Expository Sermon on John 3
Baptism of Tabitha Danner
by Maylan Schurch
Bellevue Seventh-day Adventist Church 7/20/2024
©2024 by Maylan Schurch
(To watch this entire worship service, click the link just below.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhZwlz14YvE&t=4596s
Please open your Bibles to John chapter 3.
As I mentioned, Tabitha Danner herself has shaped much of her baptismal service this morning. You’ve heard a favorite Scripture of hers, John 3:16, and I’ve based this sermon on that chapter. You’ve heard her dad tell the children’s story. You’ve joined in singing a favorite song of hers – “Above All” – which she requested that we sing when she was in the baptistery. At the end of this service you’ll be singing another song she chose, “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.”
As you know, John 3:16 is probably the Bible’s most beloved verse. And John 3 also tells the story of one of the most famous conversations in history, the Pharisee Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus one night. If you remember the story, you’ll remember that as it turned out, Jesus was totally prepared for this visit. But Nicodemus wasn’t. What Jesus told him first startled him, and then stunned him into realizing how little he knew about spiritual things.
But this was a good visit. It did what Jesus wanted it to do. And when, on a future Friday afternoon, Jesus dangled lifeless from a cross, Nicodemus and another wealthy leader reverently took charge of the body and gave it a decent burial.
John 3 the only time the Bible speaks of Jesus and Nicodemus ever meeting. But down through the centuries, millions of people have listened in on this conversation, and have had the chance to learn what Nicodemus did—including Tabitha’s eternally precious favorite verse.
From the start, the story of Jesus’ life tells about many people who visited Him, and how much He enjoyed those visits. On the night of His birth—and He may not even have been awake–shepherds came to visit Him after angels spoke and sang about Him. Later, thoughtful wise men from an eastern country traveled along distance to see Him.
When Jesus began His ministry as a traveling teacher, people adjusted their schedules so they could visit where He was to hear Him speak. When He finished His teaching at a certain place, many of them watched which direction He went, and followed Him so they could listen some more.
Sometimes Jesus didn’t even wait for someone to come and visit Him—He invited Himself to people’s homes. One day the Jericho tax collector Zaccheus had no clue he would be hosting a banquet at his home, but he was stunned and honored to discover that Jesus wanted to visit him.
And of course in Revelation 3, Jesus is the one who is – once more – doing the visiting. In Revelation 3:20, He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
So Jesus loves visiting. When Nicodemus came to see Him, the Savior was overjoyed. Sometime back, Tabitha decided to “visit” Jesus, in a way. As I’ve mentioned, she has been visiting with Jesus through a series of Bible studies.
And because of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is able to make personal visits anytime He wants to. And He is overjoyed when you ask Him to visit you.
But as we overhear the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, we discover that Nicodemus at first wasn’t ready for this visit. So as I studied this chapter this week, I thought, “I’m going to see if I can come up with ways the rest of us can get ready for a visit with Jesus.” So I called this sermon, “The Jesus Visit – What To Know.” I think what I discovered –from this very chapter itself – will give us not only courage but a feeling of excitement about visiting Jesus.
John 3:1 – 2 [NKJV]: There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night . . .
If you’re taking down sermon points, here comes what you could call Sermon Point One. When you come to visit Jesus, here’s the first thing to know:
You can visit Him at any time.
Notice, Nicodemus did not come and see Jesus at church. He could’ve done this, and many people did, and many people do today. It’s what you’re doing right now. But Nicodemus was keeping his interest in Jesus private at this point, so he came at night. There’s no way of knowing from the Bible what time he visited, but it must have been dark outside.
It’s surprising how few people use Shelley’s and my home landline phone anymore. Part of the reason is that nowadays texting and email are such efficient ways to get in touch with each other. But if you were to call our landline number, and if you don’t get us in person, you will hear an answering machine message which says something like, “If you’d like us to call you back, let us know how late in the day we can call you.”
Unless somebody gives me permission to call later, I try to call no later than about 8:30 unless it’s an emergency. But if we’re listening to our messages, and somebody says, “Oh, you can call us up to 10 or 10:30 or even later,” then we sense that they really would like to hear back that night.
Jesus, of course, does not hold office hours. You can visit Him – you can talk to Him, and even weep to Him – at any time.
So what should we do, now that we know this? We should get in the habit of paying Jesus a visit, every day. Not just at church, but at 3 AM in bed when you can’t get to sleep, or if something is worrying or distressing you, or if you’re really grateful for something. Pay Jesus a visit while you’re reading your Bible. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to interpret what you’re reading to fit what you need right then.
Well, back to Nicodemus’s story. He might’ve been reassured by the fact that Jesus didn’t seem to be annoyed or irked by this late visit. But now he’s going to be startled by how Jesus responds to him.
Verses 1 – 3: There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
There in the darkness, Nicodemus probably blinked. This wasn’t supposed to be the way the conversation went. Nicodemus had just paid Jesus the highest compliment anyone could pay a human being, and Jesus didn’t even say “Well, thank you so much for the gracious words. You’re very kind.”
Let’s lay down Sermon Point Two right here.
When you come to visit Jesus, here’s something else you need to know:
You can not only visit Him at any time, but you can get right to the point with Him.
And you should. Because when He knows the time is right, Jesus is going to get right to the point with you. Jesus appreciates it when we are courteous to each other, but He knows that the closest friends can most often skip a lot of the more formal courtesies, and just get right to the point.
People who know each other really well can do this. Of course, Nicodemus did not yet know Jesus very well – except he knew Him well enough to realize that He was sent directly from God.
But Jesus knew Nicodemus inside and out, just like he knew the disciple-to-be Nathaniel before He called him to join the group. As I’ve mentioned, Jesus knew Zacchaeus very well. And when a Samaritan woman trudged toward him carrying a water jar, Jesus already knew who she was, how many husbands she had had, and how her current live-in boyfriend wasn’t actually her husband.
On Thursday morning of this week, I was driving away from the conference office, and I called Shelley to tell her I was heading up to the church. She told me that I would never guess who had called our house that morning.
I told her that no, I probably wouldn’t guess, so tell me who it is. And she mentioned the names of two guys from my past. One of them, named Don, was somebody we had lived next door to when I was teaching at Union College. The other man was named Jim, and probably 14 or 15 years ago I had helped him write a book.
Anyway, Jim was visiting Don in Alaska, and the two of them decided to give me a call. And once I had arrived at the church here, I phoned the number Shelley had given me.
It was such a delightful conversation. We immediately started kidding each other back-and-forth. I hadn’t seen Don since Union College days, and hadn’t seen Jim for about 14 years. But we just started chattering together as though no time had passed.
There was absolutely no cautious, courteous pre-talk. Nobody said “Well hey, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you! How you been?” I didn’t say that to them, and they didn’t say that to me. We just got right back into our previous conversational modes of bantering back-and-forth. These guys are both easy to talk to, so it was fun.
Jesus, of course, knew Nicodemus very well. So it seems as though the Savior wanted to jump-start a deep-down relationship with Nicodemus, cut through the rabbinic courtesies and get right to the point, the way He often did with other people had who approached Him.
Remember the desperate father who abruptly cried, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!”? Remember the frantic get-to-the-point cries of the blind men: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Remember Jairus? “My daughter is sick.” Remember the sinking Peter’s bubble-strangled cry from the Galilee waves, “Lord, save me!”
So what we do with this? When we visit Jesus, let’s get right to the point. No flowery language needed. Open your heart. Speak to Him as a friend, because He is your Maker. Tell Him what you need to tell Him.
Nicodemus’s story shows us still more of what we need to remember when we visit Jesus. Let’s start with verse 4.
Verses 3 – 13: Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
Did you catch all that? Nicodemus probably didn’t catch it completely. And that’s the next point.
When you come to visit Jesus, here’s something else you need to know:
You can visit Him at any time, and you can get right to the point with Him. And also remember that He might at first surprise and confuse you.
I mean, look at poor Nicodemus. He was about as confused as you can get. It’s possible that he thought the conversation would go the way the usual rabbinic conversations went: “But Rabbi so-and-so says this, and Rabbi thus and thus added this,” and so on. If you ever get a chance to glance into an English translation of the Mishna, that’s exactly what you will see. If you are a rabbi, and you were discussing a spiritual matter, you had to be able to quote rabbis who supported your side.
And if you were an ordinary layperson listening to rabbis in a discussion like this, you might be tempted to back cautiously away. You’d say yourself, “Who am I to think I can even understand any of this? I don’t know the rabbis’ teaching as well as these guys do.”
But Jesus avoided rabbi-speak, and simply made a couple of abrupt assertions, and didn’t bother amplifying them until Nicodemus asked for more information.
One of the things that frankly frightens me today is when people discuss matters without being patient enough to go cautiously. They’ll discuss things like politics, and the temperature will get hotter and hotter, and nobody seems to be saying, “Wait a minute. Let’s stop brutalizing each other, and let’s go back and examine our assertions and just see how solid they are.”
After all, in First Thessalonians 5:21, just as Paul is coming to the end of this letter, one of the crisp bits of advice he gives is “Test all things. Hold fast that which is good.” In other words, don’t simply shout words and phrases and ideas you’ve heard somebody else shout, and imagine that you are engaging in thoughtful deliberative discourse.
No, Paul says. You need to test what you hear, and what you say. You need to be humble enough to re-examine your ideas and just see how solid they are.
I think we need to learn and maybe even rehearse ways of saying, “You know, I actually might be wrong about this.” You probably know – as I know – that friendships and family relationships have been scarred and exploded by political discussion in these days.
And of course I could go on and on. Nicodemus could have known what Jesus was telling him. Nicodemus knew the Old Testament verses about the Holy Spirit, though he may not have studied them or applied them in a while. Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
Nicodemus knew very well how the spirit of the Lord came upon David, and even on King Saul for a while, and on the Old Testament prophets. Even the corrupt prophet Baalam spoke only what the Lord wanted him to speak.
So therefore, as we visit Jesus, it would be very helpful if we brought with us a humble knowledge of the Bible, a humble spirit which permeated the church of Berea. No matter how tempting it was, these thoughtful saints avoided seizing onto any new idea until they had searched it out in Scripture.
What’s something else we need to know when we go to visit Jesus? Jesus continues speaking to Nicodemus.
Verses 14 – 17: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
When you come to visit Jesus, here’s something else you need to know:
You can visit Him at any time. You can get right to the point with Him. He might at first surprise and confuse you. But remember—you are talking to your Savior.
It’s like Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, “Friend, you are not talking to just another ordinary rabbi here. You probably suspect this, otherwise you would not have paid Me a visit tonight. No – I am the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world. And if you believe in Me, I will give you eternal life.”
Tabitha believes this. It’s the message Tabitha has received into her heart, and it’s the message she wants you to receive into your heart too.
Have you received that message this morning? Remember who’s watching to see if you have. Not just history’s greatest rabbi, but the Savior of the world.
If you would like to receive Him into your heart again today, or maybe for the first time, why not say so by raising your hand.
And if you would like to respond to the Savior’s love for you by being baptized, or rebaptized, I would be happy to hear that good news from you. I’d be glad to talk with you after church, or you can phone or email me. My contact info is on the back of your bulletin. As happy as I would be to hear this, God would be even happier!
Tabitha’s closing song tells us why it makes the most splendid sense to make this decision. “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Let’s stand and sing this together. It’s not in the hymnal but the words will be projected behind me. Let’s tell our Savior we know this, and that we accept Him.