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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ002111A
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00:34 The Mount of Olives overlooks one of the most magnificent and 00:37 most sacred cities in the world. This mount is one of three hills 00:42 on a long reach to the east of Jerusalem. It's one of the most 00:46 revered placed for Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. It rises 00:51 more than 800 meters and offers a spectacular view of the old 00:56 wall city of Jerusalem. This hill also called Mount Olivet, 01:04 takes its names from the fact that it was once covered with 01:07 olive trees and one of its most popular and sacred pilgrim sites 01:11 is an ancient olive grove, the Garden of Gethsemane. The old 01:19 gnarled trees have been here since the time of Jesus and the 01:21 olive grove holds a significant place in the Bible. One of the 01:27 most famous meeting meetings of all time took place here. It was 01:32 a night meeting. Words were spoken. Now of course billions 01:37 of words are spoken every second but every now and then mere 01:41 words change the shape of our world and alter our lives 01:46 forever and that's what happened here. During the course of that 01:51 conversation words were spoken that changed the world. Join me 01:55 as we explore the story of the solitary listener who attended 01:59 the amazing meeting that happened here. 02:02 ♪ ♪ 02:35 There are many spectacular and glorious mountains in our world. 02:38 They're famous because of their massive size, impressive peaks 02:43 and unique shapes. But one of the most famous of all doesn't 02:47 have any of those features. In fact, it's really only a hill, 02:52 but it's famous for another reason. Mountains don't get much 02:58 holier than the Mount of Olives, a sacred site to Judaism, 03:03 Christianity and Islam. In Jewish tradition the Messiah 03:09 will descend the Mount of Olives on judgment day and enter 03:12 Jerusalem through the golden gate in the center of the 03:15 eastern wall of the temple mount For this reason, Jews have always 03:20 wanted to buried on the slopes of the mount. This is the oldest 03:27 Jewish cemetery in the world. For over 3000 years Jews have 03:31 been buried here. And today there are over 150,000 graves 03:37 on the slopes. It's a tradition to place stones on the graves. 03:42 It shows that someone has visited the grave and that the 03:46 loved one is not forgotten and that their memory will last for 03:49 eternity just like the stones. History tells us that many 03:55 battles have been fought on this mount. During the siege of 03:59 Jerusalem which led to the destruction of the city in 04:01 A.D. 70 Roman soldiers from the 10th legion camped on the 04:06 mount. From here they attacked the city and destroyed its 04:11 beautiful temple. The Mount of Olives is closely associated 04:15 with Jesus. He spent a lot of time here and he knew this place 04:20 well. Today millions of pilgrims come here to follow in his 04:24 footsteps. Over the centuries 24 churches were built to 04:30 commemorate events in Christ's life that happened on the Mount 04:33 of Olives. Some of the churches are still here today and are 04:37 popular with the pilgrims. Near the summit of the Mount they 04:43 visit the church of Pater Noster that celebrates Christ's 04:47 teaching of the Lord's Prayer. The church features translations 04:50 of the prayer in 140 languages inscribed on colorful 04:56 surrounding plaques. Further down the mountain is the Church 05:00 of Dominus Flevit. It's shaped like a teardrop and remembers 05:05 Christ's tears as he wept over the future fate of Jerusalem. 05:10 Then there's the church of Mary Magdalene with its seven guilded 05:16 onion domes. It's one of Jerusalem's most picturesque 05:18 sights. The church was built in 1888 by Czar Alexander III of 05:24 Russia in memory of Mary Magdalene who found peace and 05:28 forgiveness in Jesus. Near the foot of the Mount of Olives is 05:33 the Church of All Nations. It's called this because many 05:37 countries contributed to the cost of its construction and 05:41 its revered because it's believed to be built over the 05:45 rock on which Jesus is believed to have prayed in agony 05:48 the night 05:50 before he was crucified. The church is situated in the Garden 05:54 of Gethsemane, a place whose name literally means oil press. 05:59 A grove of ancient olive trees still stands here today. Jesus 06:08 often came here. He used the ancient olive grove on the Mount 06:12 of Olives frequently as a favorite retreat when he needed 06:17 peace and quiet. And it was here that one of the world's most 06:20 memorable and important interviews took place. 06:24 The words that Jesus spoke that night not only dramatically 06:28 changed the life of the individual that met Jesus here, 06:32 but they've gone to the ends of the earth and changed the 06:36 destiny of millions of people and they haven't lost their 06:39 influence in our world today. The solitary listener who heard 06:46 the words of Jesus that night was an intellectual who studied 06:49 at the temple in Jerusalem. His life centered around that sacred 06:54 site. He was a Pharisee who belonged to the 71-member 06:58 Sanhedrin, the ruling legal council that was essentially 07:02 the supreme court of the Jewish people. His name, Nicodemus, 07:07 meant victor over the people. He was a man of learning, a man 07:13 of wealth and influence. He occupied a very important 07:16 position in society and everything in his aristocratic 07:21 background, everything in the beliefs held by his peers told 07:25 him not to make this risky visit. Night had settled over 07:33 the city and most of its inhabitants were in their homes. 07:36 But this one dignified prominent priest walked alone in the dark. 07:43 His destination was a certain quiet spot outside the city, 07:47 a place where Jesus of Nazareth was known to be. The Sanhedrin 07:54 was opposed to Jesus and his Messianic claims. Nicodemus as a 08:00 Pharisee had always believed that he stood for integrity for 08:03 the law of God, but Jesus seemed to be in constant 08:08 conflict with the Pharisees. Now if Jesus was a good man how 08:13 could this be? These were big questions and posed a terrible 08:18 dilemma for Nicodemus. Who knows what would have happened to 08:22 Nicodemus if his colleagues found out that one of their own 08:26 was so convinced that Jesus was from God that he sought him 08:30 under the cover of darkness. What Nicodemus couldn't admit 08:35 to himself was that he feared what his peers might say. He was 08:39 concerned about his own reputation. It was a bit 08:43 humiliating for him to be seen talking to this man called Jesus 08:49 but he was a troubled man. He had some questions that bothered 08:53 him. Who should he ask? Where could he find the answers? 08:59 So Nicodemus walked to the olive grove where Jesus was meditating 09:04 and here's what Nicodemus said to Jesus as recorded in 09:08 John chapter 3 and verse 2: 09:20 Now Nicodemus was asking about the true identity of Jesus. Most 09:27 Pharisees regarded Jesus as a problem rather than a teacher 09:31 come from God. Jesus didn't question Nicodemus' motive or 09:36 rebuke him for coming to visit at night. Jesus frankly made 09:41 this most famous reply recorded in John chapter 3 and verse 3: 09:55 Nicodemus thought he understood the concept of rebirth. Being 10:02 descendent of Abraham was a virtual guarantee of salvation. 10:05 At this time they believed that only non-Jews needed to be saved 10:11 by rebirth in the family of Abraham. So he asked in 10:15 disbelief in John chapter 3 and verse 4: 10:27 Nicodemus knew much better than to take Jesus' words literally. 10:33 The Jewish priests themselves spoke of Gentile converts as 10:37 children just born and they used the same metaphor to describe 10:41 a bridegroom at his marriage and a king at his enthronement. 10:47 Nicodemus was growing quite uncomfortable now. After all he 10:52 was at the very top of Jewish society, at the very top of 10:55 religious society. He was accustomed to issuing verdicts 11:00 and handing out judgments, not receiving pointed advice. 11:04 But here this Galilean teacher was telling him he had to be 11:09 born again spiritually. He had to start all over again. That 11:15 was a bit too much to take. Nicodemus was more convicted 11:20 than perplexed, but he asked skeptically, How can these 11:24 things be? Jesus earnestly told this Pharisee that he was 11:29 showing him the way to eternal life and then he spoke the words 11:34 that made this meeting so famous and the conversation so 11:40 important. They're found in John chapter 3 and verse 16: 11:55 These are the most loved, the most quoted, the most memorized, 12:00 the most famous words ever spoken. And no wonder. They 12:04 focus on humanity's biggest issue and give God's solution. 12:09 It's the gospel in a nutshell, it's salvation's formula. 12:13 It begins with God, it's driven by love, it ends with life. 12:18 He loves, he gave, we believe, we live. That's it. And so as 12:28 Nicodemus made his way back down the slope of this mountain 12:31 toward Jerusalem, he faced a question we all must face. 12:35 What am I going to do about it? What am I going to do with 12:40 Jesus? For three years Nicodemus pondered on this one single 12:46 encounter with Jesus and wrestled with his decision. 12:49 To be born again means to start all over again, believe in Jesus 12:56 and accept him as your Savior. Then to make an inner change 13:00 with Jesus in your life. Nicodemus faced a choice, an all 13:05 important choice. It was a choice between remaining a 13:09 questioning skeptic and becoming a follower of Jesus, a choice 13:15 between remaining where he was and entering into that whole new 13:20 world. To better understand his predicament, let's take a look 13:24 at what was happening in Jewish society at this time. 13:26 The Pharisees and Sadducees, the leaders of Jewish society 13:33 decided that Jesus posed a terrible threat. They began to 13:37 try to discredit him and they tried to trick Jesus with their 13:41 questions. They sent out bright young men, lawyers and scribes, 13:46 who posed as truth seekers to ask Jesus questions. But they 13:50 were questions designed to entrap. They tried to catch 13:55 Jesus saying something that could get him into trouble with 13:58 the authorities. The Jewish leaders were watching Jesus' 14:05 every move. They had their spies everywhere. They believed they 14:10 could expose Jesus as an imposter. Now Nicodemus was part 14:16 of this world of skepticism. He was a member of their exclusive 14:22 group. It was all a game, a very serious and deadly game, but a 14:26 game nevertheless. The questions weren't about getting answers. 14:30 They were about setting one up, about intellectual arguments and 14:36 proving who was right. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? 14:39 If a woman has seven husbands who all die one after the other 14:44 whose wife will she be in the resurrection. A lawyer came up 14:49 one day and asked Jesus, Which is the greatest commandment in 14:52 the law? Yes the lawyers could occupy themselves endlessly on 14:57 that one. They could carry on very abstract arguments about 15:02 which principle had priority over another. Jesus, however, 15:07 summed it up very neatly with a statement from the book of 15:10 Deuteronomy in chapter 6 and verse 5: 15:22 Yes, that gives meaning to everything in life. But Jesus 15:27 wanted people to face the truth about themselves. Do you realize 15:31 that you can try to hide behind the truth. You can use it as a 15:36 shield, hold it out there in front of you, wield as a weapon, 15:40 try to win arguments with it. You can try to score points with 15:45 it. You can hide behind the truth. Yes, you can hide behind 15:50 the truth. You can quote it so well that nobody notices that 15:54 you're not dealing with the real problems inside. You can show 15:57 off the great state of mind so that no one notices the painful 16:02 state of your heart. You can't hide behind the truth. It's not 16:08 enough for you to have the right answers. It's not enough for you 16:12 to be able to quote God's principles. If it's not touching 16:16 your heart and if you're not allowing God into your life, 16:20 then it's not the truth because truth changes a person inside. 16:27 This is the drama, this is the dilemma that Nicodemus faced. 16:31 The part of him that was a skeptic wanted to hide behind 16:35 truth, but another part of him wanted to take Jesus' words to 16:39 heart. The proud Pharisee wanted to justify himself but the 16:45 honest seeker of truth wanted to be taught. It was a real 16:50 struggle here on the mount that night. Nicodemus asked Jesus two 16:55 questions; how can a man be born again? Jesus told him he must be 17:01 born of water and the Spirit. Wondering Nicodemus asked how 17:06 can these things be? Jesus explained about the Spirit by 17:11 using the example of the wind. We cannot see the wind but we 17:16 can see the effects of it. We cannot see the Holy Spirit, but 17:20 we can see the effects of it on people. It lifts people's 17:25 burdens. It comforts the sorrowing and opens up our 17:29 hearts to believe in Jesus. Nicodemus heard Jesus' words 17:34 and he couldn't make those words go away. They kept trying to get 17:38 down into his heart despite all the mental games he could play. 17:42 The skeptic was slowly turning into a follower, or at least he 17:48 was taking definite steps in that direction. We catch a 17:52 glimpse of this in a certain meeting of the Sanhedrin. They'd 17:56 been grilling some officials who'd been sent out to bring 17:59 Jesus in for questioning. The officers had failed to bring 18:04 arguments against Christ that would be convincing and the only 18:08 explanation they could offer was No man ever spoke like this man. 18:13 The Sanhedrin rulers were, of course, very upset, saying in 18:19 effect that only the ignorant crowd that follow this 18:22 Galilean Jesus. None of us believe in him. And it was at 18:27 this point, this very moment, that Nicodemus stood up among 18:32 his peers and said these words recorded in John the 7th chapter 18:37 and verse 51: 18:45 It was only a question. It may have been only a timid attempt 18:50 to turn back the tide of prejudice, but Nicodemus had 18:55 taken a step. He had exposed himself to the scorn of his 19:00 peers, the elite of Jerusalem. They immediately shot back at 19:04 him. Prophets just don't come out of Galilee. Are you also 19:09 from Galilee? Don't be so ridiculous. Don't be so ignorant 19:16 Nicodemus had to do some hard thinking after this. It was 19:20 becoming more evident that the Sanhedrin were acting out of 19:25 their jealousy and hatred. They could make their opposition to 19:29 Jesus sound very pious, but the murderous tone of their voices 19:34 was certainly identifying their motives. And yet how could he 19:38 turn his back on the Sanhedrin? How could Nicodemus turn from 19:43 them? He'd made it to the top. How could he take the risk of 19:47 losing everything. Well at a most unexpected, dark and 19:55 frightening time Nicodemus made a choice. The Sanhedrin had 20:00 sentenced Jesus to death. Jesus the Galilean was dying on a 20:06 Roman cross and the friends of Nicodemus were circling that 20:11 cross mocking the defeated enemy They suggested that if he was 20:16 really such a miracle worker that he should come down from 20:19 cross and save himself. But at that moment Nicodemus could no 20:25 longer join them. He'd seen something noble and 20:29 compassionate in the way he thought of others, the way he 20:33 forgave and the way that he died Nicodemus finally looked on this 20:39 Christ in terms of his own need as a human being. Standing there 20:44 at the foot of the cross he realized that pride was just too 20:50 heavy a load for him to bear. Always trying to defend yourself 20:54 was too wearisome a struggle. Always hiding behind the truth 20:58 was too self-defeating. It was time to let the truth sink into 21:05 his own heart. You must be born again. And so Nicodemus took the 21:12 big step. He hurried back into Jerusalem and purchased a 21:16 mixture of myrrh and aloes, the spices used for embalming and he 21:20 came back to the cross bearing these gifts. Another colleague 21:31 from the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea, had received 21:35 permission from Pilot to bury the body of Jesus. So as the 21:40 other members of the Sanhedrin watched in shock and amazement 21:44 Joseph and Nicodemus gently took Jesus' body down from the cross 21:49 and they wrapped Jesus in burial clothes along with myrrh and 21:55 aloes. Then they reverently carried him to Joseph's tomb. 21:58 And as Nicodemus carried the noblest person he'd ever known 22:03 he was sure that pride was too heavy a burden to carry. It was 22:07 far better to stop trying to be right all the time and to start 22:12 out as a needy human being at the foot of the cross. Pride is 22:19 just too heavy a burden to carry. Always defending 22:22 ourselves is too wearisome a struggle. Why not lay all this 22:27 baggage down at the foot of the cross right now as we pray. 22:34 Dear Heavenly Father, we're tired of playing mental games. 22:38 We're tired of keeping you at arm's length, tired of the 22:42 arguments. Take away this heavy burden of pride. We need you as 22:47 our Savior. We need you as the one who speaks to our hearts. 22:52 We want to become all that you intend us to be but we can't do 22:57 it on our own. We become proud and brittle, just relying on our 23:02 own strength. So we come to you acknowledging that even in our 23:07 strength there is weakness. We accept your gracious forgiveness 23:12 and love. In the name of Jesus, Amen. 23:16 ♪ ♪ 23:30 The story of Nicodemus, that personally heard the greatest 23:34 words ever spoken and found hope and happiness on the Mount of 23:37 Olives has encouraged and inspired people all over the 23:43 world. The words that Jesus spoke that night not only 23:46 dramatically changed the life of Nicodemus, but they've gone to 23:50 the ends of the earth and changed the destiny of millions 23:54 of people and they haven't lost their influence in our world 23:59 today. If you're struggling with the challenges and stress of 24:02 everyday life, and would like to experience God's unconditional 24:07 love, if you're looking for ways to live a better life and find 24:11 inner peace and true happiness, if you'd like to get closer to 24:16 God, then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have for all our 24:20 viewers today. It's the reading guide A Second Chance at Life 24:25 and Bridge to a Satisfying Life. These booklets are our gift to 24:30 you and are absolutely free. There are no costs or 24:35 obligations whatsoever. So make the most of this wonderful 24:38 opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. Here's 24:42 the information you need: Phone or text us at 0436333555 or 24:52 visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's free offer and 25:00 we'll sent it to you totally free of charge and with no 25:04 obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436333555 in 25:13 Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website 25:21 www.tij.tv to request today's offer. Write to us at: 25:47 Don't delay. Phone or text 0436333555 in Australia or 25:54 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to 26:07 request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally 26:11 free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. Call 26:16 or text us now. 26:18 ♪ ♪ 26:29 If you've enjoyed today's journey to Jerusalem and the 26:31 Garden of Gethsemane and our reflections on Nicodemus and the 26:36 hope and happiness that Jesus can give us, then be sure to 26:40 join us again next week when we will share another of life's 26:44 journey's together. Until then, remember the ultimate 26:48 destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new 26:52 earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 26:56 There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall 27:00 be no more pain. For the former things have passed away. 27:05 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-03-08