Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and
from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text: (John
3:1-17)
The wind
blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it
comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Prayer: May
the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your
sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
In our reading today, we meet a man called Nicodemus. Our
text says:
Now there was a man of
the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by
night.
Nicodemus was a man of great authority in the Jewish
nation. He was a ruler of the Jews:
this means he was a member of the Jewish council, called the Sanhedrin. He
believed in Jesus, but secretly. He came to him at night-time so that he
wouldn’t be seen. You may know someone like this: someone who reads the bible
or believes in Jesus, but is reluctant to tell people about it. They keep their
faith to themselves, and don’t like coming to church, because they don’t want
their family or friends to mock or ridicule them.
Nicodemus believed in Jesus, but he was scared. He didn’t
want to get into trouble. Nicodemus turns up in two other places in John’s
Gospel. In John 7, we read that when there was a disagreement among the Jewish
leaders about Jesus, Nicodemus stood up for him and said: Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and
learning what he does? We read: They
replied: Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from
Galilee.
You can see what sort of pressure he was under. All
Nicodemus wanted to do was let the man have a fair trial – something that Jesus never truly got.
Nicodemus also came with Joseph of Arimathea to come and
bury Jesus. We read: Nicodemus also, who
earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about seventy-pounds in weight. That’s almost 30 kilograms. What an
enormous amount! We can see just what a love Nicodemus had for Jesus that he
should go to such expense and give him a burial fit for a king! Before Jesus
died, a woman did a very similar thing when she went and poured a jar of expensive
ointment on Jesus’ head. When the disciples criticised her for her
extravagance, Jesus said: Why do you
trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing for me. She has done [this]
to prepare me for burial.
So this is the man Nicodemus who comes to Jesus at night.
Nicodemus said to him: Rabbi, we know
that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do
unless God is with him.
Sometimes people say things which are so powerful, but
they have no idea of the full weight of what they are saying. What Nicodemus
says is true. But the problem is he doesn’t know what he is saying.
He says, Rabbi, we
know that you are a teacher come from God. The word “Rabbi” means
“teacher”. Isaiah says, All your
children shall be taught by the Lord. Jesus says: You are not be called rabbi, for you have one teacher and you are all
brothers. Does Nicodemus know that Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth
who sits at the right hand of God, who will visit
his church and stand in their midst
and teach them himself through the
preaching of his word? Does Nicodemus know that Jesus is the “one teacher”, who
imparts living oracles, living words, living truth from the throne of God? Do you think Nicodemus really
knows what he’s saying?
Nicodemus says that Jesus has come from God. Does he know
that Jesus came from God in the sense that he is the Word of God who was in the beginning, who was with God and who is God?
Does he know that Jesus came from God in the sense that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit as told by
the angel Gabriel?
Nicodemus says: For
no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. At this point
in the Gospel of John, there was only one sign so far that had been specifically
reported: where Jesus changed water into wine. Also, the Jewish people said to
Jesus when he drove out the money-changers from the temple: What sign
do you show for doing these things? Jesus answered them: Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up. We read: He was speaking about the temple of his body. Does Nicodemus really
know that nobody can lay down the temple of his body unless God is with him?
Does Nicodemus really know that nobody has the authority to lay down his life
for the sheep, and the authority to raise it up again except Jesus, who is true
God? Does Nicodemus know that God is with Jesus in such a deep relationship, that he pours out his heart to his Father
constantly in prayer with no sin, no hindrance, and in complete perfection and purity? Does Nicodemus
know what he is saying? Rabbi, we know
that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do
unless God is with him. Amen! Amen! Yes, Nicodemus, you are so right! But
do you know it?
So we read: Jesus
answered him: Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jesus answer is hard-hitting and powerful. On one hand, he
is saying to Nicodemus: You don’t know what you’re talking about. On the other
hand, he is saying: If you want to know what you’re talking about, and if you
want to confess the full reality and
the full majesty and weight of what
you just said as a confession of the truly
present kingdom of God on this earth, you
must be born again.
However, the expression born again is very rich. In English we have two words: being born and being begotten. Traditionally, we say that a child is born of his mother, but not of his father. Instead, we would say
a child is begotten of his father. So
in the genealogy of Jesus, it says: Abraham
begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and so on. This means that these men were
their children’s father, but they didn’t
give birth to them. That was their mums’ job! So in the creed we say that Jesus
was born of the Virgin Mary, but we
say he was eternally begotten of the Father. Another translation says that he was begotten
of the Father before all worlds.
So when it says, “born again”, we often think it means
being born from a mother. Nicodemus said to him: How can a man be
born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be
born?
But the expression “born
again” can also mean “born from
above”. The word again is ambiguous: it can either mean “again” or “from
above.” It can refer to a heavenly birth. But it can also refer not just to
being born from a mother, but being begotten
by a Father. Jesus was born of a mother on this earth, but he was also begotten from above. He had a heavenly
Father who was eternal, and Jesus always
existed in perfect union with his Father.
So when Jesus says: Unless
one is born again, he is saying that a person needs another birth. They
need to be begotten from eternity
just like him, conceived by the Holy
Spirit, just like he was. Each person needs to be fathered by God, and made his
child. Each person needs to be given God as their Father, and be born again, born from above, and only then will they see the kingdom of God.
When Nicodemus hears the words “born again”, he just thinks
of being born from a mother. How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time
into his mother’s womb and be born?
Jesus answered: Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus explains here what it means to be born again, or born from above. He tells us how God will become our Father. He says: Unless
one is born of water and the Spirit. Being born again does not
refer to when people feel like the Holy Spirit has come to them, and then they
say they are a “born again Christian”. Jesus is not talking about “revivals”
and revival “crusades” here! He wants to teach us how God becomes our Father, when we are born of water and the Spirit. Here
he is referring to Holy Baptism.
How does this Spirit work in baptism though? How do we
know that the Holy Spirit is going to work in Baptism? Well, last week in our
Pentecost reading, Jesus said: The
Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you. The Holy Spirit comes when we are reminded and repeat the words of Jesus. St Paul says that Christ washed his church, his wonderful bride,
with the water and the word. The
Holy Spirit comes and works in baptism when the word of God is spoken. So when a person is baptised, we do two
things: We wash a person with water,
and we say the words of Jesus: I baptise you in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. These are the exact words that Jesus
told us to use in Matthew 28.
So when we are baptised, God becomes our Father, we become
his children. And also, this happens through the water and the Spirit. The church which carries out this baptism becomes
the child’s mother, and we become a part of God’s holy church not just here on this earth, but we are joined to all
the saints and martyrs and Christians who lived before us, and made one church together with them, together
with all the angels and archangels in heaven. St Paul says: The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our
mother.
Now, we know that there are plenty of people who don’t
believe in Jesus even though they were baptised. But the problem is not with baptism,
the problem is that they don’t believe in the God’s words that were spoken at their baptism. God’s work is God’s
work: if a person rejects God’s work, the problem is not with God’s work. For
example: if you have money in a bank account, but you never draw it out, the
problem’s not with the money in the account. The problem is with the silly
person who never goes to the bank!
So Jesus says: Unless
one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus tells us how we can see heaven and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Baptism is necessary for salvation,
not because it is your work. We’re not saved by works – it is God’s work, and we are saved by his work. So St Peter says: Baptism now saves you.
However, you might think: “What about a person who is a
Christian and isn’t baptised? Are they saved?” I don’t know. Is their faith in God’s work in baptism, or is their faith
in their own works and feelings? All
I know is what Jesus said. We know that God can work outside of this, but
that’s not our business. God’s word is God’s word, and he binds us to these words. If a person rejects baptism and doesn’t
want it either for themselves or for their children, they must be following a
different Jesus: a Jesus who doesn’t teach through his clear word, but leaves
us by ourselves to our own flawed, human
opinions. That’s not the Jesus I know.
Sometimes, we might have relatives, grandchildren, friends
who are not baptised. Pray to God that he might draw to them to himself and
they might have the opportunity. Babies are sometimes born dead and are not
able to be baptised. We know also that John the Baptist leaped for joy in his
mother’s womb by the Holy Spirit, and so we can commend these babies into God’s
mercy on this basis. But the call to be a Christian is the call to be baptised.
Make no mistake about this! When we invite people to become Christians, we are
calling them simply to repent and be
baptised. There is no other Jesus other than the one who says: Make disciples of all nations, baptising.
Jesus binds us to his words and he binds us to his
sacraments. But Jesus tells us a great mystery: the great mystery of the Holy
Spirit, who works and moves in his church. He says: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That
which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. Do
not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where
it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or
where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
What wonderful words! What a wonderful mystery Jesus
teaches us about the Holy Spirit! Jesus says: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound. The Holy
Spirit blows where it wishes. But this does not mean that
Jesus is saying: don’t worry about the word
and baptism, the Spirit blows
wherever he wants anyway! No! That’s
not right. Jesus says: Speak my word, baptise people, but within these things, the Holy Spirit will blow where he wishes. The
Word of God and baptism is not a system that
can be manipulated by us! The Holy Spirit refuses
to be manipulated by the church, by us, by you, by me! The Holy Spirit will
blow where he wishes. The Holy Spirit doesn’t work according to our wishes, but according to his own wishes.
This teaching is one of the most profound doctrines of the
Christian faith. And when we as a church finally come to realise this, and what
a wonderful person the Holy Spirit is, and sit in awe and reverence and fear in his presence, then we will learn
what it means to be a missionary church in our context today.
Sometimes we will speak the word of God to people, and they won’t listen. Sometimes we will
baptise people, and they won’t come to know and love Jesus. Sometimes we will
try to help some people see the truth clearly with the word of God, and they
just won’t see it but will carry on
in their blindness and their sin. The
wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where
it comes from or where it goes.
This doesn’t mean that we should stop speaking God’s word,
because it doesn’t work! We know that God’s
word does not come back to him empty, but shall accomplish that which he
purposes. God’s word always “works”! How much more we should speak it if it
does work! But it doesn’t always work in the way that we think it does, and it
doesn’t work in the way we want it to. It works according to way the Spirit
wishes. The Holy Spirit is not a system
or a program, he is the living Spirit
of the Living God. We also know that God wants all people to be saved and come
to a knowledge of the truth, and in order for this to happen, God calls us to
pray.
The Spirit blows where it wishes. Don’t believe people
when they look at your small church and say that it’s not a healthy church! Don’t be seduced by the
lie that more money will solve all
our mission problems! As St Peter says in Acts: May your silver perish with you! Don’t be fooled by the lie that says that people’s hardness of heart is the church’s failure!
No! No! No! Reject
these lies, and believe the words of
Jesus in our reading today. Trust your Lord Jesus, when he says that the Holy
Spirit will not be manipulated. Trust
Jesus’ words, otherwise other spirits will manipulate
us, and then the church will become a very dangerous place.
And don’t we know it:
what a barren land we live in, what a drought there is of the word of God in
our country and in our world! Don’t we
know it, when nobody rests in this country, and Sunday mornings are
constantly filled by unbelievers with all sorts of pointless activities! Don’t we know it, when young people and
children are shot by gunmen yearly, monthly on our televisions, and hacked to
death with meat cleavers! Don’t we know
it, when countries around the world—one after another—cave into destroying
the institution of marriage—the foundation of society—all in the name of
political correctness and inclusivity and equality, with Australia on a cliff’s
edge ready to fall, next in line!
The church has no influence over any of this. But we have authority over it, because we have Jesus’ words. And Jesus says in our
reading: Whoever believes in the Son of
Man may have eternal life. This is the hope we have as Christians! This is
the reason why we pray to our loving heavenly Father in heaven: Lord have
mercy! Open the floodgates of heaven and send the Holy Spirit down abundantly
and pour out all his graces and blessings upon people all throughout the world!
As Jesus says: If you who are 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!
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world but that the world might be saved through him.
Amen.
Come Holy Spirit, and fill our hearts and minds with your
wonderful light, that we may believe the words of Jesus and hold on to them.
Work in us and through us according to your good pleasure, and guide us and
lead us through life until we reach our heavenly home. Amen.
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