Love II

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”  .  .  . Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ . . . “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God . . . “  (John 3:3, 5-7, 16-18, NASB)

The Apostle John records the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, in which Jesus states what would become the most famous verse in the Christian Bible.  John tells us Nicodemus is a Pharisee, “a ruler of the Jews.”  (John 3:1)  Nothing more is mentioned of him until he assisted Joseph of Arimathea to lay Jesus in the tomb.  Nicodemus brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.”  (John 19:39)

John tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus by stealth, “at night.”  He doesn’t want his colleagues to know.  Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus is from God, that “no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”  (John 3:2)  Jesus answers him in the text above, that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus is naturally puzzled.  “How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”  (John 3:4)  Jesus replies (again in the text) that it’s not a fleshly birth He’s talking about, but a spiritual birth. 

After some back-and-forth conversation, Jesus tells Nicodemus how to achieve a spiritual birth in that famous verse:  “For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him SHALL NOT PERISH, but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16, emphasis mine)  God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us to take our place, and take the punishment we deserve for our sins.  How do we achieve that spiritual rebirth?  By believing in Jesus!  In so doing, we achieve everlasting life, and in Jesus’ words, we “shall not perish.”  At Christmas we celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ that God gave us because He loves us so much.  We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday, in which Jesus fulfilled the life everlasting (He was raised from the dead), which He told Nicodemus he would have if he were to be born again. 

Jesus concludes His discussion with the Pharisee by telling him His mission on earth is not to judge, but to save the world; that if we believe in Jesus, we’ll not be judged.  His final warning to Nicodemus is that anyone who does not believe in Jesus has already been judged, “because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

We’re not told of Nicodemus’ reaction to his conversation with Jesus.  In “The Chosen,” Season 1, they do a splendid job of portraying the conflict that must have gone through his mind.  In the film, after their encounter, Jesus invites the Pharisee to go on a journey with Him and His disciples.  As they leave on their trip, Nicodemus is seen hiding behind a corner, sobbing.  The Pharisee had grown comfortable in his lifestyle.  He was conflicted about leaving all that behind to follow Jesus.  But he must have eventually made the choice to be born again–he helped Joseph to bury the body of the Son of God. 

Using Jesus’ own words, the choice is simple: Without Jesus:  Face God’s judgment and perish. With Jesus:  Be saved and have eternal life.