In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
Oh Nicodemus, you are such a politician! And please understand, I don't mean that as an insult, it's just that we are told that Nicodemus is a “ruler of the Jews.” He's a big wig, a muckity-muck, a politician. And so when Nicodemus hears about Jesus and what Jesus is doing, what Jesus is preaching, Nicodemus decides to respond. Nicodemus is going to get out in front of the story. Nicodemus is going to do some damage control, work some spin. Nicodemus himself will go hunt down this Jesus, feel Him out, and try to reign Him in because this Jesus might just become too much of a loose cannon. This Jesus needs to be controlled. So Nicodemus comes by night, by himself, and Nicodemus is going to do his politician thing.
Jesus knows what Nicodemus is up to, and that's why this conversation starts so strangely. Consider – Nicodemus starts by 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. Ah, what a statement. We know – even though I'm here by myself – that You're special, You're a teacher sent from God – let's butter Him up, blow some smoke up His skirt – for You've done these great signs. Glad hand Jesus, pat Him on the back – You're doing great, Son. And why? To see how Jesus will react, to see if Jesus will show deference to Nicodemus and His station – aw shucks, thank you, Sir, that's mighty nice of you to say that. If Jesus did that, Nicodemus would know that Jesus was willing to play ball. He'd show respect and calm down when Nicodemus pulls Him aside. Or what if Jesus had responded with pride and arrogance, bragging about Himself – yes, I am sent from God and I'm the bestest of all the teachers, there's never been a better teacher than Me! Well, then Nicodemus would know that He's got to deal with an arrogant hothead and blowhard, and try to manage that.
But Jesus, Jesus does something different. See, Nicodemus is trying to go get Jesus to talk about Himself, so Nicodemus can figure out Jesus' personality and how to manipulate Him. Jesus will have none of that. Instead, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” We hearing this almost get whiplash – where in the world did that come from, Jesus? Well, Jesus isn't going to have this discussion be about His personality – instead Jesus is going to teach. It's a shift, but it's not as drastic as we might think it is. If one farmer walks up to another and says, “Might get some rain this afternoon,” and the other says, “how much fertilizer did you put on the old Johnson farm” - that's just a signal that it's time to get down to business. No small talk – business.
So Jesus gets down to business; Jesus makes a theological assertion – Jesus makes an interesting statement about the faith and how salvation works. Unless you are born again, you're not able to see God's Kingdom. And of course, this is a pregnant assertion, because the background point is that Nicodemus doesn't see or understand that the Kingdom of God has come because Nicodemus hasn't been born again yet – Nicodemus hasn't been gifted faith and spiritual life by the Holy Spirit yet, so Nicodemus is stuck in humdrum politics. Do you see what Jesus does? Jesus takes charge of the conversation; Jesus drives to what is important.
And Nicodemus plays along. Sort of. 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?” In the olden days, Rabbinical discussions were typically question based – you'd start with an assertion and then the two rabbis would start asking questions back and forth of each other. So Nicodemus does that – he asks a question – okay Jesus, you want to play theological games, I'll play too. But even here this is a trap question. Nicodemus asks a question to see if Jesus were actually up to some sort of pagan, cultic no-good trouble, He'd possibly expose Himself. Nicodemus is still trying to get a handle on Jesus here.
But that's not how this works. Jesus is the One in control. So Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” No, Nicodemus, I'm not talking about any strange culty stuff – that which is born of the flesh is flesh – I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about being born of God's Spirit – the Spirit of life. I'm preparing you for the gift of Baptism, where I'm going to claim you and give you new life Nicodemus – because not only do I want you to actually see the Kingdom of God, see Me and My work and know it for what it is – I want you to enter it, I want you to be a part of My kingdom.
And apparently this is somewhat shocking to old Nicodemus, because Jesus continues saying, “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.” This is an important point – in Hebrew “wind” and “Spirit” are the same thing – also “breath” - they all come from the same word. No, Nicodemus, you're not in control here, no more than you can control the wind, and all your hot air talk won't do anything to bring you control. But Jesus, Jesus is in control. He sends forth the Spirit where He wills, and the Spirit comes and gives life and makes people to be born again – even while no one else understands. And Jesus is going to and in fact is enliving Nicodemus and giving him new birth by Jesus's own words of Spirit and truth!
One last gasp of defiance from Nicodemus – he's lost control, even his so called self-control – How can these things be? Rule number 1 for a politician – never ask your opponent an open ended question, especially one of awe and wonder. Nicodemus is utterly off his game. But that's because Jesus isn't playing around – Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Come on, Nicodemus – you know the Messiah, you know the fulfillment of the Old Testament when you see it. This is heavenly. This is the fulfillment of prophecy. This is the plan of salvation – And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have life. You know the pattern, you know how the Lord works salvation – and that is what is going on here in full, Nicodemus – and I am going to be lifted up in order to save you. This is the way God does it, this is the way God loves the world, loves you Nicodemus – Jesus is given to the death upon the Cross, so that you would not perish but instead have eternal life.
And as it turns out, Jesus knew what He was doing in this conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus would in fact see the Kingdom of God – Nicodemus was act the crucifixion, and in fact, Nicodemus along with Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus. Nicodemus in fact received eternal life and ended up being a leader of the early church.
So then, what to make of this text! As we move into the Trinity season, we move into a time of teaching – where we get lessons that are designed to train us in the faith, in the life of a Christian. Lesson one – you're not in control. Nicodemus entered our text completely about control, about being in charge of the situation, of getting things done his way to his standards. And Jesus just disabuses him of this notion. Control? You aren't even alive, you're spiritually dead in your tresspasses. No, the truth is Jesus is in control, Jesus is in charge – and truly, truly, I say unto you, Jesus being in control is good for you. Because Jesus is in control, Jesus is in charge, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus... for your good. For your salvation. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. We in our lust for control unleash sin upon the world; we in our desire for power today do all sorts of wicked things and trample all over our neighbor instead of serving them. In many ways sin is nothing other than our desire for control spinning out in various fashions, making us run roughshod over our neighbors. But that's not what Jesus does – He is in control for the good of His neighbors, for their benefit, even at His own cost. And Jesus is going to rescue people, rescue us from sin and death with His own death and resurrection.
And part of being a Christian is learning, is remembering that you yourself having control isn't the most important thing. If you set your kitchen on fire by your foolish cooking, and the firemen come into to pull you out of the flaming wreck of your house, that's not the time for you to try to keep cooking and say, “This is fine, I've got everything under control.” Nope, you need to be rescued. And this is the thing – Jesus sees how you need to be rescued, He even sees ways that you need to be rescued that you don't know yet, that you don't realize yet. You and I, we're still sinful, our sinful wants and desires blind us sometimes so we miss what is going on, and we grasp at straws thinking that by doing so we'll move heaven and earth. And over and against all of that, Jesus rescues you. You have been born again of water and the Spirit, and Jesus pours His Spirit into you again and again by His Word so that you would be rescued and saved. And your sin and folly get revealed, and you get pulled away from them, and you get brought to repentance, and you receive forgiveness – and your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for – because Jesus has died for you.
Oh, old Nicodemus had wanted to control Jesus. He had wanted to play his political games, but Jesus would have none of it. Jesus just up and saved Nicodemus, because Jesus loved Nicodemus. Likewise, we get stuck in our silly little sinful games where we try to control everything and we try to run everything. But Jesus will have none of that from you. Jesus wants something far better for you – He wants you forgiven, He wants a clean heart and a right Spirit within you, and so He gives you one, and He does so again and again by His Word even until the day when He raises you to eternal life and sin and your stupid desires for control aren't even a memory anymore. This is Jesus' love for you; this is what He came and what He comes to do. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
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