Lectionary: Year B, Trinity Sunday
Text: John 3:1-17
Introduction
This week I learned I might have quite a bit in common with Nicodemus, a Pharisee.
I was born into a church denomination that has a wide range of perspectives on various things. But on average, it could be described as traditional, conservative, and even fundamentalist in some respects. It was a denomination founded through the study of biblical prophecies, and when the initial interpretations failed to materialize, interpretations were revised, and its apocalyptic message continues to be taught. It is a denomination with an emphasis on its unique traditions that keeps it somewhat separate from other Christian denominations. From an early age, within education classes in the church and in church-run schools, I was taught the importance of watching for signs of the end times and even possible broad outlines of how the end of the world will come about.
In many ways, what I grew up in has similarities to how the Pharisees viewed their times, lived in it, and looked for the coming kingdom of God.
Before continuing, I should note that although the Pharisees are often perceived negatively by modern Christians, it was not at all the case back in their time. Although some were certainly wealthy and privileged, as a whole they were considered coming from the masses and could relate to the common folk.[1] Their concern was the study of scripture and accurate interpretations of them so that all could live in holiness and purity as God would have them live. This contrasted with the Sadducees, who were given the priesthood by the Romans, and was the aristocracy of the Jewish nation. Their concerns were more pragmatic in that they were more interested in maintaining the status quo and their place in society.
The Pharisees were expecting the Messiah and the arrival of a new kingdom. They had certain assumptions and expectations of who the Messiah should be, how he would appear, and what he would do. They had an outline of how the present age should end and how the new age with the new kingdom would begin. They read the prophecies in scripture with apocalyptic vision.[2]
As I said earlier, I find several parallels between what I grew up in and some of the characteristics of the Pharisees.
Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Which means all that I had just said is part of the backstory that is not explicitly written in the gospel, because everyone reading or hearing it at that time would have known much of this. Nicodemus is interested in figuring out Jesus, because in Nicodemus’ view, Jesus fits more than a few checkboxes of the expected Messiah.
First, Jesus appears out of nowhere. Secondly, Jesus is performing miraculous signs. Thirdly, Jesus appears to be performing his acts on behalf of God.
In the gospel text immediately preceding today’s reading, Jesus had driven out the merchants selling animals and the moneychangers. The arrival of the new kingdom was also expected to be preceded by a purification of the temple.[3] What Jesus performed could be interpreted by some to fit into that scheme.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. On the most literal level, this simply is an indication that Nicodemus wants to avoid any discourse from turning into an honor contest.[4] This could certainly happen if it was in the daylight with masses of the public around. So, coming at night for a private conversation shows Nicodemus’ sincerity. But on the literary level, the gospel writer uses night and darkness symbolically in the gospel to show a lack of understanding.[5] So Nicodemus is genuinely interested, but the writer foreshadows his lack of understanding as this narrative will continue.
I’ve always wondered why, after Nicodemus greets Jesus with honorific praise, Jesus seems to abruptly change the topic to the kingdom of God. Understanding the background information, I’ve mentioned so far shows that the coming kingdom was what was primary in Nicodemus’ mind, even though he does not explicitly ask about it.
The Pharisees expected that they, because of their devotion to the Torah, would naturally be among those entering the new kingdom with the Messiah. Jesus’ first statement to Nicodemus disagrees with the Pharisee’s beliefs about who is eligible to enter the kingdom. Only those who are born from above, only those who are Spirit-born, can enter the kingdom of God. No natural human person can enter the kingdom. Lineage and ancestry don’t confer qualifications. Only those who have been renewed and reborn of the Spirit can enter the kingdom.
Another messianic belief that the Pharisees had was that as part of the inauguration of the new kingdom, the Messiah would judge the world. But at the end of what is today’s reading, the text reads that in fact the Messiah was not sent to judge, but to save. And salvation is not just for Jews and those that follow the Torah, but the entire world – the cosmos. The kingdom of God would not be a perfect practice of Judaism, but something completely different, something discontinuous with anything found to that point in human history.
In this short section we see at least three messianic ideas that were a part of the Pharisaic tradition that are contradicted by Jesus as he offers different interpretations. First, it is not careful obedience to the Torah that offers entry into the kingdom, but rather, it is being born from above, with the Sprit, that allows someone entry into the kingdom. Secondly, the Messiah did not come to judge, but to save. And thirdly, this salvation and entry into the kingdom is for the entire world, not just Jews.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Nicodemus didn’t understand, at least at that immediate time. But he shows up a couple more times in John’s gospel account and we can infer through those episodes that his understanding about Jesus changes and deepens.
I started this sermon by briefly relating my Christian environment and understandings during the first thirty years or so. The next twenty including now has been a period of both deconstruction and reconstruction. There are many things I used to believe and accept that I no longer do. I’ve changed the ways in which I read and interpret the Bible. There are some things I used to accept that I can’t believe I ever did. And there are things that seem plain and obvious to me now that twenty or thirty years ago, I would have considered heresy.
And that leads me to this next part – the historical context in which the gospel of John was written.
Context of the Writing of the Gospel According to John
This gospel was written toward the end of the first century C.E. It was a good sixty years since Jesus left Earth. It’s been twenty years since the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Pharisees are on their way of transforming into rabbinical Judaism, which is the precursor of Judaism today. The Christians, who for the most part still see themselves as Jews, have been cast out of their synagogues.
The Christian believers looked at their Jewish scriptures and found quite different ways of interpreting the text. They read the prophecies and found a very different fulfillment. Jesus Christ fulfilling the promised Messiah of Israel was now plain and obvious. How could the rest of the Jewish community not see and accept this?
I think that it is in this context that the writer of John utilizes the story of Nicodemus and Jesus to address what is going on in the writer’s community. A strong evidence for this occurs beginning with verse 11 where the writer transitions from Jesus speaking to the community speaking: “I assure you that we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen…” Although traditionally it is Jesus who continues speaking through the rest of this discourse, from verse 11 onward, it is better to read this as their understanding of Jesus and his Messianic fulfillments, from the community that produced this gospel text.
The Jews had lost their Temple and their nation. They were scattered around the Roman Empire. As long as the Temple stood, and they had a land to call their own they could see a glimmer of messianic hope. But with all that taken away what was to become of God’s promise to them of a new kingdom?
Reconstruction and Reinterpretation
The early Jewish Christians found their answer and comfort in reinterpreting the scriptures in the light of Jesus and the words that he left for them. These reinterpretations were not just minor revisions to what they understood and accepted previously. They had to reimagine and reinterpret texts in new ways that often stood in contradiction to their past understandings. The new kingdom was not just an updated continuation of what already exists, but a radical interruption of former history and a departure into a new trajectory.
This might be seen as the work of the Spirit, a part of being born from above, that is promised by Jesus much later in the gospel:
John 16:13-14 (CEB)
13 However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. He won’t speak on his own, but will say whatever he hears and will proclaim to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and proclaim it to you.
Just as these first
generation of Christ followers experienced upheaval and uncertainties, we too,
seem to be in a time of upheaval and uncertainties. We live in chaotic times,
and what we assumed to be true about society and the world doesn’t always seem to
hold up.
The story of Nicodemus and the development of early Christian beliefs tells us that we must be open to the Spirit in forming and changing how we understand the world around us. Sometimes that might mean radically changing our beliefs, however sincerely held they may be. In my personal experience, that has meant dropping some beliefs and ideas that, looking back now, were quite insular and exclusionary. In their place I found beliefs that I think are more inclusive and hopefully align more closely with Jesus’ teachings that salvation is for all who trust in God. Deconstruction and reconstruction are not easy; but I believe it is often necessary to continue in spiritual growth and maturity.
The Spirit of God, the breath, the wind – it was present at the creation of the world [c.f., Genesis 1:1-2]. Through the Spirit, God brought order to chaos. And in the same way, the Spirit brings order to chaos found in every age. We may not always understand how the Spirit works, but it is present in the world. When we are open to the Spirit, we should assume that our journeys will take unexpected turns and paths.
Will we let go of trying to control our lives, and of trying to bring certainty into them? Will we instead trust and allow God to work through the Spirit of Christ, and to do and go wherever she leads? Will we allow God to work through us as agents of the new kingdom to bring the offer and reality of salvation – from God, through Jesus Christ, and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit – to the entire world?
[1] Wicher,
Edward A. “Ancient Jewish Views of the Messiah”, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3141950
[2] Kampmeier,
A. “The Jewish Expectation of God’s Kingdom in Its Successive Stages”, https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2581&context=ocj
[3] Hiers,
Richard H. “Purification of the Temple: Preparation for the Kingdom of God”, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3262987
[4] Richards,
E. Randolph. Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes, p. 167ff.
[5]
Paulien, Jon. John: The Beloved Gospel, p. 35-36.
