Enter the Kingdom of God

John 3:1-21 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “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.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, 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. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever 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 the world through Him might be saved.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Pastor Phil has been preaching through the Gospel of John and we come to the encounter of Nicodemus with Jesus. Who was Nicodemus? His name means “Conqueror”. He was a member of the Sanhedrin – Teacher and Ruler of the Jews. HE lived by the codified law, called “The Mishnah” – the written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people. He lived to keep “The Talmud” – a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. Yet, he came to Jesus because “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.” He realized that Jesus was a teacher from God in a world of teachers of God. How about us? Who and what do we seek from whom? Why are we here? How do I find love, joy and peace? We tend to look at things from the physical realm instead of the spiritual realm for answers. Like when Jesus answered Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (the spiritual reality of heavenly things)” Nicodemus ask 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?” (a physical question to the spiritual reality). We forget that we are a trichotomy (a triune being) of flesh (our tent), spirit (our breath), and soul (our psyche)? This can lead to a “As long as nobody sees me …” mentality that the God-rejecting world teaches and preaches.

Jesus’ spiritual reality had eternal ramification about entering heaven … or even being able to see the kingdom of God. From the Lord words Nicodemus should have asked, and we should be asking today, “What does being ‘born again’ mean so we can see the kingdom of God?” How do we get to heaven? How do we restore the relationship broken by sin and get closer to God? in this passage, Jesus explains the solution to the sin problem, with God’s restoration by atoning redemption plan of salvation in the gospel of Christ – God loved/God gave. All the answers to the questions of the spiritual reality of heavenly things, along with true love, joy and peace are found right here. We were bought by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ as the cure for the sins of the world – mine and yours. By His blood we enter the kingdom of God.

In Christ, Brian