In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
So spoke Jesus to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
The first thing to notice about this passage from John’s gospel is that Nicodemus comes to Jesus “at night”. On the surface, this means exactly what it says it means. But the gospel of John is always concerned with symbols – and light and darkness are symbols used and reused throughout John. The Gospel begins by saying that in Jesus was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1.4-5).
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. This is an image of Nicodemus coming to Jesus with a darkened heart and mind. Nicodemus comes to the Lord yet unilluminated by the light of the Truth. He comes out of the darkness of the world, the darkness of ignorance about God, and preeminently about what God had done in Christ.
And Nicodemus’s first words to the Lord manifest exactly this darkness. He says “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." How often do we hear similar talk about Jesus in our own lives – in the media, from friends and family, sometimes perhaps even on our own lips – that Jesus is certainly a great teacher who is in some sense divine, because he is said to have done amazing things, and his teaching was certainly interesting and revolutionary. “we know that you are a teacher come from God.”
And the Lord’s words to Nicodemus cut right to the heart of his darkness. Jesus doesn’t bother defending himself. He doesn’t bother with correcting Nicodemus on his doctrinal error. The next verse the Lord says “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus could not see the Kingdom of God, which was standing right in front of him. Remember that the Kingdom of God in Greek really means the REIGN of God – the sphere within which God’s will is done. And so Jesus is HIMSELF the Kingdom of God. He is the one in whom the Father’s will is done perfectly and completely. And so back then, if he were standing nearby, you were liable to hear a true prophet like John the Baptist cry out “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
Nicodemus sees in Jesus a clever teacher, perhaps even a sublime teacher, maybe like the Buddha, someone who teaches interesting things about God. He can’t seem to see that the Kingdom of God and God HIMSELF, is standing in front of him. He’s only part way there.
“Rabbi, we know that you are a great teacher, we know that you are a wonder-worker, a prophet – we know that you utter divine truths.” And Jesus says gently “Nicodemus, you have to be born again to see the Kingdom of God.”
And Nicodemus is incredulous. “What are you talking about? Born again? How can you be born again?” And the Lord says “You must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Reading this passage about water and the spirit and illumination, we should be mindful of the beginning of the Bible – of Genesis, where for the first time there is again water, and Spirit, and light. The first verses of the first book of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the SPIRIT of God was moving over the face of the WATERS. And God said, ‘Let there be LIGHT” (Gen. 1.1-3).
So the Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must become a new creature. He must be recreated by the Spirit. And just as surely as the spirit of God brooded over the waters of chaos at the creation of the world, so the Spirit of God moves over the waters of Baptism – forming those who are becoming members of the Lord’s Body into new and spiritual creatures.
St. Paul writes “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6.3f).
The coming of Jesus Christ means the possibility of new life. It means the possibility of living in the truth of God himself, in the confession of Jesus as Lord. It means illumination – and not merely the ability to SEE the Kingdom of God, but to follow Christ and ENTER it.
Nicodemus appears once more in the Gospel of John, at the very end. He is one of the disciples who buries Jesus. Nicode'mus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. “They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there” (John 19.39ff).
The womb and the tomb. It is fitting that this disciple who hears the message of the possibility and the necessity of illumination through rebirth by water and the Spirit – this disciple is there at the tomb, seeing the material condition for our rebirth, that the Son of God came to earth to DIE, to take on all the sickness and sin that seeks to destroy us, to BEAR IT, to die under its weight, and to be laid in a tomb… by Nicodemus. All so that we can have life and light with and in and through and by HIM – by being made members of his crucified and risen Body – “the fullness of him who fills all in all”.
For us, this means bearing witness to him, showing him to those around us, and at the same time seeing him in those around us – in our brother and sister Christians, in the poor and the suffering, and even in our enemies. We may measure our life in the Spirit – our growth into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4.13) – we may mark our progress into the Kingdom thus: to what degree do we see him who IS the Kingdom everywhere?
For “unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
So spoke Jesus to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
The first thing to notice about this passage from John’s gospel is that Nicodemus comes to Jesus “at night”. On the surface, this means exactly what it says it means. But the gospel of John is always concerned with symbols – and light and darkness are symbols used and reused throughout John. The Gospel begins by saying that in Jesus was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1.4-5).
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. This is an image of Nicodemus coming to Jesus with a darkened heart and mind. Nicodemus comes to the Lord yet unilluminated by the light of the Truth. He comes out of the darkness of the world, the darkness of ignorance about God, and preeminently about what God had done in Christ.
And Nicodemus’s first words to the Lord manifest exactly this darkness. He says “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." How often do we hear similar talk about Jesus in our own lives – in the media, from friends and family, sometimes perhaps even on our own lips – that Jesus is certainly a great teacher who is in some sense divine, because he is said to have done amazing things, and his teaching was certainly interesting and revolutionary. “we know that you are a teacher come from God.”
And the Lord’s words to Nicodemus cut right to the heart of his darkness. Jesus doesn’t bother defending himself. He doesn’t bother with correcting Nicodemus on his doctrinal error. The next verse the Lord says “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus could not see the Kingdom of God, which was standing right in front of him. Remember that the Kingdom of God in Greek really means the REIGN of God – the sphere within which God’s will is done. And so Jesus is HIMSELF the Kingdom of God. He is the one in whom the Father’s will is done perfectly and completely. And so back then, if he were standing nearby, you were liable to hear a true prophet like John the Baptist cry out “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
Nicodemus sees in Jesus a clever teacher, perhaps even a sublime teacher, maybe like the Buddha, someone who teaches interesting things about God. He can’t seem to see that the Kingdom of God and God HIMSELF, is standing in front of him. He’s only part way there.
“Rabbi, we know that you are a great teacher, we know that you are a wonder-worker, a prophet – we know that you utter divine truths.” And Jesus says gently “Nicodemus, you have to be born again to see the Kingdom of God.”
And Nicodemus is incredulous. “What are you talking about? Born again? How can you be born again?” And the Lord says “You must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Reading this passage about water and the spirit and illumination, we should be mindful of the beginning of the Bible – of Genesis, where for the first time there is again water, and Spirit, and light. The first verses of the first book of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the SPIRIT of God was moving over the face of the WATERS. And God said, ‘Let there be LIGHT” (Gen. 1.1-3).
So the Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must become a new creature. He must be recreated by the Spirit. And just as surely as the spirit of God brooded over the waters of chaos at the creation of the world, so the Spirit of God moves over the waters of Baptism – forming those who are becoming members of the Lord’s Body into new and spiritual creatures.
St. Paul writes “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6.3f).
The coming of Jesus Christ means the possibility of new life. It means the possibility of living in the truth of God himself, in the confession of Jesus as Lord. It means illumination – and not merely the ability to SEE the Kingdom of God, but to follow Christ and ENTER it.
Nicodemus appears once more in the Gospel of John, at the very end. He is one of the disciples who buries Jesus. Nicode'mus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. “They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there” (John 19.39ff).
The womb and the tomb. It is fitting that this disciple who hears the message of the possibility and the necessity of illumination through rebirth by water and the Spirit – this disciple is there at the tomb, seeing the material condition for our rebirth, that the Son of God came to earth to DIE, to take on all the sickness and sin that seeks to destroy us, to BEAR IT, to die under its weight, and to be laid in a tomb… by Nicodemus. All so that we can have life and light with and in and through and by HIM – by being made members of his crucified and risen Body – “the fullness of him who fills all in all”.
For us, this means bearing witness to him, showing him to those around us, and at the same time seeing him in those around us – in our brother and sister Christians, in the poor and the suffering, and even in our enemies. We may measure our life in the Spirit – our growth into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4.13) – we may mark our progress into the Kingdom thus: to what degree do we see him who IS the Kingdom everywhere?
For “unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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