John 3:9-15

John 3:9-15

Nicodemus replied and said to Him, “How are these things powerful enough to become?”  Jesus replied and said to him, “You are a teacher of Israel and you do not know these things?  Amen, amen.  I say to you, we speak about that which we have known and we testify about that which we have seen.  And you all do not receive our testimony.  If we spoke to you about earthly things and you do not believe, if then I should speak to you about heavenly things how will you all believe?  And no one has ascended to heaven except the one who descended out of heaven: the Son of Man.  And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, thus it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up in order that all the ones who believe in Him should have eternal life.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As Jesus talks with Nicodemus, one of the things to which Jesus points to is that the disciple must submit to the disciple maker.  Jesus tells Nicodemus quite clearly in John 3:11 that He and His disciples have been speaking truth.  They are not hiding anything!  The problem is that the Jewish leaders are not submitting.  They are not even willing to listen, much less hear!  Because they want to be in charge and they want to mandate what should and should not be said, they are unwilling to even recognize the authority that Jesus and His followers are using to speak.  This is a common problem with us in modernity as well.  We want to be our own masters.  We often do not want to listen fully to that which God is saying.  In fact, we often do not embrace that which is spoken plainly in our midst.  How then can we possible hear the deeper meaning of discipleship if we will not listen to the plain?

Why is submission so difficult?  Why is it easier to listen to those people who are saying what we want them to say rather than those who call for submission so that a part of who we are can change?  Religiously speaking, what example can you give of a people who do not truly listen that that which is plainly spoken before them?

Second Thought:

Along these same lines, we must also be open to hearing.  It is one thing to know the need to submit and listen, but it is another thing to actually do it.  The idea that Nicodemus struggles with so much is this idea of new birth.  But what is surprising is that this is not a new idea to Jesus and His followers!  Read Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 18:31, and Ezekiel 36:26.  In those passages and the context around those versus we gather in an understanding that God has been about creating a new spirit within His followers for a long time!  If we even look back into the story of the Patriarchs, how many name changes to we see?  Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, and Jacob becomes Israel.  Our God is fundamentally about taking us as flawed human beings and creating a new spirit within us.  The problem is not that God had changed; the problem is that the Jewish leaders are not open to hearing about it.  Again, how true is this about each of us?  Am I truly open to hearing about how God needs me to have a new spirit?  Am I truly open to hearing about what God wants to do within me?  Or am I really only open to hearing those voices of people who validate my already pre-existing thoughts and patterns?

Why is change so difficult?  Why do we not want to hear about God creating a new spirit within us?  Why do we cling to the fleshly creation rather than embrace being born again in the Spirit?

Third Thought:

Towards the end of this passage, Jesus also speaks about the Son of Man being lifted up in the wilderness.  I think Jesus has a double meaning here.  The phrase Jesus uses about where the Son of Man is to be lifted up is ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ (en te eremo, the title of my other blog).  This literally means, “in the wilderness.”  It is the exact description of the place where John the Baptizer was teaching.  I believe the hidden message here is that Jesus is speaking about the Son of Man being lifted up – testified to – by John the Baptizer.  Metaphorically speaking, we as Christians living in this fallen world are also called to lift up Christ in the wilderness (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ).  I believe this is a hidden teaching that is often overlooked.

Of course, then there is also the common understanding of this passage.  The Son of Man will be lifted up on a cross.  The cross, an implement of destruction and death, will become an implement upon which Jesus Christ is glorified.  Through the death of Jesus Christ as He is lifted up, we can truly know forgiveness and salvation.

What do you think of this double-meaning of Jesus being lifted up?  Do you believe your sins were forgiven when the Son of Man was lifted up?  Do you continue to lift up Jesus Christ in the midst of the wilderness of the world in which we live?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 3:16-21