Born Again

I have to confess that when I first read John 3 this week to prepare for preaching on it,

I instantly thought of a line from The Weatherman.

I don't know how many people have seen that Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine movie,

but Nicolas Cage plays a weatherman who's constantly getting the weather wrong.

And there's a behind-the-scenes time when he's with the producer,

and he says, you know, they're saying, why do you get the weather wrong all the time?

And he said, it's wind. It blows around. Who knows why it blows one way or the other?

How can I get it right? It's just wind. Anyway.

But that's not a very helpful analogy to anything in the sermon.

More seriously, you know, really, the sermon today is about the fact that you can't be half-pregnant.

Ask any of the women here who are currently carrying children.

Lisa or Anne have carried children.

You can't be half-pregnant.

You're either pregnant or you're not.

And that really, this is the sort of, like, a crude idea on my part,

to try to get behind, to try to get to what the gospel is telling us today.

We human beings, we naturally want to think of Christianity as a religion,

in religious terms, with things that are familiar to us as religious people,

and we naturally drift towards desires for illumination, for insight,

for spiritual experience, for ritual.

And in the midst of these human and fallen desires for these things,

Jesus insults us and insults our representative Nicodemus

by saying it is more like pregnancy and you can't be half-pregnant.

Turn with me, if you could, to John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

John chapter 3, verse 1.

John 3 · chapter mention

If you're like me, using the Pew Bibles, it's on page 920.

And I'm going to begin, you know, with reading at verse 1.

And this is how this story goes.

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 are a teacher come from God,

for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them.

We'll just have to pause here for a second, put your fingers in the Bible,

or you could keep reading it.

Nicodemus, he has just said something that you could say on CBC radio,

you could say it in the Globe and Mail,

you could say it probably in the faculty club of the University of Ottawa,

you could say it at a cocktail hour, and nobody would get upset with you.

Who's Jesus?

You know what?

Jesus must be a great prophet,

and he's done some really, really wonderful things.

Like, that won't get you in trouble anywhere.

And in a sense, what we have with Nicodemus is we have the type of guy

who would effortlessly, he's had the fortunate,

he's been fortunate to have had the right parents,

and the right grandparents, and the right great-grandparents,

and maybe currently he's on the board of directors of CBC,

and he's also on the board of directors of the University of Toronto,

and he's also on the board of directors of a prestigious charity,

and he's probably a co-owner of a prestigious corporation here in Canada,

and he's gone to the right universities in Canada

with the appropriate amount of time out of the country,

but back here in Canada.

And just as I paint this type of picture,

that's the type of guy that Nicodemus is.

He's the type of guy on one level that, you know,

on one hand, we'd half suspect that a guy like that doesn't need God,

and that if he ever showed any interest in our church,

we'd want to, you know, give him some type of prestigious position,

like not as the overhead guy,

but something a little bit more prestigious than that.

And he's sort of, that's the type of guy that Nicodemus is.

And you can just imagine that John is a guy who's always filled with symbolism.

And so John, as he's maybe trying to think back on some story about Jesus

that can try to communicate these truths,

and he's already warned us,

he has literally hundreds of thousands of stories he could tell about Jesus.

He thinks of this one story about Nicodemus

that also has this other wonderful thing,

is that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night.

And that means something else about Nicodemus.

It is that Nicodemus represents the seeker

who is culturally and religiously secure,

who is seeking the light,

but is not prepared yet to leave the darkness.

And that describes so many of our generation,

and maybe some of us,

seeking the light, but not prepared to leave the darkness.

And so he says something that will not get him in trouble anywhere,

virtually in our culture.

You know, Jesus, he's a prophet, he's a great man,

he's done wonderful things.

You could say that anywhere,

and nobody would get really upset at you.

So let's see how Jesus reacts to this type of guy.

Remember, he's like, you know, on the board of CBC,

all of these things.

How does Jesus react?

Jesus reacts almost rude.

He cuts him off,

and changes the entire course of the conversation.

So Nicodemus, with his spiritual searching,

his culturally correct and religiously correct sentiments

and affirmations about Jesus,

all of these types of things,

Jesus, in a sense, cuts him off and says,

you know what, these things will get you nowhere.

These things will get you nowhere.

He says this, verse 3,

Jesus answered and said to him,

Amen, Amen.

And in our version of the Bible,

we see most assuredly,

it's translating Amen, Amen.

In the King James Version,

Verily, Verily.

It's like a double, triple exclamation mark.

In a sense, the things that follow

could all be put in capital letters.

Amen, Amen.

And I say to you,

unless one is born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God.

You see, Nicodemus wants to start

with religious quest.

He wants to start from his position

of prestige and authority,

his easy access to cultural arbiters.

He wants to engage in a theological discussion

and maybe from the basis

of popular religious concepts,

engage in a theological discussion with Jesus

that might lead to greater illumination.

And in the midst of all of that,

Jesus says,

Unless you are born again,

you cannot see the kingdom of God.

And this word, born again,

has a very wonderful double meaning to it.

And you have to think

that's one of the reasons

that Jesus uses this word.

First of all, born literally means born.

I mean, it literally means,

that's what I mean by the example of pregnancy,

that Jesus is saying,

Listen, you think that religious quest

at the heart of it is a matter of ideas,

talking about ideas and experiences,

talking about experiences,

getting an illumination,

getting insight,

building on concepts

and all of these types of things.

And I tell you that it's not like that at all.

It is like becoming pregnant.

It is about getting a completely

and utterly new life

that you cannot possibly create

on those terms.

This new life

is a life,

instead of either being born again,

or being born from above.

That you can translate the word

in both ways.

He's saying,

It is something

that God has to intervene in

and do a completely different

and new work in your life.

It is as if

you have a completely new life.

It is like being born.

It is completely and utterly different.

Half of the human race

can't become pregnant.

We're called men.

And many of the rest of the human race

can only become pregnant

under certain circumstances

and nobody can become pregnant

completely and utterly

by their own power.

They can't go and sit in a room

and think themselves into pregnancy.

They can't experience themselves

into pregnancy.

You can't do that.

Something from outside

has to enter in

to create new life within.

And Jesus is saying

that all of these attempts

at spiritual quests,

they will not work.

It has to be something

which God

is going to create,

give birth to

in your life.

And it has to come from above.

It can't come from this

horizontal plane.

It has to come

from God.

And

I read profound

theological works

all the time.

Many of you know that.

I watch profound

theological shows.

I watch part of the English,

England,

Paraguay soccer match

yesterday.

And I'm reading

Sue Grafton's

S is for Silence

and

about a murder

that took place

35 years earlier.

And one of the things

in the beginning

of her book,

she sort of writes

a little note

saying to people,

don't write me

rude letters

telling me

how I got

the streets wrong.

And she said,

I've rearranged

all the streets

whatever way I think

because it's going

to make the story better

so don't write me

any notes.

Because there really are,

obviously,

I'm not one of them

very, very, very

careful readers

who notice things

like that.

I'm not one of them.

But if

you are one of these

careful readers

and you've been

reading John,

look back to the

beginning of John's

Gospel

and remember

what Jesus

has just said,

unless one is

born again

he cannot see

the kingdom of God.

And look to how

John has given

a clue to this

in John 1,

John 1:12

verses 12 and 13

on page 918.

But as many

as received him,

to them he gave

the right

to become

children of God

even to those

who believe

in his name

who were born

not of blood

nor of the will

of the flesh

nor of the will

of man

but of God.

And so

the attentive readers

of John's Gospel

when he reads

or she reads

this passage

about being born again

they'll have to think

that it has something

connected

to believing

in the name of Jesus

and being born

of God

and becoming

children

of God.

There has to be

some type of

connection

between this.

Let's continue

reading back

to chapter 3

verse 4

and page 920.

Nicodemus

gives sort of

a literalistic answer

to Jesus'

comment

because you know

once again

Nicodemus

is expecting

to have

a spiritual

conversation

a theological

dialogue

and meeting

of minds

and Jesus

has just told

him

that it's rubbish

that it will

get him nowhere

that in fact

that will take him

he cannot see

the kingdom of God

on these terms

that he must

be born again

and so Nicodemus

like probably

if I was talking

to somebody

like I described

you know

the board of directors

of CBC

and on and on

and on and on

and I was like that

they'd be a little

bit put off

with me

especially since

I'm not a prophet

from God

and so Nicodemus

is a little bit

bothered

and he gives

this sort of

snarky answer

he says

how can a man

be born

when he is old

can he enter

a second time

into his mother's

womb

and be born

verse 5

Jesus answered

verily verily

amen amen

I say to you

unless one is born

of water

and the spirit

he cannot enter

the kingdom

of God

let's sort of

put your finger

here

for the Roman

Catholics

and the Lutherans

and the Anglicans

and the Presbyterians

among us

we have to be

careful that we

don't misunderstand

this verse

he's not talking

about baptism

okay

if you folks

were baptized

as children

you have to

consummate your

baptism

because baptism

alone isn't

enough

you have to

consummate

you have to

consummate

am I doing

something here

I should go

to my lapel mic

I don't know

what people

listening to this

on the computer

later on

are going to

think

I have now

switched

we did that

that was so

flawlessly

done

well flawless

for us

right Andrew

yeah where was

I

oh

get my glasses

on so I can

see the text

verse 5

most assuredly

I say to you

unless one is

born of water

and the spirit

he cannot

enter the

kingdom of

God

what

Christians

who read

this as if

it's referring

to baptism

are engaging

in something

called

anachronism

I probably

didn't pronounce

that very well

and it's

reading something

from today

back into

the past

it's like

a friend

of mine

many years

ago

who said

that the

Bible

supported

smoking

marijuana

and I said

why do you

think that's

the case

and he talked

about how

God gave

us the

grass

in the

book of

Genesis

and I said

to him

no no no

no

that's not

what they

meant back

then

okay

they didn't

say

they didn't

you know

and he

he was

not the

smartest

puppy

in the

pack

and he

had a

hard time

with that

probably

because he

smoked a

lot of

grass

but it

was an

anachronism

you know

and the

same with

it here

in a

sense

what we

understand

as Christian

baptism

hasn't been

invented

when Jesus

is talking

to Nicodemus

he's talking

to a Jewish

man

and so

however

Nicodemus

is to

understand

this

he can't

understand

it in

terms of

baptism

later on

he might

you know

after he

you know

Jesus

had risen

from the

dead

he might

think about

it in

these terms

and think

oh you

have to

sort of

be

baptized

and you

have to

do

this

it's

not

like

that

at all

Jesus

is

bringing

together

two

Old

Testament

themes

verse

five

is

exactly

the

same

as

verse

three

but

now

Jesus

is

bringing

in

some

Old

Testament

themes

remember

in

verse

three

he says

unless one

is born

of water

and the

spirit

he cannot

enter

the kingdom

of God

they're

almost

identical

sentences

only here

Jesus

is drawing

together

several

Old

Testament

themes

he's

bringing

together

the

Old

Testament

themes

that

there

will

come

a

time

when

God

will

cleanse

his

people

from

their

sins

that

he

will

wash

his

people

from

their

sins

and

he's

bringing

together

the

Old

Testament

idea

that

there

will

come

a

time

sometime

in

the

future

and

he's

bringing

together

the

Old

Testament

themes

that

there

will

become

a

time

in

the

future

when

I

will

pour

my

Holy

Spirit

upon

your

people

and

even

texts

which

they

would

not

have

understood

is

speaking

to

the

future

about

being

his

children

the

children

of

Israel

and

the

very

children

of

God

and

Jesus

is

bringing

together

all

of

these

Old

Testament

themes

and

says

that

they

are

coming

together

right

now

in

my

person

as

we

are

going

to

see

in

a

moment

all

these

things

that

God

has

promised

in

the

Old

Testament

you

can

experience

Nicodemus

just

and

so

verse

six

that

which is

born

of the

flesh

is

flesh

and

that

which

is

born

of

the

spirit

is

spirit

now

just

notice

earlier

I missed

this

point

in

verse

five

he

can

remember

Jesus

now

has

twice

said

he

cannot

enter

the

kingdom

of

God

twice

he

said

that

unless

you're

born

again

and

then

he

says

that

which

is

born

of

the

flesh

is

flesh

and

that

which

is

born

of

the

spirit

is

spirit

and

what

he's

saying

here

is

you

know

what

unless

God

intervenes

you're

just

going to

have

the

same

old

same

old

same

old

keep

leaning

into

the

birth

to

flesh

and

what

we

need

is

God's

Holy

Spirit

to

intervene

in

our

lives

and

create

within

us

something

we

cannot

create

ourselves

that's

what

we

need

and

that's

what

God

is

able

and

willing

to

do

I've

shared

with

you

before

but

I

want

to

share

it

again

one

of

the

moments

in

my

life

that

sort

of

turned

around

my

life

as

a

preacher

I

still

need

a lot

of

turning

around

to

do

but

turn

turn

with

me

in

your

Bibles

to

Ephesians

chapter

two

some

of

you

might

remember

this

story

but

you

know

what

in

families

you

can

tell

stories

more

than

once

and

as

I

get

older

I'll

probably

tell

them

a lot

of

times

but

Ephesians

chapter

two

and

in

your

Bibles

it's

page

1013

and

I

had

just

been

in

Eganfield

for

about

a

chapter

two

because

it was

going to

be

such

a

text

that

just

fit

with

me

as

an

evangelical

and

I

was

looking

forward

to

preaching

on

it

and

I

just

as

I

was

working

on

it

and

working

on

it

and

working

on

it

I

just

couldn't

get

the

sermon

just

wouldn't

work

and

let's

I'm

going to

read

it

right

from

verse

one

and

you

he

made

alive

who

are

dead

in

trespasses

and

sins

in

which

you

once

walked

according

to

the

course

of

this

world

according

to

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

the

spirit

who

now

works

in

the

sons

and

daughters

of

disobedience

among

whom

also

we

also

once

conducted

ourselves

in

the

lust

of

our

flesh

fulfilling

the

desires

of

the

flesh

and

of

the

mind

and

were

by

nature

children

of

wrath

just

as

the

others

but

God

who

is

rich

in

mercy

because

of

his

great

love

with

which

he

loved

us

even

when

we

were

dead

in

trespasses

made

us

alive

together

with

Christ

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

and

raised

us

up

together

and

made

us

sit

together

in

the

heavenly

places

in

Christ

Jesus

that

in

the

ages

to

come

he

might

show

the

exceeding

riches

of

his

grace

and

his

kindness

toward

us

in

Christ

Jesus

for

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

through

faith

and

that

not

of

yourselves

it

is

the

gift

of

God

not

of

works

lest

anyone

should

boast

for

we

are

his

workmanship

created

in

Christ

Jesus

for

good

works

which

God

prepared

beforehand

that

we

should

walk

in

them

amen

what a

text

amen

and I

couldn't

preach

on it

and I

couldn't

figure out

why I

couldn't

preach

on it

I

just

couldn't

get it

it

just

wouldn't

come

and I

went out

for a run

Saturday

afternoon

and I

had like

one of

these moments

where it

was as if

God

spoke to

me

and you

know what

he said

he said

to me

George

the reason

you can't

preach

on that

text

is you

are afraid

to tell

people

that apart

from

Christ

they are

like a

corpse

in a

funeral

home

that's

what the

text says

and it

was as if

God

spoke to

me

and said

that

and a

second

he said

it

I

knew

it

was

completely

and utterly

true

and I

said

to God

I said

God

I can't

tell a

whole pile

of people

in 1997

in Canada

that apart

from

if they're

not in

Christ

they are

no different

than a

corpse

in a

funeral

home

I can't

say that

but that's

what the

text says

and I

acknowledge

that within

myself

I like to

tell people

you know

folks

you're

okay

you know

you're

pretty

okay

and all

of us

you know

there's

just a

few screws

in our

heads

and our

hearts

that are

a little

bit

wobbly

and a

sixteenth

of a

turn

here

and a

sixteenth

of a

turn

there

and

you'll

that's

all

that's

needed

I'm a

Canadian

that's

what I

wanted

to say

and so

my problem

with the

text

is I

kept

trying to

get the

text

to support

that

and the

text

kept

making

rubbish

of that

idea

because

the text

says

that I

can't

tell a

bunch

of

Canadians

either

if it's

2006

or

1997

it

wouldn't

have

been

97

that

would

have

been

87

sorry

I'm

off

by

10

whole

years

and I'm

saying to

myself

I

can't

tell

people

that

and

God

said

George

you have

to tell

people

that

otherwise

there's

no good

news

that's

that's

that's

that's why

we need

a savior

we don't

need some

good ideas

we don't

need a little

bit of

helpful advice

we don't

need a little

bit of

help with

evolution

or

illumination

we need

new life

because apart

from Christ

we are like

a corpse

and that

and I

got up

and I

told them

that

and I

just told

you

and I

tell

myself

and that's

what's

undergoing

this

entire

text

that's

why

Jesus

says

that

apart

from

being

born

again

you

cannot

enter

the

kingdom

of

God

it's

impossible

we

need

a

completely

new

life

that

comes

from

God

do

not

marvel

verse

7

I

said

to

you

that

you

must

be

born

again

the

wind

blows

verse

8

of

John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

where

it

wills

but

cannot

tell

you

where

it

comes

from

and

where

so

is

everyone

who

is

born

of

the

spirit

Nicodemus

answered

verse

9

and said

to him

how

can

these

things

be

Jesus

answered

and said

to him

are you

the teacher

of Israel

and do

not know

these

things

verily

verily

I

say

to

you

we

speak

of

what

we

know

and testify

what

we

have

seen

in

other

words

he's

been

in

heaven

itself

and you

do

not

receive

our

witness

if I

have

told

you

earthly

things

start

with

the

first

step

and that

is

you

have

to

be

born

again

you

have

to

be

open

to

this

profound

life

changing

intervention

of the

Holy

Spirit

in your

life

as

he

will

come

in

and

create

where

there

is

deadness

a

new

life

that

will

go

on

into

all

eternity

verse

14

and as

Moses

lifted up

the

serpent

in the

wilderness

even

so

must

the

son

of

man

be

lifted

up

that

whoever

believes

in him

should

not

perish

but

have

eternal

life

that

whoever

believes

in him

should

not

perish

but

have

eternal

life

we

see

here

that

this

gift

that

comes

from

God

that

must

come

from

above

this

actual

creation

of a

new

life

within

us

is

connected

to

having

a

belief

in

Jesus

who

just

as

the

source

of

death

to

the

Israelites

in

the

wilderness

the

snakes

that

was

put

up

on

a

stake

and

people

who

look

to

that

would

be

saved

when

we

look

to

Jesus

who

bears

our

sin

upon

the

cross

and

trust

in

him

we

will

not

perish

but

have

eternal

life

you

know

some

of

you

maybe

have

been

coming

to

church

for

years

and

years

and

years

and

you

know

you

think

maybe

it's

just

a matter

of

illumination

it's

just

a matter

of doing

a few

religious

rituals

it's

just

a matter

of

getting

you know

of being

properly

Anglican

and knowing

how to fit

into church

and you

know

it's not

like that

at all

it's

the whole

Christian life

begins

when we

experience

this new

birth

for those

of us

who are

baptized

as infants

it's when

you consummate

your baptism

in baptism

we are

pledged

to

Christ

the

Holy

Spirit

starts

to

work

in

our

lives

but

the

Holy

Spirit

starts

to

work

in

our

lives

and

we

are

pledged

to

Christ

to

that

point

where

we

say

to

Jesus

Jesus

yes

all

that

is

talked

about

in

the