The Man who came to Jesus by night (John 2:23–3:15)

This sermon was preached on 22/4/2012

As we can see from the end of chapter 2, many people wanted to follow Jesus. It is still very early days in what had become known as his three-year public ministry. His action in cleansing the temple had made an impression on some, yet Jesus did not regard their interest in him as genuine and he made no effort to encourage them. It is important to observe that Jesus made a distinction between those would-be followers and Nicodemus because the Saviour was clearly willing to engage in a discussion with Nicodemus. John is stressing here that Jesus cannot be conned because he knows every detail about anyone who attempts to be involved with him.

1. Who was Nicodemus?

John tells us that Nicodemus was both a religious person and a prominent figure in the community. By religion, he was a Pharisee which meant that he was a strict follower of the religious traditions of Israel. The Pharisees were the theological conservatives of their day as opposed to the Sadducees who were the theological liberals (they did not believe in angels or in the resurrection). There were political differences between them as well: the Pharisees did not want to submit to the Roman authorities whereas the Sadducees were very keen on pleasing the Roman power.

Nicodemus was also a trained teacher among the Pharisees. In verse 9 Jesus calls him the teacher of Israel. This description tells us that Nicodemus was both well-trained and popular. He was ‘the’ teacher because he had the best store of knowledge of the details of the Jewish religion and he was also ‘the’ teacher in the sense that he would have had a lot of scholars and others who would want to listen to him.

2. Why did he come?

It is obvious from this account that Nicodemus had come to Jesus as a representative of a group. We can this is the case by his use of plural pronouns in verse 2: ‘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.’ Knowledge of the activities of Jesus had reached the ears of those prominent in the affairs of the city, whether of a religious or of a political party, and they wanted to know more. After all, whether Jesus is considered as a religious teacher or as a leader of people, we can see why he would be regarded as useful. His teaching seemed to be close to that of the Pharisees and having such an effective teacher as one of them could only increase the number of followers. His influence over people would also make him useful in a political sense, whatever the goals of the leaders. But what we see here is an attempt by them to control Jesus and to use him for their own ends. And they selected as their spokesperson one whom they regarded as the best person for the task.

Nicodemus selected the right time and place for meeting with Jesus. He knew that he would need to have no distractions as he investigated who Jesus was. So he was determined to be very careful as he interviewed Jesus. In doing this, Nicodemus reminds us that probing into Jesus’ identity and intentions requires focussed concentration. If we want to discover who Jesus is, we must arrange events so that we can give him full attention. I suppose we could say that our gathering here is our equivalent of finding suitable time and place.

Yet Nicodemus discovered something very important. It is impossible to spend time discovering who Jesus us without him revealing to us who we are. Nicodemus begins his interview with a polite acknowledgement that God seems to have sent Jesus because of the miracles he was performing. But Nicodemus discovered that Jesus was not interested in receiving the endorsement of any earthly group. Instead Jesus had special information to convey to Nicodemus, first about the Pharisee himself and then about Jesus himself.

3. What did Jesus say to him?

As I indicated, the response of Jesus is in two parts. First, he showed to Nicodemus that he needed to become a new person. Jesus informs the Pharisee that he needs to have a rebirth. The word that is translated born ‘again’ can also mean born ‘from above’. Nicodemus picked up that Jesus was speaking about another birth, but he did not pick up that Jesus also meant a heavenly birth and not an earthly one. This is a reminder that sometimes people will not understand what Jesus means the first time they hear what he is saying.

At the same time, Jesus places an incentive in his words, and the incentive is his reference to the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, would have been very interested in what Jesus would say about God’s kingdom. After all, Israel claimed that God was their real king and they were his subjects. And does Jesus not do that for all he speaks to directly. He provides them with encouragement or even with what may intrigue them in order to draw questions out of them.

Of course, Nicodemus reveals in verse 4 that he has not got a clue as to what Jesus is describing. The learned Pharisee assumes that Jesus is suggesting that adults become children again. Although he is the teacher of Israel, well-versed in the Old Testament, Nicodemus does not respond with any spiritual insight. Yet despite having to listen to such a crass response, the Saviour very patiently explains to Nicodemus what he has in mind.

The water

The new birth means, says Jesus, to be ‘born of water and the Spirit’ (v. 5). What does Jesus have in mind by this description? First, is he saying that the new birth involves two things – water and the Spirit – or is he saying that they are two ways of speaking about the same thing? Some would argue that since he later refers to the Spirit as living water he is speaking about him here as the one who provides relief to thirsty hearts. Those who are in need of becoming new creatures are thirsty in the sense that they need God to satisfy their hearts.

Or does Jesus mean something else when he refers to water? It is possible that by water he means the word of God. Many times in the Bible the Word of God is said to have a cleansing effect. Similar to how water affects a dirty body, the word of God affects dirty souls and cleanses them. The word of God is the tool that the Spirit uses as he brings spiritual life to sinners.

The wind

Then Jesus uses an illustration to describe the work of the Spirit. He likens the Spirit’s work to the invisible wind that is beyond the control of man. We can see its effects but we cannot tell how it will appear in a particular place. It may be a strong or a gentle wind; it may be a warm or a cold wind. And we have seen the Holy Spirit working in different ways in the lives of people.

Sometimes he comes to them as a strong wind, as he did with the Philippian jailor; many a person has found themselves blown all over the place in a spiritual sense as the Spirit works in their hearts. In contrast, in other people he works in a very gentle manner, as he did with Lydia or how he usually does when he is working in the hearts of children.

At other times, he comes as a cold wind and points out the spiritual deadness of our hearts. All of a sudden we find ourselves becoming aware of several personal sins that we had not noticed before. A kind of spiritual chill comes over our hearts as we discover who we are. But with others, the Spirit comes as a warm wind, drawing us to consider various aspects of the person and work Jesus.

The obvious lesson from this is that we can never insist that the Spirit works in only one kind of way. I have heard some who have known the icy wind of conviction of sin insist very strongly that their experience is the norm. It is common, but it is not the only way that the Spirit works in the hearts of sinners.

The witness

By this time, Nicodemus is confused because he has never heard such things before (v. 9). Even although he was a well-informed man he now realises that there are some very important matters that he knows nothing about. He is beginning to realise that the answers to life’s most important questions cannot be found by looking within.

Jesus, in contrast, speaks with authority and authenticity. Indeed he claims to have a heavenly origin (v. 13). Although he is standing there on earth speaking to Nicodemus, he has a different background to the Pharisee. Nicodemus was certainly from a privileged background and education which gave him a significant status in society, but his experience was nothing in comparison with what Jesus claims for himself when he says that he descended from heaven and that he has access to heaven. He is claiming to be a witness to matters that only he is an expert in.

If we want to learn something, we arrange to have a competent teacher. Suppose I wanted to learn about electricity. I would want to be taught by an electrician who has practised his trade. It would be better to have such a person rather than an individual who would only look up a book and pass on to me the theories about electricity. The essential qualification for an electrician is that he is an authentic witness, and he is such because he knows how it works in practice and he knows how to explain it more adequately. Nicodemus at that time was a popular teacher of the Bible, but he was not a witness because he had not personally experienced what the Word of God was described. In contrast, Jesus claims to have both earthly and heavenly knowledge and is therefore suitable to be a teacher because he can bear witness to all that he says.

The wonder

But Jesus also speaks with compassion and with the awareness that he must use pointers that would link in with what Nicodemus already knew. Nicodemus was an Old Testament expert and Jesus takes him to a passage in the Book of Daniel which speaks about an individual called the Son of Man. And Jesus does so because he wants to reveal his person and work to Nicodemus. His way of speaking may not be clear to us until we read the passage for ourselves, but Nicodemus would know what was being claimed.

First, Jesus was claiming to be divine, even although he was also human. This would have come as a great shock to Nicodemus. Second, he was claiming to have a great destiny, because that passage in Daniel says that the Son of Man will be given a universal kingdom. Nicodemus may have followed those two details. But then Jesus makes a third application by linking the lifting-up (the exaltation) of the Son of Man to an incident in the Old Testament when Moses elevated a brass serpent on a pole in order that Israelites who had been bitten by serpents could be healed.

It is unlikely that Nicodemus would have grasped at that moment what Jesus was claiming. He told Nicodemus that healing from the effects of sin would only be found by believing in Jesus as the Healer who would provide permanent health (eternal life). This is the outcome of the new birth that Jesus had earlier informed him about. Nicodemus needed to trust in Jesus as lifted-up before he would understand what the new birth was about.

We move on three years and go to Calvary and see Jesus literally lifted up on the cross. He now has died, having paid the penalty of sin. As we look at the cross (the place of his exaltation), we see two dignified men making their way to the cross in order to take care of the body of Jesus. Both are rulers: one of them is Joseph of Arimathea and the other is Nicodemus. Perhaps it was only when Jesus died that Nicodemus finally experienced what Jesus had spoken to him about during their previous conversation. There is no record that they had spoken again between those dates, yet something had happened to dignified Nicodemus that caused him to care deeply about the body of Jesus. He had experienced the new birth. No doubt he rejoiced greatly as in the next few weeks he discovered about ongoing aspects of the lifting-up of Jesus when he rose from the dead, when he ascended to heaven, and when he was exalted.

Nicodemus fades from the picture as far as things on earth are concerned, but he is very much in the picture as far as heaven is concerned. That is where he is today and no doubt he recalls what took place when he had his first discussion with Jesus. He had a first meeting, the outcome of which was to change his eternal destiny.

Application

As we close, we can note two matters. First, what is the new birth? Here is how J. C. Ryle described it in his comments on this passage: ‘The change which our Lord here declares needful to salvation is evidently no slight or superficial one. It is not merely reformation, or amendment, or moral change, or outward alteration of life. It is a thorough change of heart, will, and character. It is a resurrection. It is a new creation. It is a passing from death to life. It is the implanting in our dead hearts of a new principle from above. It is the calling into existence of a new creature, with a new nature, new habits of life, new tastes, new desires, new appetites, new judgments, new opinions, new hopes, and new fears. All this, and nothing less than this is implied, when our Lord declares that we all need a “new birth”.’ Do we have such an experience?

Second, have we understood the simplicity of the way of salvation? Forgiveness and pardon come to us when we trust in what Jesus did on the cross. There he paid the penalty of sin. He is no longer there, but is now highly exalted in heaven. But the Spirit leads us to Calvary to think about what happened to Jesus there. This is what we should all do – think about Jesus on the cross as the sinbearer and it may be that the wind of the Spirit will bring new life into your heart.