Can't See
Nicodemus has cast his name in human history as the smartest person to miss Jesus. I never saw the word "the" before in John 3:10 but it makes the meaning become a whole lot clearer.
John 3:10 (ESV) Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
John 3:10 (ESV) Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Jesus is making clear that Nicodemus was the most respected theologian in Israel at the time. And he can't see who Jesus is. He comes to Jesus by night, he makes a judgment on Jesus and puts Jesus under the microscope of his own examination.
Poor Nicodemus never saw what this conversation would do to him for all history! But he was victim to the most common falsehood of our day: "We can save ourselves."
We can't. Otherwise Jesus never would have said, "you must be born again." We are the passive agents in this process. God does this work of supernatural regeneration in our lives. We receive Christ by faith, God births in our lives new life not from this world. Nicodemus had all the education, the notoriety, the legalistic righteousness and the reputation to boot! Yet even he fell short of God's glorious standard and desperately needed a savior.
What is birth except an act of God. It is miraculous by all accounts. There was conception, there was gestation, and finally in a moment, there was a living breathing human being. I believe life begins at conception, but to see a child emerge from the womb of its mother is nothing short of an act of God. Words fail to describe the change and the far reaching implications of that event. Nothing is ever the same when a child is born.
This is so helpful in our evangelistic efforts. It is simply our job to bear witness, it is God's job to do the life-giving change. We cannot save our selves, we have NO HOPE to save others.
Finally, Jesus makes clear than can be no in-between when it comes to the new birth experience. No one is half born and half unborn. You are either dead or you are alive. Knowing Christ is life made new by God's miraculous saving power. Apart from Him, we are dust.
PRAYER:
Father I thank you for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ Your Son. I thank you for the forgiveness of all my sins and the redemption paid for my life. I thank you for Jesus my Savior, healer, friend and deliverer. I look forward to His soon return.
Poor Nicodemus never saw what this conversation would do to him for all history! But he was victim to the most common falsehood of our day: "We can save ourselves."
We can't. Otherwise Jesus never would have said, "you must be born again." We are the passive agents in this process. God does this work of supernatural regeneration in our lives. We receive Christ by faith, God births in our lives new life not from this world. Nicodemus had all the education, the notoriety, the legalistic righteousness and the reputation to boot! Yet even he fell short of God's glorious standard and desperately needed a savior.
What is birth except an act of God. It is miraculous by all accounts. There was conception, there was gestation, and finally in a moment, there was a living breathing human being. I believe life begins at conception, but to see a child emerge from the womb of its mother is nothing short of an act of God. Words fail to describe the change and the far reaching implications of that event. Nothing is ever the same when a child is born.
This is so helpful in our evangelistic efforts. It is simply our job to bear witness, it is God's job to do the life-giving change. We cannot save our selves, we have NO HOPE to save others.
Finally, Jesus makes clear than can be no in-between when it comes to the new birth experience. No one is half born and half unborn. You are either dead or you are alive. Knowing Christ is life made new by God's miraculous saving power. Apart from Him, we are dust.
PRAYER:
Father I thank you for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ Your Son. I thank you for the forgiveness of all my sins and the redemption paid for my life. I thank you for Jesus my Savior, healer, friend and deliverer. I look forward to His soon return.
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