Day 6 - John 2:23-3:8
10 Jan 2017
For many people, to have crowds following them and hanging on their every word would be a fantastic dream. At the end of chapter 2, crowds begin to follow Jesus, drawn by the miracles he performs. However Jesus is far more cautious than we may be about enjoying their approval. He knows that though their initial response may be to follow him, their hearts may be far from him. As we were told in the introduction to John’s gospel, the world is “dark”, having turned away from God. The only way to truly know God and come into the light is for God to change their hearts (remember 1:12-13).
We see that clearly in the way Jesus begins to speak to Nicodemus in chapter 3. He was one of the Pharisees, and came secretly for a private audience with Jesus. He is very respectful of him, and says things you might expect Jesus to be flattered by (verse 2). Jesus, however, “knows what is in man” (2:25) - even this man. The only way Nicodemus can see the kingdom of God is if God regenerates him. For Jesus to tell this man that he must be born again is very offensive! Despite his great learning, and the respect he has in the community, he needs to be completely transformed from the inside out if he is to know God. This is not just true of Nicodemus, it is true of everyone.
This obviously raises the question - how can this happen? Nicodemus is puzzled. We can’t decide to die and the next day come back to life. Yet, Jesus’ answer gives hope. What we cannot do, God does by his Spirit. John has already told us about this in his introduction (1:12-13). Jesus promises here what God has promised throughout the Old Testament - that he will bring new spiritual life to his people.
This new birth is not something we can command or work up within ourselves. It is solely a work of God - and the Spirit goes where he wishes. This should humble us and lead to great thankfulness if we do trust and love Jesus. We didn’t produce that love and trust ourselves - God is at work within us and he brought us from death to life. Yet, God chooses to do that work as people hear his word. As John said in chapter 1, this new birth is accompanied by belief in Jesus’ name. This encourages us to take seriously the urgency to tell people about Jesus. As we proclaim him we don’t do it thinking we can save (only God brings new birth) but we can do so trusting that God will.