5/26 Sermon - The Way Into Jesus’ Kingdom: Humility, Baptism, Faith

John 3:1-16

3:1-2 - A visit in the night

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.”

- It’s Saturday. You just worked all day. You mowed the lawn, trimmed the bushes, washed the windows, cleaned the gutters, and vacuumed behind all the furniture. It’ 10pm, and you’re exhausted. Your bed feels so comfortable. You lie down and fall asleep. *Knock, Knock, knock* You hear a loud knock. It’s 2am. You look out your window, and a man stands there. What do you do? Call the cops? Pull out your 357 magnum you have hidden? Turn the lights on and scream?

- Nicodemus came to Jesus in the dead of night. He had one question. “Who are you? And why are you here?” Jesus didn’t shoot him or chase him away. He talked with Nicodemus. Jesus saw a chance to share with Nicodemus, in a 1-on-1, personal setting, the summary of his gospel, which is this: The kingdom of God. Jesus told Nicodemus the way into God’s Kingdoms.

3:3-4 – Humility

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.  “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

- With one statement Jesus shattered Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He believed that he was already in God’s kingdom simply because he was a Jew. He was already saved because he was a good person. Illustration: Pharisees were like a really annoying home owners association.

- And, we’re told later, Nicodemus was the teacher of Israel, a prominent ruler on the council. Nicodemus was one of the most famous people in Israel. Everyone in Israel knew Nicodemus. If anybody was going to be saved by their ethnicity, their outward life, it was Nicodemus.

- We all have a little Nicodemus living in our hearts, we have a little Pharisee. It is so easy to us to be prideful. To say, “I’m a Christian. I follow God’s law. I’m a pretty person. Sure, I’m a sinner, but I’m better than they guy or girl over there.”

- It doesn’t matter if we’re Nicodemus, Mother Teresa, or the kindness grandma in the world. We are sinners. We deserve hell. All the suffering and problems and pain in this world is because we sin. That message makes many people very angry. It can make us angry. This repeats this truth in v. 6, “Flesh gives birth to flesh.”

- Humility. Repentance. Confessing, not just our sins, but our sinfulness as human beings. Every single one of us. The first way into God’s kingdom, Jesus says, is humbly acknowledging our sin.

3:5-8 – Baptism

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are 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.”

- Is this unclear? How is one born again? How does one enter the kingdom? Unless they are born of water and Spirit. Baptism! This is baptism with water and the world. Water baptism is one of the most important teachings of the church because it’s so ‘in your face’ so a couple of reasons.

- It’s completely outside of us, right? Does a baby choose to be born? Do they keep track of the time on a watch? No! It just happens.  

- And this really gets ‘in your face’ when it comes to infant baptism. Someone can say they agree with Jesus here in chapter 3. But then they see a baby baptized. It’s almost insulting! We think, “A baby can’t believe on their own! They can’t decide something. They can’t choose what to wear.” But they are baptized. What does that say about my spiritual life apart from Jesus? But Scripture clearly teaches this, especially here, that faith doesn’t depend on us. Not by our choosing. We’re born again by water and by Spirit. If someone really believes these words, infant baptism is a no brainer.

- What a comfort this is 8. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” You have been adopted into God’s family. If two parents adopted a child, they would be appalled if someone referred to that child as just their “adopted” child. That child is their child. That’s how God views you by baptism. You are sons and daughters of, inheritors of eternal life.

- Can we explain this? No. But we believe it. Jesus tells us that with a picture.

- Do you know where wind comes from? I did a minute of googling and found this: The sun heats up the air over the equator. The hot air rises and creates a ripple effect all over the globe. We can build wind turbines to use the wind. But unless we make the sun obey us, we cannot create wind. There’s a metaphor there I won’t talk about today. We can see the trees swaying, the wheat fields waving, the dust spinning, but we can’t control the wind.

- A baby is baptized. What happened exactly? I don’t know. But the Spirit worked. Somone believes in Jesus, another rejects Jesus.  One church grows, another dies out. The gospel spreads in this country. Not in that one. Why? I don’t know!

3:14-16 – Faith

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.

- The venomous snakes covered the whole camp, slithered into tents and beds, and bit everyone they saw. Many died. The Israelites had complained against God. He punished them. In humility, they then confessed their sins! They pleaded to God through Moses to salvation. God answered. Moses constructed a bronze snake on a pole and lifted it up. Everyone who looked at it would be cured. How foolish is that? Were there people who didn’t look, maybe? Who died because of that unbelief? Just looking at the bronze snake would save someone? That’s what God did. He made a promise and said, “Trust in that promise.”

- Faith always has an object. Faith is only as strong as the object. ILLUSTRATION: a pen flying me home won’t work, no matter how hard I believe or sincere it is. A plane flown by a skilled pilot WILL, even if I’m terrified.

- The way into God’s kingdom is this: Faith. Not by our works or our decision or by our effort, like Nicodemus believed and so many today believe. But faith. Jesus tells us really two objects for our faith in these verses;

- First object: Jesus. He lived a perfect life of humility under his Father. He took all our sin on his shoulders. He was lifted up on the cross and died in our place. Everyone who believes in Jesus, who trusts in Jesus as Savior, Redeemer, King, will have eternal life. We have faith in Jesus. We have life.

- Second object: God the Father. God so loved the world. He looked at the world, at me, at you, and he saw sin. Selfishness. Pride. Dirty, rotten sinners. God still loved us. The entire world. He loved us so much he sent is one and only Son. That’s what love is. It’s not a feeling. It’s an action of sacrifice. We have faith in God’s love. We have life.

- The way into God’s kingdom, into salvation, is faith in something outside of me. Faith in Jesus, in the love of God.

The way into the kingdom: Keep it simple

- Nicodemus heard all of this, and he asks Jesus in v. 9, “How can this be?” How? The way into God’s kingdom isn’t my actions? My decision? My knowledge? How can this possibly be?

- We have a tendency to overcomplicated, over think, over do. “The more I know, the easier and better everything will be.” Have you ever thought that before? How about this, “If I just do more, put more time in, then my job, house, family, will get better”? We are so easily convinced, as human beings, that everything relies on us. On me. Even as Christians! “I need to be a super Christian. Try harder. I need to figure out some kind of secret knowledge of God.” This leads to a lot of arrogance or despair.

- Nicodemus had ALL the PhDs. But he still missed it. Nicodemus wanted something more. He missed John 3:16.

- 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.

- Jesus said, “Keep it simple.” Jesus told him the simple message of the kingdom. We are sinners. We are reborn through baptism, water and the Spirit. We are saved through faith in Jesus.

- My only encouragement for you today is this: Keep it simple. Nicodemus knew so much. He was learned, rich, and famous. But he missed the simple way into God’s kingdom. Keep it simple.

- There is so much in this world that takes our attention, right? So much to cause us pain. So much restlessness.

- As you grow in your faith and in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, as you navigate the complexities of this world, as you live in a world of fear, pain, sadness, as you live with your family and friends, keep it simple. Go back again and again to the simple truths we find in John 3: repentance, baptism with water and Spirit, faith in Jesus for salvation.