John 3:1-8  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”  3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We have been in this popular text now for a few days.  It is important now to take a moment and consider the kingdom of God.  There are two things that Jesus says about this kingdom in the clouds (that’s sarcasm keep reading).  Jesus says unless a person is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God and unless he is born of water and spirit he cannot enter it.

We have already addressed what it means to be born again.  So now let’s take just a moment and consider what this Kingdom is.

We often imagine that this earth is the devils realm and God’s kingdom is a place of bliss in the clouds where dead people play harps. 

This is a lie.

First of all, you should have no interest in serving a king who cannot conquer his enemy’s territory. God made the earth, do you really expect the creator to simply throw it all away and establish a kingdom someplace else?  That’s like a ruler living in exile.

Make no mistake here, The Creator and King is not an exile.

Maybe humanity rebelled against him, but he didn’t just leave and ask a few to follow him.  He is taking it back.

During World War II the Germans invaded France.  To some people, it looked a lot like Germany.  The Germans carried out their program of racial cleansing.  They put German practices and authorities in place.  They set up puppet leaders who would follow German policy.  To the frenchman who was unaware or unpatriotic, he would have thought he lived in a new and expanded German kingdom.

But the thousands of French resistance fighters saw it differently.  They saw the France they loved and they were determined to one day restore their country to its full glory.  Then, they knew they would parade in the streets of Paris like it was Bastille Day all over again!

The one who has been born again is like the French resistance fighter. They do not doubt that this planet which circles the sun and sustains our life is smack in the middle of God’s Kingdom.  It may have been attacked, but it is His.  They know it and they see it that way.

They work hard to see it restored to its former glory.

And one day they will parade on streets of gold. Parade on streets of gold here.  Here on this planet.  In the center of God’s kingdom.  This is where those who are born again will enter into his kingdom.

And the one who is born again looks forward to marching in that parade.

How about you?

John 3:1-8  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”  3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus said this thing about being born again.  Of course Nicodemus was a little confused by what he meant.  Seriously, that is confusing.  he asked a great question.  The biggest problem is that most of the followers of Jesus today don’t ever ask that question.  They sprout the phrase (all the time) but don’t really know what it means.

So what does it mean to be born again?

Let me tell you what is significant in the original Greek here.  It’s what we call the passive voice.  Be born again might be better translated (if we spoke this way) as “unless someone is given birth to again.”  The point is you did not ask to be born, your parents did something you don’t want to consider and a few months later your mom pushed and breathed and agonized, and you just were.

You had suddenly become something that had not been before.  And it was a thing that happened to you.

What Jesus is telling Nicodemus is that unless a person is acted upon in just the same way, they can’t see the kingdom of heaven.

He is saying that they must become something that they had not been before, or they won’t see the kingdom of heaven.

Sure we need to talk more about the kingdom of heaven.  And that’s a favorite topic of mine.

But first.  Are you born of the Spirit?  Are you different than you were before?  Has something been done to you that made you a different person?

Consider this.  Did the Spirit of God change you or have you changed yourself?

Are you the one who made yourself who you are or was it the creator and King of heaven and earth?

Unless you are born of the spirit (or acted upon by the Spirit of God, apart from yourself) you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

John 3:1-8  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”  3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

This guy named Nicodemus came to see Jesus one night.  It was after Jesus had told all the business folks to clear away from the temple.  He admitted something pretty significant.  It’s so short and quick that it would be easy to miss.  He acknowledged thatthe pharisees knew that this man came from God.

Wow.  If you know the story you might be realizing how significant that was.  This group of people were the biggest adversaries Jesus had!  Near the very beginning one of their own admitted that they knew Jesus had come from God.

There are a lot of things in this passage that we could speak about and perhaps we will, but right now I want to focus on that one simple question.

What do you do with Jesus when you know he is from God?

You can either take him at his word and serve him as the king who came to redeem you.  Or you can put him on a cross, mock him, and abuse him.  That’s what these same pharisees would eventually do.  They did it because he challenged them.

You can do all this in an effort to make yourself feel better about your own life.  Because if he really came to fix you, that means you are a screw up.

Jesus is chalenging you to admit that you are a screw up.

Are you really a screw up?  Can Jesus be the answer? Or would you rather say he is wrong, even when you know he is right?

Here is that reason.

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

When Jesus destroyed this illegal market, he had the authority to do it.  You see, its like if I were to walk into a group of hookers and drug dealers and start cuffing them and dragging them off, sooner or later someone is going to want to see a badge – some proof that I actually have the authority to do this.

We would all agree that their action is illegal.  The question is, who am I to do something about it?

That’s what these people asked Jesus.  They didn’t say “why are you doing this?”  They wanted to see a badge.  They had let it go on and even participated in it.  But Jesus called them all out on their injustice and irresponsibility and they wanted to see a badge.

His answer was to tell them to destroy the “temple” (or the place where God lived) – and he would raise it again in three days. 

Of course they thought he was talking about this building that their fathers and grandfathers had labored for years to build.  By the way, there is a piece of that building is still there – its called the wailing wall.  It is a place faithful Jewish believers go and weep in anguish of their longing to see it rebuilt.

The dwelling of God that Jesus referred to was his own body.  They did destroy it, and it was rebuilt – in three days.

Do not wail and wait for hope to come.  It has already come.  The one who has the authority has also proven that he has the power to wield that authority.

If you have ever thought to yourself – even in the quiet moments of your own soul, “who is Jesus to expect that I should do THAT?”

He is the one who restored his own life in three days, that’s who…

14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus did this twice.  He did it at the very beginning of his ministry, then before he died, he did it again.

Jesus was pretty ticked when he ripped apart this illegal market.  We often hear people throw phrases like “righteous anger” around.  As if this incident somehow justifies your throwing an iron at your wife because she upset you.

That is NOT what this is about.

This story is about two things.  It is about holiness and it is about justice.

For several centuries the people had revered this place called the temple.  They had been devastated when it was once destroyed and then ecstatic when it was rebuilt.  But for the people sitting here doing business, it had become another way to earn a living.

This was not a place to earn a living.  This was a place – the only place – where God actually dwelt.  Really – he was THERE.  God had asked these people to build a place where he could “dwell with them.”  He wanted to be with him.

The morons selling stuff on his porch were exploiting his presence. This was a slap in the face to all that is holy and Jesus didn’t like it very much.

It was also about justice.  The people who were coming to the temple were coming because they wanted – no they needed to get in touch with God.  There is something so magnificently human about realizing the vastness of God and our own need to commune with the creator.

Often at moments like that we are broken.  We have come to see the futility of what we are doing and realized that we need to turn to something larger.  That is not a moment when you are able to make good financial decisions or stand up for what is right and wrong.  There was injustice being perpetrated upon hurting people on God’s front steps.

Jesus would not stand for it.  He not only showed how passionate he was about holy things, but he also showed that this king was committed to justice.

There are two thoughts that we need to then consider.

First – are you committed to holiness and justice like that?  Do you tread on holy things and exploit those less fortunate?  When was the last time you fought for an issue of justice?

Second – do you feel like things are against you?  can you never seem to get ahead?  Do you suffer from injustice?  There is a king who is willing to fight for you.

2:1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

So I am drinking coffee today.  We live in a coffee culture.  people want coffee and even look forward to a cup of coffee.

Jesus lived in a wine culture.  Wine was not cheap, but it was better than water.  You know that charity: water commercial?  The one where they have to drink the brown water?  That’s sort of what the water would have looked like in the days before chlorine and water treatment facilities.  Wine was cleaner, it tasted better, and it reminded the people of the possibility that things could be better than they seemed.

This is what the wine was about.  Things can be better.  As always, there are a lot of things going on in this story.  There are a few thousand years of Jewish history.  For generation upon generation the people had been taught through an annual celebration involving wine.  Wine was used as a symbol of bitter things to remember and better things to come.

When Mary came to Jesus to ask him to help with the wine, they both knew what it meant.  It meant that better things were coming.

In this miracle, Jesus first of all displayed his authority.  He was the one who made the water and the wine and he could demonstrate that by changing their molecular structure.

Secondly he displayed his supremacy.  What had come before was not as good as what came after.  Jesus took an instrument of an old ceremony and improved upon it.  It used to hold water, possibly murky and less that delicious water.  Now it held wine, and it surpassed other wine.

Jesus, with his first miracle, began a ministry that would last only a few years.  And in this miracle he announced that he was authoritative and that he was supreme.

The people who knew what he had done were astonished by this simple man from a simple town.

Are you astonished at him?

4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’

11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

You know what this story is really about?  It is about trust.  There is a lot going on here.  A couple thousand years of history go into the conversation that Jesus and Satan have.  There are some good reasons Jesus says the things that he does.

Jesus defeats temptation.  The same temptations which humans are most susceptible too.

food, power, and fame

these cravings have sent armies to war and men to their graves for thousands of years.  But Jesus said no and he trusted.

We all want to make a name for ourselves, we all want to have a stockpile of provisions so we never have to worry where the next meal is coming from.  We all want people to serve us and cater to our every whim.

The king of the universe said no to these things.  In his weak, yet perfect humanity, he trusted God.

We don’t always do that.  We are weak and we don’t trust. We horde, we fight, we bicker and even kill because we believe that we have to “take care of ourselves.”

We forget there is a king who has promised to take care of us.  Look to Jesus who denied temptation.  When you don’t deny it, you can remember that he did and he did it for you.  Then you can see him and have hope that you too can deny it the next time around.

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

We jump ahead a bit here in the story of Jesus.  The writers just didn’t feel the need to tell us more than we already know about Jesus’ early years.  Maybe they thought this is really all that was relevant.  Either way, we are now thrown into the moment when Jesus begins his ministry.  He begins here with his own baptism.

We are left with a few different accounts of what happened that day, so feel free to read though through some of the other accounts.

What I want to focus on today is that Jesus was the “beloved son.”

Jesus was just beginning to do the things he was born to do.  This was really the first part of his purpose right here.  Part of the reason we don’t know a lot about the early years is that the following three of four years were what he was born to do.

Yet, before he had done what he came to do, a voice from the heavens (quite literally) announced that he was beloved.

That means well loved, special, treasure.  Even without having finished what he was supposed to do!

You ever wish somebody felt that way about you?

In Galatians 3:28 a guy named Paul said that we “are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Part of what that means is that if a person believes that Jesus is king, and treats him as king, then the father has that same love toward that person.

In Christ Jesus

When Jesus lived and died he did both as a way of giving us what he had.

He had perfection, perfect humanity.  You know the way that deep down you know you should act and think?  He did that.

He had that kind of perfection.  And now you have it too.

You know the way you wish someone loved you?  Perfectly, unconditionally?

He was loved like that.

You are too.

Believing that the heavens have literally opened up and announced God’s deep love for you can change you.  Do you believe that you have what Jesus had?  If so, you have that kind of love.

Live like the creator of heaven and earth cares that much about you.

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

This is one of those famous Bible Stories.  I think what tends to draw us to it is that its one of the few places we see Jesus as a young man.

It is also one of those stories that is usually used to illustrate how special Jesus was.  Even as a child he was different and somehow he knew it.

I think That is a part of what Luke intended to demonstrate when he told this story.

But instead of focusing on Jesus staying behind at the temple.  Rather than discussing the fact that those who heard him were amazed at what he said, we should see his response.

Of course at first he was like a typical teenager.  He said “what mom?”  I can almost see his astonishment.  If you have ever spoken to a teenager you know what I am talking about.  Shock that you would suggest that something was wrong with making his own decisions.

But look at the next line.  He went home with them and was “submissive to them.”  No fight no argument – the creator of the universe was submissive to his parents.

If ever a fight was going to break out, that would have been a good time.  But instead he obeyed them.

Remember what that was like for you when you were that age?  Do you know the feeling of wanting complete independence from your authorities, from God?

Jesus knows that feeling too.  He knows exactly what it feels like when you have to deny your human impulse for autonomy and be submissive to someone else.

We serve a king who understands exactly what he is asking for when he asks you to obey him.

And he can be trusted with it.