"Modern-Day Moneychangers"

Scripture: John 3:1-21
Preacher: Rev. Ross Purdy
Date: March 26, 2006

For God so loved the World, that He gave His only begotten Son
That whosoever believes in Him should not perish
But have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the World to condemn the World,
But that through Him the World might be saved.

Martin Luther called these words, "The Gospel in Miniature".   In these few verses, the whole plan of God is revealed.   God loves the world.   God loves you and me.   God loves us so much that He did everything to open a way to eternal life...even giving His own Son.

I am a father of three small children.   I don't know that I could do such a thing.   I love my children deeply, but to give one of them up to suffer an excruciating death on behalf of someone else, I don't think I could do.   And even further, to offer one of my children up to die an excruciating death for someone who did not deserve it, I don't think I could do.   And even further, to offer up one of my children for a criminal, a guilty person, to pay for their crime, well, you can see my dilemma.

But then again, my love is not perfected.   I fall short of the greatness of God.   I haven't learned to love the way God does yet.   If there is anything worth saving from the message this morning it is this:   God loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you, a criminal, who has broken God's law again and again.   But God doesn't want to live without you.   So, a way possible was made for you to live forever.

The third chapter of John is a wonderful passage of Scripture.   I chose the verses 1-21 to preach on.   The lectionary text has the verses listed as 14-21, but I felt in order to give a better context for why Jesus revealed what he revealed, we needed to get to know a man name Nicodemus better.

At night, Nicodemus came to Jesus.   Many sermons have been preached on the fact that Nicodemus came at night because he was afraid of anyone knowing about His discussion with an unfavorable character.   There may be some truth to that.   Certainly, Nicodemus will show timidity about becoming a disciple.   But, in reality, the nighttime was an opportune time for rabbis to get together.   During the day each rabbi was busy with his own disciples.   When they went home or off to bed, rabbis then had the freedom to gather.   If a rabbi visited with another during the evening or night, it was a way of regarding the other as a rabbi as well.   "Teacher/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."

This was a big thing for Nicodemus.   This great man of reputation did, culturally, lower himself to visit with a carpenter from Nazareth.   In fact, in the next few verses, we get a clue into Nicodemus' greatness.   Jesus calls him "The Teacher" of Israel.   Some translations disregard the definitive object, but the Greek text has Jesus calling him "The Teacher of Israel".   And we find "This great Teacher" sitting on the highest Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, the very council that will, in the end, commend Jesus to Pilate, and force Pilate's hand, to crucify Jesus.   The Sanhedrin is the law of the land, politically, culturally and religiously.

This makes Nicodemus an example of discipleship for us.   How he discovers, learns about and eventually follows Jesus speaks volumes about our own discovery, learning and following of Jesus.   To be certain the very fact of his coming at night does indicate darkness, but maybe not so much the darkness of fear as the darkness of understanding.   Poor Nicodemus doesn't grasp this Jesus.   But he does know that he needs to understand.   He sees that Jesus has God with Him and he does what every person should have done and should do today.   He checks this Jesus out.  

As a religious leader, Nicodemus is honorable.   There is a Midrash, a Jewish explanation of the Torah, from Deuteronomy 18:19 that prescribes, "if a prophet who begins to prophesy (ie: who is still unaccredited) gives a sign and miracle, he is to be listened to, otherwise he is not to be heeded" (Kommentas zum N.T. aus Talmud und Midrasch, II, 480).   The great Teacher of Israel was following the law of God.

The book of Acts tells us that many priests came to faith in Jesus.   Sometimes it's easy for us to think that all of the Jewish leaders were against Jesus.   This wasn't the case.   Several priests, rabbis and Pharisees followed Jesus.   They just weren't in the majority or in key positions of power such as Annas or Caiaphas.

So Nicodemus checked Jesus out as prescribed by Jewish law.   Where were the other religious leaders?   Every time we see them they have no interest in checking Jesus out.   They only have interest in trapping Him.   They already formed their opinions.  

But even today I can ask, "Where are the religious people who check Jesus out today?"   So many people already have their preconceived ideas about this prophet.   The danger for all of us is not to keep examining Him or learning about Him, it is in being complacent toward Him.   How are you doing in checking Him out?

Let's look at Nicodemus' life.   His first interaction with Jesus is this one.   He humbly comes to Jesus in an attempt to do his responsibility of checking out this unaccredited prophet and in so doing he will find the great truth to all of life.

"Rabbi", Nicodemus said, "what does it all mean?   How is it that God is with you?"   Jesus said, "You are the Teacher of Israel and you don't know?   Let me explain it to you.   Our laws and our customs, they're good.   But they can't do anything for us.   You must be born again, born from above."

"Wait a minute!" Nicodemus responded, "Is that even possible?   How can someone go back into their mother's womb a second time?"

"The wind, the spirit," Jesus said, "blows where it wills but you don't see it.   You can't tell where it comes from or where it is going.   So it is for everyone born of God."   We now understand what it means, don't we, church?   It means that unless we have allowed God's Spirit to enter our lives by accepting the Son of God into our hearts we receive a new life from God."

Have you received a new life?   Have you been born from above?   Have you been born again?   If you're born once (physically), you'll die twice (an earthly and an eternal death).   But if you've been born twice (physically from your mother and spiritually from God's Spirit) you'll only die once (a physical death)...then you'll live forever.  

Have you accepted Jesus into your life and allowed God's Spirit to breathe into you the new life?   I'll give you a moment at the end of the message to consider this again.

Jesus told Nicodemus that the way in which the new birth will become possible will be by the Son of Man being lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness, an image that Nicodemus knew well, being "The Teacher of Israel".   It would mean that Jesus would hang upon a cross and be lifted up for all to see.   Those who look to the cross would find that the Son of God has given His life to heal them from the poison of the serpent.   I can imagine Nicodemus pondering this for the rest of his life...then, as he watched his colleagues condemn Jesus to death on the cross, he might have begun to realize that the prophet he spoke to in the middle of the night had shared with him the greatest prophecy of all.   Jesus would die on the cross.   But through that moment would come the healing for the poison of sin.

There are two other places in the New Testament where we see Nicodemus again.   He is found in John 7:50-52.   There, Jesus' ministry has grown bolder and Jesus is preaching in the Temple in Jerusalem.   The Sanhedrin, the Council, is furious about Jesus' claims.   Jesus dares to preach with authority as though He believes what He's preaching.   The people are amazed.   Then, on the last day of the great festival, as the water pours out into the streets from the Temple representing God giving water to quench people's thirst, Jesus dared to cry out, "Hey, anyone who thirsts, let him come to me and drink.   He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38).

Jesus dared to claim that He was the source of all sustenance.   He set Himself up as God.   The temple guards are then sent to bring Jesus in for blasphemy.   But they return without Jesus.   The Sanhedrin scolds them saying, "Why didn't you bring Him back with you?"   "Well, they said, "No man ever spoke like this man!"   "Are you led astray also?   Have any of the authorities or any of the Pharisees believed in Him?"

Nicodemus!?   Speak up.   You know you believe.   Where has your courage gone?   Nicodemus does speak up...and so Nicodemus does.   But he speaks up on behalf of a principle, not a person.   "Shouldn't we try to give everyone a fair trial?"   Oh, Nicodemus, your chance to speak up for Jesus, not a principle, has come and gone.   But hold on, Nicodemus, your discipleship is not perfected yet. Keep questioning this Jesus.   Keep searching.   Through that process your discipleship will be perfected.

How is your search going?   Has your discipleship been perfected yet?

Then, after the crucifixion, we find Nicodemus again (see John 19:39-42).   Somehow, his discipleship is coming close to perfection.   Along with another Pharisee, another great Pharisee sitting on the Sanhedrin, the Council, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Joseph put it all on the line.   This will perfect their ability to follow.

Joseph of Arimathea is an interesting man.   He is the antithesis of Jesus' praise in the parables.   Jesus spoke out against being comfortable in this life.   Joseph of Arimathea was very comfortable.   He had everything.   Jesus spoke up about being wealthy in the light of poverty.   Joseph was wealthy in the vast presence of poverty.   Jesus preached against shrinking from trouble and being fearless about taking on the status quo when it is unjust.   Joseph was a part of the status quo and it was unjust.   He followed Jesus from afar.   He didn't speak up at any point during the mock trial of Jesus.   He didn't speak up in defense of Jesus, nor even a principle, like Nicodemus had.   Joseph was destined for hell.   But...remember that when the disciples asked Jesus, "Jesus, you keep alluding to an idea that the rich, the wise, the good people, and many others, will not go to heaven.   How is it possible that anyone can get to heaven?   What can anyone do?"

Jesus answered, "with God all things are possible."   It doesn't matter who you are.   It matters that God does the impossible.   God will save Joseph of Arimathea.   God will save Nicodemus.   Will God save you?

And in the third chapter of John the only thing that matters, for us, is a decision that we have to make.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.   Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life...He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.   And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light..."

The only decision that we can make is to believe in God's Son who gave His life.   That renders our position, our person helpless to justify our own salvation.   It doesn't matter who you are - rich, poor, wise, ignorant, etc.   If you believe, God will birth in you a new life.   But you need to make a choice.   It is the only eternal choice you need to make now, in life, and now, the day of salvation.   I'll ask you again to make it in a moment.

Then the rubber meets the road for both Nicodemus and Joseph.   Both of these men, imperfect disciples of Jesus, the prophet, rabbi and priest of God, do something incredible.   I don't know why more books aren't written on this.   Their discipleship challenges mine.  

They take the body of Jesus down from the cross and give Him a burial.   Joseph of Arimathea, gives Jesus the very tomb he had built for himself, a tomb where no one had lain.   Nicodemus is right there beside him.

Do you realize that these men were participating in treason?   They set aside all their livelihood, respect and all they had ever earned to simply bury Jesus.   And if you notice how they buried Jesus, they did so extravagantly.   They gave him the same burial as Asa the King of Judah in II Chronicles 16:14.   I can imagine Nicodemus and Joseph carefully wrapping the body of Jesus in linen cloths, yet in between each strand they placed the spices and myrrh.   Only kings received this amount of spice.   Most people just wrapped the body because they couldn't afford such extravagance.   Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of spices and myrrh, carefully placing it in between the wraps.

But this is what challenges me.   These were teachers of Israel.   They knew the Torah and all the writings better than most theologians today.   When Jesus died on the cross, He was cursed and considered unholy before God.   They perfected their discipleship in a time prior to the Resurrection.   Jesus only makes sense looking from the Resurrection backward.   The disciples of Jesus, simple men, ran and hid in houses for fear.   But these two men, Nicodemus and Joseph, were going to lose everything right there in the plain sight of all of Israel even when the understood law, the very core of their existence, didn't back up their actions.

This is discipleship.   This is courage.   But why?   They knew the law and, at that moment, it looked as though Jesus was not a prophet.   The cross seems to mark the failure of Jesus.   The Resurrection is the vindication.

Here's the bottom-line.    The only way I can imagine these men doing what they did is simply because of the love of God.   Through Jesus' life and ministry, they must have finally realized what Nicodemus asked in the first place: "Rabbi, how do you do these things?"   Jesus' reply was about God so loving that He gave His Son so a new life could be given.

Twenty years ago I was teaching a Bible study.   It was about Jesus.   Something happened to one woman during the study.   She spoke up during the study and I saw a light go off inside her.   Her eyes burned.   She said, "Hey, I know why people follow Jesus.   It's because of His love.   If someone looked into my eyes and told me they loved me, I'd follow them anywhere...even to death."

That was it.   The love of God.   She understood what Nicodemus finally understood.   She understood what Joseph of Arimathea finally understood.   She understood why lives change and why one could eventually throw away everything else in this life simply to know God's love.   Jesus.

Discipleship is perfected when we receive the love of God.   A new life is received when we receive the love of God.   How are you doing?

Amen.