Good Friday Saviour on a stick

Good morning, everyone.

If you'd like to grab your Bibles and just keep them open there,

if you already got them open at John 3.

But if you haven't, it'd be great if you could grab one.

I'm going to pray and then we'll take a look at that passage.

Gracious God, we thank you for the wonderful privilege

of being able to gather right now in this place

and to again look at the central message of what it means to be Christian.

We pray that you would help us in our understanding this morning

as we look at the person of Jesus,

that we would not be clouded by darkness as Nicodemus was,

but by your Spirit help us to see Jesus

and to see what he's done for us

so that we may long for and may receive new birth,

that we might be born again.

And we thank you for the wonderful testimony we just saw

of someone who, of Laura, who responded to you,

was born again last year at this time.

We pray that there might be many more.

Come to that point this morning, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Some of you have heard the less than true story

of four people on a plane that lost all its power.

The pilot announced an imminent crash

and added that there were four of us,

but there was only three parachutes.

And he added, it's my plane and my parachute,

so I'm taking one of them.

He strapped on a chute, jumped to safety.

No one sort of disagreed with that.

The three left on the plane were a brilliant professor,

minister of religion, and a backpacker.

And the professor jumped to his feet

and insisted, I'm one of the greatest minds in this country.

I need to survive.

This country needs me to survive.

I must have one of the remaining parachutes.

He grabbed one of the chutes,

strapped it on and jumped out the plane.

The minister pipes into the young backpacker

and says, look, I've lived a long life.

I don't fear death.

I know where I'm going after death.

And so you take the last parachute.

And the backpacker stopped him

before he could finish and said,

no, no, no, it's fine.

The brilliant professor just jumped out

with my backpack strapped on.

Obviously, it's a really good joke,

or maybe you haven't heard it as much

as I thought you might have.

I didn't think it was that great.

But anyway,

there's something great about that story.

There's something inadequate about a PhD

in that moment.

None of us,

none of us is an expert in everything.

It's an obvious statement.

I know it's an obvious statement,

but it is worth letting it sink in.

Despite the collective brilliance

represented here this morning,

what we don't know

and can't do

far exceeds

what we do know

and can do.

And so,

expertise in one area

counts for little

in another area.

And so, therefore,

humility

is just plain common sense.

It's common sense.

None of us

knows everything.

And it's true

when we come to the subject

of God, Jesus,

and the truth

surrounding the first

Easter weekend.

We all have our opinions.

And on the most part,

we'd say that we would believe

in Jesus.

That's why we've come here

this morning, I assume.

And are positive

towards Jesus.

And we get this great encounter

here in John 3

about a man

or with a man

who kind of figured

he had all God

worked out.

He was positive

towards Jesus.

He was positive

towards God.

He believed in Jesus

as we see

at the end

of chapter 2.

Interestingly,

it was, in fact,

his area

of expertise.

He was a teacher

of the law,

of God's law.

But his PhD

on God

was about to be

revealed

as lacking.

Nicodemus is a Pharisee.

He's a member

of the Jewish

ruling council.

He was a very religious

man.

He was zealous

to obey God's law.

He was even a teacher

of God's law

to others.

His morality

and his piety

was well respected

in the community.

From one perspective,

you'd look at a Nicodemus

and you'd just say,

this guy has got

it all together

when it comes

to God

and religious matters.

And that is why

this encounter

between Jesus

and Nicodemus

is so crucial

for us to see.

You see,

Nic hasn't got it

all worked out

just yet.

It says he came

to Jesus

at night.

He came secretly,

but more specifically,

it wasn't just

that he came secretly

under the cover

of darkness,

but that he came

blindly.

He came

in the dark.

This clever man

was in the dark

when it came

to Jesus'

true identity

and what it meant

to have belief

in him.

He was one of those

people who,

at the end of chapter 2,

saw the miracles

of Jesus,

saw all the great

things Jesus did

and believed,

it says.

He didn't doubt

that Jesus

performed miracles,

but merely seeing

the miracles

wasn't in itself

faith.

He hadn't understood

who Jesus really

was because right

at the very beginning

here it says

he comes and calls

Jesus rabbi,

teacher.

And so,

Nic puts Jesus

in amongst the

category of a bunch

of other teachers,

possibly even comes

asserting himself

over Jesus

as he himself

is a teacher

of the law.

Nicodemus,

though clever

and highly accomplished,

stumbles around

in the dark

blindly to the

true identity

of Jesus.

His confusion

is pretty obvious

in the next number

of verses

as we go through.

He thinks Jesus

is a teacher

come from God

and yet Jesus

says something

apparently

completely

bluntly

and had nothing

to do with the

topic at all.

Jesus comes

back to him

in verse 3

and says,

I tell you the

truth,

no one can see

the kingdom of

God unless he

is born again.

Now,

Nicodemus is

really confused.

How on earth

can a person

re-enter their

mother's womb?

Jesus then

responds in

verses 5

to 8

that he's

talking about

spiritual birth

and unless

you experience

it,

you will never

enter the

kingdom of

God,

you'll never

be part of

God's family,

you'll never

be reconciled

to God,

forgiven,

you'll never

be able to

receive eternal

life unless

you are born

again.

Then he adds

that it is

God who

causes this

new birth

and not man,

it is a work

of God,

it is not a work

of a clever

man with a

PhD in religion,

not even the

work of good

people like

Nicodemus.

And in

verse 9 we

see that Nic

is still at a

loss,

Jesus marvels

in verse 10

that a teacher

of God's

people doesn't

even understand

how it is

that you enter

to be part of

the family of

God.

And then in

verse 11

Jesus reveals

the problem.

Even though

Nic is hearing

reliable truth

about Jesus,

he isn't

receiving it.

That is,

it's an issue

of belief

in the heart.

That's the

problem.

And so in

verse 12,

Jesus sort of

says to

Nicodemus,

you keep

pushing me

here for

clearer and

clearer explanations

of being born

again so that

you can get

your mind

around it

and you can

fit it into

your theological

systems,

but a

heart of

unbelief

can't

understand

the sort

of

explanations

that are

needed

here.

And it's

at this

point we

see this

remarkable

transition

in this

encounter

with

Nicodemus.

Jesus

now makes

a shift

and he

starts

talking about

himself not

so much as a

teacher of

God's people,

telling people

that you need

to be born

again,

he now

starts saying

I am the

son of man

from heaven

who came to

do the thing

that makes it

possible for you

to be born

again.

Jesus makes

the claim to

be more than

just a teacher

about God

but as the

one who came

from God

to reveal

God.

And so as

Nicodemus,

PhD in one

hand,

comes with

these clever

arguments to

try and

understand

Jesus,

the expert

in the law

comes,

Jesus says

in actual

fact,

Nic,

I am the

expert on

God.

I have

just come

from God.

I am

God.

And so

listen to

me.

And as

the expert

on God,

Jesus says

there is an

obstacle to

being born

again and

entering the

kingdom of

God,

being part

of his

family.

Something

has to

happen to

remove the

anger of

God for

our sin

and unbelief

and rebellion.

And to help

Nic understand

what Jesus is

talking about

here, he

picks up an

analogy from

the Old

Testament.

and it

gives us a

picture of

what Jesus

is about

to do,

what he's

about to

do to

remove the

obstacle so

that we can

be born

again and

be part of

the family

of God.

Verse 14,

just as

Moses lifted

up the

snake in

the desert,

so the

son of

man must

be lifted

up,

that everyone

who believes

in him may

have eternal

life.

And so

Jesus is

referring to

Numbers 21,

that first

passage that

Lindy read out

for us,

where Israel,

they have

arrived at

Mount Hor,

they have

been there

before,

about 40

years before

in fact,

their trip

from Egypt

to the

promised land

should have

taken a

couple of

weeks,

but the

trip from

slavery to

freedom under

God's rule

had taken

much longer.

Israel had

proven unworthy

to enter the

promised land

because they

did not believe

in God's

power,

all God's

promises,

repeatedly they

had been

tried and

found wanting,

but now they

are back.

They are back

at the borders

of the promised

land,

40 years

later.

But it

would appear

from that

passage that

Lindy read out

that little

has changed.

They grumble,

they whinge,

they moan,

they grumble

about their

lack of water,

they grumble

that there's

too much

food.

They grumble

against their

leadership,

they grumble

against God

because they

reckon that he

only rescued

them so that he

could lead them

out in the

desert so they

would die.

40 years of

God's provision

hasn't changed

the hearts of

these people.

They grumble,

grumble,

grumble,

even about

good things,

they grumble.

people.

And God

responds by

punishing the

Israelites,

by sending

poisonous snakes

to bite a

number of

them and

many die as

a consequence.

The good

thing is that

the people

work out for

themselves that

they've been

pretty dumb

and that

they've been

pretty much

bad-mouthing

God and

Moses and

so they

ask Moses

to pray so

that they

won't be

punished by

God anymore.

And Moses

does pray and

God responds

in a very

strange way.

God says,

make a

snake and

put it on

a pole.

Anyone who

is bitten can

look to the

snake on the

pole and

live.

And so

Moses made a

bronze snake

and put it

up on a

pole.

Then when

anyone was

bitten by a

snake and

looked at the

bronze snake,

he lived.

That's a

weird answer

to prayer.

So notice a

few things

here from

Numbers 21.

Notice that

the snake on

the pole did

not prevent

the people

from being

bitten.

It was for

those who

were bitten.

Notice it

was God who

sent the

snakes.

God was

angry with

his people

because of

their ingratitude

and their

grumbling and

their complaining

and their

whinging and

their rebellion.

Notice that

the way God

chooses to

rescue the

people from

his own

curse, God's

own curse that

he put on the

people, is a

picture of the

curse itself.

And notice

that all they

had to do to

be saved from

God's anger

was to look

to God's

provision.

Hang it on a

pole.

If someone

was bitten by

a snake, they

looked to the

bronze snake

that Moses had

put on the

stick and they

wouldn't die.

The solution

to their

punishment is

to believe

God's answer

and to look

at a bronze

snake on a

pole, a

bronze snake

being a symbol

of their

punishment and

their judgment

and then they

would be saved

from certain

death.

So if an

Israelite

looked at a

bronze snake

which was

their own

judgment

portrayed on

a pole and

they believed

they would be

rescued from

certain death

and in the

very act of

looking is a

trust in God's

provision.

God provided a

way for these

sinful people to

be saved

and every

time they

looked

then they

would be

reminded that

their rebellion

against God

means death.

Especially

notice then

that having

taken Nick

to this

shocking picture

in Numbers

21

Jesus

then follows

that picture

with the

most famous

Bible verse

in the

world.

For God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only son

referring to

himself

Jesus is

here

so that

whoever

believes in

him would

not perish

but have

eternal life.

Jesus is

the one

who was

raised up

like the

snake.

He will

be the

powerful

portrayal

of God's

anger and

judgment.

When we

look to the

crucifixion of

Jesus which

is what we

are doing

here this

morning we

are supposed

to see the

consequences of

our sin.

We are

supposed to

say to

ourselves that

should be

me that is

what I

deserve.

The

crucifixion

of Jesus

doesn't

hide our

failures.

They are

uncovered in

all their

ugliness.

We are to

be confronted

with our

sinfulness and

our shame and

our death and

our complaining

and our grumbling

and our whinging.

When we

look we are

to see our

sin, our

rebellion, our

judgment.

Jesus in the

place of the

snake is

portrayed as

sin, evil,

rebellion, guilt

as a curse.

Another part of

the Bible says

this about

Jesus'

crucifixion.

God made

him who had

no sin to

be sin for

us so that

in him we

might become

the righteousness

of God.

In becoming

like the

snake, Jesus

was the

embodiment of

our sin and

becoming for

and in

becoming sin

for us, he

took our

sins away as

our substitute.

And so in

what is

apparently a

fleeting reference

to a strange

event in the

Old Testament,

Jesus was

telling Nicodemus

that he,

Jesus, would

be the bearer of

the judgment of

God and that

through his

judgment we

can find hope

and rescue and

salvation.

salvation.

That is why

it's called

Good Friday.

Because the

crucified one is

a gift from

God.

It is because

God so loved

the world that

he gave his

only son.

Without this

gift we would

perish like the

Israelites did in

the wilderness.

Our only hope is

to look at the

cross and

believe that

God has made

a way back to

himself through

the death of

his son.

As strange as

it may be, to

look to the

cross is all

that's required to

believe in what

Jesus has said

and says,

look to me.

The wonderful

news is that

Jesus in the

place of the

snake is the

source of

healing, the

source of

rescue, the

source, the

rescue from the

poison of sin and

the anger of

God.

what he gives

us for the

cross is eternal

life.

When our sin

and God's

anger are taken

away, it means

that God is

totally for us.

And if God is

for us, we will

never die but

live forever with

him.

And so Jesus'

call to Nick

here and to us

is to believe in

what God has

provided for our

rescue.

you see, the

Israelites had an

option in the

wilderness.

Believe in God's

provision and

look or say

that's ridiculous

and look for some

other alternative

for medicine.

Verse 14 says,

just as Moses

lifted up the

snake in the

desert, so the

son of man must

be lifted up,

look to Jesus.

Nicodemus, if you

want new birth and

you must have new

birth in order to

get into the

family of God, you

must look to Jesus

on the cross.

I think this

conversation between

Jesus and Nicodemus

under the cover of

darkness is so

crucial for us to

be listening in on.

The expert still

had some things to

learn and Jesus

encourages him here

to move on from

a shallow,

superficial belief in

Jesus.

Before this

encounter,

Nicodemus believed

in Jesus, it says,

at the end of

chapter 2.

And Jesus says

here, your belief

is not enough,

it's a superficial

belief.

Move from it.

After all, Satan

believes in Jesus,

but he doesn't look

to him for

salvation.

The encouraging

thing is that

Nicodemus didn't

give up when it

got confusing.

He didn't give up.

He was there at the

end, at the

crucifixion.

He was there

taking the body

down off the

cross.

And he prepared

it for burial in

a significant

act of devotion

to Jesus.

He did look to

Jesus in the

end.

No doubt we

are gathered here

this morning because

we acknowledge some

sort of belief in

Jesus.

But is it a

belief that

recognizes who

Jesus is as

the heaven sent

son of man, the

expert on God?

As with

Nicodemus,

religion is a

common cover for

not being born

again.

Each of us

churchgoers should

examine ourselves

to see if we are

truly born again

or is it just

religion?

Shallow belief

that doesn't in

the end look to

Jesus.

Does our belief in

Jesus recognize

he was crucified

as our substitute

to turn away

God's anger from

us and to

deal with our

sin?

Does our belief

in Jesus

recognize that

he is the

heaven sent

son of man,

the expert on

God who calls

us to follow

him, to love

him, to

obey him?

Is it a

belief in the

promise that

whoever believes

in him should

not perish but

have eternal

life?

look to

Jesus.

If that's

something that

you want to

do this

morning as we

found out a

bit earlier,

Laura did

this time last

year, I would

invite you to

come down and

pray with me or

some others at

the front at the

end of the

service.

Let's pray.

Father God,

we thank you for

the provision that

you have made for

us in the Lord

Jesus.

Jesus, thank

you that we, as

strange as it

seems, all we

need to do is to

look to Christ,

look to Jesus, to

find our rescue and

our hope.

And we thank you

for the gift of the

Lord Jesus and the

opportunity to be

reminded of it again

this morning and we

ask it for your

sake.

Amen.