Sermon - Jesus and Nicodemus

Jesus and Nicodemus
John 3:1-21
8/03/09

The Story Begins: John 3:1
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.

3 Important pieces of information:

1. The man, Nicodemus
• Identified here as an important man, a Pharisee and member of the highest political and religious authority in the land – the Sanhedrin.
• We later find out (John 7:50) that he used his position in the Sanhedrin to argue for a just treatment of Jesus, but was mocked for doing so.
• After Jesus’ death, he went with Joseph of Arimathea - who was also a member of the Sanhedrin - to bury Jesus’ body, and provided valuable spices to anoint Jesus’ body.

2. Who was a Pharisee
• There were 2 main “political” parties in operation at this time, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They represented opposing sides of the political spectrum. Remember that politics and religion were not separate spheres in Israel, they were inextricably intertwined.
• The Pharisees wanted to maintain Jewish religious tradition and culture. As well as upholding the Old Testament scriptures, they considered the traditions of the rabbi’s to hold equal authority as morally binding. However there were some areas where the traditions of the rabbi’s varied between very strict interpretations of the law and much more liberal interpretations. The Pharisees were most influential in rural areas where people tended to be less well educated and more socially conservative.
• The Pharisees were contrasted with the Sadducees, who were the wealthy elite, and only accepted the first 5 books of the Old Testament. They did not believe in miracles or a physical resurrection, but emphasized living a good life in the here and now. The Sadducees traced their roots back to the wealthy Jews who collaborated with Greek rule and who were granted positions of power and prominence. They helped introduce many elements of Greek culture into Jewish life, and considered themselves to be more intellectually sophisticated than the conservative and traditional Pharisees.

3. And member of the ruling council – the Sanhedrin
• The Great Sanhedrin is the ruling council over the region of Judea. Their were regional councils that dealt with local legal matters, but if they could not deal with an issue it was referred to the council which sat at the entrance to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This was a council of 23
• Made up of the High Priest, Chief Priests, Elders, and Scribes.
i. The High Priest was a hereditary appointment, just as originally the office was given to Aaron and his descendents. However often political appointments were made. The Chief Priests were the senior ranking priests – sort of a priestly nobility.
ii. The Scribes were lawyers, teachers, secretaries, copiers of Scriptures and so on. They were experts in Jewish law, and are often called teachers of the law in the Gospels. Scribes were often closely linked to the Pharisees, as the Pharisees tended to be the more zealous for the law.
iii. The Elders were senior, respected members of influential families.
• Most of these various people who were a part of the Sanhedrin were associated with the party of the Sadducees.

The two stories show how Jesus has potentially alienated 2 very important religious and political groups right at the start of His public life.

1) The wedding at Cana would have caused a real stir among those sympathetic to the Pharisees – remember Jesus turned their water for ceremonial washing into wine!
2) The cleansing of the Temple would have infuriated the Sadducees – they were the ones in charge there and the main financial beneficiaries of the temple industry. This probably caused the Pharisees some pleasure!

So Jesus has landed in the middle of a political and religious struggle. It’s liberal versus conservative, sophisticated versus straightforward, modern versus traditional, urban versus rural. When you read all of the gospels you see that Jesus doesn’t bother with any of that stuff and just starts doing the work of the Kingdom, teaching people the truth about God and performing signs which show His authority. But all the time on the sidelines are these groups who are either seeking to claim Jesus for their own side or to get rid of Him when he works against their aims.

The Story Continues…
John 3:2a-
2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “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.”

It’s little surprise that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night! He was surrounded by people who Jesus has offended, but he wants to find out more in order to make up his own mind. All he knows is that Jesus’ works seem to show that He really is a teacher from God.

Who is the “we” Nicodemus refers to here? Is it the whole ruling council, or the party of the Pharisees? It is more likely to be a close group of friends among this group who have discussed the matter together, and Nicodemus is now acting as their ambassador and investigator.

3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
4 “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!”

There’s a great wordplay going on here, that we don’t get because we’re not reading the original language. In Greek the word for “again” is more literally translated as “from above”. Different Bible translations go either way when translating verse 3.

John is well known for word-plays in his writing, and this is a great example. Jesus responds to Nicodemus saying that he believes that Jesus is a teacher from God by going one step further, and saying that no-one will see God’s Kingdom unless he or she also is born from above. John demonstrates that Nicodemus doesn’t get Jesus’ point, misunderstanding the word (anothen) to mean “again”, and being perplexed as to how an old man could possibly be born a second time.

Jesus then makes it clear what it means to be born from above.

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 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.”

Summary of the Conversation:
J: To enter God’s Kingdom you must receive the gift of eternal life through the Spirit. Mortals cannot achieve immortality, only the Holy Spirit brings eternal life.
N: What?
J: Look, if you want to understand spiritual truths you must believe the testimony of those who have received spiritual life. I came from heaven, and I will be lifted up on earth so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. I wasn’t sent to condemn the world, but to save it through my death and resurrection. Believe in me and you will receive eternal life through the Spirit of God. Refuse to believe and you will receive what your actions deserve, God’s condemnation. It’s time to choose: either side with those who hate me because they love evil or come out into the light, so people can see the work of God in you.

Jesus was a genuinely curious seeker, a man of great learning and principle. Yet instead of sneaking to Jesus at night time he needed to come out into the light and take a stand for what He believed.

We are never told what Nicodemus’ response at the time was, but we know that He was supportive of Jesus and helped with His burial. According to non-biblical traditions he did become a follower of Jesus also.

Conclusion
Jesus cannot be claimed or chained by politics or human agendas. Believe in Him and follow Him, don’t try control Him or use Him for your own purposes. You cannot save yourself. You cannot earn God’s pleasure or His pardon. Jesus has done it for you, just believe. When you believe you will receive eternal life through the Spirit and you will start to live by the Spirit in your daily life.

Maybe like Nicodemus you are trying to stay safe in a world system that is hostile to Jesus, and it is time to show your allegiances clearly. Maybe it’s time to make it clear that what you do is done through God.