Lent 2A Gospel
John 3:1-17
Lisa Michaels
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”[i]
It’s likely the best known verse in all of Scripture. It’s certainly one of the first that is taught to children within the church.
Memorize this to earn points toward a candy bar in Sunday School or at vacation Bible School.
Say these words before your baptism.
If you’re in a pinch when someone asks what your favorite verse is, or even your life verse, go ahead and quote these words you learned by rote.
Put them on your stadium posters.
Write them in your journals.
If you only learn one thing from the church, this is it.
Somehow, I’m not convinced that Jesus specifically intended these words to be the only ones we remember. In fact, they don’t even seem to be particularly or meticulously planned. They are not a part of a teaching or a sermon. Actually, they might not even be his! It depends on where one drops the quotations, and in many (most? all?) translations; the red words of Jesus end at verse 15. So, how did we get here?
“Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’”[ii]
The way I understand it, Nicodemus had his feet planted firmly in both the power of the religious world (as a Pharisee) and the power of the political world (as a member of the Jewish ruling council). This tension might have been enough to break anyone—look at how Christians are currently dealing with political conflict in the world, today—but just in case it wasn’t enough; Nicodemus also wondered if there might be a third way, perhaps a third worldview or power. After all, the things Jesus did only made sense if he also was set apart, somewhere in this constructed power structure. And so we find him, a man who by any account has enough authority to question anyone, anywhere, at any time, however he sees fit, coming to Jesus under the cover of darkness.
Jesus could have said it, right then and there. The words of John 3:16 could, instead, be the words of John 3:3. Jesus could have cleared it all up with, “God loved the world. God sent the Son. I’m the Son… the Messiah… That’s how all of this works.”
But instead, in (un)clear ‘Jesus fashion’—the stuff that parables and metaphors and deep thinking as opposed to easy answers are made of—Jesus responds with something ridiculous!
“Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above,”[iii] or put another way, “without being born again.”[iv]
Wait! What?
I have five children. Giving birth to an eight or nine pound baby is really hard! Giving birth to a full grown adult? I have a sixteen year old son who stands six feet tall. I have been watching and waiting for the birth of April the giraffe’s new calf with great interest. But as a human, no thank you. Just… No. That’s too hard… way… too… hard. Sometimes I think we’re tough on biblical characters, especially characters like Nicodemus. We laugh or roll our eyes when his response is, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”[v]
But if this passage wasn’t so familiar, wouldn’t we ask the same thing? Jesus seemingly expects the impossible when he speaks of a second birth. Scratch that. Jesus, indeed, expects the impossible.
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”[vi]
This is a difficult teaching for someone so well and widely learned. If Jesus had asked Nicodemus to enter again, into his mother’s womb; Nicodemus might have walked out of the shadows and into the light, convinced that he was OK. He had erred. There was no third way. The power of religion and politics would do. With familiarity would have come a sigh of relief. But Jesus requires something that cannot be understood, at least not in terms with which this teacher is familiar.
At first glance, it appears that Nicodemus may be incredulously pushing back against Jesus’ instruction. His words, “How can these things be,” may indicate that Nicodemus finds the expectation unattainable. He may echo Zechariah’s unbelief upon hearing that he will become a father in his very old age or Sarah’s laughter regarding her pregnancy with Isaac. It’s both interesting and ironic that God tends to use the birth of babies to confound us all, time and time again! But it could be something else. Jesus indicated that Nicodemus is surprised as opposed to indignant. Sometimes, we do not consider all of the potential definitions of a word or phrase. Nicodemus does not understand (as Jesus will quickly point out), but he may not be speaking in defiance. He may, instead, be asking for clarification to inspire action, “What do you mean by this? How does this happen?”[vii]
Jesus’ answer is simple, if convicting: You’re a great teacher, but you don’t ‘get it.’ You must trust the testimony (of both Jesus and the people).[viii] Similarly, we also must trust the first person accounts of those we encounter. Nicodemus asks for answers about heavenly things—about a world that is to come—but Jesus responds by asking Nicodemus to take a step back and consider earthly things, as well—to listen intently to the testimony of those in his midst… to be a redemptive agent in the world.
I wonder if there is something to be said, here, regarding power and the ability to act on the behalf of those who testify to oppression. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Nicodemus was a politician. Nicodemus had the power to coerce or liberate.
Much like a baby is pushed forth from the womb, Jesus’ words birth a new Nicodemus, one who walks out of the cover of darkness and, although we do not have access to his entire narrative moving forward, does indeed go on to defend Jesus publicly[ix] and also to participate in the preparation of Jesus’ dead body, for burial.[x] These are not acts of an unchanged, power-hungry man. These are instead Nicodemus’ own testimony to the inexplicable movement of the wind, of the Spirit, of a second birth.
It’s safe to assume that John’s commentary on Jesus’ words had no direct impact on this New Testament leader of the people. Yet, I wonder if Nicodemus’ changed life directed John to pen them:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”[xi]
Prior to the secret encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus; the Pharisee, the ruler, might have been both unbelieving and a condemning presence in his social context. Afterward, however, it appears that he became just the kind of person who partners with God, entering into the redemptive work of saving the world.
For a man of great power, that looks a little bit like accomplishing the impossible!
[i] John 3:16 (NRSV)
[ii] John 3:1-2
[iii] John 3:3
[iv] See John 3:3 (NIV)
[v] John 3:4 (NRSV)
[vi] John 3:5-9
[vii] John 3:9 (MSG)
[viii] See John 3:10-15 (NRSV)
[ix] See John 7:50-52
[x] See John 19:39-40
[xi] John 3:16-17
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