How Can This Be?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it wants.  Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”  “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.  John 3:1-9

How can it be?  I would imagine if you told someone unfamiliar with American history that a back-woods, self-educated country boy in 1860 would be elected President of the United States, that visitor would wonder How can this be?  If you told a man two hundred years ago that in the future people would get in a big silver colored coach in New York and sail through the air at 500 miles an hour, landing safely in Los Angeles just six hours later, he’d say How can this be?  And if you told anyone living in Paris a hundred years ago that jingling, vibrating in that person’s back pocket would be Grandma calling him from Idaho in the States, and by pressing a button you’d see her, talk to her, and make plans to meet the next day for lunch in New Mexico, they would not only ask How can this be…they’d also arrange for you to meet the gatekeeper at the psych-ward.

That was the question of the evening for Jesus.  Nicodemus asked him how can a man go through the birth canal a second time?  I can imagine Jesus smiling and chuckling over that one.  But then it got serious.  Jesus was talking to a man of age, not a schoolboy, a man of great learning, you didn’t get to be a Pharisee, and a leader of Israel without intense study…and he was talking to a man of enormous influence, a respected teacher of Scripture.  Jesus told him to take all his age and life experience, all his study and certificates, and all his leadership awards honorary degrees and….dump ‘em…begin again…start over![1] 

As a person mid-way through the eighth-decade of life, I groaned when I heard those words in my mind and heart, just as assuredly as Nicodemus must have looked for the nearest exit.  How can you spend your life studying about God, teaching about God, serving God, and loving God….and then just dump all that life experience to start over?  And what does that even mean?

Then it clicked-in.

When you count on all you’ve seen…all you’ve experienced…all you’ve done, written, and the way people have said Good Job, man…that’s what you’ve got; you’ve got YOU in the center of the stage in Congratulatory Hall accepting awards and stars on your crown.  Suddenly God’s not in focus…you are!  That’s what Jesus was telling Nicodemus.  Or me.  Or you.

For You Today 

Today, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve lived the most perfectly acceptable successful life, done everything right, or if you’ve wasted every second and breath you’ve been given.  What matters is who is being worshipped right this moment.  In what Kingdom do you live, breathe, and have your being?  Who sits on the throne of your heart?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Title Image(s) courtesy of The Chosen via Wikimedia                      

Images without citation are in public domain.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] This thought comes from Dr. John MacArthur’s Grace to You broadcast, September 27, 2023

Life Signs

 

Friday, January 28, 2022

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus.  “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’  John 3:1-7

This is the entry driveway to the place I’ve been spending my lunch times, three days a week, for the past 5 months.  Cardio-rehabilitation is the introduction to changing a sedentary lifestyle to one of cardiovascular health.  In short, I’ve been reintroducing my ticker to the busy-ness of behaving itself. 

This view is what you see when you exit the building.  

It’s a one-way zone, you don’t want to get that mixed up.  It is much like life in this world; you come into this world, and you progress in one direction to the exit sign!  No do-overs!

Now that, as Nicodemus said to Jesus, is common sense.  How can an old man re-enter the womb and go through the process again?  Nic’s question poses a reductio ad absurdum,[1] Latin for reasoning a foolish explanation which explains the opposite of common sense.  In the natural world old men don’t get born a second time; with the flesh, this is impossible.  

So, this Pharisee with the long, gray beard, and easily recognizable robes, who knows (and perhaps loves) a good debate, wants Jesus to explain what he’s teaching.  And Jesus obliges the supposedly spiritually-wise leader of God’s people in a way that he never expected.  Reduced to the smallest common denominator, Jesus tells his questioner that each of us comes into this life one way, physically, and we know it's a one-way street where, someday, we encounter the exit sign.  That’s not new news; but Jesus turns the page and compares it to the otherworldly truth about eternal life in the Spirit. 

Jesus tells Nicodemus that the kingdom he should really be concerned about is not to be found within the four walls of Solomon’s temple, but the Kingdom where the breath of God blows – a place that has no place you can see, but will last forever.  It’s different than the physical realities one can experience.  In this kingdom you don’t go back to be born-over in flesh, but you can be born-again of the Spirit of God.  It’s the Kingdom of God, the place, and source of eternal life.

For You Today

One-way signs, meant to direct the flow of traffic, are common everywhere.  They’re important because they help us avoid collisions that can be disastrous.  There’s one of those signs at the entrance to the human heart; that’s where Jesus is standing, knocking, and speaking those “one-way” words:  You MUST be born-again![2]

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

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[1] the form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction.  See Wikipedia.com

[2] See Matthew 7:8 and Revelation 3:20

Sorrow Leaves When Joy is Born

 

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

“In a little while you won’t see me anymore.  But a little while after that, you will see me again.”  Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’?  And what does he mean by ‘a little while’?  We don’t understand.”  Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant?  I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again.  I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice.  You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.  It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor.  When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.  So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.  John 16: 16-22

I have never given birth to a child (not exactly a newsflash there), but I’ve been there when it happened.  We’ve shared previously on Rocky Road[1] how I missed the birth of our first two children, because Dads weren’t allowed in the delivery room back then.  But I was there for the third, and pain giving way to overwhelming joy is unmistakable!

Jesus’ described the pain as “anguish”, and he called new life “joy”.  And it’s because of the nurturing gene surging through every part of the mother’s body.  Call it hormones and chemistry if you will, but the desire to procreate and preserve is hard-wired into the process by the Master Creator. 

I watched a video on Youtube recently of The Cat Who Adopts Baby Ducklings.  It was bizarre to see a feline accepting orphaned baby ducks as part of her new litter.  Cats normally don’t become caretakers for birds, they eat birds!  But this Momma cat had just given birth, and couldn’t help herself.  Even months later the bond between mother feline and grown ducks displayed what God built-in to His creation – we are born to hold life up…even when it goes against our nature to self-preserve and promote.  There is too much joy beyond the anguish to resist!

Now apply that to Jesus’ disciples in the upper room when he told them the passion was about to begin, and the pain would be unbearable for them.  But, like the passing of labor that gives way to the newborn baby, pain would transform into great joy!

Jesus had told Nicodemus if he ever wanted to see the Kingdom of God he would have to be born again[2].  That reference has lasted two millennia because of the joy untold millions have experienced in the passing of sorrow’s pain, when a sinner’s confession transports him into the joyful presence of love unbounded.  Words are totally inadequate at this point.  Simply look at the faces of a newborn child with the one who gave him free room and board for nine months.  Sorrow leaves when joy is born!

For You Today

Jesus said that no one would be able to rob his disciples of the joy he had planned for them.  He meant it – and it happened – and he meant it for us too!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day! 

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] See:  Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

[2] See John 3

 

Lenten Walk - Part 18

[1]

Monday, March 12, 2018

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus.  “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it wants.  Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”  “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.  Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?  I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony.  But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?  No one has ever gone to heaven and returned.  But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.  

John 3:1-13^(NLT)

For a smart man, Nicodemus had trouble comprehending spiritual issues.  That is quite problematic for someone charged with guiding a nation’s spiritual and moral conscience.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the rulers, meaning he probably sat on the Sanhedrin, Israel’s ruling council.  As such, this important man who came to Jesus under cover of night (perhaps afraid his colleagues would find out he was consulting with a simple carpenter) should have recognized what the carpenter was saying.

The simple question here is:  What was Nicodemus’ disconnect?  To be a Pharisee at all Nicodemus would have had to be highly educated, particularly in the Scriptures.  The Pharisees had the strictest moral code, held the Scriptures in highest priority as God’s Word to be obeyed, and, this night he opened the conversation with Jesus as an honest, willing-to-learn, open-minded scholar…or was he?

The ruler seemed to have a right attitude, except for the fact that he didn’t.  He framed his question in the form of teaching Jesus, rather than presenting himself as one who needed to be taught.  He said: we all know you’re from God.  He said:  you’ve come to teach us.  He said (essentially):  the evidence – the miracles you do – support our theis; so, Jesus, I’m here; teach me if you will…I’m waiting.

Now, I’m willing to admit I’ve made the cardinal sin of reading that last bit into the text.  Considering Nicodemus came to Jesus at all indicates he probably wasn’t defiant, daring Jesus to teach him – a learned Pharisee.  But attitude notwithstanding, Nicodemus still got it wrong; Jesus had not come primarily to be a teacher…rather he came to be a preacher.  He didn’t come to have a conversation; he came to announce the Kingdom’s arrival and that salvation was at hand.  Notice Jesus’ first sermon in the synagogue of his home town:

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.  The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”  He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.  All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.  Then he began to speak to them.  “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”  Luke 4:16-21^(NLT)

It’s no wonder a man, deeply trained in Scripture, Theology, Reason, and the Experience of being immersed in the religious life of God’s people didn’t get it at all when Jesus said that he had to be born again.  Nicodemus was expecting a thesis from the teacher, along with appropriately detailed discussion; Jesus laid out an ultimatum. 

For You Today

Our Lenten Walk is a season of preparation to be dead-honest with Jesus in all we do and say.  Don’t repeat the Nicodemus blunder of trying to control the conversation; let God determine everything about your agenda today.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com