Life-changing Lessons

Life-Changing Lessons

John 3:9-15, NLT

“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked. 10Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

Setting the Scene

Nicodemus asked the obvious question: “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus, a scholar in religious matters, was suddenly a student in basic spiritual realities. Now it was Jesus’ turn to compliment Nicodemus as a “respected Jewish teacher.” This wasn’t derision, but gentle and persistent revelation of the truth: Pedigrees carry little weight when we stand as individuals before God. Nicodemus’s position among his people didn’t give him standing before God. He may have been a capable instructor on the contents of the Old Testament, but his teaching ultimately failed if he didn’t understand the main point.

Jesus answered the question first by pointing to the failure of so many people to accept the evidence of the Spirit’s work. He was saying to Nicodemus, “Look, if I tell you about things here on earth (like people being radically reborn by the Spirit) that you can verify for yourself and yet you don’t believe me, then how can I expect you to accept what I tell you about heavenly things?” Jesus didn’t wait for an answer but pointed out that his own knowledge of spiritual reality was based on the fact that he had “come down from heaven” and knew firsthand whereof he spoke. Jesus was deepening the significance of Nicodemus’s earlier descriptions, “God has sent you” and “God is with you,” which would put Jesus in the category of prophet. But claiming to originate in heaven put Jesus in a category of his own.

Then, in a stunning segue that revealed Jesus’ central purpose, he showed Nicodemus that a classic moment in Old Testament history was actually a foreshadowing of God’s ultimate plan to rescue humanity by means of the Cross.

Getting Personal

How often do you approach Jesus as a person willing to learn from him?

What was the last life-changing lesson you learned from Jesus?

Jesus doesn’t have to live up to our expectations or even answer our questions. We’re accountable to him, not the other way around. If we don’t have this servant-Master, creature-Creator relationship clear, we will never recognize our need to receive all Christ has for us.

Talking to God

Come to the Lord today in a fresh spirit of openness and willingness, asking for his lordship and direction over your life.