John 3:1-17
Today's scripture from John contains probably one of the best-known lines of text in the Bible. You can find this reference on billboards and marquees, spray-painted as graffiti on walls in tenements and rocks and rooftops. You can't watch a football game on television without seeing at least one sign saying: "John 3:16".
We, as Christians, know that God sent Jesus so
"that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." (John 3:16)
This passage of scripture is probably also one of the most misunderstood or misapplied.
And, as Paul Harvey says, 'this is the rest of the story.'
Here we have Nicodemus, a very educated Pharisee who acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God. But he wants to know more, so he secretly goes to Jesus at night.
Why did he go in the night?
At this point in his public ministry, the jury was still out concerning Jesus' credentials, not to mention his agenda. But Nicodemus is intrigued enough to search him out, even if he chooses to do so at night. Is Jesus a true prophet or just a troublemaker? If he is a prophet, Nicodemus wanted to know him better. If he was a rabble-rouser, Nicodemus needed to know that, too, for he is a leader of the Jews, and an essential part of such leadership is determining what is true and what isn't.
Jesus presented yet another new challenge for Nicodemus and his colleagues, so Nicodemus decided to check Jesus out. He showed a curious but reserved respect for Jesus. Something in him says Jesus doesn't fit into the Jewish religious system, yet he has something about him that none of the other rabbis have.
Over the years, the Pharisees had developed a litmus test for all would-be messiahs based on signs. Do the right signs and do them for the right reasons – and of course, the Pharisees determine the right reasons. If you pass the test, you might – you might – gain their endorsement. Of course, it hadn't happened yet, but you never know… given the right circumstances and person, it could happen. It could happen.
Nicodemus has come to Jesus at night to see if he, the young Nazarene, might be the right person. He does do signs; that's true; he's good at it. Nicodemus is intrigued by Jesus. He comes from God, but does that make him Messiah material?
In the Jewish tradition, studying the Torah was reserved for the nighttime – when things were less bustling, and one could concentrate on the word. Nicodemus was not sneaking to see Jesus so that his fellow Pharisees would not see him or set Jesus up for heresy. He truly wanted to learn more – he was seeking.
We might call Nicodemus the Patron Saint of the Seekers. . . he was seeking to find his spiritual soul. He was genuinely observant, but he found something lacking in himself. If you remember, Jesus' response to Nicodemus was
No matter how stridently Nicodemus followed the Jewish law, no one could enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
Let's look further at this text.
We, as Episcopalians, become members of the fellowship of Jesus and the Kingdom of God when we are baptized. The original Greek word for this second birth is translated as 'born from above'; not baptism of water, but the descending of the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds.
One who enters the kingdom of God by being born of the Spirit experiences God's reign, but someone born of the flesh cannot share this. This 'second birth' involves a complete reorientation of one's goals, desires, affections, values, and direction of life
-- in other words, a changing of our heart and spirit. . .
and accepting the great love and supreme sacrifice when God sent His Son, Jesus, so that we may have everlasting life.
The kingdom of God is the center of life.
Nicodemus is like a butterfly; when he went in the night to see Jesus; he was much like a caterpillar in its cocoon. He was in the dark, seeking a way and wondering if Jesus was that light and truth.
When he met with Jesus and understood about 'being born,' he evolved into a beautiful butterfly full of color, vibrance, and knowledge. When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it becomes a new creature; this is a perfect picture of the one truly ‘born again’ of the Spirit.
I believe we can learn much about the physical and spiritual life of all persons ‘born of the Spirit’ by looking at caterpillars and butterflies. There has never been a single baby butterfly born. Each butterfly must start as a caterpillar and undergo the transformation or rebirth process before becoming a butterfly. When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, there is a complete change in its life, which is such a change that it is irreversible. No matter what happens in the butterfly's life, it will never be a caterpillar again.
Nicodemus went through that metamorphosis when he met with Jesus. He was in the sunshine, no longer hiding with the rest of the Pharisees in the temple at night.
Nicodemus, this Pharisee, the patron saint of seekers and the curious, understood this and changed his life dramatically to follow Jesus in his daily religious observances and by accepting the Holy Spirit.
He had moved around in the darkness, seeking the Light of the Word in Jesus. He left his darkness of spirit by being 'born from above' into the light. And he did not stay in the dark.
During the trials of Jesus with the Sanhedrin found in John 7:45-52, Nicodemus speaks up for Jesus. He questions the other Pharisees:
"Doth our law judge [any] man, before it hears him, and know what he doeth?"
As a Pharisee, his defense of Jesus was not without risk – after all, he was one of the respected establishments, and now he was following this heretical Jesus!
He was willing to put his life on the line to defend his faith and Jesus. What a change from the man in the dark seeking to enter the Kingdom of God. What a transformation when he was 'born from above.'
And we hear about Nicodemus again in John 19:38-42 --- after Jesus' death on the cross. Everyone ran away. . . afraid. But Nicodemus, along with Joseph of Arimathea, came back to the cross. They went to the cross in the darkness of Black Friday to remove the broken body of Jesus and lay Him in the tomb. Only these two were there to give Jesus a proper Jewish burial.
Nicodemus wrapped Jesus' body in cloth and anointed it with precious myrrh, aloes, and spices. He and Joseph lovingly carried Jesus' body to the tomb. They rolled the stone over the opening and left Jesus in the darkness.
The darkness of the soul and death would not ever overcome the world again; in three days, the Light of Jesus shone again and would shine forever more! By the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are all, once ‘born of the Spirit’, realize that our lives are eternal and we will live forever with Jesus.
There is no more darkness!!!
Let us all be seekers like Nicodemus. . . may we be 'born from above' and live in the Light of the World. May we speak of what we know and witness what we have seen. When others reject or ignore Jesus, let us be Nicodemus and defend his words, works, and meaning for the world.
Let us pray:
Nicodemus, Patron Saint of Seekers: May you protect the seeker in each of us from condemnation and condescension. May you guide our steps in the way that leads us to eternal life? May you place us in the company of compassionate teachers whose love defines a new community of hope and grace. May you give us the courage to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Amen.
Delivered at Saint John's Episcopal Church, Columbus, OH; 5 March 2023
