Participants:
Series Code: PJU
Program Code: PJU190003A
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00:03 Were the people in the Bible any different to us today?
00:10 Or ordinary people like you and me? 00:22 What can we find out from their lives 00:24 that will help us? 00:29 Find out with Pastor Geoff Yuolden 00:31 and Rosemary Malkiewycz, 00:32 here on "People Just Like Us." 00:37 It's good to have you with us. 00:39 Today we will discuss another person in the Bible 00:42 and see what important lessons we can learn from his life. 00:46 So you have an intriguing title for this program, Geoff. 00:50 Who is the man that was born twice? 00:54 Well, it is an intriguing title. 00:55 But there was a man that was born twice, 00:58 his name was Nicodemus. 01:00 Actually the Nicodemus in the Bible, 01:01 now while the Bible doesn't tell us this. 01:04 Nevertheless, it's interesting that there are many thinkers 01:08 who feel that his original name 01:10 or his full name was Nicodemus Ben Guryon. 01:15 And that he was the brother-in-law 01:18 of Josephus, the historian. 01:21 All right. 01:22 Now, as I said, we can't be dogmatic about that 01:25 because the Bible doesn't say it. 01:28 However, if that is true, 01:31 then that would make him 01:32 about the third richest person in Israel. 01:37 Now we know, he was rich. Yes. 01:39 But the third richest, 01:41 that really puts him up, up the ladder. 01:45 In fact, Nicodemus himself 01:47 was very, very very religious, highly religious. 01:53 And the Bible says he was a ruler of the Jews. 01:57 And unfortunately being a Pharisee, 02:02 in our thinking today Pharisees don't get good marks. 02:06 No, they don't. They have a bad reputation. 02:08 Because we associate Pharisees with hypocrites. 02:13 Now I can assure you 02:14 that Nicodemus was not a hypocrite, 02:17 he was a very sincere man. 02:19 In fact, we know he fasted twice in the week. 02:24 He even tithed of his mint. 02:27 Mint and cumin. Yes. 02:29 When they would go out to the garden, 02:30 he kind of retains leaf. 02:32 So it means that how particular he was. 02:35 And he knew much of the Bible by heart. 02:38 I mean that's... 02:41 That would have taken some effort 02:44 to memorize much of the Bible. 02:46 And he prayed a lot in private and, of course, in public. 02:50 And no doubt he had heard about Jesus the Young Preacher 02:53 from up north, you know, Galilee. 02:56 And that Young Preacher 02:58 who had taken the whole of Israel 03:00 really by storm. 03:02 And no doubt he had gone to listen to Him. 03:06 But one of the events that would have stood out 03:08 in his mind was the time when Jesus went to the temple. 03:13 And there they were trading 03:15 and they were carrying on selling things 03:17 and Jesus upset the whole... 03:20 Applecart. Applecart, absolutely. 03:22 Uprooted the tables and money went everywhere. 03:26 Because what was happening 03:27 is that the Sadducees would buy the animals 03:31 at a fairly cheap rate. 03:34 Then they would sell them 03:36 at an exorbitant price in the temple. 03:39 And get richly. 03:40 And they were making a lot of money on the side. 03:43 And so when Jesus came along and upset the whole thing, 03:47 they were very, very angry 03:49 and they were plotting to kill Him, 03:50 and you can understand why. 03:52 And, but Nicodemus, 03:55 as we read the record 03:57 obviously was very impressed with Jesus. 04:00 And he planned to meet Him privately. 04:03 He must have seen something special 04:04 in this Young Man and when he listen to Him, 04:07 his heart would have burned in him 04:09 with the truth that was being spoken. 04:11 Yeah, well, we like to think so. 04:12 I mean, something must have happened, 04:13 because he was this man 04:16 who was doctor of the law probably. 04:19 Once again, probably the preeminent preacher 04:22 or teacher in Israel. 04:24 Oh, he was the part of the Sanhedrin. 04:26 Yes, a part of parliament, and the 70 in parliament. 04:31 And he came to Jesus by night. 04:33 In John 3:2, it says, 04:37 "This man came to Jesus by night 04:39 and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know 04:42 that You are a teacher come from God, 04:44 for no one can do these signs 04:46 that You do unless God is with him." 04:50 You know, he was battering Jesus up 04:53 and trying to impress Him 04:55 with what he was saying. 04:58 But little that he know 05:00 that in a very short amount of time, 05:02 his very belief structure 05:04 was going to be shaken to the very core. 05:07 Because Jesus said to him in verse 3, his reply was, 05:11 "Jesus answered and said to him, 05:13 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 05:16 unless one is born again, 05:20 he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" 05:24 And Jesus didn't use 05:25 any extravagant language here, did He? 05:27 No. 05:29 Because Nicodemus opens 05:31 with a certain thing that he's saying, 05:33 you know, You've obviously come from God. 05:35 But Jesus got right to the core of Nicodemus's questions. 05:39 Jesus would have known where Nicodemus's mind was 05:42 and his heart and his understanding level. 05:45 So He goes right into a really deep theological discussion 05:51 which Nicodemus wasn't expecting. 05:53 Now what Nicodemus was, putting a jam on we say, 05:56 you know, lot of palaver here in that verse, verse 2. 05:59 But Jesus didn't reply to any of that palaver. 06:03 And we must remember that Nicodemus 06:06 did many, many, many good things. 06:08 He was a good man, he lived a good life. 06:11 You know, sometimes we, because of the fact 06:14 that he was a Pharisee, we discount him. 06:15 Enrich. 06:17 But yes, and enrich, you know, 06:18 that makes sometimes people feel envious 06:22 or whatever it is and so he gets bad mark. 06:23 He got his riches of other people. 06:25 Well, there's no record of that is true 06:28 but he may have. 06:30 And his reply, of course, Nicodemus's that is, 06:34 his reply in verse 4 when he said, 06:36 "Nicodemus said to Him, 06:38 'How can a man be born when he is old? 06:42 Can he enter a second time 06:44 into his mother's womb and be born?'" 06:48 Now what I find very interesting 06:50 about this, Rosemary, is the fact 06:53 that Nicodemus didn't ask why, 06:58 he said, "How?" 07:01 Because I believe that he was deeply convicted, 07:03 I mean he sensed within him his own life, 07:07 some of the failures or the rituals 07:10 that he was involved 07:11 with all the punctilious points about tithing 07:16 and all the rest that he was doing, 07:18 which were not wrong in themselves, 07:19 but he recognized that 07:21 these things left him still cold. 07:23 No, they were shallow. Yes. 07:25 And, of course, as we know we don't get to heaven 07:28 by doing things like that. 07:30 So he was aware of sin in his life 07:34 and so that's why he's saying here, 07:38 "How can a man be born when he is old?" 07:40 And then he says... 07:42 Jesus answered him in verse 5, when he says, "Jesus answered, 07:45 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 07:47 unless one is born of water and the Spirit, 07:51 he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" 07:54 Now, there's no doubt that Nicodemus's mind 07:57 would have been taken back to John the Baptist. 08:01 Because this matter of water and the spirit, 08:03 that was the message 08:04 that John the Baptist was preaching. 08:06 That's right. 08:09 And he began to think 08:10 and Jesus was pointing out here 08:13 that unless you are born again, 08:19 then you will never be able to receive the Holy Spirit. 08:22 And if you don't have the Holy Spirit 08:23 in your life then, 08:25 obviously there's no such thing as repentance and regeneration. 08:29 We'll see, Nicodemus in verse 4 08:31 is asking about a physical birth. 08:34 But in verse 5, 08:35 Jesus is pointing out it's not physical, 08:38 it's a spiritual birth. 08:40 Yes, yes. 08:41 Look, I think we could understand 08:43 how hard the saying was for poor old Nicodemus. 08:47 I mean here he is probably the preeminent teacher, 08:50 I mean he was associated with Gamaliel, 08:54 the Pharisee who taught Phoebe. 09:00 And no doubt they probably went 09:02 to what we would term university together 09:05 or to the school of the rabbis together 09:09 and he knew him well. 09:10 So you can imagine 09:12 this Young Preacher from the north, 09:13 he comes down and says, 09:15 now, listen Nicodemus, you gotta be born again. 09:17 And unless you're born of water and the spirit, 09:21 there's no future life. 09:22 And He's telling me and I'm the teacher. 09:24 I'm the doctor of the law. 09:26 He's uneducated, but I'm the doctor of the law. 09:30 So it would have been, 09:31 I would think a very, very hard thing 09:33 for Nicodemus really to accept what Jesus was saying. 09:37 I mean his pride... 09:39 Oh, yes. 09:41 Would have immediately affected him. 09:45 But... 09:47 It was really his pride 09:48 that brought him to Jesus at nighttime. 09:50 He didn't want other people to see him with Jesus. 09:52 That's correct. It could affect his career. 09:54 Exactly. 09:56 And Jesus was emphasizing something 09:57 that we all need to understand 09:59 that it's not just a matter of being born again, 10:05 that's the foundation. 10:07 But it's what being born again means, 10:09 it means not only forgiveness for my sin 10:12 but also regeneration. 10:16 Because unless my life is changed, 10:19 I mean, if God can forgive me for my sins, 10:21 but there's something more to it than just that, 10:25 important, and vital, and glorious, 10:27 and wonderful as that he it. 10:29 But there's another step, too and that is regeneration. 10:33 For example, Rosemary, 10:36 you can imagine if my heart is not changed, 10:39 I might be forgiven. 10:40 But if my heart is not changed, what's gonna happen 10:43 when we go to heaven and we see the golden streets? 10:46 I mean, I can just imagine 10:48 if people's hearts weren't regenerated and changed, 10:51 the very first thing that they would want to do. 10:53 They start digging up the streets. 10:54 Is digging up the golden streets, 10:56 because that's what we would do here. 10:58 And so Nicodemus is being told 11:01 when the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, 11:03 not only do you receive forgiveness 11:04 but also regeneration. 11:06 You do it, 11:07 a complete turnaround in your life. 11:08 You have new attitudes, you have new motives, 11:13 you have a new direction to go. 11:16 You don't wanna do bad things anymore etc. 11:21 Like you've turned 180 degrees around 11:23 and walking in at the other direction. 11:25 That's what we mean by regeneration. 11:27 Because one of the things that I guess 11:31 that Nicodemus struggle with, 11:32 maybe we all struggle with this, 11:34 is the fact that religion itself can't save us. 11:38 Having your name on the roll of a church doesn't save you 11:43 or any religion doesn't save you. 11:45 It's only repentance and regeneration that saves us. 11:51 In fact, here in verse 9, 11:53 when Nicodemus is confronted with this, 11:58 what I would think as an unforcomfortable truth for him. 12:01 "Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 12:02 'How can these things be?'" 12:06 In other words, how is all, listen it. 12:10 In all his doctoral trainings and all his education, 12:15 this simple truth that Jesus was outlining to him, 12:18 he had never understood it. 12:20 And that's why he says, "How can these things be." 12:23 And as I said he studied with Gamaliel 12:25 and he was up to the very, very top 12:28 as far as academic achievements were concerned. 12:30 And, but it was like the blind leading the blind. 12:33 Yeah. 12:34 Well, Jesus said to him in verse 7, 12:36 "Do not marvel that I said, 'You must be born again.'" 12:40 So Jesus is saying, 12:41 "It's not hard for you to understand, 12:42 you should know this." 12:44 Yes. Well, it's a... 12:46 It was a confrontational message. 12:48 And because we have read this thing so often, 12:52 we don't always sense the confrontational point 12:56 that Nicodemus was up against here. 12:59 He didn't come for this. 13:00 No, no. 13:01 He wanted to ask Jesus a few questions. 13:03 Yes, he was wanting to have an intellectual discussion, 13:06 like he was used to. 13:07 But Jesus wasn't interested in that type of discussion. 13:10 It's a bit like, I was running some meetings once 13:12 and a man came down to the front seat, and I said, 13:15 "Oh are you a Christian?" 13:17 And I think he was very offended 13:19 that I would even ask that question. 13:20 He said, "Of course, I was. 13:22 I was born here in Australia." 13:24 Yes. 13:25 Meaning that, you know, 13:27 because I'm born here that makes me a Christian. 13:30 That would be absurd of saying that 13:32 because I was born in a shed, 13:36 that makes me a car. 13:39 I mean... Or a cow. 13:41 Or a cow, yes. 13:43 It's ridiculous and yet there are many 13:45 who are being brought up to believe that 13:47 because my parents were of such and such religion, 13:50 that makes me religious and that makes me saved. 13:53 Yeah. 13:54 But Nicodemus needed to come to an understanding 13:57 that was not true. 13:59 Just because he was a Pharisee and part of the Sanhedrin, 14:02 didn't mean that he had a relationship with God. 14:04 Correct, and that's what he didn't have. 14:07 One of the wonderful things about the Gospel of John 14:10 is that John actually explains all about this new birth. 14:15 In probably the closest thing 14:17 that I think that the Bible gives 14:19 is to a formula of salvation. 14:23 Its back here in the first Chapter of John 14:26 and verse 11, 14:30 John 1:11, it says, 14:32 "He came to His own, 14:35 and His own did not receive Him. 14:38 But as many as received Him, 14:41 to them He gave the right to become children of God, 14:45 to those who believe in His name." 14:49 Now, then what we might like to refer to as a formula, 14:55 if we could put it down to that. 14:57 Verse 13, where it says, 14:58 "Who were born, not of blood, 15:04 nor of the will of the flesh," 15:05 that's a second point, blood is the first. 15:08 Second the will of the flesh, "Nor of the will of man." 15:12 Now this matter of blood, 15:14 it's saying that Christianity or a relationship to God 15:19 does not run in our bloodline. 15:24 No matter what my parents were that may help to influence me, 15:28 but it's not a guarantee of getting me into heaven. 15:31 No, that's right. Or salvation. 15:33 Because I have to born again 15:36 and that's why John is emphasizing not of blood. 15:40 You see the Jews struggled with this, 15:42 because they felt that if they were 15:44 the sons and daughters of Abraham 15:47 that guaranteed them eternal life. 15:49 And Jesus is pointing at him of that stuff. 15:51 Yeah, they got it through genealogy. 15:53 Yes, that's right. 15:55 They knew all their fathers 15:56 going right back for a long time. 15:59 Now, but genealogies were very important to them. 16:02 And then the second point here that Jesus is emphasizing is, 16:08 "Nor of the will of the flesh," 16:10 meaning that salvation 16:11 is got nothing to do with human desire. 16:15 Because how often many of us feel 16:17 that if we have a feeling about things 16:20 and the further that we have 16:22 and those feelings would drive us. 16:24 That means that I must be a Christian, 16:26 if I had the right feelings. 16:30 But when you think about feelings 16:32 and far as Christianity concern, 16:33 I mean there are many people 16:35 who have very hard, very strong feelings. 16:37 And they kill in the name of Jesus. 16:38 Yes. 16:40 They blow themselves up in the name of Jesus. 16:42 So, you can't say that those people are sincere 16:45 and they have a great fervor, 16:47 but we would think it's terribly misplaced. 16:51 There's a saying, it says, 16:53 "You can be sincere, 16:55 you can also be sincerely wrong." 16:57 That's right, yes. 16:59 Then the third point that John makes here, 17:01 "Nor of the will of man." 17:05 So this new birth 17:07 has nothing to do with the will of man. 17:10 So it got nothing to do with our human desires, 17:14 it's got nothing to do with our human creeds, 17:17 it's got nothing to do with our human pilgrimages, 17:20 nothing like that at all. 17:21 Nothing to do with having your name on the book. 17:23 No. 17:24 It's got nothing to do with of human will. 17:27 That's why John is saying here, 17:29 "Nor the will of man, but of God." 17:35 And then if we come back to John 3, 17:38 where Jesus was still talking here to Nicodemus, 17:42 and Jesus no doubt was teaching these very points to Nicodemus. 17:47 He then alludes to a very interesting part 17:50 of Israel's history in verse 14, 17:53 when He says, 17:54 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 17:58 even so must the son of man be lifted up." 18:02 And you will remember, 18:03 I'm sure many of our listeners will remember 18:06 that the Jews were complaining, and whining, 18:10 and criticizing poor Moses. 18:13 And even God lost patience with them 18:18 and allowed some snakes, the serpents... 18:20 Yes. 18:22 To come out and these were deadly serpents. 18:25 Like in Australia we would say that death adders, 18:27 in America they'll probably have the rattlesnakes. 18:30 And in India, in places like that they have the cobras, 18:33 I mean they're deadly. Yes. 18:35 And you can't even run away 'cause they'll chase you. 18:38 Yes, so. 18:40 And 20, the Bible says 18:42 22,000 Jews died, of Israel died 18:47 as a result of the snakes biting them and, of course, 18:50 there was wailing and everyone was upset 18:53 because so many people were dying. 18:55 And they came to Moses again 18:58 and God in His mercy provided a remedy 19:02 because there was no human remedy 19:03 for this at all. 19:05 And you remember the story 19:10 how that they were to place a pole 19:13 in the middle of a camp, where everybody, 19:15 no matter where they were in the camp could see it. 19:18 And then they put a brass serpent 19:22 twined on the pole. 19:24 And we use that same symbol today 19:26 for the medical protection. 19:27 That's correct, that's where they get it from. 19:30 You know, much of our life is entwined in the Bible. 19:34 I mean many people don't recognize it, 19:35 but that's where it comes from. 19:38 And so they were told then to look and to live. 19:44 If they looked at that brass serpent, 19:46 now admittedly, Rosemary, 19:48 you have to say that 19:50 that was the most ridiculous thing, really. 19:53 How would looking at a brass serpent 19:56 on a pole help my snakebite? 20:00 Exactly. 20:01 I mean it seems ridiculous. 20:03 There's only one way it works. 20:06 Yes, because it was a symbol, it was a type, 20:08 it was an illustration to those people of the fact 20:11 that Jesus Himself was going to provide the antidote. 20:14 And He was going to be placed on the cross. 20:18 It was all the matter of faith. Yes. 20:20 Those who didn't have faith refused to look. 20:23 But those who believed what God said 20:26 and knew that that was only remedy 20:28 to be healed and not die. 20:30 Yes. 20:31 They looked and they were healed. 20:33 It's amazing how many, how so many refused to look 20:37 when others were looked and lived. 20:39 Yeah, that's the perverseness of human nature, isn't it? 20:44 And the great illustration and the reason 20:46 why Jesus here is alluding to the story again 20:49 in talking to Nicodemus. 20:50 Remember this is... 20:52 He's still having a discussion with Nicodemus 20:53 what He's talking here. 20:54 Yes. 20:56 And He's saying to Nicodemus, 20:57 who would have been very, very familiar, 20:59 very familiar with the history of this. 21:03 He knew instantly as soon as Jesus talked 21:05 about as the serpent 21:07 was lifted up in the wilderness. 21:08 He knew the story. 21:09 He knew the story, absolutely. 21:11 And He now was bringing the lesson 21:15 that Nicodemus had overlooked and hadn't understood. 21:20 That it wasn't just a history lesson 21:22 as to something that happened way, way back, 21:24 a 1,000 or so years ago. 21:26 But rather this was a great lesson to teach us 21:29 that Jesus was to be lifted up. 21:31 And the venom of sin was to be taken away 21:36 by us looking by faith at what Jesus had done. 21:41 Because I think it's in Corinthians, 21:45 where it says that Christ was made to be sinned for us. 21:51 In other words, 21:52 He took upon Himself our guilt and our sin, 21:59 and if we accept Him, His life instead of mine, 22:05 then I gain eternal life. 22:08 You see, when it says here that when, 22:11 as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 22:13 even Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in Him. 22:18 Right. 22:19 And that's pointing 22:20 to the serpent in the wilderness, 22:23 it was all about faith, 22:24 believe in what God was giving us as an antidote. 22:30 But when Nicodemus saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, 22:34 this would have all come back to him. 22:37 Even so must the Son of man be lifted up on a cross, 22:41 like that serpent. 22:43 And his faith, he would have just said, 22:45 "I get it, I understand." 22:48 Because our next confrontation with Nicodemus 22:52 is probably at the cross. 22:54 Now, I recognize that the Bible doesn't actually tell us 22:58 that Nicodemus was at the cross, 23:00 but you cannot have that event take place in Jerusalem 23:04 as it did without Nicodemus being aware of it. 23:07 Well, Nicodemus was there 23:09 and he bought expensive spices and alloys 23:15 to anoint Jesus body with Joseph of Arimathea, 23:19 so that's in John Chapter 19. 23:22 So obviously he must have been there at the cross 23:25 and seen this and helped to take Jesus body down 23:29 and anoint His body for burial. 23:30 Well, I think for the first time in his mind, 23:33 he really now understood what the Sanhedrin was up to. 23:39 He realize what they are about, 23:41 because when he went to Joseph of Arimathea, 23:45 he had heard that the plan was 23:49 that the Jews were going to through the body of Jesus 23:52 on the Gehenna, the heap of the... 23:55 The rubbish tip of Gehenna. 23:58 And so he went to Joseph of Arimathea and said, 24:00 "Joseph, what can we do?" 24:02 And Joseph said, 24:04 "Well, I've got a beautiful tomb 24:05 and I'm gonna give that to Him." 24:06 And Nicodemus said, 24:08 "Well, I've got all these beautiful spices. 24:10 And..." Expensive. 24:12 A very expensive, 24:13 "and I'm going to anoint the body of Jesus." 24:15 And so it was the cross really 24:18 that finally helped Nicodemus 24:22 to fully understand what Christ came to do. 24:26 That's right. 24:27 And that's why from this point onwards 24:29 he became one of His most loyal servants. 24:33 In fact, tradition tells us too, 24:35 Rosemary, that Nicodemus became very poor 24:40 and his daughter, we're told 24:43 was actually talking barley seeds 24:46 from the hooves of horses to eat. 24:49 That's how poor they became. 24:51 So he gave everything... Everything. 24:53 To the cause of Christ, 24:55 and it was men like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus 25:00 who helped to with their wealth and so forth 25:02 was propelled the message of God. 25:04 And God uses men, that's why riches, 25:08 nothing wrong with riches but... 25:10 How do we use them? 25:11 It's the way we use. 25:12 And that's why I just love that hymn, you know, 25:16 well, that verse that Isaac Watts, 25:19 the great hymn writer wrote when he said, 25:25 "When I survey the wondrous cross 25:30 on which the Prince of glory died, 25:35 my richest gain I count but loss, 25:41 and pour contempt on all my pride." 25:47 And then the other verse he writes," 25:49 Were the whole realm of nature mine, 25:53 that were a present far too small, 25:57 love so amazing, so divine, 26:02 demands my soul, my life, my all." 26:09 What a wonderful hymn that is, that man Isaac Watts 26:13 encapsulated the very truth of the gospel 26:17 and the love that Christ has for us 26:20 in giving us the opportunity of eternal life 26:22 that Christ took my place. 26:26 And as I look to him today and as I confess my sins 26:30 and I'm born again. 26:32 And I have forgiveness of sin 26:34 and then on top of forgiveness of sin, 26:36 God wants to change my life. 26:39 So that I want to do that which God wants me to do. 26:43 And that's where he demands our soul, our life out, all. 26:48 Nicodemus gave everything in the long run for Jesus. 26:51 Yes. 26:52 Because he came to see Him lifted up on that cross 26:55 and believed that He was who He said He was. 26:58 Yes. 26:59 And as we read the Word of God 27:01 and especially as we read about Jesus on the cross 27:04 and His death and His resurrection, 27:07 we also can come to believe. 27:09 Yes. 27:10 Well I would like to encourage all our listeners today, 27:13 Rosemary, to offer a silent prayer to God, 27:18 to thank Him again for the cross of Christ. 27:21 Because without the cross we are hopeless, 27:27 and as He said to Nicodemus as Christ, 27:29 as Moses lifted up a serpent, so he was to be lifted up. 27:33 That's right. 27:34 And the challenge for us is that we do this every day. 27:38 Our take home message is, 27:40 "You must be born again," Jesus said. 27:43 And read the Bible, find out who Jesus is 27:47 and let Him come into your heart 27:49 so that He can remake you. 27:51 Thank you for joining us and we will see you next time. |
Revised 2019-10-14