Sermon Noes
John 3
Cast Your Eyes Upon the Cross
or
“Who you gonna Call?”
Passing of the Peace
90 Day Bible (Numbers: The Chosen People following Moses out of Egypt were confronted by venomous snakes. Moses prays to God concerning the venomous snakes.
Scripture: Numbers 21:8 & 9 (The Bronze Snake)
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
Question: Where/who do you look to in times when you’ve been bitten by the snake? When confronted by the venomous “snake”?
“VENOMOUS SNAKES”
When was the last time you saw a venomous snake? Unless you were recently at the zoo, chances are you have not confronted a venomous snake?
But reptiles are not the only venomous snakes we encounter.
There are some people....
There are some circumstances....
There are some ...
Question: who ya gonna call? (when confronted by venomous snake) Ghostbusters?)
Who ya gonna call...
in trouble
without hope
without purpose and meaning
IMPLICATION: what is the venomous “snake” in your life that is confronting you?
Determines who ya gonna call
INTRO to the Gospel of John
In the Gospel of John. God is doing a new thing through Jesus
LAST WEEK
First Sign (more than miracles): Water into Wine in the purification vessels
Temple cleansing
POINT: Jesus is replacing and overwhelming the established religious institution
that’s why the religious clergy did not appreciate him.
It’s out with the old and in with the new (wine and wineskins)
QUESTIONS
What signs/miracles were necessary for you to first believe?
What signs/miracles do you think are necessary for you to grow deeper
in your relationship with Jesus?
What signs/miracles of Jesus do you think help others to believe?
INTRO TO SCRIPTURE
The fruition of the new is at the appointed “hour”
John 2:4; my hour has not yet come
SCRIPTURE: John 3 (Jesus Teaches Nicodemus)
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named NICODEMUS, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
NICODEMUS
Questioin: What do we know about Nick?
Represents the status quo (the institution: the clergy of his day; old wineskins)
John 1: Prebaptized Jews (institution)
John 2: Vessels (purification) (Institution)
John 2b: Pre cleansed temple (Institution)
John 3: Nic (Instiution)
REMEDY:
John 1: rebaptize
John 2: New wine
clean temple out
John 3: rebirth
He was not lacking for knowledge, he was lacking relationship with God
He was lacking new wine
2He 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."
3In 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!"
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The 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."
9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11I 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.
TESTIMONY
Signs are part of the testimony
12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.14Just as Moses LIFTED UP the snake in the desert,
LIFTED UP (ascent)
Same word in Acts (when Jesus ascended to heaven). and, EXALTED (Acts 2:33 & 5:31). In other words, the cross is a sign(more than a miracle). The cross is simply not just the death of Jesus, but a place of departure. In other words, the cross, is a sign where Jesus is glorified.
14b so the SON OF MAN must be lifted up,
SON OF MAN
Jesus needs to be “lifted up” on the cross; like the snake.
Question: Why?
15that everyone who BELIEVES in him may have eternal life.
BELIEVES
Just like the folks in the Exodus on their way to the Promised Land, salvation is experienced when one looks to the cross.
POINT: Our greatest need is to restore the relationship with God. Restoration takes place on the cross and is experienced when we cast our eyes upon the cross in faith and believe.
the venemous snake confronting us lack of relationship
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 5:7 (18-19)
7Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, (IN WITH THE NEW AND OUT WITH THE OLD) the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
we need Jesus: we need to reJesus (reboot)
POINT: The primary purpose of life is RELATIONSHIP with God
Nicodemus knew it, but wasn’t living it and that is why he went to Jesus.
the venomous snake confronting Nic is that he was out of relationship with God and needed to be reconciled, made new
QUESTION: What venomous snake was Jesus confronting?
JOHN THE BAPTIST
When John the Baptist was out in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus, he was baptizing people in the Jordan River. He saw some Pharisees coming up to him’
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 3:7
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
JESUS
When Jesus healed a demon possessed person, the Pharisees said Jesus was able to heal because he had “Beelzebub,the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 12:4
4You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 23:33
33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Answer: the religious establishment/clergy
Intro to Scripture: John 3:16
It’s not story time, but a commentary on the Nicodemus story.
SCRIPTURE: John 3: 16
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.
WORLD (humanity)
Typically in the Old Testament, God loves Israel, or the Chosen People.
New Testament (Matthew 28: 19 & 20; Acts 10) God loves the world
POINT: God’s love extends beyond nation and race.
17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever 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.[g] 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But 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."[h]
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