Trinity Sunday

Father God, with this creed before us,

we confess to you that we don't always understand

who you are.

We don't always understand your three persons in one.

Father God, would you open our eyes to see who you are,

to see who you are as Father,

to see who you are as Son and who you are as Holy Spirit.

Father, you're here with us this morning.

We ask that you would show yourself to us.

Amen.

Please be seated.

When I was in school at the University of Ottawa,

I had a favorite professor.

He taught mechanical engineering.

And his specialty, the thing that he researched,

the thing that he spent all his time doing

when he wasn't hanging out with students,

was studying fuel combustion.

That was his thing.

He burned things.

And if you went into his lab,

you would see big equipment.

And all that equipment did was burn things.

And every student of his,

who was even just a little bit of a peromaniac,

loved having him.

Because whenever there was a chance for a demonstration

that had anything to do with burning something,

he would come to class with his demo equipment

to make fireballs, to make explosions,

to blow little fuel droplets into the air to burn,

and things like that.

Basically, whatever you'd expect from a professor

who studies combustion.

He did it in class.

It was great.

However, one day,

one day, instead of his burning demo equipment,

he brought a big fat stack of paper in a folder.

That was his demonstration for the day.

Instead of burning equipment,

inside that folder were plans,

were schematics,

were drawings,

were instructions

for all manner of machines and gadgets

that were supposed to be

perpetual motion machines,

machines that never would stop.

Never would stop.

People would just sort of walk into the university,

bring these into his office,

and show him,

and ask him to verify that they really did work.

And in 30-odd years of teaching,

he still had yet to find one,

believe it or not,

that worked.

Our assignment that day

was to sit down,

each with a plan,

and to figure out

why each one didn't work.

To debunk

why each scheme wouldn't work.

I got to meet

one of these

crackpots one day.

I was working in a machine lab.

I had a bunch of stuff in front of me,

and this fellow just sort of walked in

out of nowhere

and just started talking.

And he was a nice enough guy.

He was a nice enough guy.

He was quite pleasant to talk to.

He knew his engineering history.

And he was quite practical.

He knew how to put things together.

And he told a good story.

But what he did not have, however,

was an understanding

of the fundamentals of thermodynamics.

The fundamentals that would tell you

that you can't build

a perpetual motion machine.

One that will work forever.

And I can only just imagine

that Nicodemus

must have felt

something similar,

going to see Jesus

as a professor would feel,

coming with plans

and documents

that clearly aren't going to work.

Nicodemus the Pharisee,

member of a ruling council.

He was well-educated.

He was smart.

He was probably wise.

He was certainly well-respected

among his peers.

He probably had a tremendous

amount of influence

among Jews.

Maybe he even had a few

Roman contacts

in the government.

Jesus was just some

upstart preacher

from Galilee,

from Hicktown nowhere.

No training,

no contacts,

not even any sort of

noble birth

to get him started.

Nicodemus probably felt

like my professor

talking to one of these

crackpots.

He probably felt like

he was beneath him

to talk to Jesus,

to talk to this

upstart preacher.

Just like my professor

probably could have sent

any one of us students

to talk to these

crackpot inventors,

Nicodemus probably felt

like he could have just

sent a student

to deal with Jesus.

Send a student

to straighten out

this upstart

and move on.

But,

Nicodemus is there

in person

and if you have

your Bible,

open it up will you

to John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

Now there was a man

of the Pharisees

named Nicodemus,

a ruler of the Jews.

This man came to Jesus

by night

and he said to him,

Rabbi,

we know that you're

a teacher come from God.

We know that you're

a teacher come from God

for no one can do

these signs,

these miracles

that you do

unless God

is with him.

Nicodemus is there

in person.

He's there under

the cover of night

quite possibly

to hide the fact

that he's there at all.

And that's because

there's a problem.

He's there because

there's a problem.

Just as if my professor

found among that

giant stack of papers

a machine that

actually did work,

a machine that

actually did work

forever,

Nicodemus has found

a crackpot preacher

with God's power.

And that's troubling.

That's troubling.

You see,

Nicodemus is a good Jew.

Being a Pharisee,

he's zealous for holiness.

He's zealous for the law.

He follows the customs

of his people.

He follows the traditions

of his people.

He has stature.

He has respect.

But Nicodemus does not

have power from God.

And Jesus does.

This nobody from Galilee

has power.

So Nicodemus comes,

representing himself

certainly and maybe

a couple of like-minded

friends among the leaders

of the Jews to find out

what's going on.

He's there alone.

His friends haven't

come with him.

Maybe they're too chicken

to ruin their reputations.

Maybe they don't want a crowd

walking down the street.

It's a small gathering,

just the two of them.

And finally,

they're going to speak frankly.

Finally,

Nicodemus hopes

he's going to finally

see who Jesus is.

Finally figure out

what's going on.

He's going to see

who Jesus is.

Being the in-charge

fellow that he is,

Nicodemus starts

this conversation

by just simply

stating what he knows.

Stating what he knows.

Let's read it from

John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

Teacher,

we know that you're

a teacher come from God.

For no one can do

these signs that you do

unless,

unless

they come from God.

Unless God is with them.

There you have it.

That's what Nicodemus knows.

That's what Nicodemus

comes with.

It actually seems

like pretty sound logic

to me.

It tells us that

Nicodemus knows

something about God.

He knows that God

is not a magical force

that you can control.

He knows that God

is a person.

God is someone

who's never coerced.

Therefore,

God chose to work

through Jesus.

This is important to know.

He knows that

if God chose

to work through Jesus,

then there's something

important about Jesus.

There's something

important about Jesus.

And Nicodemus concludes

that the important thing

about Jesus

is that he's a teacher.

A good teacher,

certainly.

Maybe at best,

Jesus will turn

the Jews back to God.

Maybe he will turn

the Jews back

to God's law.

That's what Nicodemus knows.

That's what he sees

in Jesus.

And how does Nicodemus

know these things?

He has seen.

He has seen the signs

that Jesus has done.

He's seen them.

Perhaps he's even seen them

with his own eyes.

He's seen these signs

that Jesus is doing.

So God is clearly

with this Jesus.

I'm sure that Nicodemus

thought that his statement

was perfectly reasonable.

And it seems so.

But instead of responding

with a question,

maybe a clarification,

Jesus simply makes

another statement.

And here it is

from the text.

John 3, verse 3.

John 3:3

Jesus answered him,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

unless one is born again,

he cannot see

the kingdom of God.

Unless one is born again,

he cannot see

the kingdom of God.

Let's put that up

on the screen.

I don't get a chance

to do this very often,

so put it up

on the screen.

And in two sentences,

this conversation

starts to go off the rail.

Nicodemus makes a statement

and Jesus makes

another statement.

Okay?

And in two sentences,

this conversation

seems to be

going off the rails.

Where is it going?

You see,

you might even have

a note in your margin

of your Bible

if you look carefully,

stating that the words

for born again

might also be

born from above.

Now our translators

have picked one of those.

Nicodemus would have heard

both of those things.

He would have heard

born again

and born from above.

And he would have to guess

which one Jesus meant.

Nicodemus would have heard

those two words

and had to guess

what Jesus meant.

Did he just say

born again?

Or did he say

born from above?

Which did he just say?

Let's put that up there.

Again,

I don't get to do this

very often.

There we go.

When I was growing up,

my dad had a friend.

A friend.

And we used to go

on these long

road trip vacations

every year

with this couple,

this man and his wife.

We traveled all over

the country.

We camped in all sorts

of places.

But thinking back,

the only thing

that I actually remember

about this guy

besides the way he looked,

the only thing I remember

is that he and my dad

spoke almost exclusively

in puns

to each other.

One of my

crowning achievements

as a young guy,

I was probably like six,

one of my crowning achievements

of my young life

was coming up with a pun

that was worthy

of this conversation

that these two men

were having.

Some 25 years later,

believe it or not,

I can still remember

what that pun was.

My pun was funny,

and if you ask me

about it after the service,

I'll tell you,

you'll probably be disappointed.

Jesus' pun, however,

is not funny.

Jesus is pointing out

something very important

in this conversation

that Jesus is having

with Nicodemus.

Nicodemus chooses

one meaning.

He has two meanings

to choose from,

or both together.

He chooses one meaning,

and it's the farthest

from what Jesus

is actually trying to say.

He takes Jesus

to mean born again,

born again here and now

on this earth right now.

Hence his question,

which isn't quite a question.

Let's read it

from the text here.

John 3, 4.

Nicodemus said to him,

How can a man be born

when he's old?

How can he enter

a second time

into his mother's womb

and be born?

Not really a question.

Not really a question.

The important thing

that's betrayed

by Nicodemus' answer

is that he isn't looking

at this situation

with what we might call

spiritual eyes.

He has an earthly perspective

on everything

that's going on here.

Remember what he's seen.

He's seen miracles.

He's seen signs.

He has an earthly perspective

of what's going on.

And this has often been

Jesus' critique of Pharisees,

other Pharisees certainly.

They have a spiritual heritage

that's second to none.

They have a great grasp

of the scriptures for sure.

They have tradition

to back all of this up

for better or worse.

But they have no spiritual sight.

They can't see

what God is doing before them.

can't see who truly Jesus is.

It's the same reason

why Nicodemus mistakes Jesus

for just another teacher.

That brings me to my next simple point.

Unless you see Jesus

for who he really is,

you cannot see the kingdom of God.

Let me put that on the screen here.

Nicodemus has completely misjudged

where Jesus is coming from.

And so he's completely missed

what he's being told here.

He's being told that he doesn't just

have to be born again,

but he has to be born again

from above as well.

I find it kind of funny

that Nicodemus doesn't really even mention

the second part of what Jesus said,

talking about the kingdom of God

in his follow-up question.

We've used the term

a couple of times this morning already

without comment.

We regularly use the term

as we see Jesus using it

here and in other places

in other parts of the gospel.

He frequently uses it

to refer to a spiritual reality

that people are a part of

as they come to Jesus.

Now, I can't actually know

what Nicodemus would have thought

of this term.

There's a lot of possibilities

and maybe the top two

are most likely.

The term kingdom of God

would have had a strong

messianic association

to some Jews.

They would have seen it

as a coming king

sort of thing to say.

If that's the way

that Nicodemus saw it,

it seems a little odd

that he misses the reference completely.

Just goes right over his head.

The other strong possibility

is that he would have heard it

as referring to Israel

as the kingdom of God.

And if that's the case,

it should have seemed

very odd to Nicodemus

that in Jesus' conversation,

he's referring to Nicodemus

as being outside

of the kingdom of God,

not being included.

Nicodemus probably

had a good lineage.

Why on earth

would he have to be reborn

to be a Jew?

Why would he have to be

reborn to be a better Jew?

It doesn't make any sense.

Why would you ever

preach that to Jews?

Yet again,

it seems the most earthly answer

is the one that Nicodemus

is using in his head.

The most earthly reason.

Nicodemus doesn't see Jesus

for who he is.

And unless he can see Jesus

for who he is,

he won't be able to see

the kingdom of God either.

He won't be able to see

this new thing

that God is doing.

This new reality

that's giving birth

right in front of him.

This new thing

that's happening.

Let's go back to the text.

Starting at 5,

let's continue reading.

Jesus answers Nicodemus

talking about

being born again.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

unless one is born of water

and the spirit,

he cannot enter

the kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh

is flesh.

And that which is born of spirit

is spirit.

Do not marvel

that I have said to you,

you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wishes

and you hear its sound.

Do not know where it comes from

or where it goes.

So it is with everyone

born of the spirit.

So Jesus mercifully

rephrases his original

statement for Nicodemus.

Maybe make this a little clearer.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

unless one is born of water

and the spirit,

he cannot come

to the kingdom of God.

So to clear up the confusion,

Jesus uses the terms

water and spirit

spirit,

or water and wind,

as it is in the text,

instead of this

again from above word.

So we're left wondering now,

instead of what he meant

by the first thing,

what he means by

water and spirit.

At least we're not

left wondering

if there's some sort of

natural birth in mind.

At least Nicodemus

isn't wondering

if Jesus is that

sort of crank anymore.

The problem is

that it's not a matter

of natural rebirth.

earth.

We're talking

about then,

if it's not

natural water

and wind,

we're talking about

water and spirit

from above.

And this starts

to remind me

a little bit

of the Samaritan lady

who Jesus runs into

when he and his disciples

are traveling

through Samaria.

In fact,

the story comes

nearly directly

after this one,

so if you get curious

later,

you can just turn the page

and read it.

Jesus offers

this woman

sitting at the well

living water

that will quench

her thirst forever.

It's a fantastic story.

And do you remember

her response?

Living water

that will quench

her thirst forever.

And she says,

yeah,

please give me that water.

I don't want to come back

to this well every day.

And I always thought

that was a funny answer.

Funny,

mostly because

it sounded like,

I don't know,

something my mom

would say

when we would complain

about chores

that we had to do.

However,

it's the same

earthly vision,

the same

earthly thinking

that Nicodemus

is showing.

So Jesus goes on

from the text,

that which is born

of the flesh

is flesh

and that which is born

of the spirit

is spirit.

That makes it

pretty clear

that to be born again

we're talking about

spiritual rebirth.

If only spirit

can give birth

to spirit,

then that's our

only chance

of entering

this kingdom

of God

that Jesus

is talking about.

We can see

this now,

today,

as a clear reference

to the Holy Spirit.

It's so clear

that probably

most of your Bibles

use a capital S

on spirit.

George said

Holy Spirit

directly

when he was

reading it.

It's clear

from this

that unless

you see

the Holy Spirit

for who he is,

you cannot see

the kingdom of God.

that's just

one more point.

It's the Holy Spirit

who fills us

with life everlasting.

It's the Holy Spirit

who regenerates

our broken spirits,

our spirits

that have been broken

in years of sin.

Without him,

we cannot be part

of what God

is doing in eternity.

He goes on

to describe

what it's like

to be

born of the spirit.

This is

verse 8.

The wind blows

where it wishes

and you hear

its sound

but you do not

know where it

comes from

or where it goes.

So it is

with everyone

who is

born of the spirit.

Again,

we see that

those born

of the spirit

have a direction

that can't be seen

with earthly eyes.

It can't be seen

from an earthly's

perspective.

The work of the spirit

goes unseen

when all you have

is an earthly perspective.

Think,

for example,

of Jesus himself

and his own work.

He was born

of the spirit.

Early in his ministry

he was baptized

and the spirit

came down on him.

He was

born of the spirit.

And remember

that the spirit

pushed him onward

to Jerusalem

to die.

His purpose

was real

and his purpose

was clear to him.

People couldn't

see it from the outside.

Even when he talked

to them about it,

it was hard

for them to see.

But to Jesus

his purpose

was clear

and it was real

but invisible.

But Nicodemus

sees just signs

in Jesus' life.

He doesn't see

that clear,

real purpose

which is portrayed

so well

in the Gospel of Luke

as we've been reading.

Nicodemus

just doesn't see it.

He sees

just signs.

Jesus' purpose

is huge.

Jesus' purpose

is glorious.

Jesus

is working

on a scale

bigger than anything

that we've ever

seen before.

And Nicodemus

sees the very tip.

He sees

miracles.

That's what he's seeing.

Just some signs.

He must be

a good teacher

because I see

some signs.

Nicodemus

sees neither Jesus

nor does he see

the work

of the Holy Spirit.

He doesn't see

either one

for who they are.

And so he can

neither see

the kingdom of God

that's about

to be born.

So here's

Nicodemus' answer

to everything

that Jesus

has just said.

You ready?

This is verse 9.

How can these

things be?

That's it.

How can these

things be?

There you go.

Nicodemus can't

see it.

He started off

not being able

to see

who Jesus is

and he still can't.

Now in a move

that's very unusual

for Jesus

he continues

to explain

himself

to someone

who's already

tuned out,

who's already

lost the plot.

He's about to

state his purpose

and identity

more clearly

than he does

for most people

in the Gospels.

He's about to

show Nicodemus

who he is,

who Jesus

himself

sees himself

to be.

Nicodemus

can't see it.

Nicodemus

can't see

who Jesus

is,

but he's

about to

state it.

Let's continue

reading,

starting at

verse 10.

How can

these things

be?

He said.

Jesus

answered him,

Are you a

teacher of

Israel and

yet do you

not understand

these things?

He's implying

you should be

able to see

these things

reading the

Old Testament.

Truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

we speak

of what

we know,

we bear

witness to

what we

have seen,

but you

do not

receive our

testimony.

You do

not receive

our testimony.

If I

have told

you earthly

things,

things that

are happening

here and

now,

how can

you believe

if I tell

you heavenly

things?

He's saying,

you haven't

been able to

see who I

am and

you haven't

been able to

see who

the Holy

Spirit is and

you haven't

been able to

recognize the

work that

either of us

are doing.

You haven't

been able to

see what

we're doing

here on

earth.

You haven't

been able to

see the

kingdom.

How can I

ever describe

to you what

things will

look like in

the end?

Where this

kingdom is

actually going?

And here it

is.

Here's Jesus'

grand statement.

Here's who

Jesus himself

sees himself

to be.

You ready?

Starting at

verse 13.

No one has

ascended into

heaven except

he who descended

from heaven,

the Son of

Man.

That's a

self-reference.

And as Jesus

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.

That's who

Jesus sees

in himself,

the one

descended from

heaven,

the one who

will be

lifted up.

Jesus has

descended from

heaven,

the very Son

of the

Father,

not confused

in their

persons,

as we said

earlier,

but also

not divided

in their

substance.

He has

descended to

earth only

to be lifted

up on a

cross and

further to be

lifted up on

high so that

we can be

born again of

God's Holy

Spirit,

Holy Spirit

sent from the

Father to us

by Jesus'

will.

Again,

not confused

in their

persons and

not divided

in their

substance.

Our good

news this

morning is

that our

God is

three persons,

that's

good news,

all three

working

together for

our salvation.

It's

something we

don't deserve,

three gods

in one

person,

one single

God rescuing

us.

Our good

news is

summed up

so well in

these words

that we

just read.

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

the Father

did not

send his

Son into

the world

to condemn

the world

but in

order that

we might

be saved

through him.

Let's

pray.

Father,

would you

help us

to see

you clearly?

Would you

teach us

who you

are?

Would you

teach us

who Jesus

is,

Father?

Father,

Father,

we love

you and

we thank

you that

you revealed

yourself to

us in

three persons.

Father,

we thank

you that

we are

not

completely

ignorant

as to

who

you

are

and

what

you

look

like.

Father,

we thank

you for

this

unmerited

favor and

this grace

that you

show us.

Father,

we thank

you and

we pray

these things

in the

name of

Jesus

who came

to earth

to save

us.

Amen.