John 3:1-17
Nicodemus was a very important man and a very religious man. He was a member of the 'Sanhedrin', the Jewish ruling council (which had quite a lot of authority even under the Romans). He was a Pharisee, which meant that he did his best to keep the law of God in every respect. (Nowadays he would be called a religious extremist.) Because of his position and his associations he did not want to be seen with Jesus, whom others in his party regarded with deep suspicion. So Nicodemus met Jesus one night.
His first words, if made public, would have destroyed his reputation. He declares that Jesus must have been sent from God - the miracles are proof enough. Other Pharisees declared that Jesus did miracles by the power of the devil - they could not accept that Jesus was from God, and Nicodemus was brave to say what he said.
Jesus responded to such openness with equal openness, going to the heart of the matter. He knew that Nicodemus' one aim in life was to enter the kingdom of God: to be accepted by God and given a place in the new creation he believed was coming. That was why he was a Pharisee - they were the ones who were most serious about getting right with God. But what Jesus had to say shook Nicodemus to the core. If no-one could enter the kingdom of heaven without being born again, that meant that all his meticulous religious life, all his beliefs, all his good deeds, all his struggles to get right with God, counted for nothing. And that was exactly what Jesus wanted him to realise.
No-one can by their own effort win a place in the perfect world to come. However zealous for God we may be, however good we are, however learned or important, none of that qualifies us. As the Bible makes crystal clear, we all fall short. But this passage makes equally clear that the whole purpose of Jesus' coming was to rescue us and bring us into the kingdom of God. New birth and eternal life is not granted to those who deserve it, for then none would receive it. It is a gift from God to all those who believe in Jesus, and so none need miss out. Trust him!
Questions:
1) What difference should this teaching make to us - our attitudes and actions?
2) Why is this teaching so difficult for some?