A sermon for Lent 2A based on John 3:1-17

February 24, 2002

by the Rev. Beth Ernest

Concord Covenant Church, Concord, NH

What are you really good at? This past week we have been watching some Olympic athletes who excel at the most amazing things! I know we have some people in our congregation who are quite learned in their fields, or who have spent a lot of time developing various talents and skills. Some just have a knack for this, that, or the other.

Our friend Nicodemus was very good at religious law, which was the only kind of Jewish law. He was a Pharisee, steeped in the Hebrew tradition. Sometimes the Pharisees were called lawyers, or scribes. They prided themselves on what they knew and who they were; respected in the community. He was used to being asked for advice on interpreting what God said.

Yet it is Nicodemus, the Pharisee, who comes to Jesus and admits that he is baffled. He needs to test a hunch he has about Jesus because he is seeing something outside his experience of the law, outside his knowledge of God, outside his ability to believe. He admits that this traveling rabbi seems to be close to God in a way like no other, for who could do what Jesus does if not from God? And you can imagine the quandary in Nicodemus’ mind; if Jesus is from God and can heal and teach and work signs and wonders as he does (like changing water to wine, which he did in the previous chapter), then why doesn’t Jesus behave like the most righteous people of all, a Pharisee? Why has he marched into the temple and used whips to drive out the sellers of sacrificial animals? Why doesn’t the minutiae of the law seem to be important to him, like it is to all the other people Nicodemus has known to be called righteous? Such observations bother Nicodemus; he needs clarification.

Notice that Nicodemus comes by night. His fellow Pharisees would not take kindly to one of their own seeking out conversation with Jesus, that is, a normal conversation, not one intended to trap him. Pharisees were supposed to be sought out; they were not supposed to be doing the seeking. Nicodemus initiates the conversation thus with a statement acknowledging Jesus, "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." (v.2)

From this simple acknowledgment, Jesus leaps into a theological discourse: "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." (v. 3) Other translations read, "born again." Both are valid translations. Either way, Nicodemus is really confused. He thought he knew something about God’s kingdom. His curiosity is aroused and no doubt, his Pharisee’s love of a debate. He parries with this: "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" (v. 4).

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" (v.5).

Last week we talked about two affirmations of the Covenant church, "the centrality of the word of God," and "the reality of freedom in Christ." The conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus reminds us of yet two more affirmations of the Covenant, "the necessity of the new birth," and "a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit."

Nicodemus has been taught that obedience to law brought one into right relationship to God. But Jesus is talking about a new life which we enter by a new birth. We don’t just acknowledge that Jesus is a great Teacher, someone close to God, as did Nicodemus. To drive his point home, Jesus does what a good Jewish teacher does, he brings up Moses!

In short, Jesus didn’t come to earth to point the finger and say, "Whoops! Better look out! Looks like you aren’t keeping the law! It’s condemnation for you!" Rather, Jesus came into the world to invite us into a new life. We can say, "yes," or we can say, "no, thanks!" To say "yes" is like being born all over again, born in a spiritual sense, being wiped clean of the afterbirth of sin, and emerging to a life in which the very Spirit of God is present in us. Nicodemus is not there yet, he simply admits what he has seen, that Jesus appears to have a special relationship with God based on the signs he is able to do. The Pharisee has made no confession that Jesus is the One who came to save the world.

Everyone here was born at one time or another. Some of us have raised children and we know that once people are born, they grow up, they change. People who decide to accept that Jesus is the One who came into the world to save the world, also grow and change. The Spirit of God helps them grow up, mature, and come of age in their faith. In theological terms, that process is called "sanctification." The Spirit convicts us, guides us, empowers us, and gives us gifts to use for God’s glory that we may not have realized we even had. And so, in Covenant language, the believer "consciously depends on the Holy Spirit." We cooperate with our Guide and Empower.

What was Nicodemus’ reaction to this nocturnal conversation? Does he say, "Yes, Lord, I believe!" No. In fact, we don’t find out what Nicodemus is thinking. The conversation simply ends after Jesus has talked a bit more. We can suppose Nicodemus goes home, mulling over what Jesus told him. It is not until a bit later that he reappears. By chapter 7, the Pharisees are out to get Jesus. Nicodemus, however, urges a level head, allowing Jesus to be heard before being condemned (Jn 7:50). Then he disappears from view again, resurfacing at a very interesting time and place. Nicodemus reappears by the side of Joseph of Arimathea after the death of Jesus, carrying a heavy burden of spices with which to anoint the body. Joseph, a secret disciple of Jesus, asks for permission to take the body. Together, the two unlikely followers wind Jesus’ body in its shroud and lay it in Joseph’s tomb (Jn 19:39-42). Nicodemus the Pharisee performs a final act of loving devotion for the man he had once gone to by night.

Nicodemus has been on a journey from baffled questioner to legal defender to disciple. The Holy Spirit has been working in him. He has, over the course of Jesus’ ministry, come to the place where he can say, "yes, you are the One who came into the world to save the world." It was no longer just a question of believing in Jesus because of the signs he did, but who he was. Nicodemus, had been born from above, a spiritual rebirth.

It occurs to me that many of us are on a reverse journey from Nicodemus. Nicodemus saw the signs and miracles Jesus performed and concluded that he must be "from God." However, many people today have already been brought up to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We live on the other side of the cross at Calgary and the empty tomb. Millions accept him not only as the One who teaches us about God, the ethical rabbi, but as Savior of the world and savior of our hearts. So for many of us, the question becomes, "I know you are the Son of God, so where are the signs?"

Think about the questions you ask in the night. When you can’t sleep. When you’re wondering about life. When you are in need of direction. When the world looks dark, whether the sun has gone down or not. When you need the intervention of God to set things right, repair the rift, comfort those who mourn, inspire the weak-hearted and the weak-willed. Where are the signs of Jesus then? Where are the healings? Where are the powerful sweeps for justice, as in the cleansing of the temple? Where is the water being turned into wine in your life, in mine?

Most of us believe already. The Spirit has touched us. Now what?

It is tempting to stop here and say, "This sermon will be continued at another time." But of course, that won’t do. Like Nicodemus, we want answers, that much is the same.

The problem seems to be that though we are born into a new life in Christ, we live in the same physical reality. We live in a world where physical death is part of the equation, the effects of sin are still felt, earthquakes still tumble houses into the sea, our bodies declines, dictators destroy people’s lives, and we disappoint others and ourselves. The coming of Jesus Christ did not reverse such things, or remove them from our human experience. Jesus did perform signs and miracles for people while he was on earth, and does today, too. We hear of healings and miracles. But not in all cases. The signs we await may or may not come. Our questions in the night may linger. Can our faith survive?

The antidote for the modern question is what Covenanters affirm, namely, dependence on the Holy Spirit. When we do not understand our present reality, we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand. When situations go unchanged, we must ask the Holy Spirit to bear us up, and give us strength. When injustices persist, we must ask the Holy Spirit to show us how God is already working to reveal his glory, despite the apparent lack thereof.

That is one side of the answer. Another side of the answer is that as believers, we are to be a part of the signs and wonders of God. Like the adage, If you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem. The dwelling place of the Holy Spirit is the Church, the body of Christ on earth. The Church is to be the agent of God’s healing and peace. We are to be the bearer’s of one another’s burdens. The lifters of one another’s loads. The guide in one another’s journey’s. We cannot expect to live as the community of people which mediates God’s grace if we are disinterested in one other and the world around us. We cannot expect to show forth God’s glory if we are chicken-hearted, pessimistic, and keep our faith to ourselves. While we await Jesus Christ’s appearance on our doorstep to perform a sign or miracle, we may be missing the person sitting in front of us or in back us who may be willing and able and even called to be a beacon of light and hope to us.

And can you believe, this hits on another Covenant affirmation, "the church as a fellowship of believers." The church is where people who have accepted Christ actively share and grow in the new life Christ brings us. The church is the community of believers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to witness to the power of the risen Christ. Imperfect though the church may be, it is the body in which the Spirit of God dwells.

Do you think Nicodemus emerged from his ongoing experience and acceptance of Jesus Christ a new man? You bet. Do you think fellow believers Nicodemus and Joseph gave each other courage and strength as they went to claim the body of Christ? You bet. Do you think they counted on God’s spirit to guide and protect them? You bet.

"The necessity of new birth."

"The dependence on the Holy Spirit."

"The church as the fellowship of believers."

These are answers that will stand up to and satisfy the questions of the night. Sleep well.

Covenant Affirmations, Covenant Publications: Chicago, 1988.