John 3:1-17

The Greatest Gift for

The Greatest Need!

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “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.”

³In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

⁴“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes in him may have eternal.”

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As my parents got older it became more and more difficult to decide what to give them for Christmas.  One year my Mom told all of us that while she appreciates all the gifts we give to her she really doesn’t want or need anything that she would have to dust.  After they retired and moved up to the lake my siblings and I decided that we would all go together on getting them something that they needed for the lakehouse.  One year we got them new carpeting.  One year we gave them a new refrigerator.  The best gift of all came after my Dad was in heaven.  We bought Mom a dump truck load of firewood!  My Mom was caught completely off guard when the truck pulled into her driveway.  When she went out to see what was going on, the driver said, “Your children say, ‘Merry Christmas!’”  She was thrilled!  When she called my brother Mike to say thank-you she also asked, “When are you coming up to stack it?”

We all know that there can be a huge difference between receiving something we want and receiving something we need.  Today as we continue our sermon series entitled Lent Reveals Our Greatest Needs our goal is to see how this  very familiar portion of Scripture focuses our attention on:  The Greatest Gift for the Greatest Need!

What is our greatest need?  The Holy Spirit addresses that question when He has the apostle John write, “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘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.’  In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

How do these words reveal our greatest need?  Let’s start by looking at Nicodemus.  The Holy Spirit has John reveal to us that Nicodemus was a prominent Pharisee, “a member of the Jewish ruling council.”  As a prominent Pharisee Nicodemus was undoubtedly convinced that his place in the “kingdom of God” was already assured.  His entire life was focused on doing everything the God of Israel required of His people.

That confidence— a confidence based on works— helps us to understand Jesus’ very unexpected response to Nicodemus.  As the Son of God Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus’ heart.  Therefore, as the Son of God Jesus revealed to Nicodemus the Truth— “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  The greatest need that Nicodemus had was to enter into the “kingdom of God” when he died.  There is only one alternative to entering the “kingdom of God” and that is to be banished from God’s presence in His Kingdom forever!  Since this was Nicodemus’ greatest need, Jesus reveals that there is only one way to enter the “kingdom of God”— and it is not by our own works!  The only people who will be allowed to enter into the “kingdom of God” are those who are “born again.”

Did Nicodemus understand what Jesus was teaching him?  No he did not.  That becomes clear when John goes on to tell us, “’How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked.  ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’  Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.”  The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot see where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’”

Nicodemus was trying to understand the words “born again” from a very logical purely human perspective.  Since Nicodemus thought that entrance into the “kingdom of God” is based on something a person does he couldn’t fathom how anyone could possibly “enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”  Jesus then helps Nicodemus understand that being “born again” is not based on anything we do!  Just as we had no part in our physical birth, so also we have no part in our spiritual re-birth!  Being “born again” is completely based on what God the Holy Spirit does for us!  That’s why Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Are there people today who don’t understand what Jesus is teaching us when He says, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”?  Sadly, there are many people today who are like Nicodemus.  They believe that the only way for someone to be “born again” is by doing something. While they may not follow in Nicodemus’ footsteps and wonder how a person could be “born again” on a physical level, they insist that in order for anyone to be “born again” on a spiritual level they must do something!  They must decide that they want to become a Christian.  They must accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  They must invite Jesus into their heart.  While this sounds logical, on a Scriptural level it is just as impossible as Nicodemus’ statement, “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.”

To help us understand that when it comes to our greatest need — “to enter the kingdom of God”— there is nothing we can do on our own, I did a little research on the term “born again.”  The primary meaning of the word that is translated here as “again” is “from above.”  What Jesus literally said to Nicodemus was, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above.”  This is exact same Greek word Jesus used in John 3:31 where He says, “The one who comes from above is above all.”  There are only two times when this word is translated as “again”— they are both here in our text.  (John 3:3 and John 3:7)

When we understand that our greatest need is to “enter the kingdom of God,” and when we understand that the only way to “enter the kingdom of God” is to be “born from above” then we will understand the greatest gift we could ever possibly be given!  Using an event from the history of God’s Chosen People Jesus took Nicodemus’ focus off of works and put it on faith— faith in Jesus the Christ.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Nicodemus was well-acquainted with the account of Moses and the bronze snake.  God’s people had once again rebelled against the Lord their God.  Scripture tells us, “But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert?  There is no bread!  There is no water!  And we detest this miserable food!’” Because of their rebellious hearts God “sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.”  When God’s people repented of their sin, what did God do?  Did He take the poisonous snakes away?  No.  Did He give His people a formula for an antivenom that they could make?  No.  Contrary to all human logic— and we might say contrary to all medical science— God said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (See Numbers 21”6-9)

What Jesus made clear to Nicodemus, He makes even more clear to us!  While the bronze serpent was the last thing that people would expect God to use to save them, everyone who looked at the bronze serpent in faith, that is, trusting in God’s promise, lived.  Everyone who did not trust in God’s promise, everyone who did not look up to the bronze snake in faith— died.  Jesus then took that powerful image from Israel’s past and applies it to Himself when He says, “So the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

The greatest “gift” of all is the “gift” of God’s “one and only Son.”  In spite of the fact that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” in God’s eyes (Isaiah 61:6), in spite of the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), in spite of the fact that by nature all people are born enemies of the Almighty God (Romans 8:7), God’s love for us is so incomprehensible that He “gave” His “one and only Son” to be sacrificed for our sins so that “whoever” lifts up their eyes to the cross and trusts in what Jesus has done for them has “eternal life.”  They have God’s guarantee that when they die they will be welcomed into the “kingdom of God.”  There is nothing we need to do.  There is no work we need to perform.  There is no decision we need to make.  It all comes down to faith— as Scripture so clearly teaches us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Before I close today there is one truth that I want and need to emphasize from this portion of God’s Word.  In verse three of our text we hear Jesus say to Nicodemus, “No one  can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again, unless he is born from above.”  Every  human being who has ever or will ever live on the face of this earth, except of course our Lord and Savior, has the exact same need.  We cannot enter into the kingdom of God on our own.  In verse sixteen of our text Jesus proclaims what has become known as “The Gospel in a Nutshell”— “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Just as we all have the exact same greatest need, so also God has provided the greatest gift to all people— the gift of His Son!  (Pointing to the cross)

May God grant that as Christians, as people who have and treasure the greatest gift of all, may God grant that we will strive to share that greatest gift with those who still need to hear what God has done for them!

To God be the glory!

Amen