Second Sunday in Lent (Year A)

John 3.1-17 (TIB[1]; adapted):

A certain Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, 2came to Jesus at night. “Rabbi,” he said, “we know you’re a teacher come from God, for no one can perform the signs and wonders you do, unless by the power of God.”

3Jesus gave Nicodemus this answer: “The truth of the matter is, unless one is born from above, one cannot see the [Realm] of God.”

4Nicodemus said, “How can an adult be born a second time? I can’t go back into my mother’s womb to be born again!”

5Jesus replied: “The truth of the matter is, no one can enter God’s [Realm] without being born of water and the Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7So don’t be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above. 8The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9“How can this be possible?” asked Nicodemus.

10Jesus replied, “You’re a teacher of Israel, and you still don’t understand these matters? 11“The truth of the matter is, we’re talking about what we know; we’re testifying about what we’ve seen — yet you don’t accept our testimony. 12If you don’t believe when I tell you about earthly things, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from heaven — the Chosen One. 14As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Chosen One must be lifted up, 15so that everyone who believes in the Chosen One might have [the Life of the Ages]. 16Yes, God so loved the world as to give the Only Begotten One, that whoever believes may not die, but have [the Life of the Ages]. 17God sent the Only Begotten into the world not to condemn the world, but that through the Only Begotten the world might be saved.

Other readings: Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

The Collect:

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all of us who’ve gone astray from your ways, and bring us again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus the Christ your Child; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

                                   

The Gospel reading for this Second Sunday in Lent is a very familiar passage. One that we’ve heard so often that we tend not to listen to it. It contains the verse that all of us memorized when we were children if we had any type of Vacation Bible School or Sunday School. However, this is such a rich passage that it would be a disservice if we bypassed it for another lesson. So what can we glean from it?

First is John’s reference to “night” in verse 2. Some have stated — and they might be right — Nicodemus came to Jesus at night so he wouldn’t be discovered by other members of the Religious Elite. Tensions were already building between them (see John 2.13-22) so that makes sense. However, I think John’s purpose is deeper than that. Darkness and light is a major theme throughout John’s story about Jesus. As he states in the first chapter, “The Word (i.e., Jesus) gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (vv. 4-5; NLT[2]). The way John tells the story is that Nicodemus came to Jesus — came to the Light — the only way he knew how — in darkness. That’s the world Nicodemus lives in and the world Jesus came to — one filled with darkness. That’s what John is getting at here. While the Light of God is buried deep within all creation, it’s been covered up by falseness (sin). So much so that the world had grown dark. However, “darkness can never extinguish” the Light.

Next is the phrase “born from above” or “born of the Spirit.” I know some translations have “born again” (see here), but the Greek word is ἄνωθεν (anóthen) and it means “from above, from heaven.” While Nicodemus is only thinking in natural, physical terms (vv. 4, 9), Jesus is showing him something else. 

However, some people swing the pendulum too far in the other direction. When Jesus said, “What is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is Spirit” (verse 6) they think Jesus is talking about a non-physical existence. In my mind, they’re missing the point of the Incarnation. Jesus isn’t pitting flesh against Spirit; he’s the actual embodiment of both; the proof that both belong together. They’re two sides of the same coin. Life is not one or the other; real life is a combination of both.

I must admit that verse 8 — “The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” — has always been a puzzle to me. Most people (commentators, preachers, theologians, etc.) point out that John / Jesus uses the same Greek word πνεῦμα (pneuma) for both “wind” and “Spirit” (it can also mean “breath”). Then they make some statement similar to “Wind does what it wants and we can’t control it; we can only feel the effects. So it is with the Spirit in regeneration.” And maybe that’s all there is in this passage. Maybe I’m just wanting it to mean something more, something deeper and it’s really just that simple.

Perhaps the complexity lies within its simplicity. That is, since the Spirit moves however She wishes, it’s not up to me or you or any of us as to who’s one of God’s children. That certainly would be the case in the context of our lesson. As we know, one of the issues the Religious Elite had with Jesus was the people he was hanging out with. They definitely had an “us versus them” or “we’re better than they” mentality. If Jesus was supposed to be some sort of holy person, surely he wouldn’t be with “those” people. However, the Spirit, like the wind, does what She wants, when She wants. She calls whomever and doesn’t need to consult with us before starting the work within a person. With that in mind, Nicodemus’ response makes complete sense (verse 9).

The last point I want to make is found in verse 17 — “God sent the Only Begotten into the world not to condemn the world, but that through the Only Begotten the world might be saved.” I emphasized the word “might” because it really shouldn’t be there. There are some translations that have a similar wording, but there are others that leave it out altogether. I think it’s another one of those passages that we muddle up when we translate it because we really can’t believe what it says.

Jesus isn’t saying that God sent him to possibly save the world; to bring it to (or put it in) a savable state. No. He’s saying God sent him to save the world — “I didn’t come to judge the world but to save it.” (John 12.47b; CEB[3]). I believe The Passion Translation conveys the full meaning of verse 17, “God did not send the Only-Begotten One into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it” (adapted). Jesus’ ministry, then, is a rescue mission. As he states elsewhere, “The Promised One has come to search out and save what was lost” (Luke 19.10; TIB).

But how does Jesus fulfill his mission? As we get closer and closer to Passion week, we’ll see just how Jesus set out to rescue the world. Until next week,

~~~

In the Love of the Three in One,

Br Jack+, LC

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[1] Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations and references — and scripture quotations marked (TIB) — are taken from The Inclusive Bible. Copyright © 2007 by Priests for Equality. Used by permission.

[2]  Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Inc. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

[3]  Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.