This
chapter is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I love the Jesus that we see in this
chapter. Jesus is certainly
compassionate, but He is also direct and challenging. Jesus is not simply handing out grace in this
chapter, he is pushing Nicodemus to broaden his horizons and expand his
faith. That’s what I love about the
Jesus that we see in this chapter.
Background on Nicodemus
Nicodemus
is a Pharisee. But he is not just
that. Nicodemus is a “ruler of the
Jews.” Nicodemus is one of the
Sanhedrin. He is one of the most
significant 72 Jews on the planet during the time of Jesus’ ministry. Yet this doesn’t mean that his mind cannot be
challenged. In spite of being such a
high status in Judaism, Nicodemus comes to Jesus to learn from Him. What incredible humbleness we find here in
Nicodemus.
There are
some that say Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night so as to have a private and
casual meeting without worrying about interruption from the crowds. I think there is some truth to that. There are also some who say that Nicodemus
came at night because being such an important man he would have certainly been
busy during the day. There might be some
truth in that, too. However, I am very much
a believer in the fact that Nicodemus came at night because he had a little bit
of fear inside of him. I believe that
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night because he is timid about what his fellow
Pharisees and the Sanhedrin might think about him having a personal interaction
with the Son of God.
Here’s why
I think this is true: it’s completely human nature. Human beings tend to begin to experiment the
most boldly when nobody is watching. We
like to try things in the safety of our own private nature. It simply makes sense that this human
Nicodemus would want to begin his faith walk quietly and by making as few waves
as possible. I don’t think we have to
paint Nicodemus out to be a coward because he comes at night, but I do think
that it is fair to paint him as a typical cautious human being wanting to have
the genuine freedom to explore without worrying about who is looking.
Jesus Brings Challenge
Then we
get to the conversation. Jesus tells
Nicodemus something quite bold: a person cannot see God unless they are born
again. {For the record, it is equally correct to translate this as “born from
above” instead of “born again.” This
word means both things and we should respect that Jesus likely used this word
to imply both meanings.} Literally, this
is what Jesus says word-for-word in the Greek: “Truly, truly I say to you. Except someone should be born again (from
above) he is not powerful enough to see the kingdom of God.” The verb that our English translations give
us as “cannot” or even “it is not possible” is actually a verb that means “to
have power.” The Greek verb is literally
“dynamai.” It is the word that gives us
our English words dynamite and dynamic.
Both of those words in English convey something powerful. I think that it is prudent that we recognize
that this is true in the Greek.
Therefore,
what we really have here is Jesus making a claim about power. A person who is not born from above does not
have the power within them to see the kingdom of God. Period.
There is no wiggle room here. If
you are not born from above, you cannot see the kingdom of God.
You are
probably now saying to yourself something like this: “Okay, if this is true
then it is really important that I have a solid understanding on how one is
born again (from above).” That is
absolutely true. We must be solid on
this. Now we are ready to remember the
question that I ended the John 2 blog post pondering, because it is the same
question. What must happen so that Jesus
“believes in us” as He believed in His disciples? What must happen for us to be born
again? This is precisely the same
question that Nicodemus asks!
Jesus is
plain in His answer. Unless a person is
born of water and the Spirit they do not have the power to enter the kingdom of
God. Again, we have the verb dynamai in
verse 5. There is the answer. Only when one has the Spirit of God do they
have the power to enter the kingdom of God.
If we want access to the power of salvation, we must be born of the Holy
Spirit. We must have received the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit must dwell
within us.
The Difference Between Confession and Following
There is a
difference between the person who “confesses Christ” and the person who “becomes
Christ’s disciple.” Anyone can say that
they believe that Christ lived. Anyone
can even say that they believe the Romans crucified Him because the Jewish
leaders demanded it. It takes nothing
but a sense of historical appreciation to make those claims. There is no personal commitment to believing
that those events happened.
However,
it takes the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to act upon those
historical claims. It takes the real
presence of the Holy Spirit to turn us, and change us, and give us the power to
actually live as a disciple of Christ.
Without the power of the Holy Spirit we may say that we believe in
Christ and we might even say that we desire to follow Christ; but as Jesus says
here, without the Holy Spirit we do not have the power inside ourselves to do
so. Without the Holy Spirit, our
promises are empty. We talk a great talk
while walking an absolutely pathetic walk.
This is why at the end of John 2 Jesus did not put trust in the people
around Him. They talked a great talk but
were unwilling to walk any kind of meaningful walk.
Preferring the Darkness
This is
ultimately the point to which Jesus gets as His conversation with Nicodemus
comes to a close. Although light has
come into the world, people love the darkness instead. Those in darkness see the light; after all,
who that is genuinely in darkness cannot recognize when light enters the
picture? But those in darkness prefer to
stay in the darkness. They do not have
the power to leave the darkness behind.
They are contained within the darkness and their works are evil and
contrary to God.
You see,
this is ultimately a chapter on power – specifically the power of the Holy
Spirit. Yes, it is a passage where God’s
grace and love clearly comes through as often quoted in John 3:16. But it is also a passage when Jesus
challenges Nicodemus boldly. Jesus is
quite clear. Unless one genuinely has
the Holy Spirit within them, one does not have the power to leave the darkness
behind. It is not we who show our
greatness to God. It is not we who
demonstrate why He should save us. It is
we who need to humble ourselves, genuinely receive His Spirit, and only then
can we reject the darkness.
John’s Testimony
In fact,
as we move into the passage regarding John the Baptizer we can hear this same
message through John’s words. In John
3:33 we hear that whoever “receives His testimony sets his seal.” The literal expression “sets his seal” figuratively
means “to make known” or “to validate with proof.”
What’s
interesting is that this is exactly the same expression that Paul uses in
Ephesians 1:13 when Paul says, “When you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of
your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is
the guarantee of our inheritance…”
Paul’s teaching is consistent with John the Baptizer’s teaching, which
is consistent with Jesus’ teaching. The presence
of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee that God’s power has come within us. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the power
that we need to embrace in order to see and enter the kingdom of God and leave
the darkness behind. {For more references on the “sealing” of God
see John 6:27 and Ephesians 4:30}
What must
we do to know the guarantee of our salvation?
What must happen for Jesus to “believe in us” and put His trust in
us? What must we have in order to know
the power to leave darkness behind? We
must be born from above. We must be
spiritual beings. We must be seized of
the Holy Spirit so that we can have the strength to work with God in casting
aside the self-monger that lives deep within.
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