John 3:1–17

Second Sunday in Lent

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

²This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

³Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above [again] he cannot see the kingdom of God."

⁴Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

⁵Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

⁸The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

⁹Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

¹⁰Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.

¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

¹³No one has ascended into heaven except him who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

When someone knocked on the door that night, probably the last person anyone expected to see was Nicodemus. But there he was. A ruler of the Jewish nation. A member of the high council. A Pharisee. It was dark outside but his quick, stealthy movements and nervous gestures revealed his fear of being found out. If anyone discovered that he was here to visit Jesus there would be questions, possible a trial, and he could even be expelled from the Sanhedrin.

Entering the house he greeted Jesus as a "great teacher" and called him rabbi. He said something about how no one could do the things Jesus did if he were not sent from God. However, Jesus did not respond to his flattery. Jesus knew why he had come and got right to the point. "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above," Jesus said.

Jesus knew that the real question was: "Am I going to heaven?" That is the single most important question in life. It doesn't matter what happens to us here in this world if we know that in the end we will be in heaven. Whether we are rich or poor, young or old, slave or free, sickly or healthy none of that really matters in the end. We can get through whatever circumstances we face in this life if we know that it will someday be over and that we will be in heaven living in eternal bliss, peace, happiness and joy. Knowing that can get us through all our sorrows and tears now. Knowing that makes this life worth living and makes the time and sacrifice of serving and helping others in need all worthwhile. We suffer but a short time and then we shall be lifted up to the kingdom of heaven to live in glory forever.

In 1597 the Black Plague struck Europe. Pastor Philipp Nicolai buried 1400 of his church members that year. In July alone 300 members died. The only thing that sustained him through it all was in his words, "...the praiseworthy reflection of precious souls in heavenly paradise... There is nothing more precious...than the contemplation of... eternal life, purchased by Christ's blood." With this thought he penned one of our favorite hymns, "What joy to know, when life is past, the Lord we love will one day transport us to that happy place beyond all tears and sinning."

It is the glorious hope of that "happy place beyond all tears and sinning" that gives us the strength and patience to pass through our present tears pressing onward to that glorious day when our Lord takes us with him to heaven.

So why did Nicodemus come to Jesus that night? Because he wasn't sure if he would be in that glorious kingdom. He had doubts. Worries. He knew that others talked about being sure they were going to heaven, but he couldn't be entirely sure. Of course, he figured if anyone was going to heaven he would be one of them. After all, he was a descendent of Abraham. More than that, a Pharisee; an expert in the Law of God. He kept every detail as best he could. To the best of his knowledge he never missed a fast or prayer time. He never defiled himself by touching a dead body, or anything unclean. He offered all the sacrifices and kept the ceremonies. But there was always that nagging doubt. What if there was something he had done wrong that he wasn't aware of. What if there was that one thing he had overlooked or forgotten to do. He was a good Jew, but just how good was good enough?

He believed in God, YHWH, but did he have enough faith? There were, after all, those times of doubt and worry. There were those times when he worried about being sick, or his children, or his finances. Did these moments of doubt mean his faith was too weak? That is why he came to see Jesus that night and Jesus knew it. Jesus didn't even have to wait for him to ask the question.

Nor does Jesus wait for us to ask the question. He knows our doubts and fears and worries. We too may wonder just how good is good enough? We too may wonder if our faith really is sincere enough or strong enough. We may even try working harder at obeying God just to prove that we really do love him enough and have enough faith.

So before Nicodemus even asked the question, Jesus answered it. He said that one must be born from above in order to see the kingdom of God. Now, you're probably going, "Whoa! That's not the way I memorized this verse. My bible says you must be "born again." That's OK, but it is only our English translations that have the word "again." The primary meaning of the Greek word used here is "from above," and that is the way it is translated in every other place that word is used in the Bible. The word "Again" is not a wrong translation, it can mean "start over from the beginning". Obviously, to be born from above you would have to be "born again." But to appreciate its full meaning he is not just saying we must be born over again, but we must have an entirely different kind of birth into an entirely different kind of life. It is being born "from above" as opposed to "born from below."

Born from below? That is what Jesus is talking about when he refers to "born of the flesh." Birth into this material world below is a material birth, a birth of flesh and bone. Birth from above is birth into the kingdom of God, born of the spirit. So now we have two types of birth, or, as it were, two types of existence: a material existence in this physical, material world, into which we are born in the flesh; and a spiritual existence, into which we are born by the spirit, into the kingdom above.

All of us have been born of the flesh. We have a material body of flesh and bone. We live in this material world; fallen and sinful. The material world is under the curse of sin and the condemnation of death. Not because God created it that way. He created it good and perfect. But man chose to turn away from God, and by man's own choice, death and corruption entered the world. The kingdom of the flesh is therefore the kingdom of the devil, of sin and of death. That is why we suffer here. That is why pain and suffering exist. That is why sickness and death exist. Because man chose to disobey God. Now, all that is born of the flesh is born a slave of sin, suffering and death.

How then do we enter into the kingdom of God? Only by being born into it. By being born of the spirit into the spiritual kingdom of God. So far so good. Human logic can understand and follow this line of reasoning up to this point. But now things become sticky when Nicodemus asks how can one be born from above?

Just how does this take place? Jesus says that no one can ascend into heave except him who descended from heaven. Jesus is the one who descended from heaven. The very Son of God descended down into our physical, material world of sin and death. Now that is beyond human logic and comprehension. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son over to death for sinful human beings? God so loved us sinners; his enemies; those who scorned him. And his Son loved us so much that he was willing to come into this physical kingdom full of sin and evil; suffering and pain; death and rot and take all the violence, the hatred, the scorn, and the rejection that we humans could dish out to him. He loved us so much that he was willing to be born of flesh so that he could assume our sin and guilt; assume our suffering and pain; and assume our death. And by assuming our sin and death unto himself, he exchanged it for his holiness and life. By his being born of the flesh, in the likeness of man, he takes our sin and gives us his righteousness in exchange. He takes our suffering and gives us his peace in exchange; he takes our death and gives us his life in exchange. He comes into this fleshly kingdom to embrace sinful man. He descends from the heavenly realm into the worldly in order to embrace us and take us unto himself. He did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. This defies human logic.

And he takes us unto himself and gives us a new existence, a new birth; a spiritual birth from above. So Jesus says, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." But in baptism we are born of water and the Spirit. We are born from above into the kingdom of God because God, through his Son, loved the world. And because it says he loved the world, it means this promise is for all people who believe it. God gave his son in order that "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." It is all inclusive; all peoples, all nations, all languages. He died for all! So that means you and me. When Nicodemus came to Jesus he said, "We know you are come from God for no one can do these works that you do unless God is with him." This is Jesus' greatest work, to embrace us sinners with his love and make us children of God in baptism.

In our baptism Jesus says we are born of the Spirit. That is the promise of Jesus and he is no liar. His word is true and sure. In baptism he collects his people unto himself and embraces them in his love. In your baptism you were born from above by the Spirit and made the people of God. In baptism we become a new people, a new nation. We are the people of God.

Now that was the answer Nicodemus was looking for. Nicodemus believed the promise. We know that because this was not the last time we hear about him in the Bible. Later in a dispute between the Jewish leaders over whether or not Jesus was the Christ; when some wanted to arrest Jesus, Nicodemus spoke up in his defense. For that he learned what it meant to be scorned and persecuted by his fellow Pharisees. Then we see him once again at the grave of Jesus. It was Nicodemus who provided the costly myrrh, aloes and spices with which he himself prepared Jesus' body for burial.

That is the answer we look for as well. The clear promise of God that we are born again from above into his kingdom assures us that we are citizens of God's kingdom; the people of God. That promise which our Lord speaks here is the promise that we are going to heaven. It is not a matter of how good is good enough? It is not a matter of how much faith does it require? It is a matter of the promise of Jesus; his promise that when we were baptized we were born of the Spirit into the kingdom of God. All who believe this promise can be sure they are going to heaven.

So now, we are have two existences and live in two kingdoms: that of the flesh in this world where we suffer and die, and that of the spirit in the kingdom of heaven where we have eternal life. Pain and suffering still afflict us. Temptations still attack us. We do sin because of the weakness of our flesh. But the promise of eternal life which we believe also gives us new life. It frees us from the power of sin and death to live in Christian love and obedience, giving thanks to God with our praise and offerings, and serving our neighbor in love. It means that we are born the people of God; we are united with each other in Christ and belong to one another. We live and worship in peace and harmony with each other. Because there is one thing that transcends our lives in this world; and that is the fact that we are born from above into the kingdom of heaven.

Amen.