“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15)
Jesus challenges Nicodemus, a teacher of the Jewish law to move from theory to practice, from knowledge to faith, and from curiosity to commitment. Nicodemus thinks that he, as a religious leader, understands who Jesus is and who God is. Jesus calls his understanding into question. Like a typical scholar, Nicodemus begins the conversation with a statement based on evidence. “We know” that Jesus is a teacher who comes from God. How do we know? By observation, logic, and deduction. Jesus’ signs provide convincing proof that God is with him. Though Nicodemus is not wrong in his conclusion, he is not right either. His perception is partial and incomplete. Along with the “many” mentioned in John 2:23-24 who believe in Jesus’ name because they have seen the signs he does, he is not a person to whom Jesus can entrust himself. Lacking both courage and commitment, he has come to visit Jesus by night. Far from being a follower of Jesus, he is unwilling even to be seen with him.
Mystery of Being Born Again
Jesus’ response to Nicodemus’ opening statement cuts straight to the heart of the matter: no one can see God’s reign without being born again/from above (the Greek word another means both “again” and “from above,” and both senses are important here). Unless Nicodemus allows God to change his whole way of being in the world, he will not be able to perceive God at work. Nicodemus promptly demonstrates his lack of spiritual perception by missing Jesus’ words and by taking Jesus at the most literal level. Mystified, he asks, “How can anyone be born after growing old?” Jesus explains that by water and the Spirit God gives people rebirth into the reign of God. Those who are reborn in this way become spiritual beings, shaped and sustained by the Spirit who bears them.
The Lord told Nicodemus unequivocally, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit of God. Only the Spirit of the living God can take dry bones, as seen in Ezekiel 37, that were dead in trespasses and rebellion against God, and make them spiritually alive (Ephesians 2:1-5).
When Nicodemus remains perplexed and confused, Jesus wonders how “the teacher of Israel” can fail to understand such things. Jesus assures Nicodemus that God’s gift of new life is both eternal life (John 3:15, 16) and the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5 — the only occurrences in John of a term that is central to Jesus’ teaching in the Synoptic Gospels). Eternal life is life shaped by and utterly dependent on God’s love. It is not simply life in heaven after death. It begins now, the moment believers entrust their lives to Jesus. When believers receive eternal life, they enter God’s reign in the here and now. They become citizens of God’s kingdom, submitting to God’s rule and depending on the Spirit’s guidance.
Rebirth into God’s reign comes not by knowledge or doctrine, but by faith. If religious training were enough, Nicodemus, as a representative of Israel’s religious leaders, should have all that he needs. But he is baffled, unable to enter new life through his intellect. Only after the crucifixion does Nicodemus take a step toward commitment, bringing myrrh and aloes for Jesus’ burial (John 19:39-40). This risky act signals a change of heart, the beginning of a transformation — though it is clear that he does not yet understand who Jesus is. As Gail O’Day says, “We cannot determine who Jesus is by our knowledge, but who we are must be determined by who Jesus is” (The Word Disclosed, [St. Louis, Missouri: CBP Press, 1987], p. 27).
Jesus invites all of us to receive life as God’s gift. The crucified Son of God shows us God’s love, scorned and rejected but triumphant. Those who trust Jesus, staking their lives on divine love, will be reborn from above through the Spirit. By God’s mercy they will be not merely forgiven, but made whole, remade in God’s image as participants in God’s new creation.
The Mystery of Trinity
In his conversation with Nicodemus Jesus refers to all three persons of the Trinity. God is the One who loves his creation and who being unwilling to let it perish, gives the Son. God sends the Son not to condemn the world and its inhabitants, but to rescue and restore them (the Greek word translated as “save” or “saved” in John 3:17 is sozo, which means save in the sense of rescue, heal, and make whole). Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. He descended from heaven and ascended to heaven, thus connecting heaven and earth. He remains in constant contact with God the Sender, revealing God by bearing witness to what he has seen and known. Like the serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness (see Numbers 21:4–9), Jesus will be lifted up both to expose human sinfulness and to save people from its deadly effects. Here as elsewhere in John, “lifted up” refers to the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus as a single whole (see John 8:28; 12:32, 34).
The word trinity does not appear in the Bible. The closest thing you will get is the mention of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at various times. But the trinity itself did not come to be until hundreds of years after Jesus. It was in the year 325 CE, and a council of Christian bishops got together in Nicaea, what is present-day Turkey. Their purpose was to come up with a theological agreement for all Christians around the world. Roman Emperor Constantine was behind it. But this council in Nicaea was more about controversy than anything else. Arius, a preacher from Libya, who had written a commentary on the Bible; had a wide following. These Arians believed that God was the Father of Jesus, and therefore, Jesus was born of God. This meant that Jesus was born after God, meaning that God created Jesus. The controversy was about Jesus’ divinity—whether or not he was equally God. Arius obviously lost the argument. The Council of Nicaea passed the Nicene Creed, which stated that God the Father and Jesus the Son were of one substance and that Jesus was “begotten” of God, not created by God. But they weren’t finished.
The bishops added a line at the end of the creed: We believe in the Holy Spirit. It didn’t satisfy everyone, though, so in 381 CE at the First Council of Constantinople, they added: We believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord and giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father. It is humanly impossible to show God, by explaining the Trinity. Explanations of the trinity are not perfect, nor was Trinity actually taught by Jesus. God, the Father is Father eternally and positionally and not generationally. Unlike human fathers who have biological children and the children will become fathers and mothers. God the son is eternal son, positionally and not biologically as human sons. There is only one Son who is eternally and positionally in one substance with the Father. The Holy Spirit is Eternal Spirit that coexisted with the Father and the Son and now lives and reigns in us who are children of God. The Trinity is simply about human beings trying to understand the Triune God, who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We try to explain in human terms as Trinity of what we think or know about God. We do know and can understand who Jesus is. As Gail O’Day says, “We cannot determine who Jesus is, but who we are must be determined by who Jesus is” (The Word Disclosed, St. Louis, Missouri: CBP Press, 1987, p. 27).
The Mystery of Life
The human body is a most remarkable machine. It can maintain a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees no matter what the weather is outside. Whether a man is at the Arctic Circle or the equator, his body temperature is about the same. There is an inner mechanism that makes the difference. The Holy Spirit dwells within the Christian to achieve this kind of stabilization in terms of spiritual health. Whether we face good times or bad, whether we are tempted or receiving spiritual nourishment, the Holy Spirit keeps us stable within. --Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997)
The Mystery of the Spirit
It is like a vehicle, when one tire is low of air, there is a balancing system that keeps the vehicle balanced and keeps it from accidents. When there is low air, the warning lights would come on. Holy Spirit gives us the warning lights when we are weak and tired. When we are on the wrong path heading into danger, He nudges us to straighten our direction. It is a warning system like our body temperature.
The body temperature is a warning system as well as an immune system that kills the external organisms trying to attack; Like the body’s immune system that constantly guards for attacks from outside germs, the Holy Spirit constantly watches us from attacks of the devil. He will give us warning signs to keep us safe. He is there to protect us from all evil. "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will put him to safety." (Isaiah 59:19). Like the wind, God's Spirit blows wherever it wishes, and though observers may perceive its presence, they neither comprehend it nor control it.
The Mystery of Death
Ecclesiastes 12:7 states that "the spirit in man, which originally came from the Creator God, returns to Him".
The people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness. They were moving around the nation of Edom in order to avoid conflict with the Edomites. The people were tired and frustrated. And then they started complaining. "The people spoke against God and against Moses” (Numbers 21:5a). “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food” (Numbers 21:5b). They called the divinely-provided manna, the bread from heaven, “worthless food” to be loathed.
They complained at God’s good gift, His supernatural provision – one that pictured the coming of the Lord Jesus, who would Himself say, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41). And then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people. And they bit the people. And many Israelites died.
They recognized their fault. And they repented and said. “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” (Num. 21:7) And Moses prayed for them. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a serpent, and put it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten may look at it and live.” (Num. 21:7) Moses did as he was instructed.
Arthur Pink writes: “[The snake in the wilderness] was the reminder and the emblem of the curse. It was through the old Serpent, the Devil, that our first parents were seduced, and brought under the curse of a Holy God. And on the cross … the holy One of God, incarnate, was made a curse for us. We would not dare make such an assertion, did not Scripture itself expressly affirm it. In Galatians 3:13 we are told, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” There was no flaw, then, in the type” (Pink, A. W., Exposition of the Gospel of John, Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1923).
Human body decays considerably in hours after death. Jesus raises Lazarus from such a condition. Lazarus represents death in its dreadful finality with the “stench” as described in John 11:39. We see human suffering in its worst form in his death as well as his family’s grief. The disciples knew that going to Judea was dangerous (11:8) as Jesus posed a threat to Rome. When they reached Bethany, we see Jesus as “greatly disturbed and deeply moved” (11:33,35). He wept for the sorrow caused by Lazarus’ death, not for the death itself because he had power over death. The focal point of the story is not Lazarus, but Jesus who showed the power of God over life and death. Jesus asked the people to get involved in the raising process. This is a lesson in ministry together. We often think that we should be good enough to face death. We miss the point here. Scripture teaches that God’s grace saves us and Jesus assures us a place in heaven.
The Mystery of Eternal Life
Jesus came to bring eternal life. Just as Moses lifted up a serpent in the wilderness, (Num 21) the son of man was to be lifted up on a cross. “I came,” Jesus said, “that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). He’s not just describing a life that happens after death, but by being in this life and beleiving the Son of GOd.
Jesus refers to God’s gift of new life both as eternal life (John 3:15, 16) and as the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5 — the only occurrences in John of a term that is central to Jesus’ teaching in the Synoptic Gospels). Both phrases refer to the same reality, though they emphasize different aspects of it. Eternal life is life shaped by and utterly dependent on God’s love. It is not simply life in heaven after death. It begins now, in the moment that believers entrust their lives to Jesus. When believers receive eternal life, they enter into God’s reign in the here and now. They become citizens of God’s kingdom, submitting to God’s rule and depending on the Spirit’s guidance. Citizenship in God’s reign is not a solo affair. Believers are reborn into God’s new family.
Jesus invites all of us to receive life as God’s gift. The crucified Son of God shows us God’s love, scorned and rejected but triumphant. Those who trust Jesus, staking their lives on divine love, will be reborn from above through the Spirit. By God’s mercy they will be not merely forgiven, but made whole, remade in God’s image as participants in God’s new creation.
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. A bronze serpent on pole in the wildness; there will be another pole, so to speak, but this time it will be the Son of man on it. A just as the people in the wilderness would believe God by looking to his provision would find protection from the poison of snake bite, the cure for our sin would be available for any who would look to the Son of Man (Jesus) lifted up and believe; “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
The crucifixion of the Messiah is mentioned twice after Jesus spoke of heavenly things. We see it in the term “lifted up” in John 8:28, Jesus said, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” And in John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” These scriptures give clarity to that which was veiled, concerning the Brazen Serpent, and the cross on which Jesus would die.
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we have an account of a discussion Jesus had with a group of Sadducees, who did not believe in a resurrection of the dead (Matt 22:23, Mark 12:18, Luke 20:27). They pose a question to Jesus about a widow who marries 7 brothers in sequence as each brother dies. The Sadducees presume that they have posed an impossible question to Jesus, because they assume that if there is a resurrection, the woman would be guilty of bigamy by having seven husbands. Jesus answers as follows:
Luke 20:34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions. "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (John 20:38).
Today is the day of salvation. (2 Cor 6:2)
At the Billy Graham crusade in Seattle, in 1994, a woman named Shirley Lansing gave a testimony that was deeply moving. She told the crowd, "I come with a story about my son, John Kendall Morgan. We called him Jack. He was a Warrant Officer in the United States Army; serving in ‘Operation Desert Storm’
Shirley told the crowd that her son, Jack, had committed his life to Jesus at an early age. "At that time," she said, "it didn't seem terribly important, but it was." "A few weeks ago, two officers came to our door and told us they regretted to inform us that our son had been killed in action. His helicopter had been shot down by hostile Iraqi fire."
"When Jack got on the airplane to leave for Saudi Arabia," his mother recalled, "he gave Lisa, his fiancé, a bride's book. They were planning their wedding. Perhaps the most moving moment of Shirley's testimony came when she said, "I speak to you only from my heart, and out of my pain, because only God can give me the strength to stand here before you and say these words. But they're so important. Each of you has the decision to make that my son made. And this is the time when you have a choice, because we never know how long we'll have to make that decision."
Three weeks before John Morgan was killed in action, half a world from home, he wrote two letters to his family, "just in case." Some soldiers write these letters and keep them to send to their families just in case, they get killed in war. Shirley and her family gathered together and read the letters after they received the word that their son had been killed. John's words reassured his family. John ended his letter with these words, "In case you have to open this, please don't worry. I am all right.. Now I know something you don't know -- what heaven's like!"
"God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Blessings 
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