Perspectives

John 3:1-2a … Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2) He came to Jesus at night … (All Scripture references from NIV)

Nicodemus was polite. He was even respectful when he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  Jesus answers Nicodemus in a way that is somewhat hard for Nicodemus to understand.  3) In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. This puzzled and baffled Nicodemus…  4) “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus comes back with an answer that is perhaps even more difficult for Nicodemus to understand… 5) Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Perhaps Jesus invited Nicodemus to sit down and listen to what He has to say. “Nicodemus,” Jesus said, “to be born anew is to undergo such a radical change that it is like a new birth; it is to have something happen to the soul which can only be described as being born all over again and the whole process is not a human achievement, not at all, because it comes from the grace of God.”

Maybe there is much more to Nicodemus’s question. Could it be that in his heart there was a great- unsatisfied longing? “You talk about being born anew; you talk about this radical fundamental change which is necessary. I know that it is necessary; but in my experience as a Pharisee it is impossible. There is nothing I would like more; but you might as well tell me, a full grown man, to enter into my mother’s womb and be born all over again.”

It is very clear to all of us that a life, which went on forever, could just as easily be heaven or hell. The idea behind eternal life is a certain quality of life. But what kind of life was Jesus talking about? Eternal life is the kind of life that God gives in heaven. It is the kind of life that lifts us up above merely human, short-lived things into that joy and peace, which belongs only to God.

With tender patience, Jesus explains to Nicodemus what must happen.  When we are born of water and the Spirit there are two stages expressed. Water is the symbol of cleansing. When you ask Jesus to take possession of your life, He will forgive your sins. The sins of the past are washed away and I must add forgotten, never to be dealt with again.

The Spirit is the symbol of power. When Jesus takes possession of your life, it is not only that the past is forgotten and forgiven. If that were all, we might well proceed to make the same mistakes in life all over again – but into life there enters a new power, the Holy Spirit, which enables us to be what by ourselves we could never be and to do what we by ourselves could never do. Water and the Spirit stand for the cleansing and the strengthening power of Christ, which wipes out the past and gives victory in the future.

Did Nicodemus find what he was looking for? The apostle John does not leave us in the dark regarding the outcome of the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus. It is a happy outcome at that! After Jesus was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea requested Christ’s body from Pilate so he could give his Saviour a proper burial. Helping in the burial was a man who now was not afraid to be seen with Jesus. John 19:39 … He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, Nicodemus now understood what Jesus had told him… 6) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 7) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Would you pray this prayer with me? “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that peace, joy and happiness that fulfills my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name. Amen”