Rebirth is a three-part series designed to lead us into Easter. It focuses on a man in the scriptures who isn’t mentioned a lot. When he’s mentioned, it’s pretty significant. It’s a man named Nicodemus. Each of the three weeks leading to Easter, we’re going to focus on a part of his life. For the concept of rebirth, we’re going to look at one of the most amazing recorded conversations in all the Bible that Jesus had. It stands out in some very compelling ways. I hope we’ll be able to live into it and live out of it.

John 3 says, “there was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Jewish religious leader who was also a Pharisee.” From the very beginning, we’re told some things. One of the things we know about Nicodemus is that he was a Pharisee. A Pharisee was one of the two major political parties of Jesus’s day. They were religious political parties. We have a two-party system. They pretty much had one as well. The Pharisees and the Sadducees. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, so was the apostle Paul for that matter. 

Pharisees in contrast to the Sadducees were the more conservative of the two. They believed in an active God. They were meticulous students of the law, which are the teachings of the older Testament, particularly the law of Moses. They were devout, committed, and highly structured. The word Pharisee itself comes to mean something that’s thought of in a derisive way. If we say someone’s a Pharisee, then they’re self-righteous. It often speaks the worst kind of religiosity. Someone is self-righteous. The Pharisees were also sincere, and not all of them can be just put together in one group. Many of them deeply loved God.

I think they all thought they did, but some of them had a very difficult time with Jesus. Nicodemus however was intrigued. He was a Pharisee. We also know that he was not just any Pharisee. Later on, the scriptures will teach us and tell us that he was part of an elite group of men called the Sanhedrin. This particular group functioned almost like a Supreme court. They did not have the power of capital punishment though. That alone was left to Rome as an exclusive right. This is why, when Jesus is delivered to them captive, they don’t have the ability to have Him executed. The Sanhedrin have to take Him to the Roman governor Pilate, hence he becomes part of the crucifixion story. Pilate has to make the decision whether or not Jesus is to live or die. There was a tremendous amount of resentment towards Rome. We could talk about that all day. They felt like they were un-oppressed. They had to pay taxes to a foreign tyrant. They also had the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome that was enforced with violence. Nonetheless, the roads were fairly safe and people could live for the most part in Judea. Judea was the part where Jerusalem is located, and Galilee for that matter, which was up in the north and where Jesus came from.

The people could live relatively safe and secure because Rome was there. But there was always a bitter, subtle resentment that was also underlying all discussions. Things such as; why should we pay taxes? What do you think about this Jesus? I say all that because the Sanhedrin was the governing body. Nicodemus was a part of that body. It was a very powerful group of highly intelligent, highly educated men who knew the scriptures. We also know that Nicodemus was intrigued by Jesus. Most of his peers did not have a favorable impression of Jesus. Some not only outright reject his claim as Messiah, which people were suggesting, they found incredulous. “There’s no way, he’s an untrained teacher from the north.” That’s hill country to them. He has no formal educational training. There could be no denying His words and power, they couldn’t quite figure out either. He seemed to have more in common with Old Testament prophets. Some of them grudgingly gave Him a place as a prophet of God. Jesus says things that are very difficult and disruptive. A vast majority of Nicodemus’ peers saw Jesus as a significant threat to the delicate balance, to the detente they had worked out with Rome.

It helps you to understand why Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified. Why would people want to have that happen? He was causing problems for the power structure. Nicodemus is part of that power structure. In contrast to some of his peers, Nicodemus finds some of Jesus’s words convicting. There’s a part of what Jesus is saying that moves him deeply, and he is beginning to wonder. He’s doubting his doubt. He’s beginning to wonder, “Is it possible that Jesus is indeed from God? Is it possible that He may be the promised one?” He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t talk about it with his associates. A few of them we know did secretly believe, but they couldn’t afford the risk. We’ll talk about that a little bit in the coming weeks. Even Nicodemus, as we’re going to see, is going to come to Jesus under the cloak of darkness. He cannot afford what it may cost him professionally to come in the daylight. He asks for a secret meeting to be arranged with Jesus. We read about it here. It says that after dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.

Just imagine Nicodemus making his way in the darkness, through the streets of Jerusalem. They’re not lit. There are no gaslights or electricity. There’s nothing. It’s dark. He has a small entourage. Perhaps, one or two people. He makes his way to the place where Jesus is. Jesus is probably in a room, in a house that’s large enough to have His disciples with Him. The door is opened. They say, “Hello.” They greet one another. It’s a somewhat courteous moment I would suppose. Let’s think about that room and what it would’ve looked like. It’s nighttime. There’s no sunlight coming in at all. The lighting system would’ve been a few oil lamps. There’s a flickering light in the room, very low. Certain corners are illuminated. Jesus and Nicodemus begin to have a discussion about spiritual things. Let’s watch how that discussion might have gone. I wanted to get us to think about it for a moment. “After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus, Rabbi.” Rabbi is teacher. What he says next is the language of courtesy and respect. One more thing, Nicodemus is clearly much older than Jesus. He’s an older man who has an established reputation and a great knowledge base.

For Nicodemus, his courteous interaction with Jesus is Rabbi teacher. We know that some of his peers did not believe he was from God, but he nonetheless said, “We all know that God has sent you to teach us.” Well, if that was true, then why are you coming at night? The fact of the matter is, it was almost as if what Nicodemus was saying that “I would like to know, are you indeed from God? Why are you saying the things that you’re saying? What is your purpose? Are you indeed from God as I think you may be?” In many ways, Nicodemus’ opening salvo in this conversation is as much a statement of, “Can you clarify who you are for me? Because that’s the real purpose of why I want to meet with you. I don’t know who you are. Your words are unlike words I’ve heard. You’re clearly a teacher sent from God, I believe. But, what is your purpose? Why do you say the things you do?” He wants to know, he’s intrigued and compelled. He’s been drawn towards Jesus and he’s willing to risk some things carefully, but he’s open at some level.

Let’s watch what Jesus does because when Nicodemus asks Jesus essentially who are you, we see your miraculous signs. Nicodemus says they are evidence that God is clearly with you. We cannot deny the power in what you do in your words. I would like to know more. You can see what Jesus says. “Well, I tell you the truth.” Here’s the famous phrase. “Nicodemus, I tell you, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.” What is that? Nicodemus says essentially, “Who are you?” Jesus says, “unless you are born again at a spiritual level, you will not be able to understand or grasp the reality of God that I am bringing. It will elude you.” Nicodemus says, “What are you talking about? Born again, what does that even mean? Can an old man like me go back into his mother’s womb and be born again? Surely that’s not what you’re saying. What are you actually saying?” It’s almost like he’s wrestling with the questions, how is that even possible? What are you talking about? That makes no sense to me. Born again. Use clear language.

Jesus replied, “I assure you that no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water, another spirit.” Jesus is basically saying, look, you can have a natural birth of water. But we’re all born in water at some level. We come out of our mother’s womb. Unless you are born of the natural and of the spiritual, you are not going to be able to move forward. I tell you the truth. Look at that, humans can reproduce only human life, but the holy spirit gives birth to spiritual life. I’m talking about a spiritual dynamic that is now available in a way that was never available before. I’m talking about spiritual life and spiritual birth. It’s something that goes beyond the laws that you’ve learned. It has to do with what God is doing. God is doing a new thing in front of your eyes, Nicodemus. I know you can sense it. I know you believe at some level that God is up to something. I am telling you right now, this is what I call it. I call it being born again. “So don’t be surprised,” Jesus says, “when I say to you, you must be born again. I’m talking about a spiritual awakening of sorts, a new birth.” Jesus says, “Don’t allow your intellect, which was prodigious to enter this understanding of what I’m talking about.”

It’s as if Jesus is saying the key to the natural is tangible, logical, and reasoned. But the key to the spiritual in this regard has to do with openness and faith. Are you open to me? Then he says, “So, don’t be surprised when I say to you, you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind, but you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born in the spirit.” Now watch this man, he’s frustrated. He’s stumbling to keep up with Jesus. “How are these things possible? What are you talking about? It doesn’t make sense.” I sympathize with Nicodemus at some level. Jesus replies, and I don’t think He did this in a derisively mean way, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things.” I assure you. “We tell you what we know, what we have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony.” Speaking in generalization there. “But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, my friend, how can you possibly believe me if I tell you about heavenly things? I’m trying to talk to you.” I see this and I think, it is as if Jesus says, “Look, I’ve used human analogies at some level.” I do not think it was anything but tender satire. You are a respected leader. I don’t think it was designed to be insulting to him.

I think what Jesus is saying is, “Listen, my respected teacher, you are overthinking this.” Some of us can relate to that. I know I can. I have a tendency to do this. When you overthink things, it can make us vulnerable. It makes us vulnerable to anxiety. It can make us vulnerable to getting stuck in a mental loop. I look at Nicodemus and think he’s stuck in a mental loop. Sometimes people say you have to get out of your head. He’s stuck right in there, and he can’t get out of it. It’s like Jesus is saying, “Look, I’ve used human analogies to illustrate spiritual heavenly things. Let me put it to you in a different way then.” We see that Jesus shifts the conversation, it becomes more clear. It’s as if Jesus says, “Remember when we opened this conversation up, what you said to me? Basically, what you really wanted to know was who am I? What you really wanted to know is what is my mission? Let me tell you then.” That leads to the unveiling of the most widely memorized scripture in history. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.”

Jesus speaking of Himself. “Whoever would believe in Him would not perish and die, but have life everlasting, life undying, life eternal, life overflowing, life now and yet to be, for God did not send His son into this world to condemn it because it already has the sentence of death on it.” At some level you can see it, but God sent His son into this world that the world might be saved. It comes out of this conversation. Jesus says that out of the conversation he’s having with Nicodemus. “Who are you really?” “You want to know who I am? I am the only begotten son of God. I am God’s only son. Do you want to know what I’ve come to do? What I’ve come to do is to bring life. I’ve come to conquer death. If you open your heart, to all who will receive me, I bring that life.” This is what I’m talking about. You cannot logic your way into this. You must believe my friend, you must receive, you must open up, and let God birth this in your life. It’s as if Jesus says, “I know God is drawing you, or you wouldn’t be here right now.”

For us, what can we bring out of this? How do we work this in? There are a couple of things that stand out. I think it’s worth considering and then reflecting on how it affects our own lives with God. One of the things is pretty clear to me. We can say the Lord will never turn away a humble seeker. Even a cautious, tentative, almost reluctant one like Nicodemus. Nicodemus wasn’t sure he wanted to be identified with Jesus in the daytime. For some, it might be somebody at work. The environment may not be conducive to letting our interests be known, or our love be known, so we keep it safe and hidden.

I understand that. That’s what Nicodemus was dealing with. He had influence. He had his reputation. He had something that had been built for years. He had friendships, social circles, family socials, everything in his life, and he knew he could feel where it was all going. The momentum was not in Jesus’s favor. He was risking everything to be with Him. At the same time, there was this part of him that felt like he had to take that risk. When Nicodemus does come, I feel like Jesus could have said, “Look, are you serious? You want to meet with me, but you’re ashamed to meet with me in daylight? No, I won’t meet with you. Get out of here.” The Lord did not say that. Do you doubt who I am? When you have more faith, come back to me. No, let’s talk. It’s almost like Jesus reminds us that He’s willing to meet us, all of us, in our honest, reluctant, curiosity, and doubting inquiries. It tells us such is the humility of God, that He will meet us even in our doubt. He will meet us even when a part of us is rejecting Him. I was reminded of something CS Lewis wrote in one of his great books, Surprised By Joy.

I’ll tell you why every follower of Jesus would do well is know CS Lewis. CS Lewis is probably the most significant Christian writer of the 20th century. His writing has an amazing capacity to endure generational shifts. His words are written in a cultural capsule. They have the capacity, principally speaking, to speak to us right where we are in this postmodern world. It’s something about the way he approaches faith. I think it is connected to the fact that he was not always a believer. He was a brilliant man. He taught at both Cambridge and Oxford. His story of conversion he ends up writing is called Surprised by Joy. It is probably one of the great Christian books of all time, mere Christianity.

He’s an apologist. That is, he’s a person who does not defend the faith, but he explains the faith, and why it makes just as much sense to believe as it does to disbelief. People say, “It takes faith.” He gets in awe of that and talks about it. He talks about it as one who wasn’t always a follower of Jesus. Lewis has a way of saying things. The analogies he uses are very compelling, they speak to us even today. He wrote a book on pain, The Problem of Pain. He wrote fiction books as well. Some of us would be immediately aware of, The Chronicles of Narnia is one of them. 

He wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters. It’s one of my favorite books because it’s a made-up story designed to show us how to grow as a follower of Jesus. It has a demon and an angel in it. They’re having a little strategic warfare around how to influence someone to move forward with God or move away from Him. It’s really interesting. It’s very instructive. The observations that are made. I say all that because CS Lewis, he actually comes to Jesus at the age of 32. He was involved in a literary small group called The Inklings. The majority of the members were real followers, committed followers of Jesus. Including one who had a great influence on his emerging faith. That was J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is the one who helps nurture Lewis with these other friends in this small group built around their literary interests and commonalities. Tolkien helps nurture this emerging faith in Jesus where Lewis goes from a reluctant disbeliever to someone who begins to slowly open up his heart. The way Lewis describes his conversion reminded me a lot of Nicodemus in Surprise by Joy. 

Lewis talks about the day he accepts Jesus. He says, “You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalene, night after night feeling whenever my mind lifted, even for a second from my work. What I started to feel was that steady unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. Then that which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity term of 1929, I gave in and I admitted that God was God, and I knelt and I prayed perhaps that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England. I did not then see what is now the most chatting and obvious thing. The divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms.” Wow, the divine humility that accepts us even on those terms. He goes on to say something that’s far less quoted, but directly connected. He says, “the prodigal son at least walked home on his own. He hearkens back.” He says he walked home on his own feet. He hearkens back to the story of the prodigal, where Jesus talks about the prodigal who had lost everything. He has squandered his inheritance. He was emaciated and broken. He had nothing left. He had been betrayed by his friends. He had no money. He envied even the pigs.

Finally, somewhere in Jesus’ story, the prodigal comes to his senses and says, “What am I doing? Why don’t I go home to my father’s house where at least I can get a job. I’m not going to ask him to let me be a son anymore. I’m just going to ask if he can give me a job, or I can live. He arose and started making his way back.” Lewis hearkens back to that story and says, “The prodigal at least decided to walk back home. But look at me. But who can duly adore the love, which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in,” talking about himself, “kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?”

The words compel them to come in. They have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them, but properly understood they plumb the depth of divine mercy. Look at this phrase, “the hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men. His compulsion is our liberation, our freedom.” I look at that and say, the Lord will work with us in our doubts and faith struggles. In a way, He waits to be wanted. The Lord waits to be wanted. He waits to be wanted by people who hate Him. Or what they think He is. Or sometimes what He has been portrayed as by those of us who claim to love Him. Perhaps the Lord waits to be wanted even by His own. Like those of us who love Him, but sometimes don’t have time for Him. I think He waits to be wanted. I see that and say, “Oh, the divine humility that invites us into humility.” I ask some people at church “Hey, what do you think about maybe I talk about Jesus a little bit? I try never to tell people that I’m a pastor. That’s the first thing I try not to do. It’s conversation ender right there. I say, “I go to this church called Cornerstone.” This happened more than a couple of times, believe me.

I’ll say, “I hear that a lot of times, I think I feel like I should go back to church, but you know, my life, it’s kind of a mess,” or “I’m doing some stuff. I think I need to get my life together a little bit before I come. I think I needed something straightened out and then I’ll come.” I say, “Oh, you got it all backward. It’s not about getting ourselves good enough to come. It’s about coming as we are and letting His goodness work in us.” That will always be the story. A second thing for us to think about is we need to be careful about overthinking. It’s connected to that, especially when it comes to the way of Christ. The Christian way is a walk of faith. It requires a childlikeness. It doesn’t mean unthoughtfulness. It doesn’t mean that at all. It does mean openness to faith and wonder. Remember, Nicodemus was a brilliant learned man, who as far as we knew, was the cream of the crop intellectually. Jesus wasn’t devaluing the power of intellect. He wasn’t saying, “Oh, don’t think. Don’t think.” He didn’t say that. What he was saying was, you’re thinking, your intellect can only take you so far. It gets you to a point, but it can’t get you any farther. This thing is spiritual. This is a different plane. One is natural. This is spiritual. Natural, spiritual. I’m talking about something very different.

God is moving in a very different way and there must be something more. It’s like something of a soul awakening, something of a rebirth, the infusion of light to break us out of the shadows. That’s what He’s talking about. He’s talking about when we’re in a darkened room and we open up the windows and the light rushes in, like a hand receiving something. We just open it up and when we receive it, it’s priceless beyond measure, but we have to open it up first. It’s like a mustard seed of faith germinating under the ground, starting to grow. No one can see it yet. I think Nicodemus’ faith was already beginning to grow. He wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t. The seed was already growing. He was wrestling with things he didn’t know. That struggle can be good because it forces us to wrestle with our limitations. It makes us cognizant of our needs. One of the reasons I think Jesus shared this way with Nicodemus was He wanted him to realize he didn’t have all the answers. He wanted him to understand his lack. It’s like, I’m glad you’re saying you don’t understand, because in a way that’s good. Now we can talk about things that I can do in your life because you’re open in a way that you weren’t before. If you don’t see your need, I can’t meet it. But now we can.

Do you know that sometimes it’s God’s grace that allows us to struggle, or at least not remove our struggle? I am saying that sometimes He wants us to lean towards Him, not away from Him. We might say, “Take it away.” I’ve said that. “Take it away.” The Lord says, “Not today. Why?” “Take it away?” “Not today.” Here’s this one. “Maybe never. But I give you me always.” I think sometimes God lets us hit a wall to come to grips with our limitations because He loves us and wants to open things up for us. I talk about the breakdown that leads to the breakthrough, that leads to the breakout. Perhaps He doesn’t want us to heal or have our thorn taken from us. Maybe He knows that if we get healed too quickly, we’ll run back to something we shouldn’t run back to, or wander off in a direction that is going to cause us to be far less than what He’s trying to get us to become. He teaches us to rely on Him.

Paul talked about it. He called it his thorn in the flesh. Get it out of me. Deliver me, God. You see the same God that worked miracles for this man and yet he’s saying, “Why aren’t you showing up here?” The Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you. In your weakness, it’s revealed to be all that you need. I will not take it away.” Sometimes the Lord says, “No, it’ll always remind you. It would always keep you close.” It’s okay. Paul had pride. It could bind him. He knew he had it because he was great, and yet God said, I’m almost going to let this walk with you so you will always know you need me. It will keep you humble in your own eyes.”

I love it because, by the time we get to the Nicodemus right here, I think when Jesus uses the idea of birthing as an analogy for the spiritual life, it’s probably the best thing he could do. It’s a great way to describe it. It’s almost a perfect way. It’s a new life. It’s interesting because my wife and I were cleaning out a particular part of our garage. In it, we had stacked some photo albums. Some of you might have seen them in museums and stuff. They’re pictures on paper. We had photo albums from a different era of our kids. They’re all now in their 20s. The youngest one is 21. They’re all there, the four of them. My wife went back and opened up one. It had pictures of the kids when they were just babies. She said, “You remember this?” She had saved some of their clothes. One of them was my youngest daughter’s blankie that she never would let go of, for many, many years. It wasn’t until she was 13 years old. No, I’m kidding. But it was a long time before she let that go and we kept it. Cheryl showed me and I said, “Yeah.” We started talking about Nicodemus about rebirth. She said, “Do you remember when they were born?” I said I can’t remember the specifics of each. There was a period in our life it just all started blending together.

I was talking about it with her and she said, “Do you remember that one time when we were in the room,” she was having one of the kids, going through contractions, I don’t know how it is now, but they had a screen that would track the severity of the contraction. I remembered, I was watching it and I was there. I thought, “Oh, this is intense.” I was watching it because I had a little bit to do with this whole thing. I remember saying to her this one moment because a couple of contractions were really high. I said, “Oh, you’re good.” The next one was only half, and I said, “Oh, that was an easy one.” Don’t say that was bad or the wrong thing. No, no, no. Be quiet. Which I interpret, “Shut up and get out of here. You have no feelings.” I didn’t understand, I said, “But it’s better, it was a lot better.” No, no. She said, “You don’t understand how this feels.” I didn’t. It did remind me of something as I was looking at this and listening to Jesus. I was thinking about those moments. I thought, “Wow, birth is a painfully beautiful thing.”

The imagery that Jesus used speaks so eloquently because it’s often out of pain that beautiful things are birthed. Even now, Lord Jesus, would you birth beautiful things in us? May it be so Lord. As the pain, bring the beauty. That leads to the final thought. God wants to bring us into places of openness. He wants us to approach Him with openness in our hearts. He desires that to be inside of us. We need to stay open to the new things that God wants to do in our lives. I am convinced that God, just like He wanted to do with Nicodemus, was saying, “I know you’ve come a long way. I know you know a lot. I know you’re very smart, in his case. I also know that you are not sure you should be here with me, I understand what this may cost you.” But as the oil lamp flickered in that room and that light flickered in the eyes of Nicodemus, Jesus saw in those eyes an openness and a yearning for something that He had to give him. I think the Lord has new things He wants to do. Some of us are in seasons of transition. Some of us are on our way to a whole different stage of our life. We have things around the bend. What are the new things that God wants to do in our lives?

I’m hoping that as we make our way towards Easter in these next few weeks sitting with Nicodemus, then we get to the cross. We get to the celebration of the resurrection. I’m hoping that God will do something in all of our hearts. I include myself. That there would become awakenings to new things. Maybe we write some things down or spend a little more time in the scripture. Look at the last week of Jesus’ life, which takes up a majority of the Gospels in a certain way. There’s nothing given more attention than that last week. In terms of just a particular event. Think about what that means for us. What are the new things that God is trying to do? What are the things He’s trying to teach us? What are songs that He wants us to sing?

Some of us are in a season of tremendous blessing. If we’re in a season of blessing, sing songs of gratitude. Don’t forget the Lord. Some of us are in a different season. We’re in a season of transition as I just mentioned. We might be young, we might be old, we might be in the middle of our life. Every seasonal transition is a little bit scary and has a potential for good, but it’s a little bit scary. May we sing the songs of courage. Help me not to be afraid, lord. Others of us are carrying a tremendous weight and  severe pain. Not everyone may know of it. It may be pain because of something that’s going on in our lives literally, or something that’s happening to someone we love. But it’s a real pain.

Let us sing the songs of grace, songs of gratitude, and songs of courage. Open Lord. I’m open to you. Help me to find my voice, the way you want it to be. Let me go ahead and pray, we will have the time of giving and closeout, but I’m going to pray for us together. Lord, I thank you for the time we’ve shared. I ask that you would continue to work in all of our lives. I pray that we would come with honesty, and always remember that you accept us not only for the first time, but all the time, with all of our contradictions, doubts, and fears. We don’t have to qualify ourselves with you. I know holiness matters, faith matters, and I know that sometimes is what loving discipline is all about. I also know that you never turn us away. No, that’s not what you do. I pray that you continue to work in our lives, help our faith to grow even stronger. Break us into new things. Open us up to the good things that you have for us in this next stage of our lives. We ask for your blessing, for your grace over these closing minutes we share together, in Jesus’ name, amen.