My friends and I would on occasion make these silly cop videos and show them to our youth ministry. The youth pastor would actually watch it, laugh, and then decide whether or not it could be shown to the entire youth ministry. As I think back to those videos I still chuckle about the things that we did to make them. But, there was an event that ended all of that. The cop car was always Neil’s mustang. We had just thrown a dead squirrel onto the windshield that we saw on the side of the road. The drug dealer was throwing dead squirrels at our car while he was driving away. The whole premise of the movies was that they would be both stupid and funny. I don’t think the squirrel thing was all that funny though. So at this point, it was just stupid. And things only got worse. He turned onto the white chat road and, even though we weren’t going very fast, he lost control of the car. He overcompensated in an attempt to straighten out the car and turned it into a ditch. The car then flipped a distance far enough that the police officer said had to mean that it made two full turns in the air and it landed on its wheels. To this day I believe that God kept us alive because we could’ve all ended up dead. One of the guys in the car was much taller than the rest of us. He couldn’t breathe and had to be helped out of the car. We all panicked to get him out of the car. There was, however, a problem. The doors had been damaged in the wreck and we couldn’t get out of the car. With a good bit of force we were able to get the door open and everyone out of the car. The whole event was terrifying.

When I think back to that event and rush to get one of my friends out of the car, it took a lot of effort on our part. But he also helped what little that he could. God has orchestrated a glorious rescue of us. But there is a big difference. We didn’t help at all. We will see that God makes us able to respond to His great rescue.

The story is told of a man who took a boat to cross a river on a blustery winter day and was soon overcome by the choppy waves. Pitched into the icy water, the man was able to crawl atop the capsized boat but found himself being taken downstream towards a deadly waterfall that was fifteen minutes away.

Three witnesses on the shore saw the helpless man’s plight and devised a plan to race ahead to a bridge that spanned the river and lower a rope for the man to grab as he floated by. They dangled the rope at the perfect moment, well within the reach of the man, but to no avail. The man’s hands were frozen and could not grip the lifeline. He passed under the bridge and soon plunged over the steep falls to his death.

Horrified, the failed rescuers realized too late that instead of lowering the rope, they should have lowered a man.

Robert Jennings, a preacher in Sedalia, Missouri wrote about this story saying, “God, in His wisdom and mercy, sent no rope of self-help. He sent His Son to rescue His people from their sins – its penalty and power. And all credit goes to God and to the Lamb.” “It is all God’s salvation. The redeemed admit they are saved. They were rescued. God gets the glory. Man is humbled. Angels and men are on their faces (Revelation 7:11)” Taken from http://sacredsandwich.com/archives/9399

God: Here is the point. God doesn’t just lower a rope for us. He sent us His Son. And, He didn’t just send us His Son. He has sent His Spirit to make us able to respond to the great rescue that He sent in His Son. God not only sent down the rescue accomplished through the death and resurrection of His Son but He also enabled us to take hold of the rope through the work of the Holy Spirit. God makes us able to respond to His great rescue.

In John 2:23-2:25, the Passover feast is over and many people have believed in Jesus when they saw the signs that He had been performing. We haven’t covered all of them, but we did see Him turn water into wine and that He was apparently doing other miracles and people believed His message. Interestingly, Jesus did not “entrust Himself to them”. These people had inadequate faith or what would be called spurious faith. Though they believed Him they did not truly trust Him. And Jesus, being God the Son, knows the heart of man. He knew that their faith was not true.  And this sets us up for the conversation that Jesus has with Nicodemus.

Remember, God makes us able to respond to His great rescue (John 2:23-3:21).

We Need A Miracle To Respond To God’s Great Rescue

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. But he was more than a Pharisee, he was also a ruler of the Jews. He was part of the Sanhedrin. The Romans who conquered Israel allowed a bit of self-rule even though it was a lower rule. We find out here and in John 7:50 that Nicodemus is part of this Sanhedrin. It was a Jewish Court made up of some of the Pharisees and Sadducees who came together to make rulings on things within their city. The Sanhedrin shows up again at the trial of Jesus. The point is that Nicodemus is called a “ruler of the Jews” because he truly is one of the most influential and powerful people in Jerusalem. And he approaches Jesus saying that he is able to see something of who Jesus is. He says,

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”—John 3:2 ESV

Jesus’ response is one that is rather humorous, especially knowing the high standing of Nicodemus.

“Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”—John 3:3 ESV

It is as if Nicodemus says, “We see that you are a teacher from God.” And Jesus’ response to him is, “You can’t see anything unless you are born again.”

Now, as we would expect, the term “born again” is somewhat confusing for Nicodemus. He was not familiar with this term and the only thing that he could relate it to is natural birth. This, I believe was purposeful on Jesus’ part. But, Nicodemus is confused and asks the question that shows just how much he doesn’t understand Jesus.

“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”—John 3:4 ESV

Nicodemus doesn’t yet understand what Jesus is talking about. Natural people do not accept spiritual things on their own (1 Corinthians 2:14). In fact, the natural person sees this as foolishness (2 Corinthians 1:18). The problem is that natural man is enslaved to sin (John 8:34; Romans 8:7). Natural man is blind to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). All people, ourselves included, have been so corrupted by sin and held in bondage by Satan that we cannot apprehend the glorious salvation of our Lord. We need a miracle. And that’s what Jesus means when he tells Nicodemus that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  We need a miracle. Nicodemus needs a miracle and he just doesn’t get it.

I said in the first message that everything in John’s prologue was covered later more fully. He said,

“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”—John 1:12-13 ESV

This is a birth that comes from above. The word translated here has a double meaning and both meanings find great significance here. I think John did it on purpose to mean “born again from above”. It is a birth that happens for people after natural birth and it happens from above. This is the birth that we need. We need that spiritual birth that is from God. Though the word is not used in the Old Testament it is an allusion to Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Ezekiel 37. The believer is cleansed from sin (Ezekiel 36:25), is given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), is given God’s Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27). This cleansing from sin, new heart, and God’s Spirit causes the believer to walk in God’s ways (Ezekiel 36:27). And then in the next chapter, Ezekiel 37, this is illustrated as dead dry bones being brought to life. If Nicodemus had understood what Ezekiel 36-37 taught and illustrated he would have known this already.

Since Nicodemus did not understand what Ezekiel 36-37 actually taught, Jesus looked at him and said “Do not marvel” (John 3:7) and “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” (John 3: 10). Nicodemus’ misunderstanding is just that he is thoroughly confused and attempting to make sense of things.

Jesus said to Nicodemus that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Again, this is a reiteration of the word born again. You have to be born of water, which is your first birth. And you also have to be born of the Spirit.

He goes on to say,

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6 ESV)

Again, Jesus makes a differentiation between the first birth and second birth. There is a difference in the two and unless you have been born of the Spirit then you are not born again.

Then, Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus that the new birth is something that we do not control. Jesus illustrates the work of the Holy Spirit by comparing it to the wind. I was lying down on the trampoline in our backyard after jumping on the trampoline with the kids and watching the wind blow with Lydia. The leaves rustled and a few leaves even fell to the ground. This passage of Scripture ran through my head.

Nicodemus had seen the wind blow plenty in his life, but he had never actually seen the wind. He had only seen the effects of the wind. But, without a doubt, he knew that the wind existed. And he had seen the power of the wind and what it could do. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit working in a person is much like the wind. Though we don’t see the Spirit working in us, we do see the Spirit’s effects in those who the Holy Spirit is working in.

When God works in a person, He changes a person. When God works in us we are made able to love God. We are given His Spirit. And we are caused to walk in righteousness. It is the great promise of Ezekiel 36-37. The Holy Spirit’s work will be seen at a much larger level in these days than it had in times past. And, Nicodemus still does not get it.

Nicodemus still does not understand the new birth that Jesus is talking about. It is likely that Nicodemus had always taught that entrance into the kingdom was attained through following God’s Law. Now, Nicodemus has been confronted with the new birth, something that he has no control over. And, to make matters worse for him, it is a requirement for entrance into the Kingdom.

Up to this point, Jesus has been rejected as Messiah. They see Him as possibly being a teacher from God, but He is not seen as the Messiah by the Pharisees. Nicodemus had some knowledge of Jesus but had not received Jesus’ testimony concerning Himself. Jesus has been teaching Nicodemus in strictly human terms. He used a comparison of birth and wind, but Nicodemus still did not understand. Now, Jesus says the most astounding thing. Jesus says that He is supremely qualified to teach these things.

“No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” (John 3:13 ESV)

Jesus is God the Son. He came to rescue us and is the greatest teacher to ever walk planet Earth. Why? The reason is that He “descended from heaven”. And here He says in no uncertain terms that in order for a person to believe in Christ they must first be born of God.

We cannot believe apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. If you are a believer here today, not only do you have to credit God with achieving salvation for you, but you also have to give credit to Him for causing you to see yourself as sinful and then receiving that salvation from His hand.

We are described, as has already been mentioned, as dead in Scripture. The often used illustration of God throwing out the life raft from the boat and we have to take hold of it does not work. The reason is that we are not drowning and in the process of dying but already dead. We are like the bones in Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry bones. We have no life in us. We are not born with an ingrained desire to follow after God. We are born rebels against God and He saves us. He doesn’t just make a way for us to be saved by throwing a floatation device at us. He dives to the bottom of the ocean where our dead and rotting carcass is lying lifeless and gives us life bringing us to safety.

This causes us to be incredibly thankful for our salvation. We would not have it apart from the work of Christ in accomplishing our salvation through His life, death, and resurrection. Nor would we have it apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our life to desire it and trust in Christ.

This also plays a large part in our sharing the gospel with friends. When we discuss Christ’s coming to die as a sacrifice for sins and His Resurrection with our lost friends. We also must call them to respond to Christ. They are to repent of their sins and trust in Christ. But they will not accept our message unless God first performs a miracle: the new birth. God makes us able to respond to His great rescue.

God’s Great Rescue Is Achieved Through The Death Of Christ: Trust In Him (John 3:14-17)

Jesus now begins to speak with Nicodemus about a story he likely knows very well. In the Book of Numbers, we are told of an event that occurred in which the people of Israel became impatient with God out in the wilderness (Numbers 21:5). God, in response, sent “fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6). The people then understood that they had sinned against God in what they had said and did and they went to Moses to plead with him to ask God to take away the serpents (Numbers 21:7). God had Moses build a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and if anyone was bitten by the serpent all the people had to do was look at the serpent and they would live (Numbers 21:8-9).

Now, this is very interesting. God’s wrath toward the people of Israel was found in the venom of those serpents. When they repented God made a way for them to be saved. Anyone who had the plague must trust the promise of God and do something as ridiculous as look at a statue of a bronze serpent, the very thing that bit them, and they would live rather than die.

God’s wrath abides on us. We are all guilty of rebellion against God and His wrath hangs over our heads. And God has hung Christ up for us to see and to look to when we realize that we are in trouble. The Israelites looked at the bronze serpent and believed the promise of God’s redemption and they were healed. We look to Christ hanging cursed on the cross and trust in God’s redemption and are healed from our sin.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:14-17 ESV)

We see, on the cross, God’s love for His people. He was willing to send His Son to come and to be lifted up and to die on a cross for our sins. This also speaks to the mission of Jesus. For what purpose did Jesus come to Earth? So those who believed in Him will have “eternal life” and that “the world might be saved through Him.”

We begin our lives dead and unable to even look to our only hope, which is Jesus who descended from Heaven and took upon Himself the full punishment for the sin of God’s people. Now, the believer is to look to Jesus as their only cure. Trust in Him. Cling to Him as your only means of salvation, because He is.

When John Newton, the writer of the song “Amazing Grace”, was 82 and losing his memory he said these incredibly wise words,

“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner—and that Christ is a great Savior!”—John Newton

What a picture of faith! We see our terrible need for the Savior and trust in Him because He is a mighty Savior indeed! Cling to Christ and Christ alone. He rescues, now cling to Him.

We Need God’s Great Rescue: We Are In Imminent Danger (John 3:18-21)

This conversation ends with a description of two different people, the believer and the unbeliever. The believer is not condemned (John 3:18). He has already been declared righteous based upon the perfect work of Christ. God’s wrath once stood over this person but now it is not so. The believer is not condemned. It is not so for the unbeliever. Jesus here says that the unbeliever is “condemned already” (John 3:18). The unbeliever is dangling over the precipice of Hell itself and written over His life the sentence of “condemned” lies upon Him.

Jesus came to the world to rescue and as John stated in chapter 1, for the most part, Jesus was rejected. Jesus explains that the reason is the people’s love of darkness and hatred of the light (John 3:19-21). The unbeliever loves darkness rather than the light. This is their reason for rejecting Christ.

I have heard this over and over. I have witnessed to people who have said that they would become Christians when they are older. What they mean by this is that they love their sin and rebellion now and want to stop that when they get older. They love their darkness and refuse to give it up for Christ. And from what I’ve observed they usually stay on this path and never trust in Him.

God Glorifies Himself In Our Great Rescue (John 3:21)

On the opposite end of this spectrum is the Christian. Rather than loving the light, he has been changed by the power of God to love the light. It is not that Christians are the more moral people, it is that God has worked mightily in them “so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:21).

Throughout this passage, we have read that there is a change brought to the believer through the work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. God works a mighty work in us to see God’s glorious grace. Nicodemus didn’t yet understand but we do not because we are smarter than Nicodemus but because God has worked in us. And not only do we see the truth, that Christ has come to redeem us and we trust Him, but we also love the light. We love to follow God’s Word and God’s way now. So we behave differently. God has changed us.

“The signs of salvation are in the saints, but the cause of salvation is in God.”—Thomas Watson

The point is that the believer glorifies God with His salvation. Our lives become marked by love for God and doing His will. Again, Watson is helpful here when he says,

“If we are lovers of God, we love what God loves.”—Thomas Watson

We want to keep His command. We want to honor Him. We are different than those who hate the light now because of the mighty work of God in our lives.

Conclusion

God has brought up our dead carcasses from the bottom of the lake, given us new life, we then look to the finished work of Christ as our only means of salvation, and then glorify God for what He has done. What marvelous grace!

If you are a Christian here today then you have so much to be thankful for. God has plucked you out of the world to be His treasured child. God makes us able to respond to His great rescue and H makes Himself look incredible in the process.

R. Dwain Minor