Two Worlds (John 3:14-21)

 Sermon for Centenary UMC (Lebanon) on March 10, 2024

Jesus and Nicodemus

Two Worlds (John 3:14-21)

 

[Slide]  At the Pearly Gates, St Peter says to the engineer "Sorry pal, you're not on the list. You can't get into heaven." The engineer says "Wait a minute, I always donated to charity, my wife and I raised two orphans we adopted, I attended church regularly, what do you mean I'm not on the list to get into heaven?" St. Peter says "Look I don't make the rules, you're not on the list, that means you go to hell."

 

The engineer goes down to hell and introduces himself, gets to know the devil and says "Hey I could make a few changes to make things more comfortable down here." He installs a state-of-the-art air conditioning system and all of a sudden it's a pleasant 68^oF in Hell. God looks down and realizes he needed to make an adjustment.

 

God says to the Devil, send me back that engineer. I gave Peter the wrong list. The devil says forget about it, this guy's great, I'm not giving him up. God says "You send him back up right now, or I'll sue!"

 

The devil says to God "Oh yeah? And where are YOU gonna get a lawyer?"

 

My apologies to lawyers and engineers in the room.

 

[Title Slide] Today’s reading from John chapter 3 is from a larger conversation between Jesus and a high-ranking Pharisee, named Nicodemus. Nicodemus arrived at night, presumably because he didn’t want others to know he was meeting Jesus. John uses the word night as metaphor for spiritual blindness, ignorance.

 

Nicodemus is under the influence of spiritual darkness, therefore he cannot see or understand Jesus. His world has blinded him.

 

 

There are two worlds depicted in John. Chapter three is loaded with references to these two worlds. I’m not talking about planets, like the Earth or Mars. I’m talking about two realms, two spheres of influence. We live in Central Indiana. We are shaped by the values, ethics, customs and the major political and social concerns of our times. [Slide] We are shaped by the news media. We are shaped by the chatter on social networks and other sources of opinion on the internet. We are shaped by our neighbors, friends, and family. We live under the sphere of influence of such people and sources of information. That is our world. [Slide]

 

Jesus and Nicodemus share much in common. They are both Jews. They both share the faith tradition handed down through Moses. However, Jesus was born poor and worked as a skilled laborer. Nicodemus enjoyed wealth and political power. Jesus saw the suffering caused by the oppression of Rome, and he recognized the failure of Israel’s teachers and political rulers to address their suffering. Nicodemus was safely distanced from all that. Jesus and Nicodemus were from two very different worlds.

 

Jesus is the Christ, God’s only begotten. Nicodemus has no idea who Jesus really is. Jesus came to earth from heaven. Nicodemus had never been to heaven. He is in the dark. But Jesus is the light of the world, bringing divine illumination.

 

[Slide] Look at the words that describe Nicodemus’ world, our world.

 

Night, Darkness, Cannot-See, Hate, Flesh, Water, Reject, Condemned, Perish, Earthly and World.

 

[Slide] Now look at the words associated with the light Jesus brings into our darkness.

 

Eternal Life, God, Light, Spirit, Wind, Truth, Kingdom, Above, See, Accept, Believe, BornAgain, Saved.

 

[Slide] Let’s acknowledge that we come from Nicodemus’ world. I don’t mean that we’re Jews or Pharisees or wealthy. I mean we are of the world, of the flesh. Because of sin, we are estranged from our creator. We’re in the dark when it comes to knowledge of the things of God. We’re more fluent in the ideas of the world around us than we are with what matters to God. But there is a world beyond our world of fleshly appetites, ignorance, and hostility toward God. It is the Kingdom of God, where God’s will is done. Our world does not come to the light of God. In fact, our world hates God’s light and prefers darkness.

 

We want to remain ignorant of the things of God. It’s easier that way. Why talk of sin? Why talk about what God wants? Who really knows the truth anyway? Your truth may not be my truth. Do you hear the language of rejection, the language of ignorance? Do you hear the language of our world?

 

Jesus told Nicodemus,

 

And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. (Jn 3:19-20)

 

This describes our natural state. [Slide] The apostle Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Church in Rome.

 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh… To set the mind on the flesh is death… For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)

 

But the good news is… there is a way out of darkness. [Slide] There is a way to be saved from our world of fleshly, evil, and hostile influences by seeing, accepting, trusting in Jesus.

By believing we are saved from this world and enter into life lived, not by flesh, but by the Spirit. We leave behind the influence of the world and happily submit to the influence of the Spirit. Those who live by the Spirit know peace and life. Through the Spirit we get in touch with the very source of life, for Eternal God lives in the one who trusts in Jesus.

 

[Slide] Again Paul writes, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you… if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

(Romans 8:11, 13b-14)

 

I hope it’s clear to you that there are two worlds. [Slide] We are born into our world, a world ignorant of God, estranged from God because of sin, a world ruled by fleshly desires, greed, lust, foolishness, fear, hate, and idolatry. We seek after things and experiences rather than the living God. Darkness reigns in the mind that belongs to our world. According to the apostle James, friendship with this world is enmity with God. (Jms 4:4)

 

This world is coming to nothing, so why invest so much in it? Instead, learn to invest in the world to come, the kingdom of God. Every act of kindness, of faith, of justice and righteousness is an investment in the world to come, a deposit toward your heavenly home.

 

If we are going to be saved from this world, we first must recognize that we are caught under its influence. The best way I know to recognize the ways in which the world has its hooks in me is to read the word of God. [Slide] The holy scriptures shine God’s light into our darkness. We are laid bare before God when reading the Bible. The Spirit of God will convict us of sinful thinking and desires. The scriptures will point the way to right living, and urge us to stop living according to the desires of the flesh.

[Slide] God lifted Jesus upon a cross as a sign to the whole world of God’s loving choice to save us. While suffering the venom of their own complaining, Moses lifted up a bronze serpent to heal the wandering Hebrews. In the same way, God lifted up the cross to make us whole. The cross is a sign inviting you out of darkness and the hostility of the flesh, into light and peace through the Spirit of God. We are all born estranged from God because of sin, but through the cross of Jesus, the welcome light is turned on urging us to come home, urging us to walk out of the influence of our world and enter into the influence of God’s own Spirit. [Slide] The apostle Peter wrote to the Church.

 

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1^st Peter 2:9)

 

What do we need to do to step out of the darkness of worldly thinking and fleshly behavior?

 

[Slide] In Luke 18 a rich man asked Jesus, “Good teacher tell me what I must do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus answered him…

 

You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.’ ”

 

He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.”

 

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad, for he was very rich.

 

You see Jesus exposed the rich man’s heart. His heart belonged this world. He may have lived as a good law observant Jew, but his heart belonged to what money buys… comfort, esteem, and power.

 

[Slide] Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born from above, born of the Spirit, born again. That may sound like nonsense like it did to Nicodemus, but hear the gospel…

 

[Slide] God so loved the world… this dark, ignorant, hostile world… God loves our world, and us caught in the world’s influence… God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever believes in him… trusts in Jesus for salvation… whosoever believes in Jesus will not perish, but will have everlasting life.

 

Whoever trusts the good news that God loves you and has acted to rescue you from the darkness of this world, and from condemnation, enters into life lived under the influence of the everlasting God. May His love reign in your hearts forever.

 

What are we to do to inherit the gift of eternal life? Believe in the good news. Trust in Jesus and learn to live under the influence of the Spirit. It may seem impossible or even foolish to you. That’s the darkness speaking. What is impossible for humanity is possible for God.

 

[Slide] The light is on! Come out of the dark and enter the Kingdom of God.