Sermon: The Greatest Miracle: The Message of
Evangelism - John 3
by Steve Andrews on Wednesday, January 01, 2014 at
7:00 AM
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Scriptures: John 3
Introduction
A man and his wife went for an afternoon drive in the
mountains. As the sun began to set, the wife mentioned
to her husband that they were low on gas. She pointed
out that gas stations in the mountains were not a
numerous in the mountains as in the city. She suggested
they go back to the gas station that they just passed. Like
most husbands, this man refused to listen insisting he
knew when and where to get gas.
After several miles, he spotted an old country store with a
single antique gas pump out front. It was so old, he
wondered if it still worked. The husband went inside to
ask about the pump and was relieved to discover that the
old pump worked just fine. The husband thought,
Everything is working out great. My wife was wrong. I was
right for once. Sure I was lucky, but sometimes being
lucky is better than being good. When he paid for the gas,
the husband said to old mountaineer working the register,
"It sure is good to be alive, isn't it?" The mountain man
responded, "Can't say, I ain't never been any other way!"
The message of John chapter three is about "being
another way." Some of you now what is to be lost and
then to be found. You know what it is to be dead in your
sin and to be made alive by a new birth in Christ. Others
can experience this new birth today. The Gospel of John
is arranged around seven miracles that John calls signs
of Christ's glory.
The encounter with Nicodemus is not listed as one of the
miracles because he does not accept Christ's offer of
eternal life in the context of chapter three, but the
majestic promise to be born again qualifies as the
greatest miracle. It is great because of the magnitude of
the gift and the fact that this miracle is still being
performed today for those who receive Christ's offer of
eternal life.
I. Inquiring man
This encounter with Jesus reads like a three act play
beginning with a description of an inquiring man named
Nicodemus. Act two consists of dilemma where the main
character is presented with an interesting mystery. In the
third act, Nicodemus is invited to resolve the mystery by
responding to the invitation of Christ. Though we find
several harsh criticisms of the Jewish religious
establishment in the gospels, the Scripture describes
Nicodemus as a devout leader who is genuinely seeking
divine truth. As a practicing Pharisee, we can conclude
that Nicodemus was religious, politically active, educated,
financially secure, and a respected leader. For his day,
Nicodemus had everything the world had to offer. But, he
was lost. He was unsaved. He possessed a sin-sick soul
that needed God's amazing grace to deliver him from sin.
The Bible says that God has set eternity in our hearts
(Ecc. 3:10). The world and the experiences it offers testify
of God's glory, but the world can never satisfy the
deepest desires of the soul. If we are hungry, we can find
food to satisfy our hunger. If we are thirsty, we can find
water to quench our thirst. If we desire companionship,
we can find relationships to help our loneliness. If we
desire mystery or adventure, the world offers an unlimited
supply. But, there is only one source that can satisfy the
longing of the soul, which is to connect with almighty
God. The philosophers called this desire a God-shaped
vacuum that could never be filled with any created thing
or person. Only the Creator himself can fill a heart or soul
made for eternity.
One of my children's favorite stories that I have read
numerous times to my four children at bedtime is Are You
My Mother. In the story a baby bird hatches while his
mother is out gathering food. The baby bird goes to
different animals and even a tractor asking, "Are you my
mother?" It is a funny children's story, but don't' miss the
eternal truth. We instinctively know that we are meant for
a relationship that is bigger and beyond ourselves. We
are made to experience a relationship with or heavenly
Father, the Creator of the universe.
II. Intriguing mystery
Jesus responds to the inquiry of Nicodemus with an
intriguing mystery of being born again. Many of us have
heard the phrase all of our lives, so we fail to grasp how
strange the words would have been to Nicodemus
hearing it for the first time. In the Gospel of John, several
illustrations are used to describe eternal life. In addition to
born again, John refers to eternal life as light, living water,
and living bread. The terminology is an illustration that
communicates spiritual principles that Nicodemus should
know as a teacher of the Scriptures.
The concept of being born again reveals the spiritual
principle of Unseen Reality. Jesus proclaims that a man
needs to born twice-once by water referring to a physical
birth and a second birth by the Spirit of God. We all
experience a natural birth, but only those who believe in
Christ are born again. While the terminology may have
been new to Nicodemus, he was familiar with the biblical
teaching that God is spirit. God is not in nature as
pantheists believe; God is greater and transcends nature.
Relating to God is not just an academic exercise. It
includes the mind, but knowing God is a spiritual
experience of the soul.
Jesus directs Nicodemus to consider spiritual issues,
then reveals the Urgent Responsibility of the message He
is teaching. Jesus makes perfectly clear what upsets
many people in our culture when He declared one must
be born again by the spirit of the one true God, or a
person will not enter the kingdom of God. Dr. Joseph
Stowell, former president of Moody Bible College, was
asked to participate in a community prayer breakfast
shortly after 9-11. He describes in his book The Trouble
with Jesus the disappointing experience of listening to
speakers "undersell Jesus and strip Him of His rightful
claim to supremacy." Stowell accurately describes the
distinctive claims of Jesus Christ, "Let's face it. While not
exclusive in the wideness of His mercy, Jesus is
exclusive in His claim that He is the only solution for our
sin problem and the only way to God. And that He is God.
Jesus is the central issue that separates me from Hindus,
Muslims, Jews, New Age adherents, and the advocates
of any other religion. His claims are unique. Without
shame He claimed to be the way the truth and the life; no
on can come to the Father but by me" (Stowell, The
Trouble With Jesus, p. 17).
III. Inspiring message
Jesus' teaching on the exclusive entrance into the
kingdom is not an arrogant claim; it is a bold and inspiring
message. His invitation to be born again is Available To
All. Jesus would explain a few verses later in the text by
saying eternal life is available to "whosoever believes in
Him." Jesus is the ultimate equal opportunity employer.
He joyfully accepts all races, men and women, rich and
poor, young and old. Jesus saves the sin-ridden and self-
righteous.
Not only is being born again available to all, it is
Accomplished by God. A person does not birth himself.
The use of this metaphor communicates the biblical truth
that without Christ we are dead in our sin with no hope of
saving ourselves. We need God to do for us what we
cannot do. The Greek verb translated "born" is an aorist
passive, which is a fancy way so saying that something
happened to us. God is the one performing the action
upon the person who is born again. The aorist tense of
the verb also communicates that a person does not have
to get saved multiple times. You only need to be born
again once. Often aorist verbs are translated in past
tense. You may have heard a country preacher talk about
"being borned again," which is poor English grammar but
great theology. God accomplishes our salvation. He
performs a creative work to give us a new spiritual life, a
one-time, good for eternity, entrance into the kingdom of
God.
Conclusion
As you consider the encounter of Nicodemus with Jesus,
How would you describe your spiritual condition? Are you
interested in spiritual things? Are you questioning the
exclusive claims of Christ? Are you willing to honestly
consider the consequences of rejecting Christ? This
incredible encounter illustrates that we all need to be born
again. The Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. The world will never meet the deepest
hunger of your soul. Will you accept God's offer to be
born again today? Will you receive the greatest miracle?