Last week we looked at Romans chapter 5. Before we did so, I asked some questions in the congregation around what distinguishes a Christian. I went on to talk about God’s love … that was so prevalent, that Jesus came and died for “the ungodly”, the “sinners”, and God’s “enemies” (all the different ways this was expressed by Paul). The Gospel message was encapsulated in those four words – “Christ died for us”. My point was, that we Christians are ‘forgiven people’, which is certainly a distinguishing factor as we live out our lives in community.
It was interesting that the comments around the room in response to those questions, were about how we live, or about what other people might see in us. The fruit of the Spirit was mentioned, and then expanded upon by others in terms of expressing kindness or experiencing practical deeds of love. This fitted well with the first part of Romans 5, where we read … that the peace with God … that we gain through forgiveness, leads to a rejoicing … that even occurs through our suffering – building our resilience, and leading to a greater depth of character.
Introduction
So, I wanted to press this a little further today, by examining another famous and significant new testament text – which, in the words of Jesus himself, shows how the process of accepting him, leads to a different way of life. The latter part of this John 3 passage, particularly verse 21, points to the idea that those good deeds of service … that we endeavour to do, point directly towards the God whom we follow and works within us. Thus, this message is entitled ‘Living in the Light’. Last week’s passage reflected on the world’s need … of hope entering into despair – this week’s text focusses on … light entering into darkness.
Believing and Eternal Life
Some clarification … around verse 16. The best understanding of what John means by “eternal life” (in verse 16 and many other places) … is ‘life in all its fullness’ or ‘life as God meant it to be’ which begins from the moment we are ‘born again’ (here on earth). As said last week, from this point … we are in the process of being saved, in the process of being ‘sanctified’ or set apart for God’s purposes, and our character is being reformed toward the image of Jesus. This means we will want to be an active part of a God-centred church community – worshipping and serving together … toward the good of others. To get to this point … we need to ??? what ??? – “believe” … in Jesus.
This does NOT just mean intellectual agreement with certain propositions. To “believe” … means to accept and appreciate all of what Jesus brings to life. To “believe” means to completely buy into Jesus, and stake our lives on his credibility. To “believe” is to see that the cross and resurrection change everything. To “believe” is to say YES to God’s grace. To “believe” is to wholly commit our lives over to Jesus. To “believe” is to live in the ‘Jesus way’, seeking to emulate how he lived. This all takes the humility to accept we need help. And as Ken Manley comments, “[This] is possible … by trusting that God’s [Holy] Spirit will sweep you away from your old ways and traditions, and into a new life”.
Darkness to Light
To believe in Jesus … and move into “eternal life” … means we are moving from “darkness” to “light”. “Darkness” and “light” is a major theme in John’s Gospel. “Darkness” is a metaphor for the absence of God, while “light” represents the presence of God. Jesus, the Redeemer, has come into the world as ‘Light’ … in a dark place, clearly to bring the “light” of salvation. Later Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world”.
Jesus also says, to the crowd gathered for the 'sermon on the mount' (Matt 5:14) ... "YOU are the light of the world"! So, there are two ways of looking at this process of moving from “darkness” to “light”.
Firstly, there is what happens within us - as a result of Jesus being the "Light of the world". We ourselves could have been living in “darkness” – in a state of slavery or (powerlessness) to sin, combined with NOT knowing the truth about how Jesus can bring God’s mercy into our lives. This was where Nicodemus was at. Despite being a leader of the Jews, Nicodemus had not yet understood or experienced grace. Where we read that Nicodemus came to Jesus “by night” (v 2), we are being led to understand that this Nicodemus was currently unenlightened and unsaved.
We might imagine that the conversation Nicodemus had with Jesus was longer than this (what we have in the text), but we have here the crux of the matter. Nicodemus had correctly recognised something in Jesus … well beyond the ordinary. Changing water into wine at a wedding feast, and throwing people out of the temple area who were disrupting people’s opportunity of worship – were quite remarkable “signs” of Jesus being special and significant. These were deeds of “light” … shining out in the “darkness”!
In questioning Jesus on this, Nicodemus was confronted with the notion of changing his life completely – in a spiritual sense … starting over! Jesus called this (as it is variously translated) … being “born from above” or “born anew” or “born again”. This is a spiritual restart. More than this, it is a complete change in life orientation – from self-governed to God-governed!!! Now isn’t this crucial … to be 24/7 God-centred! Each of us … were once upon a time … born in a physical sense – we each require a second spiritual birth.
The human state … is often such that … a minor repair will never do! The wound is too great. Any temporary repair job … is just that … temporary! Sometimes we may just try to make ourselves better … in our own strength – with activities, possessions, human relationships. Yet the problem goes way too deep to be helped by any of these. We don’t need a band-aid, but rather a major operation. We need to be “born again”! We remain human, as we were born human; we remain the physical age we are!!! But something deep happens – generating a spiritual re-start. And, as already said, such is the power of the Holy Spirit, that such a re-birth can change so much.
This can happen at any age – it seems that Nicodemus was NOT a young person by any means (refer verse 4). God patiently waits and continues to love, and has intentions of creating a place for us in His eternal house (John 14). Yet, the earlier we respond the better – for there are many blessings to enjoy in this life, and opportunities to participate in God’s mission – that kick-in as soon as we enter that spiritual re-birth. There is a grand vision here, especially in verse 8, that we can move from struggling under human limitation (at one end of the spectrum), to being released into the flow of God’s Spirit (at the other end of the spectrum).
So, the first way we move from “darkness” to “light” is within ourselves. The second way, then, is about the path that we take (from there) i.e. choosing to walk in the ways (or ‘rays’) of “light”. This is in response to Jesus saying, "YOU are the light of the world"! This means focussing on the ways Jesus would have us live. This, of course, doesn’t mean isolating ourselves, or hiving ourselves off into ‘holy huddles’ – quite the opposite actually. It means taking the “light” of God into the “darkness” around us. It means carefully and intentionally taking God’s light (through our own reformed being) into the “darkness” about us – so that others may also be “born again”. Yet … … easier said than done!
We will need all of the (flowing) resources of the Holy Spirit with us … to pull this off. As Jesus showed, there is a great struggle … when you face off against evil. “Evil” hates the “light”! “Evil” does NOT like to be exposed by the “light”. So, of course, it will be tough! When you find yourself defending or debating faith against the tide, or trying to be thoroughly consistent in your witness … there are great challenges. Again, this is why the mercies of God abide at the foot of the cross … every time we need to reset or recharge. Cracks will appear – for we are often still vulnerable and fallible. Rough edges may emerge under pressure. Our progress can stall from time to time under life’s testing. So, we say ... thank-you for the cross, Lord!!
The Power of Light
We can talk about Jesus, and, of course, we should … a lot. But last week’s answers, showed that living out the life of Jesus … is the credible way forward … and what distinguishes a Christian! Of course, more and more, it seems, people are NOT interested in conversations about God and Jesus. So, therefore, we need to raise their interest in other ways: random acts of kindness, being truly interested in their well-being, encouragement, generosity, sacrifice, practical help. This is bringing “light” into “darkness”. This is how we promote the “Light of the World”. This is where the good deeds of service that we endeavour to do, point directly towards the God whom we follow (and who works within us, and through us).
We see in verses 18-20, how people bring judgment upon themselves by ignoring the “light” and doing “evil”. This is the reality we face … head on. But with God, we don’t want anyone to miss out! We should NEVER feel superior (or content). Verse 17 provides the context – Jesus came that none might be lost! We should NOT want to condemn anyone, but rather understand their predicament, as God has understood our predicament. People can prefer “darkness”, like Nicodemus, because they don’t yet understand the “light” – or maybe they haven’t even seen any bright enough “light” yet! This should motivate us and move us. For, “God so loved the world …”.
Conclusion
What further do we know about Nicodemus? Jesus laid the truth out before him, and then continued to model this truth in a very public way – a life orientation that Nicodemus would have surely noticed. In John chapter 7, Nicodemus courageously objects to the Pharisee’s blanket rejection of Jesus, suggesting that Jesus should be given a better hearing (7:50-51). And, later, in John 19, Nicodemus, after the crucifixion, assisted with Jesus’ burial (19:38-40). We read, “Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds”.
Such a generous act (outside the norm and against the tide) … would suggest that Nicodemus has moved out of the “darkness” and into the “light” – both internally and externally! Although it is not specifically said, I like to think that Nicodemus became a fully-fledged follower of Jesus. We, too, can, when we see the “Light”, make a right decision, which begins something new … and which is proved to be true in the light of day – where the truth of what we believe, becomes evident in how we live. The question then: How can we reveal the “Light” this week?
No comments:
Post a Comment