Becoming a Born-Again Believer

Becoming a Born-Again Believer

John 3:1-15

 

Illus. Memories.

 

Throughout the first two chapters of the book of John, we have studied many things. In chapter one, we learned that Jesus is fully God and fully man. We understood through those verses His identity, the testimony about Him, and the first disciples who began following Him.  In chapter 2, we saw signs associated with His identity, at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and then at the clearing of the temple. People were seeing the signs, and at the end of chapter 2, a statement worth our consideration this morning is made…

 

John 2:23-25,  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name as they observed His signs which He was doing.  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because He knew all people, and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, for He Himself knew what was in mankind.

 

Many were pursuing Jesus because of what they had seen. Outwardly, they became intrigued as they saw the things He was doing. They believed in His name, but their lives were not surrendered to Him as their Savior. Outwardly, they were intrigued, but Jesus could see inwardly, into their very heart.He knew them all. He knew what was in mankind. “ The question we asked at the end of chapter 2 was, what was missing from those who had seen the signs and began believing some things about Jesus, but had an incomplete belief?”

Though the question is never directly asked of Him, the answer is given by Jesus in John 3, and He will say it plainly, “You must be born again.” John 2 ends with these words, “He knew what was in man…” and chapter 3 begins with these words, “Now there was a man of the Pharisees…”

 

Read: John 3:1-15

 

Chapter 3 begins with a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. The conversation begins with dialogue and then transitions into discourse from Jesus. This morning we will focus on the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. What we learn from the dialogue is that he believed some things, but his belief, like those at the end of chapter 2, was lacking…The solution was that he needed to be born again…Those were Jesus’ words to him. That said, this morning we are going to look at his story and consider specifics as it relates to our need to be born-again believers presently.  I want to look at the specifics of your history, your identity, and your reliance on Jesus for all things.

 

1. Head to Jesus No Matter Your History

 

John 3:1, Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus at night…

 

• From this text and others, we are able to get a description of Nicodemus. He was a religious leader, he was a ruler amongst his people, in verse 10 we learn he was known as the teacher of Israel, and from other texts we know he was wealthy.

 

• His name was a Greek name, though he was a Jewish man. His name means “victory of the people,” or “victory over the people.” It comes from two Greek words nike (victory) and demos (people). He is not only named as such, but also noted as such.

 

• Nicodemus is described in the Jewish Talmud (a record of rabbinic discussions, interpretations, and biblical commentary) as very wealthy…One of the three or four richest men in Jerusalem. We know that in John 19 he will bring the spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial which would be quite costly.

 

• From verse 1 we know that Nicodemus was a Pharisee. This gives us insight into his spiritual history.

 

• The Pharisees were an elite religious group. Their name likely comes from a Hebrew verb which means “to separate” or to be “separated ones.”

 

• There were around 6,000 at this time in Israel, and they were very religious, legalistic about keeping the law.

 

• We don’t read about Pharisees in the Old Testament, so, Bible scholars contend that that the Pharisees were developed in between the Old and New Testament.

 

• Many also believe that the Pharisees were formed after the Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonians. They had given themselves to sin and idolatry, they had gone against the ways of the Lord, and so the thought is, once they were back from Babylon, a group centered on making sure God’s people remained separate from the world and culture was formed.

 

• The group took off…It started as a good thing, but things ended up changing. It turned into legalism because they were not only following God’s law they added onto it with Oral Law, known as the Mishnah.

 

• There was God’s law, the Scriptures, then, there were recorded debates, commentaries and instructions about the Law. On top of keeping God’s law, there were additional regulations, restrictions, and rituals from the Oral law.

 

• They gave the Oral Law equal weight with the Scriptures.

 

Illus. Sabbath.

 

• The Pharisees were revered. They kept the law externally. Throughout Jesus ministry, he pointed them to the heart.

 

• Nicodemus is also noted as a ruler of the Jews. This gives us the indication that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish supreme court, 70 ruling members plus the High Priest.

 

John 3:10, Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

 

• Jesus didn’t say Nicodemus was “a” teacher in Israel, but “the” teacher.

 

• He was in a class of his own.  Based on this description, he seems to be well known, well regarded, and the most sought after teacher in Israel.

 

• He had a history, just like you and me. A real person, with real curiosity, and he sought Jesus.

 

John 3:2, This man came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

 

Illus. Afraid? Busy? Learning?

 

Illus. Why now?

 

• Nicodemus tells Jesus in verse 2 that he knew some things about him. He said, “we know you have come from God as a teacher, no one can do what you do unless God is with him…” But what he would learn is that God IS Him!

 

• Nicodemus approaches Jesus with information, and Jesus, knowing who he is immediately drills deeper with Him and directs him where to focus his attention.

 

John 3:3, Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 

• Jesus responded to Nicodemus “truly, truly;” New King James: “most assuredly;” NIV “Very truly;” literally it means “amen, amen.” Jesus repeats the words “amen, amen” to press the importance of what He was going to say and to signal that he had the authority to say the words that would follow. It wasn’t his opinion he was giving; it was the truth.

 

• “Truly, truly, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 

• Jesus response to the statement Nicodemus gives is an interesting one. There is no small talk, no questions, no formalities, Jesus drills down to the heart of the matter and to the greatest need Nicodemus had, to see the kingdom of God, he needed to be born again.

 

• While it seems a shift based on the immediate statement, in context, it makes perfect sense. Chapter 2 ended with us being told that Jesus knew what was in the heart of all mankind.

 

1. See The Necessity of a New Identity

 

• Jesus told him he needed to be “born again,” which could literally mean “born from above” or “born anew,” or “born a second time.”

 

• Nicodemus had his own set of thoughts about Jesus’ declaration. From the response Nicodemus gives, it is clear that he believes Jesus is telling him he needs to be “born a second time” because he asks, “how is this possible? Can a man go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?”

 

• John refers to being “born again” as that which is necessary to see the “kingdom of God,” and he will use that phrase again in verse 5 when he speaks about the necessity of being born again to “enter the kingdom of God.”

 

• For our understanding, Jesus is speaking of the kingdom of salvation, the spiritual realm where those who have been born again by God’s power through faith, are saved from death to life and live under His rule and reign for now and all eternity. The kingdom of God is where God rules and reigns!

 

• As a Pharisee, he would have thought of the kingdom of God as something in the future. That which would arrive at the end of history. The resurrection at the end of time. The new kingdom of God that the Messiah was going to bring in at the end of time, when everything would be made right.

 

• For a Pharisee like Nicodemus, he would have seen his first birth as that which was necessary for entrance into the kingdom of God.

 

• If you were born Jewish, a descendant of Abraham, if you kept the law, you were in.

 

• Jesus says, not so… “You must be born again.” It’s a new birth and an entrance into a new life.

 

• Jesus is telling Nicodemus that he was not going to see the kingdom based on his history, or his identity, he needed a new birth, a new identity.

 

John 3:4-5, Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

 

• There are many interpretations of this text, different views on what it means and doesn’t mean to be born of water and the Spirit.

 

Illus. Born of water?

 

John 3:6, That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.

 

• Nicodemus heard Jesus words and went to the physical reality of human birth…Can a person go back into a mother’s womb when they are old? Clearly they cannot!

 

• As Jesus continued, he made it clear that He was speaking of Spiritual reality. But the reality of the Spiritual birth, had physical realities.

 

• That born of flesh is flesh: Human birth produces physical people.

 

• That which is born of the Spirit is spirit: Spiritual birth gives birth to spiritual people.

 

John 1:11-13, He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

 

• Jesus is pointing to a new identity. It is a supernatural reality. We were all once born physically. We all have a history. But we must be born again Spiritually. It is not something we do for ourselves, it is not the result of the will of flesh, or of man, but of God.

 

• God causes the re-birth, He does it.

 

John 3:7, Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

 

• Jesus did not suggest being born again. He didn’t say you should consider it, you should think about it…He didn’t say it was just an opinion, no, He said “you must.”

 

• How? Spirit gives birth to spirit!

 

1 Peter 1:3(a), Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope…

 

• Peter wrote that our being born again is according to God’s great mercy.

 

Titus 3:3-5, We too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit…

 

• When Paul wrote about the washing of regeneration he used the word “Palingenesia” re-generation and he applies it to being born again, “re-generated.”

 

Illus. Palingenesia.

 

Matthew 19:28, And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration (palingenesia) when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

 

• Jesus used the technical term, that which was well known, and says it is not a cycle, but a Savior. There is only one regeneration of the world.

 

• All things will be made new, a new heaven, new earth, the old things will pass away. That is a day that comes in the future, but in the life of the believer, when they are born again, they are re-generated presently.

 

• The same power by which God will bring about the re-generation of the universe, is the power that is brought to the life of a person who is re-generated as a child of God.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

 

Illus. Born into it.

 

John 3:8, The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

 

• In explaining the new birth, Jesus likens it to wind. You can feel the effects, you can hear something is happening, but you can’t see it.

 

• When a person is born again, it is not revealed through an ultrasound, or seen on an x-ray machine, but you will experience the effects of a changed life.

 

Illus. Used to.

 

John 3:9-12, Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

 

III.  Rely on Him Regarding All Things

 

• In verse 9, Nicodemus is still stuck on the question, he asks, “how can these things be?”

 

• In Jesus response to Nicodemus, he speaks directly to what Nicodemus was lacking, he didn’t yet believe.

 

• Nicodemus essentially says “I don’t understand!” Jesus responded, “You are THE teacher in Israel and you do not understand?”

 

• “Truly, truly, we speak of what we know, and testify what we have seen and you people do not accept our testimony.”

 

• Jesus uses a personal plural pronoun “Our/We..” it is not likely He and His new disciples, rather, commentators believe He is speaking of the trinity.

 

• Jesus continued, I have given you examples, of birth physically, new birth spiritually. I have spoken to you about the wind which you can feel and sense, but cannot physically see…. “I have spoke to you of earthly things and you do not believe.”

 

• “How then will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

 

Illus. Jesus speaks on the subject.

 

• Nicodemus believed Jesus was from God, but in order to receive Jesus’ testimony fully, he needed to accept the fact that Jesus was Himself God.

 

• In order to gain understanding, Nicodemus needed to believe. The only way he could believe, was by faith.

 

• Hebrews 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God, and all who come to Him must believe that He is God!

 

John 3:13, No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

 

• In Daniel 7, a prophecy of the future is given where a figure “like a son of man:” is give authority, glory, and kingdom over the earth…In John 1:51 Jesus is identified as the “Son of Man.” And here he says He has descended from heaven…He can speak on the kingdom of heaven with authority…

 

John 3:14, And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him.

 

• Turning the attention to heavenly, Jesus makes an incredible comparison that directs our attention to the importance of belief.

 

• Jesus says, whoever believes, will have eternal life in Him.

 

• And the comparison, is of a biblical account given in Numbers 21, when Moses lifted up a serpent in the wilderness.

 

• Just as this happened, Jesus said, so will the Son of Man be lifted up.

 

• The story is out of Numbers 21.

 

Read: Numbers 21:7-9

 

• People were dying from the venomous bites. And this was God’s solution.

 

• When people were bitten, they were to look to the pole and they would live.

 

• Jesus, says those who look to Him will be saved!

 

John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

 

Read: Ephesians 2:1-9

 

John 3:1-15