Nicodemus recognizes that Jesus is "from God" and calls him "teacher". So Jesus teaches him something: "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again". Jesus reproves Nicodemus for being Israel's teacher and not understanding these things. I always found this a little harsh. It does seem like a new teaching, considering that Nicodemus did not have the benefit of the new testament and thousands of years of Spirit led teaching in the church, not to mention Jesus' own teaching to his disciples explaining the old testament. But when I read the Psalms, I recognize this teaching in dozens of places. In many of the psalms, the psalmist pleads with God to give him an understanding of God's law and the heart to follow it. Psalm 119 is the pinnacle of this. For me, the lesson here is to remember that it is God who gives us the Spirit that sanctifies. The Pharisees, like Nicodemus, were so focused on the law itself that they could not understand their dependence on the Spirit to follow the law.
I am glad Nicodemus didn't understand, however. If not for that, we might not have the blessing of reading John 3:14-17!!
I am not sure I am reading verse 18 correctly. The way I read it, the words mean that believing in Jesus is not just a choice that everyone makes (it is this, but not JUST this) - it is also a commandment. And if we don't believe, then we stand condemned on this ground alone (and also condemned in our sins). Not sure, but that is how I read it.
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"..were so focused on the law itself that they could not understand their dependence on the Spirit to follow the law." Ah this catches me more times than I care to admit. I really like your phrasing " dependence on the Spirit to follow the law." I did a search for dependence, spirit and law and came across Galatians 3:2-3, little different twist but seems to address the pride of self-made-ness that can creep into my life.
ReplyDeleteI like that: "Are you so foolish?".
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