I wish, with the Lord’s help, dear friends, to bring John 3 before you in the way in which it has been before me of late.
Perhaps there is no chapter in the New Testament that, in part, at least, is known better than the 3rd chapter of the Gospel by John; and perhaps there is no part of the New Testament that is so little understood.
What has been before me of late in connection with this is how it brings out what God is by nature, and what man is by nature. God and man are brought together in that way.
In this chapter we have—I hardly like to say, three men; although there are three men—I had rather say, three persons. But one of those men is absolutely different from the other two—He came from heaven. That is the testimony of John the Baptist. When John’s disciples become jealous for their master, they find that the Lord Jesus is getting a greater hearing than John, “He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all come to Him.”
They were jealous of their master’s glory. And the Christian often is jealous of His Master’s glory. That just gives occasion to John the Baptist, who was the greatest born of women, as Jesus said, to tell how he feels—the contrast between himself and his Master,
“He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth.”
How each one of us learns for himself the gracious and wonderful truth that one has come down from heaven. And that one delights in the title of being the Son of Man. And we learn who Christ is; and where He came from. That is one of the first things we wish to learn in order to know God.
Well, the other is a great man—Nicodemus. And he has been to some meetings—the Passover, where Jesus was—and he has seen and heard some of the miracles of the Lord. And that dear man, that great man Nicodemus, referred to in another translation as “the teacher of Israel,” has a need, a felt need in his soul. And that felt need brought him to the Saviour. But his knowledge of who that Saviour was, was very shallow and partial. He comes to Him and says,
“Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God.” Well, Nicodemus, how do you know that?
“No man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.”
When did Nicodemus come? He came at night. What shall we learn of that? We read of Nicodemus twice after this in the gospel; and each time he is mentioned, it is said of him that he came to Jesus by night. Some have felt that he was ashamed to come by day. That is not the speaker’s thought of it. Ah, he had a need in his soul—a felt need. And it is a blessed thing, whether you come to Jesus by night or by day, when you come to Him with a sense of need in your soul. You will receive blessing by coming to Him in that way. What was Nicodemus’ felt need? His need of God—have you felt that? Has a realized sense of need in your soul brought you to God, brought you in the presence of God? If not, you are a stranger to Him. And He appeals to you in His love.
I have often thought of those three men. Ah, you and I would not feel very much at home in the presence of Nicodemus; nor would we feel very much at home in the presence of John the Baptist, for he was a thundering servant of God— “Repent,” was the word with John the Baptist. But, O, if you came to Jesus, you would find yourself perfectly at home; and He would be happy to have you realize yourself at home in His presence.
I sometimes ask the question, What did Jesus come from heaven for? What was He sent from heaven for? To make known the love of God. On one occasion a poor leper just burst the heart of Christ, when he said,
“I do not question your power, but what about your feelings? What about your heart? If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”
You have the power; have You got the will to do it? At once that hand went forth and touched him. He says,
“I will; be thou clean.” Ah, it was to make known God’s love that Christ came!
And so this great man, this master in Israel, finds himself in the presence of perhaps the lowliest man in Israel; for the one characteristic of the Lord Jesus was lowliness—a lowliness that made Him live a life of loneliness. So He comes; and He says,
“Well, you speak in a bantering way, and you own that God is with Me; and you want to be taught. If you want to be taught, you want the truth, do you not?”
Do you and I desire to know the truth of God, or the truth from God? That is what is needful for salvation—to know the truth of God; who He is, and what He is in His nature. So in the first answer of the Lord Jesus to this great man, this master in Israel, He says,
“If you want to know the truth; if you want Me to teach you, I must tell you the truth of God. And I must tell you, though you are a master in Israel and a teacher, ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”
Have you learned that? O, that is forgotten, dear friends. The majority of the masters in Israel today, have forgotten that, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” It is a right thing to tell the people the truth; and woe be the man who stands up to teach or preach the truth of God, when he does not teach the truth of God.
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Unless you have been born again, you will never see, or enter it.
Now, how is that? What makes man need a new birth? of being born again? or, “born from above,” as the margin gives it; the same word is frequently translated, “born from above”?
(To Be Continued)