Nick@Nite

Reservation: (Part IV)

NICK @ NITE

John 3:1-10 (NIV)
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?

            Satan will never run out of techniques in keeping people from committing their lives to Jesus Christ. He will do whatever it takes to deceive and destroy people. As Jesus explained, Satan’s goals have always been to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

            We have been trying to identify some of these techniques in our present series – RESERVATION. So far, we have already tackled skepticism, conflict of interest, and the bad image of believers. This morning, we will study another very effective method of the enemy, which is the fear of man. Often, we call it as peer pressure or people-pleasing. This happens when we are afraid of what others think of us or will do to us, or when seek the approval or fear the rejection of others.

            I’m pretty sure that in one time or another all of us have yielded to peer pressure or people pleasing. Many think that this problem is only true with young people, but if we carefully examine the decisions we older folks make, it’s quite obvious that even we are not exempted from it. I remember reading about an old woman being asked regarding the benefits of being 102, and she quickly responded – “no peer pressure.” So probably once you've reached 102 and have outlived all your peers,that will be the only time you can be free from it.

            Our main text introduces us to a very respected individual by the name of Nicodemus. He was not just a Pharisee, a teacher of the law, but one of the members of the Sanhedrin, the great ruling council of the nation of Israel. Back then, the Sanhedrin had 70 members who were responsible for religious and civil decisions. They were so powerful that all the Jews on earth were under the jurisdiction of this ruling body. In today’s context, that would make him a member of the Supreme Court. 

            What makes this meeting very interesting is the fact that when Nicodemus decided to see Jesus Christ, he chose to go to him during the night. Some Bible teachers don’t want to make a big thing about this saying probably that was the only time he was available since he works during the day or that was the only time Jesus was available. But it’s quite obvious that this has some significance because every time John made a reference of him in his Gospel, he mentioned that he was the one “who visited Jesus at night” (John 7:50-51(KJV), John 19:39). We always follow the rule in Bible interpretation that repetitions show emphasis.       

            Therefore, we can easily presume that Nicodemus went to Jesus by night because he was being careful in his visit. He doesn’t want to be very open with his intention to learn from Jesus. With his words, he recognized that Jesus came from God because of all the miraculous works he was doing. He knew Jesus had something special to offer, but the fear of man seems to be getting in the way.  Let’s examine this issue and how we can overcome it: 

 

I           FREE YOURSELVES FROM BONDAGE:

            The Lord Jesus in His wisdom had chosen this encounter with Nicodemus to talk about a very important subject, being born again. Jesus could have not used a much better occasion to talk about this. Why? Because of who Nicodemus was.

            Being a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus was really religious and spiritual in a sense that he was a person who was really sensitive with spiritual matters. In addition to this, look at verse 10 where Jesus addressed him as Israel’s teacher.  Some commentators are suggesting that he has also earned the reputation in the community as one of the primary teachers of the law. With all these, I’m sure many people would say that he was the last person who needed to hear that there was something lacking about him spiritually. He needed to be born again.

            At first Nicodemus was confused because he thought Jesus was referring to physical birth (v.4), so Jesus had to explain that this was about a spiritual birth. We are all born physically, but we need to be born again to enter heaven. Jesus clearly said that no man can see heaven without it. Obviously, religion is not the answer because Nicodemus was deeply involved in religion. What he needed was to receive the eternal life through water and spirit - "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit (v.5). What does that mean?

A.    Water – The water is use to bring the idea of cleansing. Spiritually, our water refers to God’s Word.

Ephesians 5:26 (NIV)
26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

            But not only to bring cleansing, in salvation, but God has used the Word to impart faith in our lives. In order for anyone to believe in Christ, he or she needs to understand first the work of Christ. The Word of God accomplishes this:

Romans 10:17 (NIV)
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

B.     Spirit – Once an individual exercises faith by receiving Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit imparts to him/her the eternal life from God. This is what Jesus meant when Jesus said in verse 6 - Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Since the Kingdom of God is spiritual and holy, we need the Holy Spirit to give us the life suitable for the Kingdom. Our earthly body with its sinfulness is not fit for heaven:

1 Corinthians 15:50 (NIV)
50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

            Throughout this conversation, Jesus spoke plainly about the need of Nicodemus. It was also here where Jesus used the most precious verse, which will be considered the heart of the entire Bible:

John 3:16 (NIV)
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

            However, until Jesus and Nicodemus parted ways, you won’t find any positive response from Nicodemus. The words of Jesus almost at the end of this conversation will give a hint:

John 3:19-21 (NIV)
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

            The key to understanding this passage is to know the context. There are two ways to understand these verses: First, it speaks of the contrast between people who are born again and those who are not. If you have been born again, the Light of God will bring a radical change in your life because it would expose the wrong things in your life. Second, I also see this in relation to Nicodemus who because of fear chose to go to Jesus at nighttime. There’s the implication that if He wanted to walk with God, he should be willing to walk with Him in the light. God does not accept secret Christianity because He intends to use believers to impact the darkness of the world. Obviously, Nicodemus struggled because he was afraid of what others would say. Here is an important comment about this fact:

John 12:42 (NIV)
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;

               Can you identify with such a pressure? How many of us would ask ourselves before doing something – What would my friends or loved ones think if they see me do this? The Bible puts out a warning because this tendency can be very enslaving:

Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)
25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

            The worst bondage scenario is when our fear of man would hinder us to pursue a relationship with God. God knows this to be a fact:

Revelation 21:8 (NIV)
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

            What is the first sin? “Cowardly” or the “Fearful.”  I hope none of you would end up in eternal suffering in hell because of your fear of what your family, friends, and co-workers would say. Our eternal destiny is much more valuable than our image before other people or being held in high esteem by others.  

 

II         FEAR THE MAJORITY:

            Perhaps, there is also a need for us to correct the common perspective that majority is always right. Since we live in a democratic society, our exposure has always been the majority rules. However, spiritually speaking, I would recommend a great deal of caution. The Bible explicitly says: 

Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

               Clearly, in terms of deciding about the truth, only few are going to get it. Jesus says, wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life. Undeniably, the majority is not always right.

            During the time of Jesus, to believe and follow Him would mean identifying yourself with a bunch of nobodies – a carpenter who was being followed with a group of men who were largely fishermen. How attractive was that? I’m sure if Jesus walked today, many of us would probably be mere spectators rather than real followers.

            Do you know that for many this struggle still remains? People don’t want to openly confess Christ because it’s not the coolest thing to do because of the majority who don’t want to have anything to do with Him. What is even disturbing is the people who profess to know Christ, and yet still tries to get the approval of the majority. Do you know what Paul said about this?

Galatians 1:10 (NIV)
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

            It is not possible to run with the majority and please Jesus Christ. It is either you please the majority or please Jesus. Pleasing Jesus often means turning against the majority.  

 

III        FORESEE PERSECUTIONS:

            Since you are not trying to fit in with the majority, you have to anticipate the fact that some will reproach you, be critical of you, or say very hurtful things about you. Jesus reminded his followers:

John 15:20 (NIV)
20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

               I believe it would help believers to be constantly reminded that they would not always get the most positive response from others. If Jesus who did everything right was disliked and hated, how much more us? But don’t despair, Jesus gave this wonderful promise:

Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV)
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

               God promises great rewards for those who will stand up for Him even if sometimes He or she has to stand alone.

Amazingly, after Jesus died Nicodemus had the courage to stand for Christ.

John 19:38-39 (NIV)
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

            Although some would say it was already too late because Jesus died already, Nicodemus with Joseph of Arimathea, another member of the Sanhedrin came out in the open to ask for the body of Christ. I believe having Joseph making a stand together with him made it possible. Sometimes, we can help others make a bolder stand for Jesus if we choose to stand with them. I hope and pray we won’t hesitate to pursue a relationship with Jesus even if it would mean being laughed at or being ridiculed. To seek God’s approval can bring greater blessings then to seek the approval of men.