Unforgettable Encounters with Jesus - Nicodemus

Why don't we pray as we turn to the Bible? Oh, God, we thank you now that as we come to your word, that Holy Spirit, you are going to minister to us, that you're going to open our eyes and our hearts to see you, Lord, that we would come away from this time together with a deeper and greater understanding of who you are. And so we pray this in your precious son's name. Amen. Amen.

We kicked off a new series last week and we've got this series, Unforgettable. And we're going to be spending the next couple of months looking at these encounters with Jesus. If you've read the Gospels and spent much time in that part of the Bible, you'll know that as Jesus travels and as he moves around, there's literally crowds of thousands of people that swarm around him. They follow him wherever he goes. There's these massive crowds of people.

They want to hear what he has to say. They want to experience witnessing a miracle. They want to perhaps be healed themselves. But in the midst of these massive crowds of these, the chaos and the noise, there's these moments scattered across the Gospels as Jesus calls out an individual, as he has a conversation, a moment with a person from the crowd, and. And as they encounter him, we see time and time again their life is radically changed.

And we're gonna spend the next couple of months exploring some of these moments, some of these moments where ordinary people in ordinary places met an extraordinary God and their lives were changed. I wanna encourage you this morning as we come to these encounters, that Jesus still sees each one of us. We can often, I think, feel lost in the crowd of believers, maybe even in church on a Sunday morning. But I want you to hear from me that Jesus sees you. He still sees each individual.

He still knows your struggles. He still knows what's going on in your heart and in your life. And he still speaks into that today. And so I. I'm trusting that he's going to speak to us this morning as well. We're going to be in John chapter three today, so you might like to turn there if you've got your Bibles with you.

Otherwise the words will come up on the screens for us. But in John 3, we have one of these encounters to kind of help set the scene for us. Let me give you a really quick rundown on what happens in John chapter 2. In John 2, Jesus begins his public ministry not with a sermon, but with a miracle. He's at a wedding.

You probably know the story. The hosts of the wedding run out of wine, which was like an incredible social embarrassment in that time. And Jesus steps in. In John's gospel, it's this first moment, Jesus says, go get me these large ceremonial jars that we use for washing, fill them with water, and. And Jesus turns that water into the best wine that anybody has ever tasted.

Now, I'm not a wine drinker, but I get the impression it's probably better than that $4 bottle from Aldi that I know some of you purchase and swear is, you know, they're really top stuff. But Jesus turns it into this extravagant wine. It's this incredible provision. And there's a lot to that. I mean, we could talk about the miracle of provision.

We could talk about Jesus taking what is empty and filling it to overflowing. We could talk about the value of simply doing what Jesus tells you to do. In the second part of John chapter 2, Jesus goes to the temple. Again, it's another fairly well known story. He goes to the temple for an important festival, the Passover, where the eyes of the Jews should have been looking towards God.

And he discovers that instead of people looking towards God, in the temple, there are money changers, there are traders, there are people who have turned what should have been a place of worship into a marketplace. And so Jesus drives them out. He flips over the tables. If you are here for the end of our series in Nehemiah, remember we saw Nehemiah does the same thing. He goes through the temple and clears it out.

And here Jesus does the same. He casts out the corruption that has crept into God's house.

Now, these events, the news of them, they were kind of fairly public. They were pretty radical for different reasons, but news of these events would have spread. And so it's no surprise that as we turn to John chapter three, that a man named Nicodemus, one of the religious leaders, it comes at night to meet with Jesus. And we're gonna spend our time this morning looking at this moment where Nicodemus meets with Jesus. So in John 3:1, we read there was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.

After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. Rabbi, he said, we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you. Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Now, in these opening verses, we discover a couple of really important things about this man named Nicodemus.

Firstly, John tells us that Nicodemus was a religious Leader. He's an important man in the Jewish landscape of the day. In fact, in verse 10, Jesus refers to him as a respected Jewish teacher, or in some versions, the teacher of Israel. It's widely accepted that Nicodemus is the most important figure of Judaism for the day. He is a, the most kind of, if we put in modern terms, the most famous, well known, well respected preacher.

That's Nicodemus. We also discover that Nicodemus is a Pharisee. Again, if you've spent time in the Gospels, you've probably heard of this group of Pharisees. It's a kind of group of the Jewish people. Now, the Pharisees, they get a bit of a bad rap.

We talk about them, we talk about their legalism and their judgment and their refusal to accept that Jesus was the Messiah. But the Pharisees actually started with, with a really, really good cause. They had come out of the time of exile in Babylon, where the Jews had been carried off into captivity. And as they came out of that period of captivity, they were driven by this noble desire. They knew that their sin, that not listening to God, not following God's law, had led them into being held captive.

And they didn't want to go back to that. And so they, they decided that they were going to live according to God's law. They were going to hold fast to it so that they didn't have to suffer the judgment for their sins. By the time we get to Jesus, there's about 6,000 Pharisees. So it's a decent sized group.

But they'd also change what they considered to be God's law. You see, God's law had become not just what we see in the Old Testament, the law that God had given to his, but it now became all of the things that their leading rabbis had taken it to mean, had interpreted it to be. And so by the time we get to Nicodemus, there's 613 laws that the Pharisees are insistent on following. Can you imagine that? Like, I feel like some of us have trouble just keeping the Ten Commandments, let alone like add another 603 to that and try and keep all of those elements of the law.

The Pharisees held fast to the Hebrew scriptures. They, they really held fast and they believed that it was God's word. They were quite different to the Sadducees who, who had really wandered in their theology and in their understanding of God. They believed in the resurrection of the dead. They believed that the Messiah was going to come.

But they were so Lost in, in their rule keeping, they were so lost in trying to keep 613 commandments just so that they would be righteous enough in God's eyes. We also see that a religious leader turning up on Jesus doorstep this early in his ministry is an incredible thing. Nicodemus comes to Jesus, whereas usually someone of Nicodemus stature would send for people to be brought to him. We would expect that that meeting would happen in the day, but Nicodemus comes at night. We would expect that Nicodemus would come with his entourage, the people, his people, the crowd that he travels with.

But instead Nicodemus comes alone. Because I'd suggest to you this morning that Nicodemus is curious. He's interested. He wants to hear who this Jesus is. And so he says, rabbi, teacher, we know that God has sent you.

We know that God has sent you because you're doing miracles. You're doing things that are not humanly possible. This is a sign, it's a statement of curiosity. Nicodemus is curious, he's intrigued. He wants to know why are the people on the streets talking about this Jesus?

Why are the crowds so drawn to following him, to listening to his words and seeing his works? You see, Nicodemus had seen religion in all of its forms. He knew the rules, he knew the rituals, he knew the regulations. But he also knew that Jesus was different. That there was something different about Jesus.

He can sense, because he says it, that there is something divine here, but he can't make sense of it. He can't quite grasp who Jesus really is. It's like as he opens and he makes this statement to Jesus that he's asking this question, who are you really? Who are you really? Because you're not like anyone that I've ever met.

You're not like any religious teacher that I've ever heard of. And Jesus reply is incredible because Nicodemus makes a statement and Jesus replies with an answer. It's like Jesus can see Nicodemus heart. He can see that Nicodemus is wondering. It's like Jesus is saying, Nicodemus, what's really on your mind?

Because you're not actually here to talk about miracles. You're not here to talk about miracles. You're here because you know I have something that you need. And so Jesus doesn't waste a moment of small talk. He launches into this statement.

Unless you are born, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Now that phrase, born again, it's kind of something Obviously, we take it from Scripture, but it's a church word, isn't it? Like, you probably don't have conversations at your workplace over morning tea where someone's talking about born again. It's just not a statement that is used in secular culture.

And so if you, like Nicodemus, are hearing that and you're thinking, what does that mean, born again? Well, you're in good company because Nicodemus, this religious teacher, he says to Jesus in verse 4, what do you mean? How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again? If we had pictures in our Bibles. When I was a kid, I had a Bible.

It had pictures in it. And I'm pretty sure as a little kid, I thought they were like photos of the day. They're not. Just in case you're confused, but if we had pictures in our Bibles, I think we would see Nicodemus, eyes squinting, mouth open, he's totally confused by what Jesus has just said, because this incredibly wise Jesus has said something that makes no sense. Nicodemus is thinking, literally, how can I, as an old man, go back into my mother's womb and be born again, Jesus, what is it that you're talking about?

You see, Nicodemus is thinking in physical terms. Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms. I wonder how often we try to understand what Jesus says through the lens of our physical world without understanding that there is a spiritual reality. There was a spiritual reality. And so Nicodemus says, how can I do that?

How can I be born again? You see, again, he is putting everything he knows about God through the framework of his own effort. And so Jesus flips it. He says, well, Nicodemus, you want to be right with God, you can't do that yourself. Jesus continues, in verse 5, Jesus replied, I assure you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit.

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it wants, just as you can hear the wind, but can't tell where it comes from or where it's going. So you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit. So Jesus answers Nicodemus, and he uses some imagery, some of these word pictures to help Nicodemus understand.

Remember, Nicodemus is a scholar. He's well educated. He's a teacher. He's a man who has spent his life interpreting symbols and God's word. And so Jesus Meets him on this level.

He says, you can't enter the kingdom of God unless you are born of water and spirit. Sounds a bit strange to us, doesn't it? Like, what does that mean? But you see, for Nicodemus, those words water and spirit would have taken him back to a part of God's word that he knew really well. If you were here a couple of weeks ago, we mentioned this passage, Ezekiel, chapter 36.

God had promised his people through the prophet. He'd said, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will give you a new heart and put my spirit within you. It's like Jesus is pointing back to that promise, to those words that Nicodemus would have known. The image of water, it speaks of forgiveness.

The spirit speaks of new life. It's the heart transformation that was promised to the people. And so Jesus is saying, nicodemus, that promise that you've read your whole life, that thing that you have longed for, it's happening right now. That promise that I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit within you, it's happening now through me. And then Jesus says he gives him another image.

He speaks this time of the wind, something that we all know. He says, the wind blows wherever it wants. You can hear it. You can't tell where it comes from or where it's going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit.

I love this. He takes a really practical thing and he uses it to illustrate how the spirit of God works. We can't see the wind, but we know it's real. We can hear it as it blows through the trees. We can see it as those leaves move.

We can feel it on our face. Jesus is saying the spirit of God is like that. It's invisible, but it's undeniable.

You might not understand every aspect of how God works and changes a life. There's a mystery to it, isn't there? There's a mystery to how the spirit works, but we can see it. We can see the way that God works to change a life.

You can see peace where there was once restlessness. You can see love where there was once bitterness. You can see forgiveness where there was once shame. And this is the key for Nicodemus, a man who has spent his whole life trying to please God. Jesus is saying, nicodemus, it is not what you can do for God.

Being born again is about what God does in you. It's not about what you can do for God. It's about what God does in you, in your heart. But Nicodemus still doesn't get it. And so we go to verse nine.

Nicodemus says, how are these things possible? Jesus replied, you are a respected Jewish teacher and yet you don't understand these things. I assure you, we tell you what we know and what we have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony. But if you don't believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned, but the Son of Man has come down from heaven.

Let's picture Nicodemus again. Here in the quiet of night. He's come to meet Jesus, the teacher, the miracle worker. And I suspect for Nicodemus, this is not how he thought this conversation was going to go. I think he probably thought that he would come to Jesus and they would discuss theology as equals, that they would have a really deep conversation about, you know, something super important, something theological from the Old Testament, or maybe that Jesus would say, nicodemus, gee, you're impressive.

Like, you are the Jewish teacher, You know the Old Testament so well, you've kept the law so religiously, but instead Jesus says to him, nicodemus, you might think you're important. You've got great credentials. You probably think you're closer to God than anyone. In fact, you know the Old Testament scripture that better even than the other rabbis. But none of that helps you.

In fact, Nicodemus, you are completely helpless and hopeless without me. Imagine Nicodemus hearing that. All his life, people have come to him for wisdom. He's been the one with answers. He's been the one who understood what God would say to his people.

But now, face to face with Jesus, all of that has been tipped upside down. All of it's been tipped upside down. Jesus says the things that you've spent your life trusting, your knowledge, your reputation, your religion, they can't get you to God, Nicodemus, only I can. And so Jesus tells him how he can be made right with God. It's there in verse 14, Jesus says to him, and as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

That's a strange example for us. Again, it's something Nicodemus would have known, but it's actually back from numbers 21. Don't worry about turning there. I'll just kind of summarise it for you. This morning, after God had Rescued his people from Egypt, from slavery.

They're out in the wilderness and God's been leading them. He's been providing them miraculously with food, but they get sick of that. They get sick of the wilderness, they get sick of the journey. And so they become angry with God and they start to doubt God and their hearts turn away from him and they become angry with God. And so we read the God as an act of judgment, but also of mercy.

To bring the people's hearts back to him, he allows venomous snakes to enter the camp. It must have been chaos. Like, I'm not a fan of snakes. My boys and I have recently got into watching little videos of people catching snakes. I don't know why, but they love it.

They think it's the best thing ever. But I hate snakes. And so you can imagine the camp must have been chaos as snakes ran, right, well, ran, slithered, riot.

And the people panic. It's chaos. They cry out to Moses, they say, we've sinned against God, pray to the Lord so that he'll take the snakes away. And God gives Moses this strange instruction. He says, go and make a figure, a bronze figure of a snake, and lift it up on a pole.

And anyone who looks at that will live. Now imagine this scene. People bitten, they're dying from the venom of the snakes. And they're told, look at the pole and live. It sounds strange to us.

It's not a ritual. It's not some kind of payment or some power, magical power in this bronze statue or some weird magic. It's all about what it represented. You see, all the people had to do was trust God. God said, look and you'll live.

And now Jesus reminds Nicodemus of this story. He says, nicodemus, sin works just like those snakes. The venom of sin is coursing through our veins, not in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense. It leaves us spiritually dying and unable to help ourselves. And Jesus is saying, just like God rescued the people back then, I've come to rescue you now.

This time it won't be a bronze snake on a pole. It will be the Son of God. It will be Jesus lifted up on a cross. And then we come to the most famous, well known verse in all of the Bible, John 3:16. For this is how God loved the world.

He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his son into the world, not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. It's A wonderful thing that this verse is so well known because it's the heart of the gospel, isn't it? And it's so simple. God looked at the world.

He looked at you and me, not in anger for our rejection of him, but in love. And because of this love, he gave his son to be lifted up in our place so that anyone who looks to Jesus will live.

I love the simplicity of that. You don't have to understand it all. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to look.

Look to Jesus, the One who was lifted up for you. Look to the cross where his love was displayed and where life was made possible. Look away from your guilt, away from your striving, away from your failure, and fix your eyes on Jesus. That's all it takes. Look and live.

Because the moment you do that, the moment you turn your gaze towards him, grace rushes in. The power of sin is broken. You've been forgiven and made right with God. You see, I believe that many of us today are still caught in the same trap that Nicodemus was caught in. We're still caught in the same trap of trying to live good enough lives to be acceptable to God.

It's even out there in the world around us, isn't it? Like, if you try and talk about faith with your family or your friends or about the meaning of life, what will many of them say? They say, I just try to live a good life. I just try to be a good person. I just try to do more good than harm.

As if somehow that's enough.

And even in church, many of us are living with this sense of, if only I can just have enough good over bad at the end of my life, then maybe God would be pleased with me. Maybe I'll be acceptable before Him. But you see, what Jesus wanted Nicodemus to see, he wanted Nicodemus to understand that trying to win God's approval through being a good person who wasn't enough, Jesus is saying, nicodemus, you actually can't do it because sin has ruined you. And so Jesus says to him, I haven't come to condemn. I've come to save.

I've come to be lifted up on that cross so that you might look to me and live.

Now, as we come to the end of Nicodemus encounter with Jesus in John 3, the good news is we hear about Nicodemus again later on in chapter 7. Jesus is again at the temple, and he's talking about streams of living water. Will flow through him. And the religious leaders start arguing about what to do with Jesus. When one of them, one of the religious leaders, speaks up in defence of Jesus, it's Nicodemus.

Incredible. He puts himself, his reputation, his safety on the line to speak about Jesus. And then in chapter 19 of John's gospel, Jesus is being crucified. We see Nicodemus come again. This time he comes to care for Jesus's body and he brings 35 kilos of burial spices with him, like this insanely expensive amount.

The kind of burial spices, the amount would have been fit for a king. And Nicodemus brings that in honour of Jesus. Because I want you to see this morning that Nicodemus could have stopped at curiosity. And lots of people in their pursuit of Jesus, stop at curiosity. They kind of want to hear about him, they want to see what he does, they want to understand how it all works.

But they never move from curiosity to looking and living. And somewhere between John 3 and John 19, Nicodemus had looked to Jesus as his saviour and he'd lived. And so we have in Nicodemus a life transformed. A religious leader who ticked all the boxes from an earthly perspective, but was spiritually longing. What does he do?

He looks to Jesus and he lives. And the great news for you and me today is that now, 2,000 years on, it's no more complicated than that. There's nothing else involved. It's as simple as John 3:16. Look to Jesus, your saviour, and live.

And the spirit will transform you, will give you a new heart, a new spiritual reality, one incredible promise that is. Would you join me as we pray.

This morning? I want to give you an opportunity, just with every eye closed and every head bowed, I want to give you an opportunity to do just what Nicodemus did, to come to Jesus and say, jesus, I don't understand it all. There's a mystery about how the Spirit of God works that I don't get.

But what I do get is that I can't do it on my own. I can't make myself right with God on my own. And so I want to give you the opportunity this morning to do just what Nicodemus did, to look to Jesus and live.

And so if that's you, this morning, I'm going to pray a simple prayer and I'm going to ask that you would pray it. You can pray it silently in your heart afterwards.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you see me right where I am.

Thank you that you love me even with all my sin. And failure.

Today I see that I can't save myself.

All my effort, all my goodness could never make me right with God.

But you were lifted up on the cross for me.

You took my sin, my shame, my punishment, so that I could live.

So today I turn my eyes to you.

I look to you, Jesus, my Saviour and my Lord.

Forgive me and change me and make me new.

Fill me with your spirit and help me to follow you.

Thank you that because of you I have real life, eternal life. Amen. Amen.