John 3.11-18 - First Hand Knowledge…

[11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and witness of what we have seen, and you all do not receive our witness.]  

Jesus is talking to Nicodemus - who snuck out at night to meet w this radical rabbi.  We know what We’re talking about, Jesus says.  What We’re telling you, We’ve seen it.  So We have FIRST-HAND knowledge - OF THE TRUTH.  Of course, Jesus is using the royal "we" - He is in fact referring to Himself.  Jesus’ words are true - all of them.  AND you (pl) don’t believe Us, He says.  You all don’t receive Our witness.  He doesn’t say, BUT you don’t receive it.  As if it were more like a surprise.  He says, We’re giving you this true, first-hand knowledge AND you are not receiving it.  

Jesus is not at all surprised that people do not receive His words.  Jesus knows all men, as we’ve already seen [2.25][1.11].  Why was Nic (and others?) not receiving?  [consider the false values/priorities that people have in the physical realm as opposed to spiritual truth]

MATERIALISM:  Truth <——> Matter (Physical)

EMPIRICISM:     Truth <——> Experience (5 senses)

RATIONALISM: Truth <——> Reason (Logic)

i.e. How many people roll is that, if I can’t see it or touch it or prove it, I refuse to believe it’s true.  But there’s more…

[12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?]  WHAT's He saying?  Remember, Nic is so focused on the external that he’s stuck in not accepting/trusting something he can’t fully explain or understand [which is why Jesus will mention the wind].  Some truths we can’t fully explain; we can’t prove them scientifically [i.e. my dad loves me can't be proven scientifically].  One commentator: [“Revelation, not discovery, is the basis for faith.”]  The deep profound truths of eternity, of Almighty God and the Word Who Was - are way beyond the ability of our fallen minds to comprehend. [Rom. 11:33-34  Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?][1Cor. 2:13-14 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.] Truth is grounded in revelation.  This needs to be our prayer: [Ps. 119:18  Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.] The beginning of understanding the truths of God, and then any progress we might make in ascending to greater heights of understanding heavenly truth, is a work of God.  It is a spiritual journey, one which begins with a spiritual birth (or before?).  Regeneration.  First light.  It begins w a knowledge of Him [Prov 9.10]. [but visibility or lack thereof does in no way make the spiritual realm true][Mt 6.25-33]

[13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.] 

In other words, it’s not like any human has ever been able to just go up to heaven and acquire heavenly knowledge themselves.  The Great Exception to this, of course, is Jesus.  He has first-hand knowledge of heaven, of eternal truth, because He’s actually from there.  He came to us from there.  If you want to learn about a distant place [like Wuhan, or Iran, or Timbuktu], and you can’t go there in person, your best bet is to learn from someone who comes from there.  First-hand knowledge.  And Jesus has the first-hand knowledge we need about spiritual truth, about heaven and eternal life.  So He clearly is the best and in fact ONLY One to look to if you want to learn and understand these eternal truths.  He’s the Key.  He’s the Door.  He’s the Way.  We gotta go thru Him.  That’s what He says next:

[14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.] 

We go thru Jesus not only to gain understanding - we go thru Him for eternal life, period.  Whoever believes IN Him, He says. [John Paton, missionary to New Hebrides, searched the local language to find a satisfactory word for believe IN.  One day after a hunt he fell exhausted into a lawn chair outside his tent. One of the natives observed, “It’s good to stretch yourself out and rest when you’re tired.” Immediately Payton seized on the words “stretch out and rest” and translated the New Testament word for “believe in” in that way.  Whoever stretches out and rests in Jesus will have eternal life.]  

Jesus references an historical event here [Moses/serpent - Num 21.8-9]  God thru Moses gave His people a picture of trust.  Just like the Israelites needed to “stretch out and rest” in that bronze serpent for physical healing, now all people will see the Son of Man lifted up on a pole, and whoever stretches out and rests in Him, in Jesus, in His death on that pole to pay the penalty for our sin, will have eternal life.  ***[Life then becomes all about lifting up Jesus…][Paton*]

[John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.]  Jesus is not saying that God loved the world [SO MUCH] that He gave His Son (altho that is certainly a true picture).  The word for “so” here is “thus”.  “In this way”.  He’s saying “thus”, this is HOW God loved the world.  The whole world - not just the Jews.  Not just religious people, or smart people, or pretty people, or wealthy people.  Everybody.  Whoever.  You know how God loved you?  By giving His only Son - to die FOR YOU.  Lifted up on a [pole].  And killed, executed, to pay the penalty for your sin.  Arms stretched out, yes saying this IS how much I love you.  God gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes IN Him, every person who stretches out and rests in Him, will not perish, but may have eternal life. [Nobody else would do that for the world.  I certainly wouldn't give my son for a bunch of strangers or enemies]

"Having eternal life" in the Greek is present subjunctive.  Meaning, it’s possible, but not certain for everyone.  You Might have eternal life.  Or you might not.  It’s conditional - IF you believe.  So, do you?  But "perishing" is aorist subjunctive.  It is far more certain.  The word for “perish” here means to be destroyed.  In other words, destruction is certain for every person.  If you don’t believe, you will perish.  Jesus now explains:

[17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]  That’s the point.  This is what God is doing in His Son, the God•send.  Jesus did NOT come to judge.  He came to save.  This is a mind-blowing truth - no pagan deities or idols EVER make a personal sacrifice on behalf of a human.  But God sacrificed His Son - to rescue every person from judgment.  Because every person is already judged.  The verdict is already in.  We are guilty.  Guilty of sin.  Guilty of choosing what we want over what God wants.  Putting something else in God’s rightful place in our hearts.  And the only way to avoid the certain penalty for this is by believing in the Name of God’s only Son.  Jesus.  He came to save us.  To rescue us from this condemnation.  We no longer have to pay the death penalty for our sin.

Judgment is a hard truth for our culture to accept.  “Judge not”, people insist, right?  But… it’s too late.  Judgment is real.  What Jesus is saying is, the world was already judged long before He came.  The world was already under the sentence of death.  Condemned [Rom 5.16-18].  Which is precisely why Jesus came - to make a way OUT from under that judgment.  NO MORE condemnation.

And so the possibility of rescue is a matter of belief.  WILL you believe?  Will you (& I ) trust in the truth about Jesus, this One Who has first-hand knowledge.  Will we stretch out and rest in Him?  It’s not my job to make anyone else believe.  I can share the truth with them, of course, but every person has to decide for themselves.  Jesus says, in no uncertain terms, if you believe IN Me, stretch out and rest IN ME, then you are fully pardoned.  No judgment.  No condemnation any longer [Rom 8.1]   Not because of anything you’ve done - only because of what He did.  That’s the Good News!  Eternal life - by believing in Jesus.  The One God gave for us.  The God•send.

Referenced verses:

Rom. 5:16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand ^athe judgment arose from one transgression ¹resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions ²resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned ^athrough the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will ^breign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18   So then as through ^aone transgression ¹there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one ^bact of righteousness ²there resulted ^cjustification of life to all men.

Prov. 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Among many who sought to deter me, was one dear old Christian gentleman, whose crowning argument always was, "The cannibals! you will be eaten by cannibals!" At last I replied, "Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honouring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms." -John Paton 

John 3.3-11 - First Teaching: Second Birth

Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews, has come to see Jesus.  VIP Nic has worked a backstage pass to grab some exclusive access to celebrity.  To the One Who’s doing all these signs.  That’s one thing that VIP’s do, don't they - they get exclusive access.  And VIP Nic is so enamored with the signs (like everyone else).  Signs you can see, with your physical eyes.  All the neon lights.  Focused on the external.  Oh, these signs, Rabbi you are clearly from God, cuz you’re doing these signs.  And Jesus is like, no, no, no.  You’ve got it all wrong.  You’re looking at it wrong, Nic.  Message over miracles.

Today we come to Jesus’ first substantial section of teaching.  He is going to lay out the Message in no uncertain terms.  Truly, truly.  3x!!!  Jesus drops a triple helping of doubly truly’s in the span of nine verses.  Truly, truly.  Let’s take a look…

[3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.”] Nic - you’re seeing these signs, and you think, surely the Kingdom of God is showing up in front of you.  But this is not about the signs.  The external.  Nic, you’ve got the cart in front of the horse.  Not that signs aren’t a part of God’s Kingdom, but that’s not what’s most important.  Truly truly - I really mean what I’m about to say - IF you REALLY want to see and experience the Kingdom of God first hand, you MUST be born from above.  You think you’re beginning to see the Kingdom in these signs - but the Kingdom of God actually begins with a SECOND birth.  

Interestingly, the Greek word for ‘birth’ is “genesis”.  It refers to lineage [Genealogy].  The Hebrew word for birth is ‘yalad’.  Whereas the Hebrew word for the first book of the Bible is the first Hebrew word IN the Bible: bereshit, meaning “in the beginning”.  The Greek word for beginning is arche.  Archaelogy.  But so in mentioning birth Jesus is referring to a beginning of LIFE, about lineage.  Our ancestry.  And He is saying that while people are born with a human/physical lineage, what we need if we want to see the kingdom of God, if we want to enter in to eternal life, is a spiritual lineage.  We need this OTHER spiritual birth.  A second beginning of life.  Born from above.

[4 Nicodemus says to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”] And Nic says, wait.  How is that possible?  How is a second birth even possible for someone who is already living?  And you can see, he is totally focused on the physical, on what he can see.  The external.  I’ve never seen one of these ‘births from above’.  How is that even possible?  A second birth is not physically possible.  It’s not [“scientific”]… Nic makes this declarative truth statement, but in doing so he shows how narrow his thinking is [blinders][there is a whole other spiritual realm in play].

[5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.] Being born of water is the [earthly human birth] you’re familiar with.  But Nic, you MUST be born from above if you want to see and experience the Kingdom of God.  This second birth is not something physical - it’s spiritual.  It originates in the spiritual heavenly realm.  It is caused not by some human parents or some biological process, but by the Spirit of God [6].  This actually is NOT something external.  This is about what God is doing in human hearts.  A deep radical rebirth and transformation on the inside.

The problem, Nic, is people’s hearts - the spiritual part of them - are dead from birth.  From the moment you were born physically - actually, the instant you were [conceived], that miraculous moment when the seed and the egg came together and your physical life began in your mother’s womb, your spirit was in a state of spiritual death, separation from God, due to the Fall.  The disobedience of the First Parents: when they chose what they wanted over what God wanted, they died spiritually (even as their bodies began to die physically) - and all their offspring on down to you, Nic (and each one of us) are conceived and born with a spirit that is dead.  Separated from God.  Truly, truly.  What needs to happen is a SPIRITUAL birth.  A “second” birth.  Jesus says, Nic, IF you truly want to see the kingdom of God, you need this second birth.  You (and we all) need to be born again, born from above.  By the Spirit.

[7-8 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”]  I know this sounds amazing, hard to believe.  But don’t be so focused on trying to fully explain everything in terms of what you can see [btw, wind=spirit in Greek, same word].  

[9  Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”]  Nic is still stuck on the physical.  How is any of this even possible?  And he’s refusing to accept/trust something he can’t fully understand or explain.

[10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?]  Is Jesus surprised here?  Of course not.  But Jesus says, this is Israel 101.  Basic instruction for God’s people.  To which, do we find teaching about a spiritual rebirth of the Spirit in the OT?  Yes we do.

[Is. 44:3  ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants;][Ezek. 36:25-26 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.] [Jer. 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.]  These are God’s people.  They need a change of heart on the inside, and this would be a work of His Spirit.  But Israel was just so focused on the externals.  On the do’s & don’ts of that First Covenant.  Do this, don’t do that.  And on circumcision.  Get that little surgery & you’re good to go.  But they & we need a different kind of surgery.  Heavenly heart surgery.  Israel is totally missing the truth that no one can ever make themselves clean enough to enter into God’s kingdom through the externals, through our own efforts.  Their teachers, the Pharisees, are missing this big time.  So focused on making the outside clean.  Even Nicodemus.  Jesus is saying, truly, truly - this is a work that only My Spirit can do, on the inside, in your heart.  Only He can fire up this eternal life in your heart.

[11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and witness of what we have seen, and you all do not accept our witness.”]  Jesus uses plural in just verse.  Is Jesus including JTW?  The word ‘witness’ was used 7 times in ch 1 for what JTW was doing.  Witnessing, testifying.  And the Pharisees came to him too, questioning him - are you the One?  The One who is going to usher in God’s Kingdom?  I.e. a [physical] political change of power?  Totally focused on the the temporal.  But what did John testify?  Same thing - you all need a change of heart.  It’s about what’s going on on the inside.  And remember what John said: I’ve seen the One Who is going to make this happen [1.34].

And so here Jesus is saying, John and I both are speaking about what we’ve seen, we are both telling you what we know to be true, and you all are not receiving/trusting our Message.  Message over miracles.  And you are not believing.  Altho, for those who insist on a sign, how about a resurrection…? [2.19][Mt 16.4]  That's all the sign anyone should need in order to believe...

Matt. 16:4 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah."

John 2.18-3.3 - First Conflict Part 2: Signs (not)

[18-21 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.]  

Jesus has cleaned out all the profiteering from the temple.  And the Jews ask for a SIGN - show us that YOU have the right to do what you just did.   The whole WORLD is looking for a sign, some kind of proof or even a miracle that would show them that Jesus is Who He says He is [esp. skeptics?].  What does Jesus tell them?  He says, OK.  Here's your sign: Destroy this [temple], and I will raise it up in three days.  They mis-hear Him - He wasn't actually referring to THE Jewish temple [Mt 27.40].  [The age-old struggle of faith is seeing the seen vs unseen - Heb 11.1][Lk 17.20-21][Jesus "saw" the unseen in Nathanael: someone from disreputable Nazareth vs “in whom no deceit”][seen water vs unseen Spirit][there's the power of word - you can’t see/touch][unseen Word became seen flesh][and spiritual Light enlightens on the inside!][This reflects God's value of the Eternal over temporal].

[22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.]  At this point, first Passover w Jesus, as new disciples, even His followers don’t fully understand what Jesus is saying, not to mention who He fully is.  Yes, they have already believed in Him.  They’ve seen the first sign at Cana.  They know something of His miraculous power.  But they have so much to learn about the [Word Who Was].  One thing we see early on here is the principle that faith grows, like a [muscle].  It grows with a growth which is from God [1Cor 3.6-7].  Growth from Christ’s Spirit IN us.   But fundamentally, our faith grows as a function of the size of our God.  Our understanding of Who He is.  It’s not how strong we are, or HOW MUCH faith we have, but HOW BIG our God is.  In Whom we trust.  Our view of Him.  Where do we get that? [1Pet 2.2].  [The old train diagram: we put our faith/trust (i.e. the coal) in God and His Word (i.e. the engine)(as opposed to the caboose - which represents our feelings - but trusting in unchanging God and His unchanging Word as opposed to our fluctuating feelings our circumstances is how faith grows - because only He and His Word are truly trustworthy].  And there are different seasons of growth, God uses different things to cause growth in our lives, helping us to learn more about Him.  Often lessons and truths are brought home through [hardship].

[23-25  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.]  Jesus is doing signs.  And many are believing in His Name.  They are trusting in Him.  Which is great.  But wait - which “signs” were these, do you think?  The Jews just asked Him, what sign do You show us?  And the one sign Jesus “shows” them, the only one that John records, is still three years off.  [Also 2nd sign in 4.54] So what are these “signs” that are now persuading people to believe in Jesus here?

John doesn’t tell us.  And the message here is, Message over miracles.  These signs that are getting people in Jerusalem so excited about Jesus?  John doesn’t give us details on even one single miracle.  He’s saying, it’s all about the Message, the Word about The WORD.  Who is Jesus - and who are you in relation to Him?  Ultimately, we don’t trust in the miracles.  In the signs.  We trust in the Person, in the truth of Who Jesus is and what He says.  People here are coming out of the woodwork cuz of the signs.  To see the signs.  The physical.  They’re showing up for the show.  But what John is telling us here is, the Message is more important than the miracles.  Who Jesus is, is more important than what He can do for you.  Of course, BECAUSE of Who He is, He can and will do exactly what He needs to do for each of us…

[23-25] Now, John says many are believing/trusting in Jesus, BUT Jesus is NOT trusting in them.  Why does John tell us this?  And what would it mean for Jesus to “trust Himself” to men?  Why would He even do that?  One thought is that it means that Jesus sees their hearts, and that they are only “believing” in the signs, that they are not really trusting in the person of Jesus.  And so He doesn’t “believe their belief”, so to speak.  They are not really trusting IN Him, committing themselves to Him as their personal Savior, and so He is not committing Himself to them by coming into their hearts and sealing them with salvation.

There is truth to this.  All the time, people say they “believe” in Jesus, they even hang around His people for a time - but the Lord sees into their hearts.  He (alone!) knows whether we’re really trusting in Jesus, OR maybe we’ve only had some emotional experience.  Maybe we have some truth in our head, but we haven’t fully said, “I do” to Jesus in our heart.  We haven’t said, “Jesus, You are the only Way to eternal life.  Your death is the only payment for my sin.”

John says, Jesus [knew all men].  He looks at the inside, sees all the unseen.  Spiritual sight.  Nathanael: before he met Jesus, Jesus knew him.  As we will see, He knows Nicodemus.  He knows the woman at the well.  Jesus knows everyone.  He knows me, AND you.  We can’t hide from Him.  Like the James Webb telescope looking into the deepest reaches of space, Jesus sees into the deepest depths of my heart.  He knew what was in “the man”, John says.  In every person.  For me, this truth is so amazing because Jesus sees all my mess, all my missteps - He knows who I really am, and He still loves me.  Even as He dragged Himself up that hill and onto that Cross, where He died for me and for you, He saw each of us, in all our brokenness, all our rebellion and unfaithfulness.  And He stretched out His hands and said, “I love you.  Just as you are.  Right where you are.  AND I love you too much to let you stay there.  I have a wonderful plan for you - if you’ll trust Me.”

Enter Nicodemus.  Coming to meet w the celebrity Rabbi.  [3:1-3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”  Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”]  The signs!  Everyone is so excited about the signs.  They want to see the signs, they’re clamoring to see this One Who’s doing the signs.  And VIP Nic, this ruler of the Jews, finagles a backstage pass to hang out with the superstar Rabbi.  Exclusive access.  And once he’s there, we see how [enamored he is with the celebrity].  He rolls out the flattery.  Isn’t that what we do when we’re in the presence of greatness?  It’s not insincere - but it’s so focused on the external, the performance, isn’t it?  (Most celebrities are surprised at the flattery and the fanaticism at first, cuz they know they don’t deserve it).  And here’s ol’ Nic: God is with You, honored Teacher!  You are certainly from God.  Cuz these signs - they’re signs that God is with You!  

And flattery feels good doesn’t it, when someone dishes it to you?  Feels good to have fans.  How do you think Jesus felt about Nic’s flattery?  How does He respond?  “Why, thank you…That’s very kind of you…Praise the Lord…”  Nope.  Jesus busts out His second [truly-truly].  He cuts to the chase, and gives Nicodemus the truth behind the signs.  The truth is, this is NOT about these signs you’re seeing.  You want to see God’s kingdom?  It’s not about the signs.  It’s not about the external.  It’s not about the show.  It’s not about showing up for the show.  Sometimes we think, I showed up.  All I need to do is show up for the show on Sunday.  And Jesus says, no no no.  It’s about our heart.  What is going on on the inside.  The deeper, more eternal spiritual reality.  Nic, you need to be born again.  No matter who you are, no matter how important, or unimportant for that matter.  You and I, we all need a NEW heart.  And it only comes from the One Who made all this…

Referenced verses:

Matt. 27:40 and saying, “^aYou who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

1Cor. 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless

1Cor. 3:6 ^aI planted, ^bApollos watered, but ^cGod was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

1Pet. 2:2 ^alike newborn babies, long for the ^1bpure ²milk of the word, so that by it you may ^cgrow ³in respect to salvation

John 4:54 This is again a ^asecond ¹sign that Jesus performed when He had ^bcome out of Judea into Galilee.