Trinity Sunday

SERMON

Text: John 3:1-17

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This 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.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus 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?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again,’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

In Christ Jesus, the Son of God and our blessed Savior, dear fellow redeemed:

In the newspaper comic “Red and Rover” recently, Red, a grade school age boy, escaped doing a household chore by telling his mother that he had a speech to memorize for the last day of school. As Red’s older brother reluctantly headed off to do the chore, Red is heard in the background saying, “No more school; no more books; no more teacher’s dirty looks!” Summer’s illusion is that learning stops; you do not have to exercise your brain; you can simply have fun and relax! That same illusion fills the minds of some graduates as they walk down the aisle with their diplomas in hand, thinking that they are finally done learning and are free to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Alas, such thoughts are but illusions. While we do need regular rests from our labors, it is a fact of life that we must continue learning throughout our lives.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews in Jesus’ day—a man who had reached the pinnacle of his career as an authority on the Jewish religion, found that truth out when he secretly visited Jesus one night. While the vast majority of the Pharisees had already made up their minds about Jesus and condemned Him as a religious fraud, Nicodemus shared the opinion of many commoners, that Jesus was someone very special. Jesus, Nicodemus had concluded, must have come from God, for otherwise He would not be able to perform the miracles He was performing. Yes, Jesus must be a very special “rabbi" or teacher! Little is Nicodemus realize that night as he sought Jesus out, they he was about to learn three vital truths, without which his spiritual education was incomplete and upon which his entire future depended. Let us join Nicodemus at the feet of Jesus and learn THE LESSONS WE NEED TO LEARN!

I.

The first lesson is that, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God!” When Nicodemus heard those words, he was confused. “How can a man be born when he is old” he asked, “Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Nicodemus’ trouble was that he was thinking of the space/time relationships of this physical world, rather than applying Jesus’ words to the spiritual relationship of men with God. Jesus explained, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

Nicodemus needed to learn that Jesus was not talking about the amount of space within a woman’s womb or how after living outside the womb one might return to it for a second birth. Rather, Jesus was talking about how men, who by nature are born in sin and so are spiritually separated from God, might come into the communion and fellowship of God’s kingdom. They could not do so by their own efforts, no matter how extensive, but rather the Spirit of God must give them a spiritual rebirth through the waters of baptism, for only those “born of the Spirit” are truly spiritual and can share in the wonders of God’s kingdom! What a blow this was to the work-righteous system espoused by the Pharisees and up to this point by Nicodemus himself. Their entire religious program was based upon the premise that human beings could through their works please God and enter His kingdom. This, Jesus was saying, is not true, for as the Scriptures clearly testify—all human being by nature are spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and in such a fleshly condition “cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). Rather, the Spirit of God, whom we cannot see must work repentance and faith within hearts and so lead individuals away from trust in themselves, and rather to trust in the living God and His dear Son, Jesus Christ.

My dear friends, the lesson Nicodemus needed to learn is a lesson we too need to learn. The basic assumption of men by nature is that of work-righteousness and we find that assumption articulated all around us: “Character determines destiny.” “Do a good deed each day.” “Keep the Ten Commandments.” “Fulfill the Five Pillars of Islam.” “Strive to have a good karma.” Millions of people in our world today assume that if they follow one of those formulas, they certainly will find themselves included in God’s kingdom, but that is simply not true. The Bible states emphatically that we are “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28). While it is important to live a godly life, such godly living will not gain one entrance into God’s kingdom, but rather true godly living flows from the hearts of those to whom the Spirit has given spiritual rebirth by placing faith in the Son of God within their hearts.

II.

The second lesson Nicodemus learned and which we too need to learn is that, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven!” Nicodemus assumed, as do many people in our world today, that Jesus was simply a very special man—a remarkable teacher, but still just another man. As he continued to question Jesus regarding the nature and need of spiritual rebirth, Jesus asked him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” Nicodemus, who apparently did not know how to answer, then heard Jesus provide the answer. He identifies Himself with both the Spirit of God and God Himself in saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness!" The “We” to whom Jesus is referring is the very Holy Trinity of Scripture, to whom the Pharisees including Nicodemus up to this point had not listened. Consequently, Jesus asks, “If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” How could the Pharisees possibly hope to understand spiritual truths, when they were so focused on their own teachings and wrapped up in their own earthly laws? Jesus wanted to redirect Nicodemus entire thinking and frame of reference away from all earthly teachers to the one true Teacher—the Triune God of heaven and earth. Consequently, He focused Nicodemus’ attention specifically on Himself as the “Word” of God sent from heaven (cf. John 1:1-3), for Nicodemus had to learn this lesson, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”

My dear friends, we need to learn that lesson too! We need to give our attention not to the passing teachers of this world—the Buddha, or Muhammad, or the Dali Lama, or Joseph Smith, or the Pope—but to the “Son of Man,” Jesus Christ Himself. He is one with the Father (cf. John 10:30). He came from His throne in heaven to live among men—to save them from sin and bring them back into the presence of God. He “came down from heaven” and yet was able to say in view of His divine omnipresence, that He was still at the same time “in heaven!” Let us not allow ourselves to be misled by anyone who claims to have special spiritual insights, which contradict the words of our dear Savior. He came into this world not simply to talk—to tell us what to do, but rather to act—to be our Savior as He explained to Nicodemus. He told Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life!” Just as our own works will not gain entrance for us into the kingdom of God, so those good works will not pay for our sins. Faith in God’s promise alone that the “blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” indeed saves us from sin. Just as home remedies or any action of men failed to save the dying children of Israel in the wilderness after being bitten by fiery serpents, so no action of ours can save us from sin. But just as the children of Israel believed the promise of God and looked to the serpent of brass and were healed, so when we gaze in faith at Christ who was hung on Calvary’s cross, we too are healed and made spiritual whole.

III.

The third lesson Nicodemus learned that we too need to learn is that, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Human beings by nature do not view God as a loving Father, but rather most often as a stern judge. This in part is because our consciences condemn our sinful words and actions, and we know from conscience that we deserve God’s just judgment. Consequently, the false religions of the world present gods who must be appeased, or bribed, or fooled in some way by those who follow them. Human beings by nature do not understand that a primary attribute of God is love. God must reveal this to mankind, as indeed He does in the Scriptures. Even God’s chosen people, the Pharisees among them, failed to understand the true nature of God, seeing only the thunder and lightning of Mount Sinai, rather the strong yet loving arms of the promised Savior, who would shepherd Israel (cf. Isaiah 40:10-11).

Jesus, consequently, instructed Nicodemus with these words, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What a wonderful lesson to learn for Nicodemus, especially since he came to Jesus by night, because he was afraid to come by day. Through these words Nicodemus came to understand God’s loving grace—the fact that God understood his most basic need for forgiveness and determined to provide that need through the person of His own dear Son. Through these words Nicodemus learned that he would not and could not gain everlasting life by keeping the law, but rather that everlasting life was God’s gift to him as he was led by the Spirit to believe in Jesus.

My dear friends, what a comfort it is to know that we have a loving Father in heaven, who does not want to condemn us, but who has delivered us from sin and its just condemnation through the redemptive work of Jesus. It is the knowledge of God’s love for us in Christ that will sustain us through life’s difficult times, even as it is God’s love for us in Christ that should be the focus of our attention as we approach the seeming darkness of death. We do not have to approach either life or death with fear and trembling, but rather can do so with great joy and confidence, for as St. Paul informed the Philippian Christians, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (1:21).

Nicodemus came to Jesus by night rather than by day, for he apparently feared the reaction of his peers. At the feet of Jesus he learned lessons which were absolutely vital for his spiritual life and eternal future. May we as well sit at our Savior’s feet, for He surely will instruct us regarding THE LESSONS WE NEED TO LEARN! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting