Questions for Lent #2: Do You Not Understand?
[Preached March 2, 2008, Based on John 3: 1-21]
Words of Meditation – “Though grace was manifest in the O.T., it was but a candle compared with the brightness of grace that appeared at the incarnation.” (Ryrie Study Bible, John 1: 17 note)
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the elite religious leaders (on the Ruling Council) of the time, and he took a huge risk visiting Jesus – even at night. Risks are sometimes necessary for growth and change. Did you know that?
One of the things I’ve noticed about the Bible is that when someone comes before an official, the opening statement is rather flowery... it was a part of being politically correct, especially if you had a request. Nicodemus’ statement was: "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.” (2)
Now, Jesus seemed to cut right through his political correctness, “Okay, Nicodemus, I know what you’re doing, but if you truly want to talk about what matters, then: "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (3) I believe this really took Nicodemus off guard. It’s like asking the preacher, “So how are you really doing? How’s your walk with the Lord?”
When Jesus spoke of a spiritual rebirth, I can just hear Nicodemus’ thoughts: “No one can see God’s Kingdom without being born again? No one? But I’m one of the leading Pharisees. Don’t you know who I am?” When he collected himself, Nicodemus said, "How can a man be born when he is old? ...Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!” (4)
Now, you really can’t fault Nicodemus for being a literalist, because that was the very lifestyle of the Pharisees. But Jesus didn’t want to play this Pharisaical game, so he got right back to the point: "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (5)
I can just picture Nicodemus focusing on Jesus’ words... perhaps his mouth is open just a bit: "How can this be?"(9) Now, this may have been his most vulnerable and transparent moment; it was as though he admitted, “I don’t understand.” So, Jesus responds: "You are Israel's teacher and do you not understand these things? (10)
This question, “Do you not understand?” was aimed at a religious leader – one who thought he had it all together as far as God was concerned! How do we get it all together, as far as God is concerned? We have to admit that we don’t have it all together.
By the time John Wesley was 35 years old and met the Moravian missionaries in London, he had already finished his studies of history, philosophy, theology and many languages. He had been ordained a priest many years before, but at age 35, he first discovered his heart being "strangely warmed." God's love penetrated him and he was a changed person. That personal experience shaped the remaining two-thirds of his life. (Leonard H. Budd, Path to a New Life, The Spirit's Tether, CSS Publishing Company.)
That is what Jesus was talking about when he met with Nicodemus. “Nicodemus, you are in a position of spiritual leadership and should know: It’s all about grace, not accomplishments! The focus is on God, not us! Don’t we tend to think:
· How many offices a person has held, or
· How many mission trips a person has made, or
· How much a person has contributed financially....
we tend to think that these affect one’s salvation. However, according to Jesus, what matters is: Everyone has to be born again – Jesus said it 3 times! Just as everyone has to have a physical birthday to be physically alive, they must have a spiritual birthday to be spiritually alive – doesn’t that make sense?
I was present when both of our daughters were born. When Alicia was born, I was Vickie’s Lamaze-helping husband in the birthing center at Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky. The second time, I was glad I had paid attention the first time because it was my hands that caught Jennifer. I can attest that both of our daughters were physically born, I was there; but you know they were physically born because they physically exist.
On the other hand, I was not present when either of them was spiritually born. When Alicia was 3 years old, Vickie was with her as Alicia bathed. For some reason, Alicia asked, “Mommy, do you love God?” Yes. “Does Daddy love God?” Yes. “Does everyone love God?” No, only those who have invited Christ into their lives. “Have I done that?” I don’t know sweetheart, but you can do that now... and she did; she prayed to receive Christ – at 3 years of age, in the bathtub.
Jennifer made her commitment to Christ at a youth retreat led by a friend of ours who works with the youth group at La Vernia UMC. There was no doubt that something had happened in her life, because she returned home with a spiritual fire she lacked before. I remember her main learning: “Delayed obedience is disobedience.”
William Barclay tells us that the word Pharisee means ‘the separated one’
because they had separated themselves from all ordinary life in order to keep
every detail of the Law. (William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 1, The Daily
Study Bible, p. 108 and p. 111.)
Perhaps you’ve heard about the man who died and went to heaven. When he showed
up at the pearly gates, St. Peter was waiting. "I want to enter heaven,"
said the man. "You may enter if you have accumulated 100 points on earth."
"Well, "I was baptized in the church and scarcely missed a Sunday in my
entire life."
"That's good," said Peter. "That's one point!" "One point - only
one point? Well, I did serve on the Administrative Board for 20 years, and I
taught Sunday School for 25 years. "That's one point!" "What!?
Only one more point!? Well, I tried to live a good life. I tried to be a good
father and husband." "That's good," said Peter again. "That's worth one
more point."
"Oh, my," said the man. "The only way I will get into heaven is by the grace of God!" "That's right!" said St. Peter with a smile on his face. "And that's worth 97 points. Come on in." The focus is on God, not us.
Have you ever heard something like, “And he claims to be a born again Christian!” with a slight hint of a sneer. That means the speaker sincerely doubts the conversion because he has witnessed some action that calls a “true conversion” into question. Let me ask: “Is there any other kind of Christian than a born-again Christian?”
The term, “born again Christian” is commonly used to differentiate those who may have merely grown into the Christian life from those who may have had a more dramatic, explicit kind of conversion experience. How we come into the Christian faith is not the issue -- that we come into the Christian faith, and that we know Christ is the issue.
Nicodemus would have been pleased if Jesus had given him a list of things to do,
ways to act, laws to keep. That's the way the Pharisees understood a proper
relationship with God. Nicodemus didn't understand grace. How do you understand
grace... and a proper relationship with God?
He asked, "How can it happen? How can one be born again?" And Jesus responded, "The wind blows where it wills, and you can't see it, but you feel it and you see the sign of it, so is the person who is born of the Spirit.” (8)
I think with air conditioning, we’ve lost our appreciation for a breeze. Considering the strength of winds here lately, we don’t appreciate the wind either, but when you’ve been working outside in a muggy world, there’s nothing like a breeze. If it’s still, there’s nothing you can do to cause nature to form a breeze; you can plug in a fan, but you can stomp and dance all you want... no breeze!
The new birth is not something we orchestrate. It has nothing to do with rules. It comes like a birth that we have no control over; like water that cleanses us, like wind that refreshes us -- wind that's felt but not seen. We don’t particularly like that because we’re not in control and we like to be in control! If God is in control, then we’re not.
The point actually is that it is impossible to understand grace; one can only experience it. How it happens isn't important; that it happens is the most important thing in the world. It begins with honesty:
A little girl was angry with her younger
brother. She pushed him down, called him a few names and spit on him. Her mother
walked into the room just as all of this took place. "Honey, that was surely not
very nice. I think the devil made you do that." The girl replied, "The devil may
have made me push him down, and the devil may have made me call him names; but I
thought of the spittin' all by myself."
I like the honesty of that. Honesty is such a vital aspect of coming to God. As long as we pretend we have it together, then we cannot experience God’s acceptance: God knows how we really are and loves us anyway.
There was a small boy in a large family in the post-depression era. One Saturday
night, the family prepared to go to church. The mother was particularly harried,
and asked her 7-year-old son, Richard, to polish her shoes. He agreed, and went
to work.
Sometime later, he brought the shoes to his mother for inspection. She
complimented him on his work, reached into her purse, and gave him a quarter. He
looked at her, rather puzzled, but said nothing.
The next morning as she was getting dressed, the mother felt a lump in the toe
of her shoe. Removing the shoe, she found a wad of paper inside. She unfolded
the paper and a quarter fell out. She found a note written that said, "I done it
for love."
Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again, and it's not
something you do; it's something God does, and He does it through the Spirit.”
The wind blows where it wills; you see the
sign of it and you feel it, but you don't know from where it comes or where it
goes. The best we can do is cooperate with God. Remember that God has
chosen us: “You did not choose me, but I
chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” (John
15:16)
We can't rationalize God’s choice of us -- we just accept it -- say YES to it.
So, rather than trying to rationalize any more, let me give it to you in a
picture.
A
fifteen-year-old girl went to a youth retreat. She was short and a bit
overweight. She was not too attractive and she needed crutches to walk. When a
dance was held one night at the conference, she simply put her crutches by a
chair nearby, sat down in another chair and spent the evening watching the
others dance – all the time smiling.
The music was loud and the floor was full of teenagers moving with the rhythm.
Then a very special thing happened. A slow number was played by the band, and a
tall 16-year-old boy went over to this girl, held out his hand and said to her,
"Please, would you dance with me?" She looked up with surprise, and with a
quivering smile, she said yes. Together they began dancing. The young man held
her tightly, and she held on tightly, lest she stumble and fall. It was a
beautiful sight to behold.
Later that evening, one of the leaders went to the young man and told him how
much he admired him for dancing with her. And he said, "As the two of you were
dancing, I noticed that she whispered something in your ear. Do you mind if I
ask what it was?"
And the teenager said, "You're not going to believe this, but she said that was
the first time that anyone had ever asked her to dance in her whole life."
(Norman Neaves, quoted by Donald Shelby, "Eureka", July 29, 1990).
That's a picture of grace. He chose her; he looked past her
limitations and she undoubtedly felt like she really mattered. Can you imagine
how she felt? If so, you are beginning to understand grace.
Life in the Spirit is 100% dependent upon God, but we have to be willing to be born again. Are we willing to have a new start – to begin again, without a definite plan of what will happen next? Nicodemus took a huge risk in his secret night time visit, but risks are sometimes necessary for growth and change. Did you know that? How might God be calling you to risk?
God is speaking to you: “Please, would you dance with me?”
Benediction
Leo Durocher was once asked who was his all-time favorite player he had coached. Lots of people were shocked when he named Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was a little known pinch hitter. Durocher was asked, "What was so special about Dusty Rhodes?" He replied, "In a tight game when I looked down the bench for a pinch hitter, some players would avert their gaze and refuse to look in my direction. But Dusty Rhodes would look me right in the eye, smile, and tap on his bat." He was always available.
Spiritual growth is more likely to happen to persons who make themselves available to God. Have you made yourself available to God? (Bill Bouknight) Are you willing to dance with God?