Moving from the night to the light. John 3:1-17
John 3:1-17
Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night.
Perhaps he comes in secret. Perhaps he is cautious
But John tells us it was night – and in John night is more than a time of day
Night is when we cannot see
Night is when we stumble (11:10)
Night is when we catch nothing (21:3)
And when Judas leaves the last supper and the presence of Jesus and goes out to betray him, we are told: ‘it was night’ (13:30)
Nicodemus comes in the night – yet he comes seeking light.
Many of us find ourselves in the spiritual night.
We may think we see clearly – yet remain blind to God
Or we stumble through life, overwhelmed by emotions of anger or resentment or frustration, living unfulfilled lives that seem to mean nothing
We grasp at things that promise life but they leave us colder, harder and darker.
So how, with Nicodemus, do we move from the night to the day, from darkness into light?
Four things from our passage.
1. We need to be born of the Spirit
Nicodemus says to Jesus, “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”.
And Jesus replies, “No one can see the Kingdom of God without been born again”.
In other words, Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, “you cannot see that I am from God not because you are coming to me at night, but because the night is still in you.”
If you want the light then you need to be born from above.
The Greek for born from above could mean ‘born again’ – which is where we get the idea of a born again Christian.
That is how Nicodemus understands it. He asks how a grown person can go back into his mother’s womb.
But Jesus is using earthly language to speak of heavenly realities. And he is talking here – and we can see it as we read through verses 5-8 – about being ‘born of the Spirit’.
The point is that when we are born, we are physically alive, but to see the Kingdom of God we need to become spiritually alive.
We are like a sponge. The body is there, but if we are to be what we are created to be, we need to allow the water of the Spirit to soak through us.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night.
Perhaps he comes in secret. Perhaps he is cautious
 |
| Nicodemus Visiting Jesus, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1899 |
But John tells us it was night – and in John night is more than a time of day
Night is when we cannot see
Night is when we stumble (11:10)
Night is when we catch nothing (21:3)
And when Judas leaves the last supper and the presence of Jesus and goes out to betray him, we are told: ‘it was night’ (13:30)
Nicodemus comes in the night – yet he comes seeking light.
Many of us find ourselves in the spiritual night.
We may think we see clearly – yet remain blind to God
Or we stumble through life, overwhelmed by emotions of anger or resentment or frustration, living unfulfilled lives that seem to mean nothing
We grasp at things that promise life but they leave us colder, harder and darker.
So how, with Nicodemus, do we move from the night to the day, from darkness into light?
Four things from our passage.
1. We need to be born of the Spirit
Nicodemus says to Jesus, “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”.
And Jesus replies, “No one can see the Kingdom of God without been born again”.
In other words, Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, “you cannot see that I am from God not because you are coming to me at night, but because the night is still in you.”
If you want the light then you need to be born from above.
The Greek for born from above could mean ‘born again’ – which is where we get the idea of a born again Christian.
That is how Nicodemus understands it. He asks how a grown person can go back into his mother’s womb.
But Jesus is using earthly language to speak of heavenly realities. And he is talking here – and we can see it as we read through verses 5-8 – about being ‘born of the Spirit’.
The point is that when we are born, we are physically alive, but to see the Kingdom of God we need to become spiritually alive.
We are like a sponge. The body is there, but if we are to be what we are created to be, we need to allow the water of the Spirit to soak through us.
And as we invite and allow the Holy Spirit to come into us, he will transform and fill everything. He will change our thinking, our memories, our will, our feeling, our sensing. He will transform our seeing.
Imagine that you have never been able to see. You’ve just had groundbreaking surgery. And as they move the bandages from your eyes, for the first time in your life you see light, you see shapes. The world you thought that you knew is very different. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. They begin to see the world in a new way.
As C. S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen — not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
2. We need to see the cross in a new way
Nicodemus claimed to be able to see that Jesus was from God because of the powerful miracles that he did.
We see ‘God’, whatever that word means to us, in the powerful, successful, extraordinary.
We certainly do not see God in a man being executed.
What we see there is failure and God forsakenness.
But Jesus tells Nicodemus that he is going to be crucified. He is going to be lifted up on a pole – just like Moses 2000 years earlier, lifted up a bronze statue of a serpent on a pole in the wilderness.
If we are looking at the cross with earthly eyes, then what we will see is a symbol of weakness and shame and defeat.
Imagine that you have never been able to see. You’ve just had groundbreaking surgery. And as they move the bandages from your eyes, for the first time in your life you see light, you see shapes. The world you thought that you knew is very different. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. They begin to see the world in a new way.
As C. S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen — not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
2. We need to see the cross in a new way
Nicodemus claimed to be able to see that Jesus was from God because of the powerful miracles that he did.
We see ‘God’, whatever that word means to us, in the powerful, successful, extraordinary.
We certainly do not see God in a man being executed.
What we see there is failure and God forsakenness.
But Jesus tells Nicodemus that he is going to be crucified. He is going to be lifted up on a pole – just like Moses 2000 years earlier, lifted up a bronze statue of a serpent on a pole in the wilderness.
If we are looking at the cross with earthly eyes, then what we will see is a symbol of weakness and shame and defeat.
But if we are looking at the cross with spirit inspired eyes then we see something very different.
We see Jesus who emptied himself of heaven and came down to earth as one of us returning to heaven – but returning to heaven by the way of obedience, sacrifice and astounding love.
“No one has ascended into heaven except one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man”
We see Jesus who loves us so much that he took our sin onto himself and died in our place. but as the way that Jesus, who came down from heaven, is returning to heaven, to be with the Father.
We see not defeat but triumph over the forces of evil and sin and death. And we see healing. Just as the people in the wilderness 2000 years ago had looked at the serpent with faith and were healed, so we look at Jesus on the cross and receive forgiveness, healing and new life.
The cross is not defeat. It is the moment when heaven’s love is revealed.
3. We need to see the love of God
John 3:16 is one of those verses that every Christian should know by heart.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
It is one of four remarkable verses that we hear read every time we say the confession when we use the BCP communion service.
It speaks of the astonishing love of God the Father, who gives us his Son, who sent his Son into the world for us.
The Father loves the Son with a depth beyond anything we can imagine. They have been one from all eternity — sharing one life, one will, one joy, and one love.
We see Jesus who emptied himself of heaven and came down to earth as one of us returning to heaven – but returning to heaven by the way of obedience, sacrifice and astounding love.
“No one has ascended into heaven except one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man”
We see Jesus who loves us so much that he took our sin onto himself and died in our place. but as the way that Jesus, who came down from heaven, is returning to heaven, to be with the Father.
We see not defeat but triumph over the forces of evil and sin and death. And we see healing. Just as the people in the wilderness 2000 years ago had looked at the serpent with faith and were healed, so we look at Jesus on the cross and receive forgiveness, healing and new life.
The cross is not defeat. It is the moment when heaven’s love is revealed.
3. We need to see the love of God
John 3:16 is one of those verses that every Christian should know by heart.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
It is one of four remarkable verses that we hear read every time we say the confession when we use the BCP communion service.
It speaks of the astonishing love of God the Father, who gives us his Son, who sent his Son into the world for us.
The Father loves the Son with a depth beyond anything we can imagine. They have been one from all eternity — sharing one life, one will, one joy, and one love.
So when Scripture speaks of the Father giving his Son, we are not meant to picture a parent sacrificing a helpless child.
Rather I think that we are to think of a parent sending their adult child on a rescue mission, a mission that the child is willing to go on, even though both parent and child know that death is almost certain.
The Father gives the Son who shares his own life and heart — the One in whom he delights – for you.
And the Son comes willingly, sharing the Father’s love and purpose.
What this tells us is extraordinary:
God loves us so deeply, and desires our life so completely, that he is willing to give us the most precious thing that he has. In Christ he enters our darkness, lostness, our abandonment, he takes onto himself our sin and even our death, in order to bring us home.
4. We need to be willing to learn to believe in Jesus
V15: ‘That whoever believes in him (the one raised on a pole) may have eternal life’
V16: ‘That everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life’
V18: ‘Those who believe in him are not condemned’
To believe in Jesus is not just about intellectual assent: believing things about Jesus.
It is not about simply saying a prayer of commitment. It can begin with a prayer of commitment, but it is so much more.
To believe in Jesus is to begin to live our lives trusting in him. Trusting that he is the One sent from God to rescue us and die for us. Trusting that he is the One who gives us the Holy Spirit, light, love and life.
It is to reach out my hand to take hold of the invisible hand, and to know that he is with me.
It is to take into myself his words and live them, even if they take me to difficult places.
It is to look to him and know myself beloved and forgiven and called.
Nicodemus who first came to Jesus at night, it seems, goes on this journey with Jesus.
In 7:50 he appears again and – although does not specifically speak in favour of Jesus to the Pharisees – argues that they need to give him a hearing before condemning him.
And in 19:39 he is more bold: he steps into the light, carrying the broken body of Jesus.
He came in darkness and he now walks in costly love.
O Holy Spirit, as we struggle in the night, we call out to you to come to us and to bring your light. Show us the wonder and the victory of the cross. Help us to grow in our understanding of your deep love for us and what you had to give to rescue us. Grow in us a deeper trust in Jesus, that we may place our hand in his hand and walk in his light.
Rather I think that we are to think of a parent sending their adult child on a rescue mission, a mission that the child is willing to go on, even though both parent and child know that death is almost certain.
The Father gives the Son who shares his own life and heart — the One in whom he delights – for you.
And the Son comes willingly, sharing the Father’s love and purpose.
What this tells us is extraordinary:
God loves us so deeply, and desires our life so completely, that he is willing to give us the most precious thing that he has. In Christ he enters our darkness, lostness, our abandonment, he takes onto himself our sin and even our death, in order to bring us home.
4. We need to be willing to learn to believe in Jesus
V15: ‘That whoever believes in him (the one raised on a pole) may have eternal life’
V16: ‘That everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life’
V18: ‘Those who believe in him are not condemned’
To believe in Jesus is not just about intellectual assent: believing things about Jesus.
It is not about simply saying a prayer of commitment. It can begin with a prayer of commitment, but it is so much more.
To believe in Jesus is to begin to live our lives trusting in him. Trusting that he is the One sent from God to rescue us and die for us. Trusting that he is the One who gives us the Holy Spirit, light, love and life.
It is to reach out my hand to take hold of the invisible hand, and to know that he is with me.
It is to take into myself his words and live them, even if they take me to difficult places.
It is to look to him and know myself beloved and forgiven and called.
Nicodemus who first came to Jesus at night, it seems, goes on this journey with Jesus.
In 7:50 he appears again and – although does not specifically speak in favour of Jesus to the Pharisees – argues that they need to give him a hearing before condemning him.
And in 19:39 he is more bold: he steps into the light, carrying the broken body of Jesus.
He came in darkness and he now walks in costly love.
O Holy Spirit, as we struggle in the night, we call out to you to come to us and to bring your light. Show us the wonder and the victory of the cross. Help us to grow in our understanding of your deep love for us and what you had to give to rescue us. Grow in us a deeper trust in Jesus, that we may place our hand in his hand and walk in his light.
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