The Second Sunday in Lent ---- 12 March 2017

John 3:1-17

1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old?”

§  It’s time to use our imagination. We don’t often use our imagination during a sermon. Maybe we do, but today, I’m going to direct that use rather than letting our minds wander.

§  The setting – Jesus is meeting a well-known leader of the Jewish people named Nicodemus and they’re meeting at night. Maybe the leader is afraid of being seen. Maybe it’s the only time he has. Maybe something else is in play here.

§  Jesus tells Nicodemus a number of things and Nicodemus is hard pressed to believe him. "How can anyone be born after having grown old?... How can these things be?"

§  Scholars tell us that Nicodemus met Jesus at night to portray the darkness of the heart and the spirit that he lived in. John the Evangelist places Nicodemus in darkness and night as a “teacher of Israel” who doesn’t know the truth of God. What Jesus tells him confuses him more, even though he admits that Jesus is a teacher who has come from God. He just expects Jesus to tell him what he already knows and what Jesus tells him shocks and astonishes him.

§  Phrases like you must be born from above and you must be born of water and the Spirit are not what Nicodemus expected. His idea of faithfulness to God is wrapped up in obedience to the Law even in the least thing. To say that a person must be born again made no sense to him. Of course, he responds by taking Jesus literally, word for word, and completely missing what Jesus is driving at. In the end, Nicodemus simply disappears from the story. He returns at Jesus’ burial, where he arrives with 50 kilos of spices to prepare Jesus’ body for the tomb. It appears that he was a secret follower of Jesus like Joseph of Arimathea, the man who provided the tomb. Apparently his encounter with Jesus made some difference in his life.

§  There is the real point. Nicodemus starts the story with a good idea of how the world works and it is this understanding that is his obstacle to understanding and grasping what Jesus said. He met Jesus in the darkness of night, a physical darkness that mirrors the darkness of unbelief in which he lives. The man is not just confused; he is astonished and amazed! What Jesus tells him is beyond his understanding and his imagination. What he is told does not make sense to him, but somehow it is the encounter with Jesus that makes a difference for him.

§  We may find ourselves in the same boat as Nicodemus – astonished at what Jesus says. What is promised does not match our perception of the world and how the world works. We know how things go in our lives and how things are supposed to work. What Jesus says does not seem to match what we know.

§  Are there things that Jesus said that astonish us? I would imagine so. Many things that Jesus says are beyond our understanding. Actually, each of us may have a list. Have any of these ever made you scratch your head?

§  You must be born again…

§  This is my body… this is my blood…

§  God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

§  Your sins are forgiven

§  I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.

§  The promise to Abraham rests on grace of God…

§  Let’s take a look at the promise of grace, particularly in the reading from Romans. Paul says that For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith… For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants… This idea of faith is hard for us to swallow at times. We want to earn things and prove our worth. We want God’s favour to go to worthwhile people (or at least to people we deem to be worthwhile.)

§  This is not how grace works. If grace is the free and unmerited favour of God, then it is the work of God and not our work. As with Abraham, faith is how we come to know the grace of God in our lives and in our world.

§  Jesus tells Nicodemus that a person must be born from above (or born again; the word in Greek means both.) We believe that really can happen in our lives. Lutherans hold that this happens in the sacrament of Baptism; some other Christians believe it happens in other ways. We all hold that it DOES happen. How it happens is within the purview of the grace of God and I’m sure we’d all agree that that is beyond us.

§  In these sorts of things and in times of trial, those times during which we cry and sweat bullets, our faith is expressed in trust. In Mark and Luke’s gospels, Jesus said to Jairus whose daughter had died “Fear is useless; what is needed is trust!” 

§  God’s promises will not always make sense to us. That comprehension is often truly beyond us. However, we can trust and trust is another word for faith. And faith itself is a free and unmerited gift of God. And that is grace.