Coming Home: Finding Life

Message Coming Home: Finding Life

Scripture: John 3:1-21

Today we are continuing our sermon series called Coming Home. Along the way, we’ve been asking the question: What do we find when we come home to life with Jesus? Two weeks ago we looked at the story of the Prodigal Son, which is the story of a young man who wasted his father’s gift in wild living and found himself beaten down and alone in the world. Eventually he made the decision to go home, where he found his father waiting with open arms and extravagant love. Last week we looked at the calling of the first disciples and how they dropped their nets and found new purpose in Christ. Today we turn to a different book- the Gospel of John- to explore what is undoubtedly the most famous conversation in the Bible. I invite you to turn with me to the John 3. 

Now, before we get too far ahead, I think it’s important for you to some background information about this book. John is one of four “Gospels” in the Bible; one of four “eyewitness accounts” that leave behind a journal of sorts of Jesus’ daily life, ministry and activity. John was one of those first followers who stood by Jesus’ side and saw some pretty incredible happenings. He was there when Jesus healed people who were sick; he was there when Jesus challenged the status quo; and he was there when Jesus was nailed to a cross and left to die by the Roman government. And while all this was happening, John experienced a spiritual transformation, which became his motivation for writing this book. In chapter 20, John spells out his grand hope for all who read his writings: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John’s reason for writing is a hope that lives inside of him, the hope that you and I might come to know the deep joy, passion and purpose that he knew to be true in his life.  So, let’s dig into this story and discover what John wants us to see.

The story begins with a man named Nicodemus, who has some serious social clout. We’re told that he’s a Pharisee, and what you need to know about that word is that it means Nicodemus was a religious professional. He’s been theologically trained and spends his waking hours talking about God and the things of God. If he were alive today, he would enjoy heading down to Aegis Coffee Shop and shooting the breeze about faith or listening to his favorite spiritual podcast. He might even run the risk of falling into a trap of being so heavenly minded that he’s of no earthly good. Have you heard that before? People who talk the talk about spiritual, but rarely allow that talk to manifest is transforming action? That’s the picture we have of the Pharisees. 

Now, the Pharisees weren’t quite sure what to do with Jesus. He was the ultimate enigma. Jesus challenged them to actually live out the faith they professed. He made them think about what they were doing, why they were doing it and how their actions affected others. And more than anything, Jesus did things they simply could not do. And I have to believe they grew a bit jealous. Here’s just one example: One day during worship, a man with an injured hand walked in. It was the Sabbath day, which was to be a day of rest with no work, but Jesus couldn’t sit by and do nothing. So out of compassion, he healed the man. And this infuriated the Pharisees. Some wanted him dead; others just wanted to shut him up and make him go away. But Nicodemus felt that slight tug deep in his gut. For some reason, he was intrigued. For some reason he was beginning to wonder if there was more to this man Jesus…and before he knew it he was on a mission to find answers to all of his questions. 

Now, Nicodemus probably wouldn’t have considered himself lost, at least not in the same way the Prodigal Son was lost. The Prodigal Son came to the point where he knew he was lost and had nothing left. He had bottomed out. He was the type of person who couldn’t hide his “lostness.” And his only hope was to go back home. But Nicodemus was a different kind of lost. He had the training, the intellect, the credentials, the social standing, but when he met Jesus, he saw something he did not have. In Jesus, he saw an intimacy with God, a deep and abiding faith that didn’t reflect his own experience. In Jesus he saw a demonstration of God’s power through healing and teaching, events that produced radically changed lives and large group of followers. That never happened when Nicodemus and buddies got together. And in Jesus, Nicodemus saw a man who had a different perspective on life, one oozing with hope-filled expectation that God was always on the move and up to something good. And even though Nicodemus couldn’t verbalize what he saw, he felt it deep within:  There was something really important missing in his life. 

One of the greatest preachers who ever lived, John Wesley, the father of us Methodists, once discovered that he had a little bit of Nicodemus inside of him. While sailing home to England from a trip to America, the ship carrying Wesley was caught in a fierce storm. It was so fierce that Wesley thought he was going to die. As he cried out to God, struggling to maintain his composure, he was stunned when he heard some of his traveling companions weather the storm by singing. Here he was, a noted scholar and preacher, a self-made success story, with a faith that withered when it was put to the test. Like Nicodemus, John Wesley knew he was missing something. There was a lot of church in his life, but very little transformation. 

So back to Nicodemus. Unable to shake this feeling that he’s missing out on something important, Nicodemus sets out to find Jesus. He has questions and needs answers. He has hopes and fears that need to be addressed. But mostly, I think Nicodemus simply had a yearning for more. Whatever made Jesus, Jesus, and whatever set Jesus apart to be unlike anyone Nicodemus had ever met, he wanted it!  But he also didn’t want anyone else to know, so he waited until it was dark to go looking. 

Taking that first step toward Jesus is always a leap of faith. You can almost hear the voices that tried to sway Nicodemus, because they’re the same voices we hear from time to time. Oh, so you’re gonna become one of those holy rollers now? Don’t tell me you’re buying in to this guy’s sales pitch? Church? Who needs church? That’s just a waste of time. I have no doubt that you’ve fought off all sorts of reasons to take that first step toward Jesus, all sorts of distractions that try to keep you where you are. And Nicodemus had them too. But he just had to find out if Jesus was the real deal. And when he arrives at Jesus’ doorstep, he discovers more than even he could’ve expected: He stumbles upon the biggest scandal of grace, a scandal so large that it promised to fill every void in his heart. 

Before he even gets a chance to ask his questions, Jesus takes over the show and says, “Nicodemus, I know why you’ve come. And here’s my answer: You need to born from above.” It didn’t make sense to head-scratching Nicodemus at first. How can a person be born again? But Jesus goes on to explain. Nicodemus, only God can give us what we long for. Only God’s Spirit can produce in us the type of love and character that we want. Only an act of God can bring us life, life that is both abundant and everlasting. I’m not sure what went through Nicodemus’ mind, but I have a feeling he scrolled back in his memory and thought about all the different ways he attempted to achieve spiritual success. All the years of studying; all the years of trying to be kind, to be loving and compassionate; all the years of trying to prove to himself that he could be holy and righteous; all the years of holding out his life in front of God, saying here, is this good enough? But it never quite worked. And he knew it. 

As Nicodemus tries to wrap his mind around this mind-blowing news, Jesus again breaks in and gets to the point. “Nicodemus, For God so loved the world that he took the most scandalous action in history. He sent his own Son, Jesus, into a dark world that any and all who believe in him, would find life both abundant and forever. That’s what Nicodemus needed to hear that day. It was never about him. It was never about how hard he tried. It was about God doing whatever it takes to bring life to God’s people. Nicodemus, the intrigued Pharisee, the religious scholar, went searching for answers, but instead discovered the Son of God who offered him a new and restored life. 

You now, this story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, because we’re never fully told how Nicodemus responds. The Bible never quite tells us how his story ends. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe we’re supposed to see ourselves in Nicodemus’ shoes- self-made people who find ourselves uncomfortably challenged, but yet intrigued by his invitation to be born in a new way, where God remakes us into the people we were always meant to be. I don’t know about you, but that’s something I desperately want. And the only way I know how to make that real is to offer myself fully to God say, “Jesus, only you can do this in me,” and believe that he’s going to do it.