Lesson 9

What It Takes To Be Born Again

John 3:14-15

Nicodemus came to visit Jesus one night. He was a deeply religious man, a Pharisee, a prestige member of the Sanhedrin, the leading teacher in all Israel.

But Jesus had expressed to Nicodemus the futility of religion and the necessity of a new birth. "Nicodemus, you must be born again!" "Your religion is not going to get you heaven." V. 13 - "No man has ascended up to heaven." "Salvation is not going to come to you because you have ascended to heaven but because of the Son of man came down to earth from heaven."

There is a second must in this text. Not only must you be born again, v. 7 but according to verse 14, the Son of man must be lifted up.

First, Jesus told Nicodemu of the utter futility of being religious and now, he follows that with an explanation of the new birth. Jesus explained to Nicodemus the way that wouldn't work and then showed him the way that would work.

Jesus choose a story, an event recorded in the Old Testament, to illustrate what was necessary for salvation. It was a story that Nicodemus, being a leading teacher in Israel, undoubtedly knew well.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," Jesus said. He is referring to Numbers 21:4-9. Let's look back there so that we know what Nicodemus knew.

The Israelites were wandering around the wilderness, having left Egypt but having not yet entered the Promised Land. They complained incessantly - grumbling about the groceries, muttering about Moses, and whining about how bad their condition was. Finally, when God had had enough, he sent a plague, in the form of hundreds of poisonous snakes. (The word "fiery" refers to the copper color and, in the mind of an Israelite, identifies the serpent as poisonous.) The snakes overran the camp and the rebellious people were bitten. People were dying from the snakebites. When they realized they were dying, they repented. They came to Moses to intercede on their behalf. In mercy, God forgave them and told Moses to construct a pole with a bronze serpent at the top. He was to erect it in the center of the camp. The Lord promised, "it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live" (Numbers 21:8).

This then, is a story of sin and death. It is the story of repentance and faith. It is a story of mercy and forgiveness from God. It is a story of new life. It has all the elements of the gospel in it! Jesus uses this earthly story to tell Nicodemus of heavenly things, v. 12. In two verses, Jesus tells what is necessary for a man to be born again.

The Son Of Man Must Be Lifted Up, v. 14

Who is the "Son of man"? And what does it mean to be lifted up? Two passages in John answer these questions for us. John 12:32-34 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Jesus is often referred to as the Son of man in the New Testament (88x and all but 4 of them in the gospels). The idea of the Messiah being called the son of man is introduced to us in Daniel 7:13. In speaking of the Godhead, Daniel calls the God the Father, the Ancient of days and God the Son, the Son of man. Jesus referred to himself most often in these terms, the son of man. He often spoke, as he does here, of himself in the third person as the Son of man. Jesus is speaking of his own death on the cross. And our text says that the Son of man must be lifted up. Christ had to die. "Without shedding of blood there is no remission, (no forgiveness) of sin" (Hebrews 9:22).

There was sin in Israel which led to death. It was sin that made the brazen serpent necessary. There is sin in all mankind. We have all been bitten by the serpent of sin, we are all under the curse of death, and the only way to be saved from death is for a suitable sacrifice to be offered. That sacrifice is Jesus.

The illustration of the brazen serpent pictured Jesus death as the price for salvation. Just as Moses lifted up that serpent, so the Son of man would be lifted up on a pole - the cross of crucifixion.

Who is Jesus? That's the main question being answered by John's gospel. Jesus is the ladder to heaven, 1:51. Jesus is the temple of God in which the fullness of God's glory dwells, 2:19. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, 1:29. Jesus is the serpent that Moses lifted up i n the wilderness, 3:14.

In order for Nicodemus (or anyone else for that matter) to be born again, Jesus would have to die for sins.

The Sinful Man Must Believe in Him, v. 15

Jesus states the new birth in all its simplicity.

It required repentance and faith in the days of Moses to be delivered from the death of the poisonous snake bites. In Numbers 21:7, the Israelites repented of their sins against God. Repentance is sin acknowledged, sin abhorred, sin abandoned. The next verse, verse 8, illustrates faith. There was no works involved in being rescued from the snakes. They were not to make their own remedy. They were not encouraged to do better, to try harder. There were no chants to repeat, no prayers to offer, no beads to count, no relics of the pole to purchase. They were just required to look at the brazen serpent.

Looking required faith. One could have said, "This is a bunch of nonsense. What possible benefit could I receive from looking at a brass serpent? How will that cure me of the deadly snakebite?"

What God required was obedient faith. Faith that said, "I believe God. I believe that if I look at the brazen serpent, God will give me new life."

Being saved requires repentance and faith. Look at John 3:15.

* The scope - "whosoever"

* The simplicity - "believeth"

* The savior - "in him" (the Son of man who will be lifted up)

* The sentence - "should not perish"

* The salvation - "but have eternal life"

For all perishing sinners, aware of their need to be born again, willing to abandon useless human remedies and religion, daring to venture all on faith, Christ promises eternal life. There's life for a look at the Savior!

One night, a young man who had tried so hard to be good, to be religious, to earn heaven by means of his own good works, stopped in a tiny church in England, just to get out of the stormy weather. The preacher was a poor speaker, weak in voice and delivery. If it hadn't been for the bad weather, the young man wouldn't have stopped and certainly wouldn't have stayed. The preacher's text was Isaiah 45:22 - Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Upon hearing the text read, the young man suddenly saw light. He was trying to save himself. But God said, "Look unto me and be ye saved." The Israelites were saved by looking at a brazen serpent hanging on a pole. Jesus said that we would be saved by looking to him hanging on a cross. That night that young man was saved. His name was Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Two things are necessary for you to be born again. First, Christ had to die on the cross for your sins. He did! Finally, you must in repentance and faith look to Jesus for eternal life. He did his part. Have you done yours?