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The struggle to comprehend spiritual truths

Text: John 3:1-21

THE STRUGGLE TO COMPREHEND SPIRITUAL TRUTHS

Teachers like Nicodemus were trained in several areas of knowledge. They certainly were instructed in the history of Israel. They were also taught the laws of Moses. What Nicodemus learned were facts. Facts and spiritual truths are not necessarily the same. Spiritual truths are certainly facts, but mere knowledge may not translate itself into vibrant spiritual truths!

Nicodemus would also have been instructed with reference to more “modern” views such as those espoused by his religious sect, the Pharisees. The focus of Pharisaical beliefs was more form than spiritual reality. Painstaking attention was given to the ritualistic aspect of the observance of the Law. Little attention was given to the spirit of the individual.

That Nicodemus was caught out when Jesus spoke to him of the Spirit of God creating new life in a person should not surprise us. Nicodemus, the famous teacher had to learn the most basic of spiritual laws of the kingdom of God! He could barely control his tongue when he found himself blurting out this question.

“How can these things be?”
John 3:9

Nicodemus sought to understand spiritual truths from a purely human perspective. He found that he could not go beyond a certain level. He could not fully grasp what Jesus meant when He said, “You must be born again”.

A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE

The words of Jesus humbled Nicodemus to the dust. He said,

“Are you the teacher of Israel,
and do not know these things?”
John 3:10

Jesus acknowledged the position or status that Nicodemus enjoyed in Israel. He was literally called “The Teacher of Israel”. He was not just one of the teachers of Israel. He was a prominent teacher of the land! This is the force behind the construction of this sentence.

What Jesus taught was to be considered simple or elementary truths. Why, even His disciples would know these truths! And they were not “teachers of Israel” but humble disciples!

Nicodemus could not refute what Jesus had stated. He really did not know these spiritual truths that Jesus was discussing with him. If Jesus were to discuss views about Israel, the Temple, the Pharisee’s philosophy of life, etc. then Nicodemus might have been in his element. However, the discussion of spiritual truths of the Kingdom of God, such as the concept of being born again by the power of the Holy Spirit – those things left Nicodemus gasping in the dry atmosphere of ignorance!

WITH GREAT KINDNESS

We must not think that Jesus was being unkind to Nicodemus. He wasn’t writing him off. If He wanted to do that, He would not have continued to speak to Nicodemus. Jesus knew that Nicodemus represented a whole lot of Pharisees, thousands of them who shared the same spiritual blindness that prevented them from making any significant progress in their search for spiritual truth.

Jesus went on to assure Nicodemus that what He had been discussing with him was worthy of further thought and meditation.

“Most assuredly, I say to you,
‘We speak what we know and testify
what we have seen,
And you do not receive our witness.'”
John 3:11

Nicodemus must not dismiss what Jesus had just said to him. Jesus wasn’t the only one who spoke about the kingdom of God. John the Baptiser also spoke and testified that one must confess one’s sins and receive forgiveness from God before entrance into the Kingdom of God is gained.

John had spoken with such clarity and authority. Jesus had also spoken with tremendous certainty and power. The reason why they were able to do that was simple. Just as men speak with conviction about things that they know and have seen, so John, and now Jesus, also spoke with the same conviction.

Sadly, the witness of John was largely rejected by the Pharisees. They had sent a delegation to interview John and they had left him unconvinced about the message he preached. They had not received his message or his ministry as from God.

Jesus had come to Jerusalem to bear witness and to bring powerful messages about the Kingdom of God. He too had emphasized that one must be cleansed. To amplify this point, He had cleansed the Temple at Jerusalem. He had gone on to perform signs and wonders in Jerusalem as an expression of His power and authority.

Again, sadly many of the Pharisees had disputed His action of cleansing the Temple. They challenged Him and asked for a special sign from heaven to authenticate His right to challenge the Temple authorities! They had not received the witness of Jesus either!

Would Nicodemus go the same way? Jesus urged him to consider carefully what he had heard. It might be very humbling to admit that one needs to be born again. But if that is what is required to enter into the Kingdom of God, would that not be the right and wise thing to do?

Nicodemus was a well-known teacher of Israel. Would he not at least take time to consider the deep truths that Jesus had just spoken? Would he reject what Jesus had just said because he felt hurt and his pride was wounded? It would be the height of foolishness if he dismissed what Jesus said without giving it further thought.

Gently and kindly Jesus sought to reach out to the depths of the soul of Nicodemus. Jesus had set aside precious time to explain the heart of the Gospel message to him. How should he respond to what he had heard?