So, our text this evening is from the Gospel of John, John chapter 2, 23 through chapter 3 through 8, John chapter 2, 23, 3 through 8, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John chapter 2. How many times have we read through the Bible and we reach a section we just skim over, we just glance through like genealogies names that we could probably never pronounce out loud or we'd be really embarrassed to do or think of list of kings you see a list of kings and you're like yeah okay next chapter maybe even the book of leviticus right sometimes you're like oh boy book of leviticus let's keep moving no or sometimes we get so familiar with a bible story so familiar that we get to it in our Bible reading and we're like, yeah, I know exactly what's here. I don't need to slow down and read it. Like our text tonight, Jesus and Nicodemus. How many times have you heard the phrase, you must be born again? Hundreds, hundreds of times. But that's it. That's it. Just because you've heard it a thousand times doesn't mean the Lord wants you to learn it again, learn something new in his word, to just slow down and stop and think about what's really going on. Who is Nicodemus? What was his agenda coming at night to Jesus? Why does Jesus respond the way he does? One of the biggest questions we get out of this text is what does it really mean to be born again? Or what does it really mean to be born from above? That line is so important. You must be born again. That it's used three times in eight verses. That's enough to get our attention and think about it. In our text this evening, Jesus is telling us that if you want to enter or even see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. It's not by works. It's not by following someone who is performing signs or even miracles. Not by going to the biggest church in town. No, you must be born from above. Our gospel writer this evening, John, will even show us that it's not even enough just to believe in the name. And when you hear that, that should raise your attention, shouldn't it? It's not enough just to believe in the name. What it comes down to, it is the only God who can regenerate us and give us this faith that we enter the kingdom of God. Let me say that again. It is only God who can regenerate us and give us faith that we enter the kingdom of God. It is faith that is completely from outside of us. It truly is from above. And that's what John is going to teach us here tonight. John begins this episode in chapter 2. And you're like, wait, no, I thought it was chapter 3, Jesus and Nicodemus. But it is. But you see with John, John's narrative is so beautifully intertwined that the story really starts in John chapter 2, verses 23 through 25. And that's where I would like to start reading tonight. So hear the word of the Lord. John 2, verse 23. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Now 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 him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? How can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, 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 the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, you must be born again. 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. Therein is God's reading of his word this evening. Did you see how John connected these two passages? It's so important that we see the context of what we just read in 23 through 25 for our narrative for Nicodemus in chapter 3. It really opens up our story and shows us about Nicodemus, who he is why he came and why jesus says the things he says to nicodemus if we don't bring these things in from chapter two and we hear how jesus responds to nicodemus it kind of throws us off guard it kind of like nicodemus like whoa what truly truly you must be born again to nicodemus that was a shock and if you don't understand what's going on in chapter two that should be a shock to us as well if we back up a little further in chapter 2, to see these signs that people were marveling about. If we remember in chapter 2, at the wedding of Cana, Jesus changed his water into wine. Though not a lot of people knew about that, it could be leaking out. Jesus arrives in Jerusalem at Passover, right after that. And there's tens of thousands of people there, because it's the feast that all Jews need to be at and jesus goes walks right into the temple john tells us he makes a whip with cords and he starts whipping everything and knocking over tables and kicking money chasers out and everyone's like who is this guy what's going on they're seeing these signs of what he's doing but there's two things that we really need to grasp when we get to verse 23 many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. And Jesus knew all their hearts. He knew the hearts of men. There are two things that we have, those two things we have to hold on to when we get to chapter three. Really what John's doing in his gospel and his narrative, he's priming the pump for us to remember those things that we need to hold on to, to think about Nicodemus. One, people believed in his name because of signs. And two, the use of the word man. What do we make of these? Why does John use them? First, it says many believed in his name. That's good, right? That's what we want. Many believed in his name. We read in other places in scripture, even the gospel writer John in chapter one says, to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. That's awesome. Why would Jesus not entrust himself to these then? And I believe the answer lies in why they believe in Jesus. They believe because they saw signs, not because of who Jesus is and what he came to do. They saw the miracles and they loved it and they wanted to follow that guy. That's why they believed in the name. Not a name, not in Christ's name for salvation, but because of what they saw. The book of James tells us that even the demons believe and they're not saved. We see this type of belief today, don't we, in the church. Right? Certain people who make Jesus their homeboy, or Jesus as their life coach. Right? They see so-called signs and miracles. And they love Jesus. They want to follow Him. They love everything He does. They think, oh, He's going to make my life better. And then when it starts to get hard again, they walk right back out of the church. They don't come back and they find something new that will help them. No. That's wrong. That's why Jesus does not entrust Himself to them. Our second thing we need to hold on to before we get to Nicodemus John tells us that Jesus will have none of them because he knows man's heart. Think about that. Scripture has always been telling us about man's heart. That it's fallen. That it's evil. Think about it. In the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis chapter 6, we read, every intention of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. Jesus knows that. Jesus knows that we need a new heart. even John Calvin says the heart of man is a little idol factory our hearts need to be changed signs and miracles may open up the crowd's curiosity but it's not true faith it's not what Jesus wants it's not what Jesus came to do for us no John gives us a glimpse of this of the crowds and their belief So when we get to chapter 3 and we see Nicodemus, we know what's going on. And he totally sets this up for us when he introduces Nicodemus. Chapter 3, verse 1, he says, Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night. John uses that specifically to make us think about what was going on in chapter 2, 23-25. He specifically uses that word to connect him to them. Also, John describes Nicodemus as through this conversation as the one representing the Jewish people here. Nicodemus in Greek means kind of sort of the people's champion. So think about that. The people's champion comes to Jesus and wants to talk to Jesus. And the question that everybody always asks, Why did he come to Jesus at night? Why? As I was studying this, it seems like people came to different conclusions of why, of how they took Nicodemus. Did he come to Jesus at night? Because he was super busy during the day. And you think about it, it could be, right? It's the Passover. There's tens of thousands of people in Jerusalem at this time. He was just too busy. He had to wait until he was not as busy to go find Jesus. maybe. Or he was afraid of what his buddies were going to tell him, the other guys in the Sanhedrin. And so he had to hide and find his way to Jesus when nobody could see him. The one thing I want us to remember is that if we take all of John's writing, his gospel and his letters, John has this writing style that's an obvious tension between light and darkness. John uses that throughout his writings, light and darkness. Right away in chapter 1 of John's Gospel, this is what he writes in verse 4 about Jesus. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And a few verses later, he says, the true light which gives light to everyone has come into the world. And in 1 John, John writes this, This is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. John has this big tension between light and darkness in his writings. So in our passage, we have Nicodemus coming at night, coming out of the darkness into the light to talk to Jesus, the light of the world. Think of that. How awesome is that? That's all set up. Pretty cool. Nicodemus comes to him, and he doesn't start yelling at Jesus like other Pharisees have. bringing all kinds of accusations against them no he's respectful he says rabbi we know that you are a teacher from god for no one does can do these signs that you do unless god is with them we might actually think he's going to continue speaking right it's just a statement he didn't ask a question or anything we're waiting for nicodemus to continue but jesus just stops him right there he says truly truly i say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom god and you're like take him back surely nicodemus was like you know hands up sorry like what did i do but if since we know what happened in verses 22 or 23 and 25 of chapter 2 we understand why jesus is upset here nicodemus said he said no one can do these signs that you do unless god is with him that's what the people believed in these signs that's what nicodemus is believing in these signs And Jesus says, no, it's not about those signs. You must be born again. Those that believed in his name because they saw signs, they really had a defective faith. That's what it comes down to. Jesus is explaining that with a defective faith, you will never see the kingdom of God. With a defective faith, you will never enter the kingdom of God. And this is of utter importance to Jesus. Jesus cares for lost sheep, all of them that are His. He wants you to know the truth. He wants you to know how to enter the kingdom of God. And that's what He's explaining here. It's so important that He starts off by, truly, truly, I say to you. Throughout the Gospels, we get, truly, I say to you. Truly, I say to you. But in John's Gospel, He bumps it up a notch. He declares it, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That's how important this is for Jesus, that his sheep hear this. And now we run into another problem, another thing that goes on with people. We see this with why Nicodemus didn't understand it. You see this word again, born again. Most of our English translations have that word, born again. but it means truly to be born from above. Think about it. When you become a Christian, you literally become a new creature. The old has died. The new has come. You're being made new in the image of Christ by the Holy Spirit. You're really born again. But you think about it. It's all from above. You do nothing there. That's what Jesus has in mind. You must be born from above. You see, when we say born from above, when Jesus tells Nicodemus that, when we hear it, it shows us signs that it has nothing to do with us. Nothing. But this birth originates from God through the Holy Spirit. And Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand what he meant when he said that. Why? Because Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Nicodemus knew the Scripture, the Old Testament, by the back of his hand. And Jesus is telling him, you must be born again. This shouldn't be a shock, right? This is in the Old Testament. So what Jesus does to Nicodemus is he opens up an Old Testament lesson for him. Nicodemus goes over his head, born again, and he says, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb? He totally missed the point, didn't he? But Jesus, being the good teacher that He is, He repeats Himself, but coming at it from a different angle. Before, you must be born again to see the kingdom. But now you can't even enter the kingdom unless you're born of water and the Spirit. Jesus tells them this. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That puts a nail in the coffin of those like Nicodemus, like those who think they can get to heaven from their works, right? Or being an ethnic child of Abraham, that's not going to cut it. Jesus is telling us that. Your works don't get you into heaven. Being a child of Abraham, ethnically, doesn't get you into heaven. You must be born again. And Jesus explains this to him. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, she says in verse 6. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John Calvin writes, Jesus shows us by contrast that the kingdom of God is closed to us unless an entrance is opened to us by a new birth. You can't even enter heaven unless you're changed. The Apostle Paul tells us the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15. I tell you this, brothers, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. This kingdom, this kingdom of God, this kingdom of heaven, is only open for those who will one day put on immortality. That's for those who are born of the Spirit. Those who are true children of Abraham. And what's funny in our text, you know, I always, when I read through the Scripture, I always try to figure out how people are saying things, like what's their intonation when they say things. Jesus tells us exactly how Nicodemus felt when Jesus said this to him. If you read it, he says, do not marvel that I say to you, you must be born again. He's like telling, like Nicodemus' mouth is dropped. Like, stop being surprised, Jesus is telling him. Like, you should know this. Being the Old Testament scholar that Nicodemus was, He had seen the same idea before in the Old Testament. He knows that he can't do it on his own. He knows. And one place that Jesus could have taken him, that I'll show you tonight, is Ezekiel. It's not like this idea of born again just dropped out of the sky. No. It's in the Old Testament. Let me read you Ezekiel 36. 36, 24 through 27. For I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into our land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow all my decrees and be careful to keep all my loss. What Ezekiel was just telling you, you must be born again. That's what he said. Jesus says, born again by water and spirit. Ezekiel just said the same thing. Think about Ezekiel 37. The valley of dry bones, a story we've all heard. God takes Ezekiel to the valley full of dry bones and what's he tell them? Prophecy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. It could be written, I cause my spirit to enter you, and you shall live. Therefore, Jesus telling Nicodemus this, being born of water and the Spirit, Jesus is just giving them an Old Testament lesson. Jesus loves to do that in the Scriptures. He's just opening up the Old Testament for them and showing everything. That was a mystery that Jesus will make completely clear. People of God, believing in signs is not going to get you into the kingdom of God. You must be born again. You must be born from above. It's not by works. Works you did before you were saved or works you're doing now. That's not going to save you. Being a certain people is not going to save you. You must be born again. And that only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. And the instrument that the Holy Spirit uses is true faith. It's true faith. Our Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer 21, tells us this beautifully. True faith is not only a sure knowledge and conviction by which we hold as true all that God has revealed to us in His Word. But it's also a wholehearted trust which the Holy Spirit works in us by the Gospel that God has freely granted not only to others, but to us as well forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, salvation. Salvation by true faith, not by works, not by signs. These are purely of grace only because of Christ's merit. If you're sitting there right now this evening and you're thinking to yourself, I don't have, I'm not born again. I don't have this true faith. Ask for it right now. Jesus freely gives this to all who ask, to all who seek, to all who not. If you're trying to get to heaven by works, Jesus says, come to me. all who are burdened and heavy-laden. I will give you rest. Your works aren't going to give you anything. And if you're a Christian and sitting here, hearing sermons for years, reading your Bible for years, it's always good to remember that it's nothing that you ever did that gets you into heaven. Nothing that you ever did. Nothing that you ever did will earn you a place up there. It's only by Christ and His Holy Spirit. Beloved, see how much you could glean from just stopping and reading a verse you've read a thousand times? Just slow down. Read his word. And if you continue reading the Gospel of John, you'll realize that Nicodemus did come to faith. He did. He did become born from above. How awesome is that? I pray that we just slow down. Slow down our lives. Slow down when we read Scripture. See what God has to offer us in His Word. You won't regret it. You won't. True life comes from this, from the Holy Scriptures, through His Holy Spirit. And you will be born again. Shall we pray? Father God, we thank You so much for the wisdom that You teach us through Your Word, that Your Holy Spirit illuminates for us, that we can understand it. We pray, Lord, that You can keep this with us, that we have your word here, that we don't take it for granted, that people died to get us this into our hands, that when we read every sentence, Lord, let us just grab it and hold on to it and see what you have to teach us. I pray, Lord, that this is something we can hold on to the rest of our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.