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LENT 2
YEAR A GENESIS
12:1-4a ROMANS 4:1-5,
13-17 JOHN
3:1-17 FEBRUARY 16, 17,
2008 John 3:1, 2 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 apart from the presence of
God.” What most us
want is to find the truth for our lives. We want to know what is good and
what is right. When we are looking for relationships we want to know which
person is right and good for us. We want to find the one that will make us
happy and be the best companion. When we go to school we search for the
truth which is gained through knowledge. We study the textbook and we go
to lectures. Sometimes we make an appointment with the professor or
teacher in order to gain a better understanding. Many people are searching
for the right congregation to belong to. They go from one place to the
other hoping to find the one they can belong to and who will embrace them.
They want to be in a church that preaches and teaches the truth from the
scriptures, a church that will not avoid the difficult teachings but will
seek a better understanding. In our gospel
lesson from John 3 we read that a leader of the Jews went to Jesus. It may
be that Nicodemus was searching for a deeper knowledge of God. It could be he was looking for a
deeper relationship with Jesus or he may have merely wanted more
understanding of what Jesus was saying. He obviously heard some of what
Jesus was teaching and he was confused. The best way to alleviate
confusion is to talk about it. Nicodemus knew that Jesus was different
from the others that were teaching. His message and his authority were not
like the ordinary scribe or rabbi. People were stirred up and they were
listening to the teachings of Jesus. Nicodemus wanted to know more.
John tells us
that Nicodemus went to Jesus at night. Why did he go at night? Did he want
to make sure nobody could see him going to visit Jesus? Since he was a
Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin he may not want others to see him
talking with Jesus. Maybe he went at night because he assumed Jesus would
not be busy with the crowds. Could it be that going at night was really
talking about the darkness of not understanding about the things of God?
Maybe what John talks about is the lack of understanding of this Jewish
leader as being darkness. We know that in John’s gospel darkness is the
opposite of the Light Jesus gives. Jesus is the Light of the world. We
read in the gospel last Wednesday evening that it was night when Judas
went out to betray Jesus. John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the Nicodemus knows
that people cannot do what Jesus is doing without the presence of God.
They cannot heal people apart from God and they cannot teach this way
unless God is with them and they are abiding in God’s truth. Being a
leader of the Jews he knows what he knows about people being blessed by
God but he has great difficulty with the spiritual issue of being born
from above. Some translations say we must be born again or born anew. The
Greek words can mean either born again or born from above. Nicodemus heard
Jesus say he must be born again and he had a difficult time getting his
mind around it. This thought of being born from above or born again was
confusing to Nicodemus. He thinks of literally going back into his
mother’s womb and experiencing physical birth a second time. Jesus is
talking about spiritually being born from above.
John 3:8 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.” What does it
mean to be born from above? It is being born into the On Valentines
Day Denise and I went out to eat like many couples did. We went to eat and
then made our way to the romantic hangout called Barnes and Nobles. We had
planned to go to a movie but decided on the bookstore when it was too late
to go to the show. As we sat in the Starbucks Coffee shop in the bookstore
I noticed a young woman sitting alone. I wondered why a young woman would
be alone in a bookstore on Valentine’s Day. Was she lonely without a
boyfriend or husband? Was she there by choice? Maybe she was there because
she was a student who needed to study. Since it was none of my business
and I wanted to give my full attention to Denise I did not ask why she was
alone on Valentine’s Day but I did wonder. Relationships are important to
most us. Our relationships are nurturing and caring when we take measures
to help them work. It means husbands and wives taking time for each other.
It means being intentional about communication and about letting the
relationship grow. Our relationship
with God grows when we allow ourselves to be born from above. It grows
stronger when we allow the Holy Spirit or the holy wind from God to blow
through us. Nicodemus was a leader of the Jewish religion but he was
confused by spiritual things. He struggled with being born from above.
Being born from above is entering into the life God gives. It is nothing
like the young woman alone at Barnes and Nobles but is like people
gathered into the communion of saints and the host of heaven.
John 3:14-17 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. This spiritual
relationship with the Lord begins with the Son of Man being lifted up to
the cross. It is God’s act of love in Jesus Christ that gives us this new
life. God loved you so much that God gave Jesus on the cross that whoever
believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. If you believe the
gospel of Jesus Christ then you believe these words. If you believe these
words and act on then you are born again. You have been born from above
and you are walking with the Holy Spirit. You have life and you have every
blessing from God. It is not the purpose of our Lord Jesus to pursue your
judgment or your punishment but to give you life. Jesus did not come to
condemn you but to save you. Of courses Jesus will be sitting on the
throne and each of us must stand before him but Jesus came to provide life
for you and me. Entrust your
life to the Lord Jesus. Let the Lord change your life. You must be born
from above. Do not be confused at these words because the Lord went to the
cross for you. You are drawn to him because of that cross. On the cross he
provided for your salvation. Come to him and receive your life.
AMEN
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