Good Tuesday to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Have you ever been in a courtroom watching a judge pronounce the VERDICT over an accused person? It’s a frightening, humbling, history making moment. As the judge drops the gavel, the accused person’s life is changed forever!
Yesterday in our journey with Jesus through God’s “Grand Narrative” we eavesdropped on a remarkable, history making conversation. A very significant man of his time, Pharisee Nicodemus, was having a discussion with Jesus. Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council in Jerusalem, was very familiar with debates and verdicts, often with the lives of people hanging in the balance.
Nicodemus had come to Jesus with deep questions. Pause: do you trust Jesus with your most complex questions? When is the last time you brought a question to Jesus and how did you discern His response?
Jesus had shocked Nicodemus with profound statements regarding a second birth, a spiritual birth, which Jesus said God desired for EVERY person. We concluded our time yesterday just as Jesus spoke one of the most famous things He ever said: “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:16,17)
Of course, Nicodemus was stunned, for these words did NOT align with all his years of study nor his daily efforts to live a life honorable enough to be counted worthy of heaven. But what Jesus said next was even more shocking to Dr. Nicodemus: “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)
What? Belief not effort is the key to heaven. And belief in ONE particular person, God’s one and only Son? Wow, that’s very restrictive, isn’t it? In fact, that eliminates almost every common and popular opinion, theory and even religious program for gaining acceptance into the kingdom of God, doesn’t it?
And did you notice Jesus said each of us humans is living ALREADY CONDEMNED by Holy God! What? Yes, we are each born with a sin nature which, from the time we are children, leads us to selfishness, deceitfulness, anger, pride and living lives that are offensive to and rebellious against Holy God!
Now pause and ponder that. Are you honest enough to see this reality in your own life? Can you imagine how Pharisee Nicodemus was overwhelmed by this declaration from Jesus, who was claiming to speak God’s Truth?
Obviously, the key question Nicodemus had is the question you and I should have too: HOW do we escape God’s condemnation judgment and gain entrance into the kingdom of God? What about my sinful nature? So, what’s your answer, my friends? The quality of your life now and your eternal destiny hinges on your answer, doesn’t it?
But Nicodemus was wrestling with another question that really troubled his heart. Jesus had said those who believe in God’s Son would NOT perish and would instead have everlasting life in the kingdom of God! PERISH is a frightening word, for it means ETERNAL separation from God!! Does the PERISH possibility frighten you? Nicodemus would do anything to avoid PERISH!
And Jesus had said the only way to escape this PERISH condemnation is belief in the NAME of God’s one and only Son?! What does that mean? Remember the angel had made it very clear to Joseph that Mary’s miracle son should be named “Jesus”, Yeshua in Hebrew. Why? What is it about that name? ‘Jesus’ means Savior, Rescuer, Deliverer.
A Savior can only save if He is more powerful than whatever holds us in bondage. A Savior can only save if He can reverse the condemnation! Do you understand this profound truth? Why and how does belief in Jesus earn us deliverance, rescue, salvation FROM our condemnation?
And finally, Jesus used the word that hit Nicodemus like a bolt of lightning: VERDICT! Jesus said: “This is the VERDICT: Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the TRUTH comes into the light so that it may be plainly seen that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” (John 3:19-21)
Nicodemus understood! Light is TRUTH, God’s TRUTH. Rescue from our sin condemnation is dependent upon our embracing God’s TRUTH, not rejecting it or ignoring it! Rescue begins by acknowledging the obvious and painful truth… I am a sinful person and I can’t help it and I can’t stop it! That sin separates me from God now and will lead me to a PERISH eternity!
If I’m going to experience deliverance from my sin bondage and sin condemnation it entirely depends on Jesus! Why? Because Jesus is all powerful God the Son, and Jesus is sinless, so His atonement death on the cross pays for my sin and shatters my condemnation! But Jesus’ payment is only applied to my sinful condition IF I repent of my sin, turn to Jesus to be my Savior and fully trust God to save me, by applying Jesus’ death payment to my sin debt and then breaking the chokehold of sin in my life! That is the ‘born again’ experience Jesus spoke of and ONLY God can accomplish it in my life, and only in response to my repentance of my sin!
Nicodemus walked away from that conversation befuddled. He now had new information, God sent information, and Nicodemus needed to decide what to do with it and how to integrate it into his life. You and I face exactly the same decision today and every day, don’t we? So, what’s your response to Jesus’ words in John 3:3-21?? I urge you right now to speak with Jesus and tell HIM what your response is to His declaration about God’s VERDICT!
More reflection “Lessons Learned” study notes are in the Grand Narrative link below and I urge you to look at them, as is a wonderful worship song about the power of Jesus’ deliverance and I’ll be waiting here for you tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: John 3.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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