The Gospel of John: John 3.1-10

Read and meditate on John 3.9, 10.
Poor Nicodemus. All that training. Those coveted credentials. That prestige within the community, and camaraderie with his colleagues. All that waxing eloquent about this, that, and the other, and all that citing and quoting trusted rabbis and traditions. And yet he didn’t have a clue what Jesus was talking about.

                            ⁹Nicodemus answered, “I
cannot imagine how these things can be!”
¹⁰And Jesus answered, “So, you claim to be
the teacher of all Israel, yet you do
not understand these things?”

- John 3.9, 10

Reflect
1.  Let’s not be mistaken about Nicodemus. He was not unschooled. He was the teacher of Israel (as the Greek makes clear). But all his learning was getting him nowhere. How should the plight of Nicodemus encourage us in the presence of today’s credentialed Gospel-detractors and God-deniers?  Complete the following brief prayer: Lord, even though the brightest thinkers of this day deny You and reject the Gospel, still I know that…

2.  What if Jesus had tried to make Himself and His message compatible with Nicodemus’ ability to reason things through to a conclusion? Would that have been a good idea? Why or why not? Your Word and Spirit give life, Lord, not…

3.  Nicodemus is stuck on how. Many people who hold to a rationalistic view of life want to know how there can be a spiritual realm, God, and so forth, when you can’t see such things. But Jesus did not answer Nicodemus’ “How?”from Nicodemus’ earthly perspective. He launched the conversation into a totally new dimension, that of the Spirit. Why? How does John 6.63 help us to understand Jesus’ method? How should Jesus’ method counsel us in talking with unbelievers? I know, Lord, that I could never answer every objection or question about how the Gospel can be true. But what I can do is…

4.  There is in Jesus’ answer in verse 10 a bit of a deliberate intention of humbling Nicodemus. If Nicodemus was the teacher of Israel, he should have been acquainted with the teachings of the prophets about Jesus and His message. Is Jesus being mean or unloving here? Should somebody say to Him, “You’re going to hurt his feelings, Lord?” Explain. Lord, when You humble me, I…

5.  John’s message in this interview with Nicodemus is clear, and it serves to guide us in reading everything that follows: If you think you can figure out this Man and His work and message from your finite, rational, perspective, think again. Get ready to entertain new ideas about reality, truth, and what it means to live. How does this counsel us with respect to our calling in the Kingdom of God? Bring together into one prayer the prayers you composed from questions 1-4.

Summary
“Do we think that the Lord meant to insult this master of the Jews? The Lord knew what he was doing. He wanted the man to be born of the Spirit. No one is born of the Spirit if he is not humble, for humility itself makes us born of the Spirit since ‘the Lord is near to those who are of a broken heart.’ The man was puffed up with his mastery, and it appeared of some importance to him that he was a teacher of the Jews. Jesus pulled down his pride so that he might be born of the Spirit.” Augustine (354-430 AD)

Jesus could be brutal against self-seeking, God-dishonoring people, as we saw when He cleansed the temple. But He could be just as effective in humbling people by helping them gently, gradually, to see the inadequacy of their worldview. This is what we see with Nicodemus. This story will not end with Nicodemus praying the sinner’s prayer and receiving Jesus. What can we learn from Jesus here about our own witness to lost people?

Closing Prayer
O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
Like the chaff before the wind!
As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,
So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 83.13-18

Psalm 83.1-3, 16-18 (St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought)
O God, do not be quiet now; do not be silent, nor be still!
See how Your foes erupt in a row and those who hate You chafe at Your will.
Shrewdly they plan, conspiring as one against Your daughters and Your sons.

Fill with dishonor every face that they may seek Your Name, O Lord.
Bring them to shame, dismay, and disgrace, and let them perish under Your word,
That they may learn Your infinite worth, O God Most High of all the earth!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.