#153 - Embracing Spiritual Rebirth with Nicodemus {Reflections Re-Release}

Hey everyone, Olivia here.

Pastor Ryan has been on sabbatical, so I will be re-releasing some of our most listened to episodes from the Reflections podcast.

Today's episode originally aired in February of 2025.

One of the most interesting ideas in this episode is the difference between getting a little better and becoming something new.

Enjoy.

What is up, everybody?

Hey, my name is Ryan, and I am here in the the laboratory, the Beats Laboratory, as we call it, with Mike Lauer.

He's our producer.

So we want to say what's up.

Welcome to our Reflections podcast.

And I want to talk a bit more about John.

Last week I was telling you guys that I meet with these young guys every week and we chat about the Bible.

We read, and we're reading through John's gospel right now, which is a doozy, and they just have all these great questions.

And so we came across another one, and I want to just do another episode on it.

And so, John 2, last week we chatted about the water and the wine.

This week in John 3, we chatted about this conversation that Jesus has with this rabbi named Nicodemus.

So you can read John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

And it's a wild one because Jesus is kind of, I don't know, he's cruising around at night.

And this rabbi, very prominent, well-to-do, and well-known, and probably an esteemed, I mean rabbis were esteemed in the ancient Near East generally.

He comes to Jesus and approaches him, but he does it at night.

And so it's like under the, it's like this clandestine meeting between Jesus and this rabbi.

And it's like under, you know, under the shadows of the evening.

And it's like almost like this rabbi doesn't want to be seen talking to Jesus or something like that.

It's hard to know what's going on here, but but he does go to them at night.

And he they have this conversation, and and Nicodemus asks him, he says, Hey, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the signs you're doing if God weren't with them.

And Jesus responds and answers him, he says, Hey, look, truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

The the verbiage could also be rendered born from above, born from heaven, this kind of thing.

And then Nicodemus asks what we probably all would be asking in this moment if we weren't overly familiar with the story.

But he asks him, Hey, uh, yeah, about that, Jesus.

How can someone be born when they're old?

Like, surely they can't enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born to be born twice.

Yeah, of course.

Like Jesus, like, hey, Nicodemus, in order to enter the kingdom of God, to experience the rule and reign of God, you have to be born again.

And Nicodemus thinks he means like literally be born from your mother again, which is like, well, how can I do that?

How can I go back into my mother's womb and be born again?

And uh then Jesus answers him and says, Hey, very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God.

Again, he says the same thing, unless they're born of water and the spirit.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit.

He says, You shouldn't be surprised by me saying, You must be born again.

Then he says this, I love it.

The wind blows where it pleases, Jesus says in verse 8.

Well, Jesus wasn't speaking in verses, but you know, in verse 8 we read that he tells him, The wind blows wherever it pleases, you hear its sound, but can't tell where it comes from, where it's going.

So it is with everyone who's born of the Spirit.

And here's what's going on.

I love it because Nicodemus is a rabbi and he's looking for like the next big thing.

And he's looking within this institution of rabbis or the rabbinical tradition.

Like, hey, maybe Nicodemus thinks if if Jesus is just another rabbi or teacher, and this is what we need another another good rabbi, another good teacher.

And Jesus tells Israel, or Jesus tells Nicodemus that Israel needs more than just another new teacher or new rabbi.

They need something else.

And so here, the while Nicodemus is looking for like the next big thing, and Jesus is like, no, you're looking in the wrong places.

What you need is not another new rabbi, a new teacher, a new self-help book, a new counselor.

What you need is a new heart, a new life, a brand new way of being.

You need to be born again.

The Greek, again, it means literally like to be born from above.

What he's saying is you need not just another one of these other outside institutions.

You need to be reborn, literally transformed.

You need to have a complete transformation.

And so Nicodemus needed some kind of like a transformation, um, I don't know, a shedding, a dying of the old, and a rebirth of the new.

And what Jesus gets, and I think Nicodemus is probably on to, but doesn't fully grasp, is that people are caught in this web of like what Daniel Erlander calls self-love run amok, or selfishness and sin that always, always, always leads to death.

And no matter what you're trying to do, another new teacher, a new rabbi, a new pastor in town, a new therapist, a new self-help book, those are all great things.

But those things won't save you.

You're stuck.

You need to be born anew, born afresh, a complete transformation.

I think it was Luther who said, you don't just need a softer heart, you need a brand new heart.

You need the old one to be taken out and a new one put in.

And I think many of us are the same way.

Like we're looking every which direction for like the next thing that will save us in all those same places.

Advice from a friend, a great book that has all the wisdom I've been looking for, you know, another new teacher, new rabbi, a new church.

And all the while, Jesus is like, no, no, you you need to die and let me raise you from the dead.

Which is, in fact, the good news.

The story of the resurrection is this that God loves you, God forgives you, and God wants to raise you from the dead.

So, friends, today, may you hear what Nicodemus heard.

That you don't need all these other things.

They're good, and do them, and that's fine.

But what you need is complete transformation, a brand new heart where your heart has grown old and tired and stoned and and and has even died.

You need it, you need a brand new heart.

You need resurrection to be born from above.

So, today, may you experience that in all kinds of ways.

All right, love you guys.

Peace.

Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends.

And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8 30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering.

Or you can check us out online at clcelkriver.org.

Peace.