Nicodemus Visits Jesus

Preached at Villa Rica 2/9/03

John 3:1 through John 3:8 1Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2this man came to Jesus by 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.” 3Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4Nicodemus said* to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus sought out Jesus. Why? He was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews. He was a member of the Sanhedrin and as such held office in the highest judicatory in Israel. So to seek counsel or advice from Jesus, a man without credentials or official recognition would have been politically incorrect. This is no doubt the reason why he came to Jesus under the cover of darkness at night. He would not want to be seen talking to Jesus.

We really ought to commend Nicodemus for seeking Jesus at a time when all other members of the Sanhedrin were unwilling to do so. It isn't easy to go against the status quo, to run-the risk of being criticized or reproached by one's fellows for seeking to hear the word at Jesus' lips.

 Most people who seek to know more about Jesus feel a certain measure of timidity. They wonder if they won't be made fun of or be criticized by the crowd they run with or even by their own family.

I ought to say in defense of Nicodemus that his timidity gave way to courage after he became a believer. The Holy Spirit records that later he remonstrated with his colleges for condemning Jesus without first hearing him as the law required (John 7:51) and that he accompanied Joseph of Aramathea as he took the body of Jesus down from the cross to bury him in his own tomb even when all the disciples had fled the scene.

But I want you to notice how accessible Jesus was to Nicodemus. He did not turn him away even though he came at an odd hour, no doubt an inconvenient time.  Our Lord did not have himself surrounded with bodyguards to insure his privacy and protect him. He is available to high or low, rich or poor, to all who come seeking his counsel.

But I haven't answered the question, why did Nicodemus go to Jesus that night? What was on his mind? We find out from his opening remark, “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.” V. 2.

Nicodemus could not get it out of his mind that Jesus was performing miracles that were beyond explanation unless God was working the miracles. If God was working through Jesus to perform these signs then he must have God authorization for his work.

There have been many frauds and imposters in the world since the dawn of civilization. Satan can transform himself into an angel of light; the magicians of Egypt could duplicate some of the miracles of Moses. We are told that the man of sin, the son of perdition will deceive those that take pleasure in unrighteousness with signs and lying wonders (II Thess. 2: 9).

But the miracles of Jesus were creative acts. They had about them the glory of God himself. Nicodemus was determined to make an honest investigation. He had to know for himself more about Jesus.

 I believe that is the key to becoming a Christian. Something about Jesus attracts us to him. We seek to make an honest investigation and we find that he is more than mere man, that he is the God-man with salvation in his right hand. Any soul who truly seeks answers from Jesus shall find Him to be the answer to his soul's greatest need.

Jesus does not wait for Nicodemus to pose questions for him to answer. He simply begins to tell Nicodemus a solemn and all-important fact, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” v. 3.

I.   The New Birth Is Absolutely Essential

A. Many people come to Christianity as though it were an ethical system to be mastered, but Jesus did not begin  to teach Nicodemus an ethical system. He set forth a spiritual axiom, not something about how to live in order to please God but rather that a man can have no status or station or position with God at all until he has first been made alive spiritually.

A man cannot live until he is first born. A man has no existence until he has a beginning. Christ was telling Nicodemus that the first thing a man needed in order to have any dealings with God at all is to be born again.  Most people assume that all men can study theology and learn about God and begin to make whatever corrections are necessary in order to conform to God's requirements. But Jesus did not begin there at all.

B. A person cannot see the kingdom of God until he has

been born again. That means he cannot discern and come to know truth about God until he has been born from above. He has no life toward God at all until that has occurred. He may have physical life. He may be very intelligent, very talented, very respected in the world, as was Nicodemus. He might be from a good family, have a good education, have a good reputation, but until he has been born a second time in the way indicated by Jesus, he can know nothing about God. He has no understanding or insight or light about the Kingdom of God that qualifies him to know God and be considered a member of the family of God until he has first experienced the new birth.

C. The new birth qualifies and equips a person to be spiritual in the way necessary. Christ is enunciating an abiding principle. Christ said, 6“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’(vv 6-7)

The natural man has the natural instincts and nature of his human parents. The fundamental law, which inheres in all of life is this one -- Like produces like. In   Genesis 1:11 we read, ¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. Gen. 1:12 ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. Gen. 1:24 ²⁴Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.  

Everything produces "after their kind". The blindness of the evolutionists is that they refuse to acknowledge this basic arid fundamental law of all life. Like always produces like. There is no departure from this Law.  Hybrids left to themselves always revert to type; new crossbreeds and hybrids cannot circumvent the law God has built into his created order. This is a self-evident truth.

After their fall into sin Adam and Eve produced flesh of their flesh with the same sinful disposition, down to this very day. The natural man cannot produce a spiritual man. That is a fact of 1ife. Christ is not setting forth a new principle but an old one is being enunciated. It was taught in Genesis and nothing has ever changed it.

If a man is ever going to see the Kingdom of God he must be born again. How? How can he be born again? That was Nicodemus' puzzled question. “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 

II.   Jesus Explained That This Second Birth Was Of Water And Of The Spirit

A.   The instrument for this new birth is water. But the

water of which Christ speaks is not physical water. If that were so then any who were never baptized would be excluded from the kingdom of God. Water baptism is not what Christ refers to here. Water is the emblematic term for the Word of God. This is ever the instrument God uses in regenerating the soul dead in trespasses and sins.

To the woman at the well Christ said in John 4:14  whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

Was this literal water? 0f course not. Again in John 7:37-39 we are told Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” ³⁹But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

          Here, again, the word water is not to be understood literally, but emblematically. We have other scriptures, which confirm that God uses the Word of God as His divine instrument for the new birth. In 1 Corinthians 4:15 we find the apostle saying, I have begotten you through the gospel. Again, in James 1:18 ¹⁸In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

We are told of his own will he brought us forth with what? baptism? No but with the word of truth. Peter declares, in 1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.   

B. And the Producer of the new birth is the Holy Spirit. He begets God's children with the Word of truth. Jesus says, that which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. V. 6.

Sinners are born again by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.  Titus 3:5-6 ⁵He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,   

The new birth is not due to any qualification in the sinner making him deserving of God's blessing, for it is not by works of righteousness, which we have done but by his mercy, yet using the instrumentality of the Word of God.

C. Christ compares this action of the Holy Spirit to the wind blowing where it pleases. The wind is sovereign in its direction and movement. No man controls the wind; it is beyond man's control. The wind does riot consult man's desires. Neither is it influenced by man's devices and procedures. The Holy Spirit comes as He pleases when He pleases upon whom He pleases. When He comes He can break down man's prejudices and overcome his rebellious will. No power can resist Him as He moves. At times he moves softly and barely rustles a leaf, at other times he blows so loudly that the roar and sound can be heard for miles. Acts 2:1-4 ¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

(Acts 2:1-4).

Just as the wind is invisible, so is the Holy Spirit. Just as the wind is inscrutable, so is the Holy Spirit. His activities defy explanation. His operations are all conducted secretly, mysteriously. Yet his work is indispensable. Without Him there would be no life. He is the One who energizes, revives, empowers.

          However Christ did say that a person could ask and receive the marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰“For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? ¹²“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? ¹³“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:9-13   

    Jesus told the woman at the well, John 4:10   “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Have your asked Jesus for the gift of God, for the living water that he alone can give? Ask him for that water today. Believe on him and receive the gift of forgiveness of your sins and everlasting life.

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