"Born From Above"

A number of years ago, a newspaper gave an account of a speech given by the president of a well-known university to a group of influential businessmen and civic leaders. The president told of a recent experience which he, his audience, and the newspaper reporter found humorous. The president was shopping during the Christmas season and happened to pass by a Salvation Army volunteer, standing by a "donation kettle" and ringing a bell.

As he paused to make a donation, the woman volunteer asked this educator: "Sir, are you saved?" When he replied that he supposed he was, she was not satisfied, so she pursued the matter further: "I mean, have you ever given your full life to the Lord?" At this point, the president told his audience, he thought he should enlighten this persistent woman concerning his identity: "I am the president of such and such university, and as such, I am also president of its school of theology." The lady considered his response for a moment, and then replied, "It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, or what you are, you can still be saved."

The most tragic part of this incident is that both the seminary president and his audience actually thought his story was amusing. I wonder how Nicodemus would have responded if he had been confronted by this Salvation Army volunteer. I wonder what he would have thought—and said.

Nicodemus was a member of the cream of Jewish society. One would dare not dream of having life any better than he had it. He was a part of the Jewish ruling class, a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, and a highly respected teacher of the Old Testament Scriptures. Can you imagine being Nicodemus, considering yourself "somebody," and having Jesus tell you that all of that stuff was not enough to get you into the kingdom of God?

When Jesus began His public ministry, the people who heard Him recognized a difference between His teaching and that of the Jewish religious teachers. Jesus taught as one having authority and not as their "experts" in the law. Our Lord’s authority was evident in His healing of the sick and casting out of demons. It also seems to have been evident in the impact that His words made on His listeners.

We learn from Luke 5:17, the Pharisees quickly take note of Jesus. At some point in time, Pharisees from the entire nation of Israel gather to observe and discuss Jesus’ ministry and teaching. It is uncertain if this meeting occurred before or after our Lord’s interview with Nicodemus, but it must have been close to the time Nicodemus comes to Him by night, as our text describes.

The Pharisees are hard pressed to speak critically of our Lord or His ministry. How can His teaching be criticized? How can anyone speak against Him, when He openly performs miracles, and so many people see what he does and hear what he says? Jesus is making the Pharisees look bad, but there seems to be little they can do or say against Him, at least for the moment. But this will soon change.

What Jesus had been saying and doing also got the full attention of the Pharisees’ as well. We know one Pharisee in particular was greatly impressed — that Pharisee named Nicodemus.

We don’t know for sure why Nicodemus went to see Jesus, or why he went at night. Maybe it’s the only free time he had. Maybe Nicodemus was afraid of rest of the Sanhedrin. Maybe John is drawing our attention back to the light and darkness comparisons he made in the opening verses of his Gospel. The simplest explanation is probably the best, but maybe John points out the darkness to hint that while Nicodemus may be impressed by what Jesus is doing, he doesn’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

So we have no idea how sincere Nicodemus’ greeting was. We don’t know how many others in the Sanhedrin are of the same mind. In most of the other instances in the Gospels, when one of the Jewish leaders prefaces a statement with "we know," it precedes a challenge to Jesus’ authority or teaching. Sometimes they are trying to flatter him, so he’ll let his guard down. Sometimes they are openly antagonistic.

It seemed like Nicodemus came with a memorized script; "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." When Jesus replies, Nicodemus is disarmed and disoriented. "How can a man be born when he is old?"

Just for a moment, suppose you are a renowned pianist, trained by the finest concert pianist the world has ever known. When you perform, crowds gather to listen. Everyone hails you as the master in your area of musical expertise. Now suppose some young man comes along who grew up in the South Georgia and who never had a piano lesson in his life, but simply taught himself to play on a broken-down instrument in his grandmother’s house.

When this unknown musician comes to town, his talent is discovered, and people throng to hear him perform. When he does, tears come to the eyes of those in his audience. You too listen to him play. You, better than anyone else,

Maybe this is the way Nicodemus felt about Jesus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee at the top of his field, but when he hears Jesus teach, he hears the answers to questions that have bothered him for years. He watches the crowds as they listen to Jesus, and he knows he has never held the attention of an audience like Jesus does. Nobody ever sleeps though his sermons. Everyone hangs on every word.

But this time, Jesus’ response to Nicodemus’ statement doesn’t make sense. It’s like Jesus didn’t hear what Nicodemus said. Nicodemus praises Jesus as a teacher and doer of signs. Jesus replies with some unrelated stuff about being born into the kingdom of God. As a son of Abraham, born and circumcised into God’s covenant people, Nicodemus must have felt like his place in the kingdom was secure. Now, this charismatic rabbi is telling him he must be "born again."

It’s possible that Jesus was intentionally talking over Nicodemus’ head by using "ανωθεν," which can mean either "again" or "from above." Nicodemus obviously hangs on the former interpretation, and we can almost hear the disbelief and skepticism – if not the outright sarcasm – in his response. It’s worth pointing out, if you didn’t already catch it, how "a man" is the principal actor in Nicodemus’ idea of new birth.

In verses 5 and 6 of our text, Jesus moves Nicodemus to see beyond earthly birth – and even beyond re-birth. Jesus substitutes "born of water and the Spirit" for born again or born from above. He wanted Nicodemus to start seeing God as author of salvation.

We are all like Nicodemus. We need to be reborn from above because each of us were born spiritually dead. On our own, we wouldn’t think about God. We couldn’t move toward God. We have no place in our hearts for God. We must be reborn from above because we can’t raise ourselves up to God. Jesus finally takes Nicodemus to task for presuming to teach Israel without really knowing Israel’s God.

Nicodemus hear what Jesus said. He understands it on an intellectual level, but he can’t quite grasp Jesus’ words on a spiritual level. Maybe Nicodemus is like so many today who treat Jesus as a great moral teacher, but cannot release themselves from trying to merit God’s favor and earn their own righteousness through their works.

Jesus emphasizes a vertical understanding of “ανωθεν” in two different contexts. Jesus first professes that he is from above – since he “descended from heaven.” Yet, in the divine economy of the Trinity, the Son is in constant ascension to his Father, while, as the Word made flesh, his prayers continually ascend on high. Nicodemus has already praised Jesus for the God-given signs he does, now, Jesus is trying to get Nicodemus to connect the dots and realize that just like those signs have their source from above, so does the birth that Jesus is talking about. Jesus, the Son of Man came down from heaven in order to be lifted up above the heads of sinful men and thereby bring salvation to mankind.

The story of the bronze serpent, recorded in Numbers 21, foreshadowed the salvation which God would provide through the "Son of Man." The Israelites had been complaining against God, grumbling about the journey and the hardships they encountered. And so God sent serpents among them, and those who were bitten died.

But God provided a salvation for this disobedient people, so that they might survive divine judgment. He instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and to set it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten by one of the serpents could merely look up at the serpent and be healed.

This Old Testament provision for Israel’s healing is illustrates the salvation God was about to accomplish through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As the serpent was lifted up, and became a source of salvation, so the Son of Man was "lifted up," so that those who look up to Him in faith can be saved from God’s wrath as well. Jesus connects the serpent, which is lifted up on a pole, with His own death at Calvary, when He is lifted up on the cross.

Throughout the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, all human effort is completely discounted. The bronze serpent sat in Israel’s encampment for all to see. No one cured himself of his snakebite. God effected to cure. So also, when we look upon the One who was pierced, the One who has now ascended into heaven, we are healed of sin-sickness and eternal death. By looking to Jesus, we are blessed with eternal life.

Jesus makes it clear that salvation is a gift, for the Son of God is himself a gift that God gave. No restrictions are placed on who gets the gift, for whoever believes, lives.

We know that Christ will return again in judgment, and during his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus doesn’t focus on, or even mention the Law or God’s anger at sin. Instead, Jesus focuses on the unmerited favor that God shows the world. While it’s not specific in this verse, "ανωθεν” remains implied. God sent Jesus from above into his creation, “in order that the world might be saved through him.” Amen.