Sermon Notes - John 3:1-21 - Nicodemus - Littleby Baptist Church - October 9, 2022

1.     Jesus cleansed the temple and people did not understand.

a.      They questioned who He was to do such a thing.

b.     He got rid of the impurities, the greed, the pride, the sin.

c.      He does the same to each one of us.

d.     As we draw near to Him, He will cleanse us.

e.      He will give us the strength to grow our faith.

f.      If we trust in Him, study His Word, and Talk to Him.

2.     John 3:1

a.      In the world’s eyes, Nicodemus was an elite.

b.     He was a teacher of the Word.

c.      He was a Pharisee, a learned religious leader.

d.     He was a member of the Sanhedrin.

e.      In those days the Sanhedrin was both the Jewish ruling council for religious issues, but under Rome they were in charge of civil issues as well.

f.      Nicodemus likely had it all wealth, power, and influence

3.     John 3:2

a.      Nicodemus came at night… but no reason is given for it.

b.     Could have been that he was trying to be secretive.

c.      Could be that he was coming after dinner in hope of the crowd being smaller as he wanted a one-on-one conversation.  

d.     Maybe it was when his schedule was open.

e.      Many teach that Nicodemus was trying to be secretive, but that is pure speculation as Scripture does not tell us why.

f.      Nicodemus calls Jesus Rabbi and Teacher, which are signs of respect but also shows that he had no clue who he was talking to.   

g.     Nicodemus viewed Jesus as an equal, but then there were those signs that Jesus performed.

h.     They were evidence that God was with Him, but he did not understand what it meant.

4.     John 3:3

a.      Nicodemus was trying to build a common ground so they could talk peer to peer and Jesus shifted gears on him.

b.     Jesus just jumped in there.

c.      “unless someone…”

d.     Jesus was saying, unless Nicodemus was born again, unless he would become what we would call saved through Jesus, he could never understand.

e.      That is simply the way it is for those who are living in sin.

f.      Without their eyes being opened to the truth they will never understand.

g.     Trying to convince them won’t work.

h.     Instead, we need to show them love, sharing what Jesus has done in our own lives, and continuing to plant seeds is what we need to do.

5.     John 3:4

a.      When Jesus pivoted it likely threw Nicodemus off.

b.     But what Jesus said, really did not make sense, it isn’t possible.

c.      It is like he is asking Jesus, what did you really mean?

6.     John 3:5

a.      One thing to remember here, is that Jesus has obviously not died and risen from the dead yet.

b.     So that begs the question of how one is born again?

c.      Nicodemus would have known about John the Baptist, would have heard about his teachings that all were to repent and be baptized.

d.     Jesus was telling him something along those same lines.

e.      For one to enter the kingdom of God, for one to be saved, they had to repent of their sins which is the water.

f.      Then they could be born of the Spirit, which points to the regeneration power of the Holy Spirit.

g.     Jesus was saying something we tend to understand.

h.     We need to repent of our sins and then we are filled with the Holy Spirit as He works in us.

i.       Would have been a foreign concept to Nicodemus.

7.     John 3:6-7

a.      You are either of the fallen world of flesh or of the Spirit, the kingdom of God.

b.     You are one or the other, you cannot straddle the line here.

c.      You have either repented of your sins and are a new creation or you are not.

d.     Jesus is saying it is that simple.

e.      You must be born again.

8.     John 3:8

a.      Man cannot control the wind or the Holy Spirit.

b.     The wind blows as it does without influence from man.

c.      The Holy Spirit will work as He sees fit, we cannot control Him.

9.     John 3:9-10

a.      Ouch.

b.     Ezekiel 36:25-27 is just one example of the OT prophecies about Jesus and what He is talking about.

c.      Nicodemus probably new the OT better than most of us, if not all of us put together, and Jesus clearly states he did not know enough.

d.     He may be able to quote it, but did not know it.

10.  John 3:11

a.      Nicodemus represented what the Jewish spiritual and civil leaders thought and understood.

b.     As a whole they did not understand what John the Baptist taught and missed the teachings of Jesus coming in the OT.

11.  John 3:12

a.      If Nicodemus did not understand these things, how was he going to understand Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension?

b.     How was he going to grasp the amazing gift that Jesus is talking about?

12.  John 3:13

a.      No person has gone from this earth to heaven, so no one can fully understand the heavenly things.

b.     The only one who could understand, is Jesus Himself.

13.  John 3:14-15

a.      Nicodemus would recognize the snake analogy from Numbers.

b.     When the people complained against God, He sent poisonous snakes to bite them.

c.      Moses interceded for the people and God had him make a bronze snake that was mounted on a pole.

d.     It was raised up and those who looked upon it would be healed; they would be saved.

e.      Jesus was telling Nicodemus that the Son of Man was going to be the same thing.

f.      He was going to be lifted up and those that believe in Him will be saved.

g.     Belief in Jesus, having faith in Him will bring eternal life to all of us who are doomed for eternity on our own.

14.  John 3:16

a.      God’s Love paved the way for eternal life.

b.     A Gift to Everyone.

c.      Saved by Faith in the one who was raised upon that cross.

15.  John 3:17

a.      God’s purpose in sending His son is to save everyone.

b.     1 Timohty 2:3-4

c.      His wish is that none will choose the world over Jesus and perish.

16.  John 3:18

a.      We are already under judgment.

b.     All of humankind is under judgment.

c.      Jesus is not condemning us, sin in our lives has already done that.

d.     Jesus is the way to overturn that condemnation.

e.      We are lost until we repent and follow Jesus, then we are found, we are redeemed, saved, and set free.

17.  John 3:19

a.      Sadly, we love the things of the world.

b.     People are trapped in complacency, greed, pride, sexual immorality, and more.

c.      Sin is what they know, it is what they embrace, it is an extremely addictive drug.

d.     Hence people love their darkness and cannot see the Light.

e.      It is hard to turn from those things that we think bring us comfort.

f.      It is hard to not be apathetic, it is hard to turn away from the pursuit of money, prestige, sex, gluttony, and just about anything.

g.     When we live in darkness, we cannot escape it on our own, and probably would not even want to.

18.  John 3:20

a.      Going into the light, letting Jesus shine on us, helps us to see what we are doing.

b.     When you live in sin, you normally do not want to see how bad things are.

c.      When you live in the darkness, you want to avoid the light as it only brings on guilt and despair.

d.     When loving the darkness, the Light shows how far we have fallen.

e.      That is not something a person wants to see.

f.      Even today many of us have things we struggle with, sin that we are hiding.

g.     We pray about it, we might talk about it to a person or two, but we don’t want the world to know.

19.  John 3:21

a.      As we draw near to Jesus, His light causes us to see our sin.

b.     His light brings the repentance that John the Baptist talked about.

c.      It brings about the being born in water and ultimately as we know today, the filling of the Holy Spirit.

d.     As we let the Light of Christ shine on our sins, as we turn to Him, His Light purifies us.

e.      We become that new creation through our faith in Him.

f.      The Spirit works in us and guides us.

g.     The Spirit molds us, shapes our lives, and helps us as we seek God’s will for us.

20.  Jesus was direct in His conversation with Nicodemus.

a.      He was clear that they were not equals and that Nicodemus should understand more of the OT prophecy.

b.     But Jesus also pointed out that there was a path forward.

c.      If Nicodemus would repent and follow God’s Son all would be forgiven, He would be born again.

d.     The same is true for us.

e.      All it takes is for us to repent and follow Jesus and we are saved.

f.      It is a gift from God for EVERYONE.

g.     If you have not accepted the gift, Jesus is offering it to you today.

h.     What you have done, does not matter. Only that you are willing to repent and follow Jesus.

i.       For those of us that Know Jesus, remember the gift is for EVERYONE. Even those we think are wrong.

j.       Jesus Knew Nicodemus was wrong, but He offered it to him anyways.

k.     We need to continue to tell people about the gift, regardless of what we think.