Holy Trinity

June 30, 2015 in Sermon by Scott Landrum

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.

“He came to Jesus by night,” John says about Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a leader of the Jews. He was a Pharisee, part of the Jewish religious elite, a big deal and he was scared. We know this from other places in the Scripture that tell us as much. Nicodemus was scared because in meeting with Jesus he had much to lose. He had idols. By the way, whatever it is that the thought of losing scares you to death is an idol. That might be an interesting question for you to think about. The loss of what scares me to death? Is it children, spouse, family, popularity, money, health, your life? Well you think on those things and know this; God is taking them away from you. Sooner or later you will lose them all. That is the realization that Nicodemus came to as he listened to Jesus. “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above,” Jesus said to him. “Well what about descendent of Abraham, keeper of Torah, Pharisee and religious leader of God’s chosen people the Jews? What about all the ritual observations, the prayers, the alms, the fasting. What about all the privilege, the status, the power that I have earned, doesn’t any of that matter,” Nicodemus must have wondered. “Why are you taking away the best thing I have going for me, the thing I love most?” The magnitude of Nicodemus’ exasperation is captured in his question “how can anyone be born after having grown old?” He is right for many reasons chief among them mom who isn’t going to sign up for your birthday, the sequel. Nicodemus was hearing correctly. His idol that had captured his loyalty was weighed in the balance and found wanting. The thing he trusted and loved the most, his religion, was actually untrustworthy. But Jesus wasn’t done. Not only was the very thing Nicodemus loved being taken away the thing he needed was out of his control. He needed faith in this word that Jesus was preaching. He needed trust in what he was hearing but faith and trust isn’t something we can turn on and off at will. Faith and trust comes from outside of us and so we are dependent upon something or someone else to give us faith. That is a rather precarious spot to be in. It’s like trying to control the wind. “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,” is how Jesus said it. So taken together, Nicodemus lost what was most important to him, his religion, and was forced to wait for what he needed most, faith in God’s word. “How can these things be?” he whimpered. And so it is for you and me. You have died. Nothing you have is trustworthy. Nothing you have will save you and there isn’t a thing you can do about it. You have died and the only hope is a resurrection that only God can give. Well I have good news for all you dead people. His name is Jesus Christ. Just as Moses lifted up a bronze serpent on a pole, Jesus Christ was lifted up on a cross. There he hung suspended between heaven and earth. There he died and descended into hell as the biggest sinner the world has ever produced having become the sin of the whole the world. But it pleased God to raise Jesus Christ from the dead and now he sits at the right hand of the Father meaning he has the final say about you. And he has sent me to tell you what he says. The Son of Man was lifted up for you. God so loved you that he gave his only son. The Son came into the world to save you. And therefore as his ambassador and by his authority I forgive you the entirety of your sin. Indeed, God has taken everything away from you but he has given you the Son and he is all that matters. Amen.