John 3:22-36

In the final passage of chapter 3 of John, the scene shifts suddenly back to John the Baptist. We never read about Nicodemus’s reaction to the words he had just heard from Jesus, although he had much to think about. Because he provided the burial spices for Jesus, it is assumed that he became a believer at some point. But in verse 22, we return to John the Baptist, who is now baptizing people at Aenon, which is where Jesus is also baptizing.

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (John 3:22-23)

I would have missed this point, but Jon Courson actually asks why John was now baptizing at Aenon. He suggests it had nothing to do with heavenly revelation or fulfilling prophecy, but that the answer is simpler and very practical: because there was plenty of water. Courson writes that too often we make finding the will of God much more difficult than it needs to be. God often aligns the desires of our hearts with His will when we are trusting Him. He gives an illustration from Chuck Smith’s life. When asked why he chose to start up Calvary Chapel in the middle of a bean field in Costa Mesa in the 70’s, whether or not God had directed Him there, Chuck laughed and replied, “I took the church in Costa Mesa because I like to surf and it was the closest available church to the beach!” :)

Now, when John’s disciples saw Jesus and his disciples baptizing in the same area, they seemed to see it as a competition:

They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (vs. 26-30)

From the moment John first was near Jesus, while still in his mother’s womb, he leapt for joy. John saw himself as the best man, bringing the Bride to the Groom. At this point in his ministry, his joy was complete, for he saw the people going to the Groom. His own ministry was drawing to a close. He felt no competition, only joy in completing the task God had given him to do. As Jesus became greater, John was to become less.

I certainly see some practical application to my own life in John’s response. As a teacher, my job is to help educate the next generation. So why would I be jealous when I see another teacher do a fabulous job? If someone else is also working hard to prepare children for the future, wouldn’t I rejoice? If my gift were to sing for God (so NOT my gift), then why would I be jealous because someone else was given the position of choir director. As long as we are all using our gifts for God’s glory, then we need not feel competition toward others. We are ALL to become less, while Jesus becomes greater.

Finally, in the last verse of chapter 3, we see John repeat much of what Jesus had said to Nicodemus:

The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (vs. 35-36)

I love what Jon Courson writes about this, so I’ll finish with his thoughts:

“Why does the wrath of God abide on the one who does not Believe in his Son? Because he who does not believe is trampling on the sacrificial blood of His only begotten Son. This world is sinking fast in the quicksand of sin. God does not condemn us for being in that place - only for refusing to reach out to the nail-pierced hand offering to pull us out.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament, P. 462)

People aren’t sent to Hell because they are sinners. Christ died for sinners! They go there of their own free will, because they refuse the free gift of salvation that Jesus provides!

Wow!  Chapter 3 was great - but wait until we go to chapter 4 next week!  It just keeps getting better!

 

John 3:16-21

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. (John 3:16)

I’m pretty sure that this verse doesn’t need an address attached for you to know where to find it, since it is probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. Jon Courson, in his Application Commentary: New Testament, points out that these few words sum up God’s heart, His plan, and His will. He suggests that this verse is one we should meditate on it for ten days, emphasizing a different word each time:

For God so loved the world...
For God so loved the world...
For God so loved the world...

It is God’s greatest desire that the entire world would believe in His Son and have everlasting life. He does not want anyone to perish. In his second letter, Peter affirmed this:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Yet, I always find it interesting that rarely, when John 3:16 is quoted, do we ever hear the words that Jesus spoke next:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (vs.17-21)

Jesus was sent into the world to SAVE it. Now, some people have a ho-hum attitude when it comes to being “saved,” and behave as if Jesus just came to show us the Father’s love for us. The silliness of this idea can be demonstrated in an illustration I heard years ago. Let’s say I’m sitting at the end of a pier, dangling my feet in water, and you come running down the pier and dive in for a swim. You are having a perfectly lovely swim, in no danger whatsoever, when I jump in the water to “save” you to show you how much I love you, and I drown in the process. That would not be love, that would be DUMB!

Well, Jesus did not die an agonizing death on the cross just to show us how much He loved us! He died on the cross because we were DYING in our SIN! We were “perishing” and needed to be “saved.” In fact, before His death, Jesus prayed that the Father would remove that cup of death if there could be ANY other way to save us. But He submitted to His Father’s will, because he loved us and because we needed saving!

The power in the gospel, much like an electrical charge, is in the partnership of the positive and the negative message. Without the negative, the positive has no power. As my pastor loves to say, “You have to know the bad news [you’re a lost sinner], in order to appreciate the good news [Jesus died for sinners].”

Verse 18 above tells us that anyone who does not believe in Jesus stands condemned [is perishing], because he hasn’t believed in Jesus. What does it mean to be condemned? Well, Revelation 20:15 tells us, If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. This will be along with the devil and the antichrist, and it’s a place where they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev 20:10) That’s harsh! But, because God is a holy, holy, holy God of justice, His righteousness and justice require wrath. But the good news is that we have been saved from that when we put our trust in Jesus, alone, to save us. Being saved sounds pretty good, right?

Why doesn’t EVERYONE receive this salvation gift? John 3:19 tells us:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.


Wow! Jesus tells us that men prefer to live in their sin! He also told us that His way is narrow and few would find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

I am so grateful that God opened my heart to hear and believe! But because I know He loves the whole WORLD, I need to make sure that as many as possible find that narrow Way!

 

John 3:9-15

Before looking at the next verses in John 3, I just wanted to ask you to pray for two little ones. My sweet friend, Erin, who has been having early contractions with her first baby (due date in March), is still holding onto that baby! However, they just learned that, in addition to the heart valve problem which will require surgery after birth, there is now a cyst showing on the brain. Please pray that God, in His mercy, will heal these problems before this little one is born! And pray for Erin and her husband, Danny, as they await the birth, that they will know God’s peace as they trust in His loving kindness and His sovereignty.

Then, Molly’s dear friend, Joyce, and her family need our prayers. Their toddler daughter, Bridget had cataract surgery a few months ago, and now they have found that the capsule that holds the lens in place (which cannot be replaced) is opaque. They are planning to remove it next Tuesday, hoping that there is enough scar tissue from the cataract surgery to hold the lens in once the capsule is removed. This is a very scary time for them. Please pray that God’s hand will be on the surgeon’s hand. Actually, because nothing is impossible for God, let’s pray that God will miraculously heal Bridget’s eye! So many needs... Such a BIG God!

As I was thinking about God’s power to not only create the universe from nothing, but to also knit together a heart valve, make a cyst disappear, and repair a lens capsule, I was reminded of the amazing miracle God does to regenerate our souls! And that’s what Jesus tries to get across to Nicodemus in today’s lesson.

Nicodemus had started with the acknowledgement that the miracles that he had witnessed Jesus performing were surely from God, but Jesus led him into a personal discussion about Nicodemus’s need for his own miracle: the need to be born again by the Spirit of God.

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.


“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I 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. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 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. (John 3:9-15)

Here Nicodemus was - this well-respected Jewish leader, a leader among leaders, and a scholarly teacher of religion - and yet he did not understand what Jesus was speaking of when He said Nicodemus needed to be completely regenerated. What Nicodemus needed was a heart transplant! He had seen the miracles of Jesus and had heard His teaching but could not grasp why Jesus had come: Jesus must be lifted up on a cross to die for our sins, so eternal life might be given to everyone who believes in him.

No matter how smart we think we are, no matter how many letters follow our names to show the extent of our education, there is nothing more important to understand than our need for a Savior. This is a message not just for the PhD, but for the woman out in the fields in Africa, for those in the ghettos of India, as well as for the 1% on Wall Street! We are sinners in need of a Savior. Nicodemus needed a Savior and so do we! Tomorrow we’ll look at one of the best-known verses in Scripture, as well as the one that follows it that is not so well-known, that speak to this need. In the meantime, please keep praying!

 

John 3:1-9

Today we meet the religious ruler, Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a group of 6,000 Jewish religious leaders devoted to keeping the Law down to the tiniest detail. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he would have been part of the elite group of rulers (70 in all), so he was surely a highly respected member of the community. We know he was wealthy because in John 19 he gave expensive burial spices to help with the burial of Jesus.

I have always loved this man, because I feel I can identify with him. He seems to have been someone whose head got in the way of his heart, someone who was more interested in the debate than the answers. I have to guard myself sometimes, when approaching the Scriptures, that it doesn’t become just a brain exercise. When I originally read this part of John’s gospel over thirty years ago, I saw a picture of someone wanting to come to Jesus for an intellectual discussion, to investigate this man who had been performing miracles and overturning tables. And I felt he was probably uncomfortable with the answers Jesus gave him, and maybe went away a bit more puzzled than when he came. We certainly don’t see the deal sealed. Nicodemus apparently did not fall at Jesus’ feet and become a disciple at this point. But surely seeds were planted.

When I was first truly confronted with the need to make a decision for Christ in college, I was made extremely uncomfortable by the experience, and I found it like hearing nails on a chalkboard to even say the name Jesus. I would have had no problem discussing Buddha or Mohammed or Confucius, because I could keep them at a distance. But something about the name of Jesus made me squirm. It was personal - too close for comfort - to have to think about Him and the demands He would make on my life. He’d actually want to change me! So I can feel the churning of thoughts in Nicodemus head and the conflict in his heart as he meets with this Rabbi:

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.” (John 3:1-3)

Note that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. I had always figured this was kind of a stealthy way to talk to Jesus without Nicodemus’s buddies knowing what he was doing. But Jon Courson speculates that maybe he came at night just because it was Passover and both Nicodemus and Jesus would have ben busier during the day. And he says that the cool of the evening was the time for personal conversation among men. We don’t know for sure why he came at night.

Now, right off the bat, Jesus goes completely beyond the niceties of pleasant conversation to the core of Nicodemus’s problem. Nicodemus does the friendly dance with some flattery, starting with some affirmation of the miracles Jesus had been performing. Obviously God was with this Carpenter-Rabbi, so He was worth checking out. However, Jesus instantly points Nicodemus to the need for a complete makeover: Nicodemus needed to be born again!

Since Jimmy Carter called himself a “born again Christian” over thirty years ago, that term has offended many people. And I wonder if it didn’t maybe offend Nicodemus a little, too. His response to Jesus can possibly be seen as almost dismissive:

“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!” (vs. 4)

What Jesus was suggesting was preposterous! Not possible! And isn’t it interesting that Nicodemus keeps the discussion at arm’s length: he doesn’t ask, “How can I be born again, “ but “How can a man be born again?” I remember using this tactic when the Campus Crusade for Christ people approached me at UCLA. I did everything to keep the discussion from getting personal.

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 tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (vs. 5-8)

Jesus brings it home here. He takes it from no one, in verse 5, immediately to the pronoun you. “I’m talking to YOU, Nicodemus!” “I’m talking to YOU, Sally!” YOU must be born again! Now He’s got Nicodemus’s full attention:

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. (vs. 9)

We’ll find out tomorrow!