Sermon Tone Analysis

NICODEMUS

 

THE STORY IS TOLD OF A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER

WHO WANTED TO EXPLAIN TO THE 6-YEAR-OLDS IN HIS CLASS

WHAT SOMEONE HAD TO DO IN ORDER TO GO TO HEAVEN.

IN AN ATTEMPT TO FIND OUT WHAT KIDS ALREADY BELIEVED ABOUT THE SUBJECT, HE ASKED A FEW QUESTIONS.

"IF I SOLD MY HOUSE AND MY CAR, HAD A BIG GARAGE SALE, AND GAVE ALL MY MONEY TO THE CHURCH,"       HE ASKED,

"WOULD THAT GET ME TO HEAVEN?"

 

"NO!" THE CHILDREN ANSWERED.

THE TEACHER WAS ENCOURAGED.

"IF I CLEANED THE CHURCH EVERY DAY, MOWED THE YARD,

AND KEPT EVERYTHING NEAT AND TIDY,

WOULD THAT GET ME TO HEAVEN?"

 

AGAIN THE ANSWER WAS, "NO!"

 

"WELL THEN," HE SAID, "IF I WAS KIND TO ANIMALS

AND GAVE CANDY TO ALL THE CHILDREN AND LOVED MY WIFE,

WOULD THAT GET ME INTO HEAVEN?"

 

AGAIN THEY ALL SHOUTED, "NO!"

 

"WELL THEN," THE TEACHER ASKED, LOOKING OUT OVER HIS CLASS,

"HOW CAN I GET TO HEAVEN?"

A BOY IN THE BACK ROW STOOD UP AND SHOUTED,

*"YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!"*

 

/WELL, AT LEAST, YOU'VE GOT TO BE DEAD TO THE WORLD /

/AND ALIVE UNTO GOD/

*John 3:1-21 (NIV) \\ **3**     Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God.

For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

*

*3 **In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

*

*4 **“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked.

“Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” *

*5 **Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’*

*8 **The wind blows** wherever it pleases.

You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

*

*So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.**”**

*

*/          You can't see the Spirit in the person, /*

*/but you can see the result in their lives of the Spirit being there./*

*9 **“How can this be?”

Nicodemus asked.

*

*10 **“You are Israel’s teacher,”** said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?

11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.

12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.*

*16 **“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

**17 **For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

**18 **Whoever believes in him is not condemned**, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.** 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” *

*/I wonder if Jesus is referencing the fact that Nicodemus came to see him under the cover of darkness./*

*/Jesus is at least pointing out the fact that He is the Light of the World./*

*/It seems to me that at first Jesus was a little too harsh on Nicodemus.

Nicodemus seemed to be really seeking truth.

He seemed to be trying to understand what Jesus was saying, but missing the meaning of Jesus' words.

So he asked the question, "how can this be?".

It doesn't sound like he was refusing to believe, only    not understanding./*

*/I think Jesus picked up on this too, because he continues on, to give Nicodemus the clearest explanation of the plan of salvation found anywhere in the bible./*

THE FIRST THING WE'RE GOING TO DO IS;

*I.

LOOK AT THE MAN NICODEMUS.*

*1.

FIRST: NICODEMUS WAS A RULER OF THE JEWS.

*

 

HE WAS LIKE A SENATOR HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE SANHEDRIN,

THE SANHEDRIN WAS THE RULING BODY OF THE JEWS.

*THE SANHEDRIN* WAS BOTH

THE JEWISH GOVERNING COUNCIL

AND IT WAS THE JEWISH SUPREME COURT.

IT HAD 71 MEMBERS AND WAS PRESIDED OVER BY THE HIGH PRIEST.

THE MEMBERS OF THE SANHEDRIN WERE MADE UP OF *PHARISEES, SADDUCEES*, *SCRIBES AND ELDERS*.

THE *SCRIBES* WERE ALSO CALLED LAWYERS,

AND *THE ELDERS* WERE LEADERS FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE.

*THE SANHEDRIN'S* LEGAL POWER TO PASS THE DEATH SENTENCE HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT, ABOUT TWENTY YEARS EARLIER.

*2.

SECONDLY: THE MAN NICODEMUS, WAS A PHARISEE *

 

THE WORD PHARISEE MEANS THE SEPARATED ONES.

THE PHARISEES WERE STRICT RELIGIONISTS.

THE SECT OF THE PHARISEES BEGAN IN 175 B. C.

WHEN A SYRIAN KING, NAMED ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES,

TRIED TO STAMP OUT THE JEWISH RELIGION

 

HE WANTED TO REPLACE IT WITH GREEK CUSTOMS

AND GREEK PRACTICES.

A NUMBER OF JEWISH MEN STOOD UP AGAINST THIS THREAT AND DECIDED AMONG THEMSELVES THAT THEY WERE GOING TO SAVE THE JEWISH RELIGION.

THEY REFUSED TO PRACTICE GREEK CUSTOMS

AND DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO PRACTICING

THE JEWISH LAW IN THE STRICTEST SENSE.

THEY FELT THAT BY CARRYING OUT EVERY LITTLE DETAIL OF THE JEWISH LAW

AND BY TEACHING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME,

 

THEY COULD SAVE THE JEWISH RELIGION AND THE JEWISH NATION AND KEEP IT FROM DYING OUT.

 

\\ * *

*SEVERAL THINGS SHOULD BE NOTED ABOUT THE PHARISEES.*

* *

*1.

THEY WERE THE MOST ORTHODOX SECT OF THEIR DAY*

 THEIR SOLE REASON FOR BEING WAS TO PRESERVE THE JEWISH LAW

AND THE JEWISH RELIGION.

*2.

THEY WERE STRICT LITERALISTS.

*

THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES EXPANDED

HE JEWISH LAW INTO

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS

OF LITTLE RULES AND REGULATIONS.

THESE RULES AND REGULATIONS WERE KNOWN AS THE SCRIBAL LAW, OR THE ORAL LAW.

IT TOOK MORE THAN FIFTY VOLUMES /(OR BOOKS)/

TO HOLD ALL THESE REGULATIONS.

SOUNDS LIKE THE INCOME TAX CODE.

*3.

THE PHARISEES WERE ABSOLUTELY THE MOST ZEALOUS OF ALL THE JEWISH SECTS.*

*4.

THERE WERE NEVER VERY MANY PHARISEES—*

NEVER MORE THAN 6,000.