February 17 - John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again." 4 "How can anyone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being 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? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

This is a very full passage for only 17 verses. I first read it and I didn’t know where to begin. I still don’t have a sense where I’ll end up this week, maybe you can help. The verse that did catch my attention that I know I’ll be thinking about more is verse 10. Jesus seemed so surprised that a teacher of the people didn’t understand these spiritual things. I wonder how this translates to us. If Christians are to be the teachers of the world, the people who teach the world about Christ and things of God, would Jesus ask us the same question? ‘How come you don’t understand this stuff?’ He was talking about some pretty deep stuff, being born again of water and Spirit, heavenly things that are beyond common earthly experience, God’s salvation. Could we say that we’ve delved into these mysteries and have understanding? If the answer is no, is it because we have sold ourselves short of Jesus’ expectations for us and been content to just be good people rather than spiritual people? What do you think? Please comment.
-Pastor Eric