Jack Graham - Born to Die That Man May Live
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So take your Bibles and turn to that passage in the third chapter of the Gospel of John. John chapter 3. I appreciate so very much my friend Dallas Jenkins who is the creator and producer of The Chosen. And in this passage that we are about to pursue we see, really, three births. There is the sinner’s birth, Nicodemus; there is the Savior’s birth who came from God to give us eternal life; and there is the second birth, because Jesus said, «You must be born again». And so today’s message is a vital message. It concerns the new birth. Jesus came to earth so that we could go to heaven. He was born so that we must and may be born again.
Are you born again? You say, «I don’t even know exactly what that means». Well, we’re going to look at what that means today and right out of God’s Word in John chapter 3. Jesus said to Nicodemus «You must be born again». And it’s all found in the first 7 verses of John’s Gospel, chapter 3. Let’s start at verse 1, «Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus». His name Nico, Nike means conqueror. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He was a powerful and awesome leader among the Jewish people. Someone said he was a big cog in the synagogue. «And this man», Nicodemus, a ruler, a religious man, he was a Pharisee, he kept all of the laws of Israel and then some, «This man came to Jesus by night».
Now people question as to why he came at night. Some people want to make a big deal that he came at night because he was afraid to come in the daylight. Afraid of criticism, afraid of his peers, what they might say; anxious, afraid so he came by night. I question that. I believe Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, number one, because this was the time after dinner. You ever heard of night after dinner conversations? After dinner in particular Jewish men and middle eastern men to this very day have coffee or conversations after dinner.
So it was a normal time for a casual one on one. Nicodemus had seen the miracles of Jesus and the crowds that were gathering. And being a ruler of the Jews and, of course, interested in these things. There were rumors that Jesus was the Messiah and so he wanted to know. He was a sincere seeker I believe. And he came to Jesus by night therefore because he truly wanted to know and he had questions that couldn’t wait until the next day. You ever have a question like that? Just something that was stirring in you. There’s an urgency in this. I love this story because you see both humanity and deity.
Deb and I were talking on the way to church this morning. I was reviewing some of the sermon with her and she said, «You know, I love John chapter 3. It’s one of my favorite stories of Nicodemus and Jesus because you see so much humanity in it and so much deity in it». True. There’s both humanity and deity in this great story. He comes to Jesus by night, «and said to him», back to verse 2, «'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God'». So far, so good, except he didn’t go far enough. He didn’t know yet that Jesus really is, Jesus was not a teacher come from God; He was God who came to teach. But he said: «'No one can do these signs'», signs meaning miracles, «'that you do unless God is with him.'»
So far, so good, as well. He knew God was with Jesus but what he didn’t know, that God was and is Jesus. «Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you…'» And when Jesus says «truly, truly» or «verily, verily», «for sure, for sure», «pay attention, pay attention», «listen, listen». He said: «'unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'» The kingdom of God, meaning the rule of God in heaven and earth. «Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? '»
Good question. Nicodemus must have been an older man. He’s lived a long time but there’s still something raging in him, a restlessness, if you will. He didn’t know if he knew the truth or all of it. He didn’t know who Jesus was exactly, and he wanted to know. And then Jesus just cuts right to the chase. He says, «You, yes, you, Nicodemus, religious man, righteous man, good man, a godly man, a law-keeping man. You must be born again». How’s it possible to get a new start? But, of course, Jesus is talking about something more than just a new start. He’s talking about a new birth; something that is transformational, not just transactional.
I just read a story this morning regarding President Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower is the first president I remember as a child and, of course, a war hero and a general and West Point graduate. And when he was about to be inaugurated as president of the United States in the early 1950's, 1952, Billy Graham was invited to speak with him. And Billy had an experience of leading then President Eisenhower to faith in Christ. Now it’s 8 years later, more than 8 years later and Eisenhower is dying. And so he calls for Billy Graham. Still had some questions and he had some doubts as he was dying. He looked at Mr. Graham and said, «Billy, can an old sinner like me go to heaven»? He was so aware of his sin and a life that I guess he regretted in some ways.
And Billy went on to assure him that salvation in Christ, not because of anything that the president had done, not saved, going to heaven because you are president, or a pharisee and a ruler. No. Because of what Christ has done, and Dwight Eisenhower went to heaven trusting in Christ as his Savior. And so can you if you know that you are born, if you are born again. So Nicodemus, he’s wondering. He says can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born. «I’d like to see. That’s a problem for me». And: in verse 5: «Jesus answered», in verse 5, «Truly, truly», there it is again. Listen, listen, listen! «I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God».
Now some theologians and Bible scholars do gymnastics on what does the water mean and what does the Spirit. What is water? What is Spirit? I believe it’s evidence. Water refers to natural birth, physical birth. What happens when the water breaks? The birth happens. Born of water (physical birth) and born of the Spirit (spiritual birth). Unless you are born physically and spiritually, in other words, a second birth, a new birth, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. It’s been said, «If you are born but once, you will die twice. You will die physically and you will die eternally apart from God. But if you are born twice, you’ve experienced not only natural birth and physical birth, but spiritual birth, this new birth, you’ll only die once and that’s physical death because when you die, you won’t die; you’ll be in heaven forever and ever with Christ».
That’s the new birth. Jesus explained further in verse 6. He said: «That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit». Thus explaining what He meant when He said water and spirit; flesh and spirit. And then verse 7, a famed verse in the Bible. «Marvel not that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'» Not an option. I was talking to an individual years ago. We were talking about his faith. He said, «Well, I think I’m a Christian; I’m just not one of those 'born again' kind of Christians. Who dreamed this up? This whole idea of the new birth? Did the Baptist do this to us»? No. Jesus said, «Do not be amazed, don’t marvel, Nicodemus. You’re talking about miracles here? You like the miracles? You like the signs? You’ve seen the signs. You’re interested in miracles. Okay, Nicodemus, then become a miracle! Be born again! That’s the miracle».
And the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ is for the miracle of your new birth in Christ. And that’s what He’s teaching Nicodemus and telling all of us today. «You must be born again». You must! So before we take any more steps in this passage, let me ask you have you been born again? Watching on a screen, wherever you are, regardless of your age or your country or your nationality, right here in this room. Have you been born again? You say, «Well, how does that happen»? Jesus tells us. Scan down to verse 16. Whether this is the first time or you’ve seen it many times, look at it again. «For God so loved the world». I’ve often contemplated that little word S-O, so.
How much love is in «so loved»? You can’t measure its height, its depth, its breadth, its length! The Scripture said it’s just «so loved». «For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son» so the greatest gift of all is this gift, the gift of God’s grace. The word grace means gift. And He gave His only Son. «A child is born; a Son is given,» that «whoever believes in Him should not perish». And that word perish there is a stunning, startling, scary word. Perish because it actually means to keep on perishing, perishing and perishing and perishing and perishing and dying and dying, and never actually dying. Jesus is speaking of the torment of life without God. A hopeless ending to life where there is nothing but hell and perishing. So perishing, perishing but instead of dying and never dying, now there is eternal life!
And we read John 3:16 and we celebrate, «Oh, how we thank you, Lord, that John 3:16 is in the Bible». If this was the only verse you had in all the Bible, it would be enough to save the world and all that would come to Him! But we often stop there and don’t look at verse 17, because Jesus went on to say, «For God did not send His Son into the world», the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to change the world! Not to condemn you but to change you. And this is how this new birth that Nicodemus was hearing about, that we’re hearing about.
You’re watching online today and you’re hearing about this new birth and you’re thinking «How can this happen? What must take place»? Jesus illustrated it. He illustrated it with the story that He told from the book of Numbers about the snakes that were biting the Hebrew children because of their unbelief and their sin against God and Moses was given a solution to their sin and to their death, and that was to take a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and lift it up. Even to this day the medical community, you can see this as a symbol of healing. The snake on a pole. And Jesus tells this story. The snake on the pole in the Old Testament. And He says, «Just as that snake was lifted up high and all who believed and all who looked would live»! It was as simple as that.
Jesus said, «It’s like that»! Look and live! Mary’s little Lamb was born to die. That was His mission all along. He knew it. And that’s why He said, «Just as the serpent was lifted up on the pole in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up». He’s speaking then of His cross. God loves you. God loves me. So simple and yet so profound. I’m so grateful that I heard those words as a small child, singing a Sunday school song. «Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so».
The renown theologian Carl Barth was once asked by a scholar, «What is the most profound thought that ever entered the big brain in your head? What is the biggest thought that ever came to your mind? Dr. Barth, with all your knowledge, what is it»? Barth is reported to have said, «Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so». It’s simply profound and profoundly simple. So Jesus said, «You must be born again and here’s how: God so loved that He gave His only Son». The great God of glory came down to earth to love us up close. God has always loved you. There’s never been a time that God has not loved you. Before you were born, God loved you.
«It’s a good thing it was before you were born because He might not have loved you afterward,» someone said. No, even afterward, God loves you and He’s loved you all along. He said, «I’ve loved you with an everlasting love». But something happened that cut us off from God’s love. Now we’re lost, without direction. Under condemnation, without God, without hope. And you know when you’re lost, if you ever, no doubt you’ve had the experience of being lost physically and how disorienting it can be. I mean, I’ve gotten lost trying to find ways my navigation system in the car. And it takes you off someplace and you’re thinking, «How did I get here»? And when you are lost, especially if you’re a child and you are lost, it’s very frightening.
I think a lot of people in the world are like that and they’re saying, «Now, God, I never expected it to turn out like this. I never expected to be over here so disoriented and so confused and so lost». But if God seems far away to where, who do you think moved? We all are «like sheep that have gone astray». We’ve turned every one into our own way. But the Lord laid on Him (Jesus) all our iniquities, all of our sins. And that’s the point that Jesus is making and I’m making to you today. That when we were lost, we are now found. God came all of this way to find you, to rescue you, to redeem you, to recover you and to reconnect you with God! And that happens when we are born again by receiving God’s gift.
You say, «How do I unwrap this gift»? This gift sent from God, eternal, expensive, extravagant. This gift sent from God was wrapped in rags, swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. So how do you open the gift? Number one, by realizing you are not perfect. I didn’t have to come here to tell you that because you know it and I know it. And the Bible says, Romans 3:10, «There is none righteous, no, not one». We’ve all broken God’s commandments. We’ve all sinned against God. But it starts there. You can’t change something until you confront it. And so to be changed by the power of God, you must confront your own sin and confess it and say, «Lord, I know that I need a Savior. I don’t need more education. I don’t need more Bible knowledge. I don’t even need more church. Lord, I need salvation»!
And so you realize your spiritual condition, that you only have one birth and with that birth, you’re going to die and die and die and die, and never die! You need a second birth and that second birth happens when you remember and realize who Jesus is, that He died, He came to this earth. Born of a virgin, lived a perfect and sinless life, went to the cross, laid down His life like a snake on a pole. He took our sin on the cross, He was buried, and on the third day He rose again. And this means that God is not only with us, Emmanuel, but God is for us! God is for you! Somebody said that God is not mad at you; He’s mad about you! He loves you! This is why we sing, here’s a great Christmas song. Here’s a really good one, «Jesus paid it all; All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain but He washed it white as snow».
That’s the white Christmas we’re all longing for! Isaiah said, «Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow». Mary’s little Lamb went to Calvary, laid down His life. That’s why we sing «Worthy is the Lamb»; that’s why we believe that Jesus paid it all. Now look, if Jesus paid it all, then it’s done! You don’t get charged a second time. That’s why He says in this passage, therefore, He didn’t come to condemn you, but to save you.
Romans 8:1… Write that down in the margin of that verse. We covered it in our Romans series. «There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ». You look in the mirror and a lot of you are seeing a lot of condemnation, shame and guilt; failures and faults and foibles, flaws. Just look in the mirror. Not one of us is always pleased with the foolish decisions that we’ve made in life. And people live with all kinds of regrets and want a «do-over». We look in the mirror and we may see condemnation and you’re standing there and you’re feeling that.
You hear the devil say, «Condemned! Condemned! Condemned! Condemned»! But if you are in Christ, there’s no condemnation, there’s no shame. Our guilt is covered by His grace and His blood. We are now white as the driven snow. We are forgiven. No condemnation. Now who you going to believe? The devil? Or are you going to believe Jesus on this? No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. No judgment! No condemnation. We can live. This has to be the most liberating, life-giving thought that we can imagine. The most loving thing that we could experience. That we are loved, that we are accepted in the Beloved. No condemnation. And it all takes place when we have a new birth.
Satan comes to lie, steal, kill and destroy. Someone was telling me just this week that their bank account got wiped out by some sinister, sophisticated fraud. And it happens, I guess, more than we know, but this person thought it was real, thought the whole thing, and the whole bank account now is empty. Busted! That’s what the devil does. It’s a sinister, sophisticated scam! He comes to kill, steal and destroy! But Jesus said in that same verse, John 10:10, «But I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly»!
Are you born again? Are you saved. They’re synonyms. Born again, saved. So if you’re a Christian, you are saved. If you are a Christian, you have been born again. Has it happened to you? Has this new birth, this new life changed you from the inside out? It’s powerful. It changes you. You think differently, you act differently, you live differently. Because now Christ is born in you. Yes, there’s the sinner’s birth, that’s all of us, first birth. There’s the Savior’s birth, He came and lived and died and rose again. He was born, He came. And then there’s the second birth, and that’s the story of Jesus.