you can ever approach the throne of God. It is only through Christ that you can ever enter in the Holy of Holies. And when you are born again, you become a temple for the Holy Spirit to reside and you are able to commune with God all the time.
So all you have to do is pray the prayer of belief similar to the prayer we ask people to come into membership. It is: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and I have accepted him as my Lord and Savior.” Only you need to first pray it in your heart. And you may ask, “I can pray the prayer but how will I know that I really mean it?”
Well Jesus answered flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit gives birth to Spirit. So I suspect that if you are praying the prayer in your flesh (i.e., doing in a way in which you don’t really mean it), then it is likely that you will go back to fleshly activities i.e., going back to doing good things, or going to church to satisfy some sort of religious obligations.
But if you have truly had spiritual rebirth you will be motivated to do spiritual things. You will be led by the Spirit. Which means you will go to church but you won’t go out of pressure but because you believe that God is present in the midst of Christian community. You will come to church out of devotion not out of obligation. And you begin to pray not for selfish reasons such to get you out of a bad poker hand or get you out of a bad situation. You pray because you believe that prayer is a vital connection between your spirit and God’s Spirit.
You understand that you need to talk to God not only during the bad times but during the good times. That you should get up in the morning and spend time communing with Him and also throughout the day. You begin to understand that you don’t read the Bible simply to check something off your to-do list but because you really believe that it is the Word of God, and you anticipate that when you read it that God is going to give you a nugget of truth that may change your life for the rest of your life. In short you become God-controlled as opposed to self controlled. You become focused on the Will of God rather than the will of self.
So in closing I can’t tell you what happened at the end of the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but I can tell you what happened in the curious case of Nicodemus. Nicodemus shows up only in three places in the Gospel of John. This chapter is obviously one of them, and then Nicodemus shows up later in Chapter 7 where he is having a discussion with the other Pharisees who are dead set on crucifying Jesus. And Nicodemus speaks up and says that Jesus should be given a fair trial. The rest of the Jews put him down. The next place we find him is about twelve chapters later following the crucifixion of Jesus. The body of Jesus is taken off the cross and a man named Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate if he can have the body and place him in a tomb that he wants to donate.
You need to remember the context here. When Jesus was crucified he was crucified as a criminal. And criminals were not always given a proper burial. In some cases they were left in a ditch for the dogs to come and eat. But Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Christ so he gave his family tomb for him. And what we find is that Nicodemus is going with Joseph to the tomb not at night but during the day. We read in John Chapter 19:
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. (John 19:38–40)
They brought 75lbs of spices. That is a lot of spices. It was the type of gesture that was reserved for nobility. They were burying him not as a criminal but as a man worthy of honor and devotion. So we don’t know if Nicodemus became born again but we do know that he had a very high regard for Jesus.
And when we think about the people we meet in life, many are a lot like the Pharisees. People who go through life some having status, some having knowledge, some having a form of religion. Many of these people think that they have all the answers. But there may be few of these people who are like Nicodemus and are possibly questioning themselves. Maybe they are not sure whether or not they really have the whole truth. That there may be something more to their faith. So they take the chance and begin to step out of the crowd and begin seeking it. In other words, they step into the light.
And as it says in the book of Hebrews God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. He rewards them by revealing more of his true nature to them. Not all at once but little bits at a time. So they continue to go farther into the light, and in spite of still having questions, they know it is the best thing that they have ever heard and so many come to a place where they are ready to become born again.
So they pray the prayer in church or the quietness of their hearts that they are ready to receive Him. To receive by faith the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ and to accept His Lord of their lives. And as they make that commitment in spite of not fully understanding they become like the people John spoke about in 1.3; children of God. Children not born of natural descent or human decision or even a husband’s will but born of God. They become born again.
Let us pray.
