Who was Nicodemus?
Week 15
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews. As a Jew, he would have been very careful to obey all the rules that God had given to Moses. Nicodemus would have spent a lot of time studying Scripture, praying, and making sacrifices. He, and along with most Jews, thought God would accept them simply if they did the "right things".
Let's talk about you!
You were born the first time as a baby. But even as a cute little baby, the Bible says you were a sinner. Your father and your grandfather and your great-grandfather and all the way back to the first man, Adam, are sinners. All of us, except Jesus, is born with a sin nature inside us. So we each rebel against God's commands. Think about it, do you always honor your parents? Do you always tell the truth?
Read John 3:1-16
Jesus taught Nicodemus turned his belief system on its head! When Jesus explained that we must be born again, Nicodemus thought he meant it literally. He did not understand what Jesus was saying. So what did he mean?
Why must we be born again and how does it happen?
If you're born again, you're a new person from the inside out. God gives the born-again believer the desire and power to obey Jesus. You'll still fight sin after you're born again. You won't be perfect. But if you're born again, you'll keep turning from sin and trusting Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:17)
As you read earlier, we are all sinners! Because we are born into sin, we must be born AGAIN. This doesn't mean you can get back inside your mom to be born again! Being born again is not something you can see happen or make happen yourself. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that spiritual birth is somewhat similar to physical birth in a way because the person cannot do it to himself. To help you understand, think about it this way, can a person make himself grow taller? No, right? In the same way, our spiritual birth is not by anything we do, we don't have control of it.
Let's look at another bible story to help us understand this! In Numbers 21:4-9, we read a story about the bronze snake. When the disobedient Israelites were bitten by snakes, they could not heal themselves. But when they trusted in God and looked to the bronze snake lifted up on the pole, they were healed.
What does this tell us?
Only God can cause a sinner to be born again. He gives new life through Jesus. If God causes you to be born again, you'll believe in Jesus—God's one way to save you from sin.
