Divine Teacher
| Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.... 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." 9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. 10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?.... 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. John3:5-17 |
"Who were the teachers that had the most impact on you?"
Almost without fail, the answer boils down to the thought that the teachers who leave the most lasting impression on us are the ones that really cared about us.
Nicodemus was a teacher of the law - supposedly he knew how people could get through to God - but he didn't.
Jesus teaches him:
- About the Trinity: That the Father is a loving father who gives the Son, who, in spite of being the one and only Son, is lifted up (on the cross) and that the Spirit is at work in our lives like the wind - we can't box Him, predict Him or limit Him.
- About the need to be born of water and the Spirit - that there has to be a spiritual awakening in our lives. We can't live an earthly life (born of water) and ignore the reality of eternity being whispered in the Wind rustling in the leaves of our lives (to open our hearts to the God of eternity is to be born of Spirit).
- That God is more about saving than He is about condemning
These lessons were a paradigm change for Nicodemus.
Nicodemus might be tempted to write Jesus off as a crazy nutter.
He might consider Jesus' teachings as pie in the sky or idealistic pipe dreams.
But we meet Nicodemus again... there at the grave of Joseph of Arimithea where they bury the body of Jesus the Teacher. There Nicodemus is confronted with the physical proof that:
- The Teacher believed so strongly in the Kingdom He proclaimed that He suffered and died for it.
- The Teacher, like the Father, cared for and loved us enough to die for us.
- The Teacher, by being condemned in our place, demonstrated in actions that God's agenda is to save.
Jesus is the ultimate Teacher: Genuine, Caring and Consistent.
He gave His life because He loved us!!!
Let's worship Him with love, gratitude and adoration!
