1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,000 What's in a name? 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,160 Not gonna lie, that music sounds a little like Mission Impossible, but friends, I tell you, 3 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:18,680 today's mission is possible because we are about to open the holy and inerrant Word of God. 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:24,160 Right? This theme of the sermon series you're working through are the names of Christ. 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,240 Right? And you guys have started with the beginning of John's Gospel. 6 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:33,440 You heard about the Logos or the Lagos, if you know Greek. 7 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:35,760 Either is fine. No one's gonna get mad. 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:42,160 However, we are understanding that our Jesus is so many things. 9 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:48,240 He has so many names and he does all of them perfectly. 10 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:49,520 To God be the glory. 11 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:56,800 This morning we are in John's Gospel, Chapter 3, starting in verse 1, going through verse 15. 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:02,240 But before we read from God's holy and inerrant Word, I'd ask him to bless it this morning. 13 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:07,520 Father, we thank you that you are indeed our God, that you have given us your Word, 14 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:14,080 and that we can trust you, and that you hold the words of eternal life. 15 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:22,880 May your Spirit rest upon us this morning as we hear it, as we read it, and may we be able to live it. 16 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,760 May the meditations of my heart and the words of my lips be acceptable in your sight, 17 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:29,360 O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. 18 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:33,760 We pray all this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. 19 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,400 John 3, starting in verse 1. 20 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:41,440 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 21 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,680 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, 22 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,040 Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, 23 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,920 for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. 24 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:58,400 Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 25 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,400 Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? 26 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,080 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 27 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:11,280 Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, 28 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,400 he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 29 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,440 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 30 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,360 Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. 31 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,400 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, 32 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,120 but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 33 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,640 So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 34 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:36,240 Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? 35 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:42,560 Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 36 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:48,720 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, 37 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,840 but you do not receive our testimony. 38 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,640 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, 39 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,440 how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 40 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:02,880 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 41 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,440 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 42 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:10,720 so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 43 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:15,120 This is the holy word of our God. 44 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,120 You know, friends, we all know teachers, right? 45 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,640 We all know someone who teaches something. 46 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:24,080 Pastors are teachers, right? 47 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:29,360 Parents are teachers, and school teachers, well, they're teachers too. 48 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,960 For some of you, your parents are not only your live teachers, 49 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:34,640 but they're also your school teachers. 50 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,040 Wow, that's pretty fun. 51 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,200 I want you all to dig in your memory banks, right? 52 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,680 I want you to dig deep and think of a teacher that you had in your life 53 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,600 who was very impactful on your life. 54 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,760 Think long and hard about a teacher you had in your lifetime 55 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,960 who really made an impact on you. 56 00:03:54,960 --> 00:04:00,080 Now, you do not get bonus points if you say Pastor Jim, right? 57 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,160 I think he's a great teacher, I think he's a great pastor, I'm a little biased. 58 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,120 But think about someone who's really impacted your life. 59 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,760 I remember back to my time in high school, 60 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,400 it seems that that seems to get farther and farther away from me as time goes on. 61 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,320 But I had a few teachers that I would never forget. 62 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:24,000 I remember specifically one whose name was Mr. Januszewski. 63 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,480 Now, we bonded over the fact that nobody can pronounce our last names, 64 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:30,240 but he was a chemistry teacher. 65 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:36,160 He turned out to be a really great friend over all these years. 66 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,840 He taught me chemistry, of course, right? 67 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:39,920 I did fine in his class. 68 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:45,200 But he also taught me a lot about life and how to navigate these uncertain waters. 69 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:51,200 I remember the day after graduation that I got to call him Phil. 70 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,440 That was a fun day. 71 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,280 To this day, he is still a quality teacher who teaches students 72 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:00,400 how to reach their full potential. 73 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:02,960 See, great teachers have an impact on us. 74 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:04,320 They can help us grow. 75 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,320 They can help us to see through these dark days and make them not so dark. 76 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,360 In our text today, we're going to see Jesus show the world 77 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,840 that he is indeed the teacher of truth. 78 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,320 The theme of our text this morning is that Jesus teaches us 79 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,960 how to become children of God and how to experience transformation 80 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,120 leading to eternal life. 81 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,880 We're going to see this theme in three areas of our text. 82 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:37,920 Pursuing understanding, participating in renewal, and perceiving salvation in Jesus. 83 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:43,920 In order to have the truth in us, we must be pursuing, participating, 84 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,280 and perceiving the things of Christ. 85 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,400 We begin chapter three of John's gospel with our man, Nicodemus, 86 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:54,400 coming to pursue understanding. 87 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:56,480 And that's why he comes to Jesus. 88 00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:58,080 Jump in with verse one. 89 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,080 He says, now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 90 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,760 Now John's gospel begins in an interesting way. 91 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:10,560 We find ourselves here with Jesus and this man comes to meet him at night. 92 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,120 Now this man's name is Nicodemus. 93 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,760 Nicodemus means victor over the people in Greek. 94 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,720 Now this man was not only a Jew, but he was a ruler over the Jews. 95 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:25,120 He was also a Pharisee. 96 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:29,680 Now the Pharisees, their political party, they originated during the period of the Maccabean 97 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:30,480 revolt. 98 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:31,040 Okay? 99 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:37,520 That's not as important as understanding that the Pharisee party came out of secularism 100 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,960 as a response to the Greek secularism of the day. 101 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,560 I might shock you when I say this, but we should understand that the Pharisees were 102 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,080 right regarding many points of doctrine. 103 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,720 We don't hear that very often, do we? 104 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:53,280 No. 105 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:55,040 What do I mean? 106 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,680 See, they affirmed God's divine decrees, right? 107 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,720 Or his eternal purposes according to the counsel of his will, as stated in the Westminster 108 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:05,520 Shorter Catechism. 109 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:12,480 The Pharisees affirmed man's moral accountability and that man's soul is immortal. 110 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:13,840 Good so far, right? 111 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,840 They believed in the resurrection of the body. 112 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:16,880 Yep. 113 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,320 We believe in that, right? 114 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,880 The existence of spirits. 115 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,160 Yes, we believe in that. 116 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,440 And even rewards and punishments in the future life. 117 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:28,960 Right? 118 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:30,320 These are check and boxes. 119 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:31,600 We believe these things too. 120 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:39,440 We have much in common with the Pharisees except that they externalized religion. 121 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:45,040 Outward conformity to the law was considered the goal of one's life. 122 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:46,000 Right? 123 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,680 The oral law was valued more highly than the written law. 124 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:50,800 Right? 125 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,920 Or to put it simply, the man-made law was seemed higher than God's written law. 126 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:03,200 Now one extreme example of this would be that it would only be okay for you to eat the egg 127 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:07,440 laid by a chicken on the Sabbath if you intended to eat that chicken on the Sabbath. 128 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,160 It's a lot, right? 129 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:16,720 Or if you wanted to say carry a cloth or a towel from one room of the house to another room of the 130 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:17,360 house. 131 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:18,400 You could not do that. 132 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:19,200 That was work. 133 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,160 However, if you put that cloth in a pocket, right? 134 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:26,480 You drape that towel over your shoulder and you walk from room to room, you're no longer working. 135 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,200 These man-made laws didn't really make sense. 136 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,120 While we find much in common with these Pharisees, right? 137 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,280 They are focusing on a salvation by works. 138 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,160 We would not agree with that. 139 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:45,840 Verse two. 140 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:48,880 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, 141 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,320 Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, 142 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,880 for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. 143 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,840 Now there are many speculations as to why Nicodemus would come at night. 144 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:02,160 Right? 145 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,440 Historians, commentators are all over the board, but we're not given a reason. 146 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:10,720 However, if you take into account what Jesus says in John 3, 16 through 21, 147 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:16,720 it's highly probable that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night because he wants to be secretive 148 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,040 about his fact-finding mission. 149 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:21,680 So your parents are usually right. 150 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:22,960 Nothing good happens after midnight. 151 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:29,120 But in this instance, right, this particular night, something good is happening. 152 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,400 And this statement by Nicodemus is quite incredible. 153 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,040 Why is it so incredible in what he says here? 154 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,320 See, Nicodemus is acknowledging that Jesus is in close relation with God. 155 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,800 There's something about this statement, if we go a little deeper, 156 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:46,480 that should make you do a double take, right? 157 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:47,680 You all know what a double take is. 158 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:49,520 That's where you turn your head, right? 159 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,400 You would do that if a few extra zeros showed up in your bank account. 160 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:52,880 Right? 161 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:55,200 That's a double take. 162 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,120 What makes us do a double take? 163 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:58,800 Nicodemus says, 164 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:04,000 we. Who is this we? 165 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:13,600 See, does Nicodemus really think that the we is the political party that he belongs to? 166 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:15,600 No, that couldn't be it. 167 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:23,440 It couldn't be that some or all of the Pharisees have the understanding that Jesus is somehow from 168 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:31,280 God. That can't be right. This would be a big bombshell because we're going to see time and 169 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:38,480 time again, the Pharisees want to kill Jesus. They call him blasphemous for saying he is one with the 170 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:47,520 father. But yet, Nicodemus shows their hand and says that they know he's from the father. 171 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,920 It's pretty astounding. And you'll notice as well that in our text, 172 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:57,760 Nicodemus hasn't asked a question yet. And yet in verse three, Jesus is going to answer a question 173 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:04,080 anyways. He says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 174 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,400 God. That's bombshell number two. 175 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,880 Nicodemus didn't ask a question with his voice, but Jesus responds to his voice. 176 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:19,360 Nicodemus didn't ask a question with his voice, but Jesus responds to the questions of his heart. 177 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,320 Now to Nicodemus, this would have sounded like a riddle. 178 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:34,800 We must be reborn. Now this is not some work we can do to earn our salvation. This is not some 179 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:44,480 moral law that we can keep. Raise your hand if you had any part in your birth in this world. 180 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:55,600 Wonderful. We did nothing. We must be reborn through the work of the Holy Spirit. We must be 181 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:02,960 radically changed against our will by the Spirit, for only then will we see the kingdom of God. 182 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:10,160 That's what Jesus is saying. For Nicodemus, we should see that the first step to transformational 183 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:17,440 change is to pursue understanding. And as we transition to verse four, we're going to see Jesus 184 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:24,320 inviting Nicodemus to participate in this new birth that he's talking about. Look at verse four. 185 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:30,640 Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his 186 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:38,560 mother's womb and be born? Nicodemus misses the metaphor clearly, right? Like a speed limit sign. 187 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:45,520 He blows right past it, not even thinking about it, just goes, how can this be? You're absurd, 188 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:52,160 Jesus. How can a man enter into his mother's womb again as an adult? You're missing the point, 189 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:59,280 Nicodemus. The way that Nicodemus responds, it's as if he expects a negative answer. Right? See, 190 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:04,240 this is how they would debate back in those days between rabbis and teachers. But Jesus isn't here 191 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:10,800 to debate. So he explains. Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water 192 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:19,440 and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Now, Jesus is making a very clear illusion 193 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:26,080 to something that the Pharisees witnessed. At what event did the Pharisees recently witness 194 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:31,200 that could make a man like Nicodemus appear before the Messiah in the dead of night? 195 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:37,600 I want you to listen to John 1, 24 through 28. But before I read from God's word again, 196 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:43,200 let me set the stage. John, the Baptist, is in the wilderness, and what is he doing? 197 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:51,040 Baptizing. Very good, right? He's baptizing. It's in his name. John is baptizing, and the Pharisees 198 00:13:51,040 --> 00:14:00,160 come to him, and they ask him, are you the Christ? John says, no. Are you Elijah? John says, no. 199 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:09,600 Okay, are you the prophet? John says, no. Pick up the story in verse 24, chapter 1. Now, they had 200 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:14,800 been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ 201 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:20,400 nor Elijah nor the prophet? John answered them, I baptize with water. But among you stands one 202 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:26,160 you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. 203 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:32,560 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. The very next 204 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:36,560 day, the Pharisees are there. They're watching the baptisms happen. They're wondering what is 205 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:45,840 going on. Who shows up? Jesus. Jesus appears and is baptized. The Father speaks, the Spirit descends, 206 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:53,920 and the Christ bears witness. So when Jesus says one must be born of water and the Spirit, 207 00:14:54,720 --> 00:15:01,520 he's referring first to the event the Pharisees just witnessed. Second, he's referring to the fact 208 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:11,520 that a baptism of water only is not sufficient. Now, we are reformed Christians. We understand 209 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:17,680 we understand what's going on in baptism. The baptism with water is a sign, but it's also a seal. 210 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:24,880 Okay? The water is worthless if it's not accompanied by the healing power of the Holy Spirit. 211 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,480 Now, friends, there are many reasons to baptize infants. Mainly because the Old Testament, 212 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:36,880 the New Testament are connected through God's covenants. But also because when we baptize our 213 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:43,200 covenant children, our infants, it should remind us that we have no control over our salvation. 214 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:51,600 Just like a baby has no control over their parents bringing them forward to be poured on with cold 215 00:15:51,600 --> 00:16:00,800 water or maybe lukewarm, we have no control in God saving us. Salvation belongs to the Lord alone. 216 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:06,000 Wait, we participate in the work of the Holy Spirit, but we don't cause the Holy Spirit to act. 217 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:13,680 Verse six, that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit 218 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:23,600 is spirit. Right? Sinful human nature produces sinful human nature. It is only through the work 219 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:31,360 of the Holy Spirit that unclean human nature is cleansed. Now, we've heard the words of John 220 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,920 3 many times in our lives, I would imagine. However, Nicodemus is hearing them for the first time. 221 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:42,960 And just before his jaw hits the floor, Jesus continues in verse seven, as if anticipating 222 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:50,000 John, uh, Nicodemus's jaw dropping, he says, do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. 223 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:57,360 Do not be surprised, Nicodemus. Salvation is a gift from God. Just like you cannot control your 224 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:03,520 birth, you cannot control your salvation. You cannot be saved because of a high moral duty, 225 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:14,480 but only because of God's divine decree. And what are God's divine decrees? The decrees of God are 226 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:21,280 his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his will, whereby for his own glory, he hath for 227 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:27,360 ordained whatsoever comes to pass. I'm a Presbyterian, right? The Westminster Shorter Catechism is my 228 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:32,000 bread and butter. Maybe if Nicodemus had the Westminster Shorter Catechism, he wouldn't be so 229 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,840 clueless. Right? Maybe if we gave him the Heidelberg, he wouldn't be clueless either. 230 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:43,840 I like the Heidelberg too. Verse eight, the wind blows wind, and the wind blows wind, 231 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,880 blows where it wishes, and you hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it 232 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:55,280 goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Friends, we know what the wind is here in 233 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:00,800 Northwest Indiana. We feel the wind all the time. You step outside, you're going to feel the wind. 234 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,800 Right? It's maybe 25 degrees with a wind chill of like negative 100. 235 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:14,640 We cannot stop the wind. It acts on its own independence. Its operation is sovereign, 236 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:23,120 incomprehensible, and mysterious. It cannot be stopped. The Holy Spirit likewise acts with 237 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:29,360 complete independence from man. His operation is sovereign, incomprehensible, and mysterious, 238 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:37,760 and to God be the glory, he cannot be stopped by man's action. So what is Jesus saying? What is 239 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:43,600 Jesus saying in this section? He's saying, Nicodemus, you contribute absolutely nothing to 240 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:50,960 your salvation except the sin that made it necessary. When we participate in the renewal of 241 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:57,040 the Spirit, it is like one who participates in an earthquake or a tornado. We're along for the ride. 242 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:03,280 We're along for the ride. You see, Nicodemus pursued understanding. He showed up, 243 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:11,360 and Jesus tells him to participate in the renewal of the Spirit. And finally, Jesus is going to 244 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:17,280 invite Nicodemus to perceive that the man who is standing in front of him is not just from God, 245 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:28,400 but he is God. Verse 9, Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? See, it's at this juncture 246 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:35,720 that our brother John Calvin equates Nicodemus' response with a sin of pride, right? Pride of 247 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:41,600 knowledge, pride of status. These things do not allow Nicodemus to understand what is happening, 248 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:48,960 which sets up this rebuke from Jesus in verse 10. Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel? 249 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:56,320 And yet you do not understand these things. Now, a little Greek lesson here, because of the definite 250 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:03,840 article in front of teacher and in front of Israel, we can understand the tone of what Jesus is saying 251 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:12,800 here. You, the teacher of Israel, the ruler over the Jews, you don't understand these things? 252 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:20,320 Jesus continues, truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we 253 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:25,920 have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not 254 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:32,560 believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? Jesus rebukes Nicodemus, and when that 255 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:38,880 happens, as if Jesus finally has his full attention. Nicodemus is paying attention now. 256 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:45,440 We can perceive this based on what he says in verse 11, right? Truly, truly, when that's repeated 257 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:54,080 like that, it's meant to mean a solemn word or that this is the absolute truth, right? Other 258 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:59,120 translations will say something like, I tell you the truth, right? That's what the translation means. 259 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:05,520 But you'll notice here that Jesus matches the plural we that Nicodemus arrived with in verse 2. 260 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:15,360 You Pharisees have not believed John the Baptist or me. You do not receive our testimony. Now, 261 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:19,280 if you have your ESV out in front of you, right, you'll look at the bottom, you'll see there's a 262 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:24,800 lot of notes there, right? And verse 11 and 12 have a note on it that says that the you 263 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:30,800 here is plural, right? Now, if we were south of the Mason-Dixon line, you would see a y'all 264 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,800 here, right? I don't think we have a Southerner's translation of the Bible yet, but 265 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:42,320 the you plural should be you all, right? Y'all just saves time. Jesus is not addressing just 266 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:50,160 Nicodemus. Jesus is addressing all of the Pharisees, right? If Jesus explains the earthly 267 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:55,120 things that relate to heaven and regeneration, and y'all can't understand what good is there 268 00:21:55,120 --> 00:22:02,560 in explaining the heavenly things, right? If you can't grasp algebra, what use is there in me trying 269 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:11,040 to teach you calculus? But that's not the final blow even, right? Verse 13, Jesus is going to 270 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:18,240 open Nicodemus's mind. No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, 271 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:25,280 the Son of Man. I mean, Jesus is laying his cards here on the table. He's saying, I've been to 272 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:31,360 heaven, right? It's not a hard concept for us to understand. The only way someone can have the 273 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:38,720 information that Jesus does is if he was in God's holy throne room. The only way a person can have 274 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:48,320 firsthand knowledge of God's plans is if he was there with God. Jesus is saying, I was there. 275 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:57,840 Only I can know these things for certain because I was there. Because Jesus is God, right? Jesus 276 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:04,480 also knows that God's divine decrees include a very special doctrine. Now, here's your Latin phrase 277 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,440 for the day, right? We're getting Greek, we're getting Latin. I don't know Latin very well, 278 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:16,080 but I know what this phrase is. Pactum salutis. Pactum salutis. What does this mean? 279 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:20,880 It's a very important doctrine of our Christian faith. It means the divine pact that was made 280 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:29,120 between the Father and the Son to rescue the souls of man by way of the cross. This pact was made 281 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:35,840 before the foundations of the earth were laid. Jesus knows these wonderful doctrines of God the 282 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:42,640 Father because he is God the Son. He is the one who descended from heaven. He is the one who will 283 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:47,840 bear the weight of the world's sin, and he is the one who will have the victory in the end. 284 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:54,560 We can know what Jesus is getting at here because of the two final verses, right? Verse 14 and verse 285 00:23:54,560 --> 00:24:00,320 15. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up 286 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:06,480 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. See, back in the book of Numbers, 287 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:16,320 the Israelites spurn the care of their God. So the Lord sends fiery serpents into the camp among them, 288 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:21,280 and they suffer for their disobedience. After the people repent of their sin, 289 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:26,400 God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, right? And whenever someone who's 290 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:32,160 bitten by a serpent looks at the bronze serpent, they will be healed from their bite. They will not 291 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:39,120 die. It's a very odd story if taken as an isolated incident. However, our God does not do things 292 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:48,480 willy-nilly like. Everything has purpose. What Jesus is saying is, if the people of Israel 293 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:54,240 would be saved from physical death by looking at a bronze snake and believing in God's power to heal 294 00:24:54,240 --> 00:25:01,520 them, how much more then would God do for the one who looks upon God's own Son hung on a cross? 295 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:10,560 Much more, friends. So much more. For while death itself may seem scary, 296 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:17,040 it's the second death that should be truly terrifying for us. But for those who believe 297 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:23,120 in Christ, they will be saved from the second death. The second death is a spiritual death 298 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:29,040 that does not end but goes on for all eternity. But for those who believe in the great teacher, 299 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,040 his death and resurrection, they will be rescued from eternal death. 300 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:40,960 For those who acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, they will see a glorious eternity with their God. 301 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:50,400 For that is why we labor in this life, friends. This life is full of ups and downs. It's full 302 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:56,960 of tears and sadness. It's full of sickness and pain. But we do not labor for this life. 303 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:04,640 We labor for the next. We labor unto our God because of the name of Christ and the logos of 304 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:11,440 Christ. As John 1 begins, we remember the gospel truth that in the beginning was the Christ, 305 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:19,600 and the Christ was with God, and the Christ was God. Choosing to believe in the great teacher is 306 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:24,480 only the first step. When we pursue the understanding of these heavenly things, 307 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:31,040 we then participate in the Holy Spirit's cleansing work of our filthy souls. 308 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:41,600 See, the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification on our hearts is like slowly sanding our hearts 309 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:51,120 down from a rough, coarse piece of wood into a finely smooth object for Him and Him alone. 310 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:59,120 When the Holy Spirit's work in us causes the scales of sin to fall from our eyes, 311 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:06,080 when our eyes are truly opened, when the gray rain curtain of this world is rolled back, 312 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:14,400 what do we perceive? To borrow from Tolkien, we perceive white shores and beyond, a far greener 313 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:22,240 country under a swift sunrise, a place where the sun will never set and darkness will be no more. 314 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,720 Jesus is trying to get Nicodemus to understand you can't achieve what you hope to do through 315 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:36,080 your own works. Likewise, friends, we cannot measure up, but we can lay hold of the promises 316 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:46,080 of Christ by believing in Him. So friends, ask yourself, do I believe in Jesus Christ as my only 317 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:53,920 hope for salvation? Ask yourself, is there enough evidence in my life to convict me of being a Christ 318 00:27:53,920 --> 00:28:00,880 follower? Ask yourself, how will I continue to change my habits and actions to be more like 319 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:08,320 Christ and less like the world? And ask yourself, what do I need to start doing today in order to 320 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:15,760 get my life back on track with the help of the Holy Spirit? There's a great saying that says the 321 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:20,080 best time to plant your apple tree was 10 years ago, but the second best time to plant your apple 322 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:27,280 tree is today. Choose today to live in a manner worthy of what you've been called to by the help 323 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:31,680 of the Holy Spirit. Not because you could earn your salvation, but because your salvation has been 324 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:41,120 earned on your behalf. Because of Christ, we can do good works. Because of Christ, we can live holy 325 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:47,920 life. Because if it were up to us, we would fail. Praise be to God, it's not. Hold fast to the word. 326 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:54,720 Hope in Christ. And I promise you, the path you are on will lead you to the new Jerusalem 327 00:28:54,720 --> 00:29:21,520 and the lands of eternity beyond. Amen? Amen. Let's pray.