Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, bur cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

- John 2:23-3:15

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' cleansing of the temple. It is the first Passover recorded in John's Gospel. Jesus saw those who sold animals for sacrifice, and the money changers. He made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Then His disciples remembered a phrase from the Psalms: "Zeal for your house has eaten Me up." Some of the leadership in the temple asked Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." They thought He was speaking literally of the temple. But after His Resurrection, the disciples remembered Jesus' words, and knew He was speaking of the temple of His body. John's Gospel tells us, "And they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said."

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. This is quite an interesting little passage. We remember this is the first of three Passover festivals that John will report during Jesus' ministry. My study bible notes that scholars believe this is historically accurate. John tells us that there were many signs done by Jesus during the feast, but only reports the cleansing of the temple. Many believers followed Him because of the signs -- but Jesus doesn't trust this type of faith. He is looking for something different in His believers and disciples, not merely those who believe because of signs. This tells us something very important about our faith, what Christ wishes from us. My study bible says, "Jesus knew many were misreading His signs." But we recall His words about Nathanael, that he was "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit." The kind of faith Jesus wants has little to do with visible proofs or show, and everything to do with a kind of faith in the heart, in the depths of who we are.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." It's important that John's Gospel tells us that there are those among the Pharisees who do believe in Jesus. Here, Nicodemus comes to Him by night, so that he won't be seen by others in the leadership. Much later in the Gospel, my study bible points out, Nicodemus will defend Jesus' legal rights before the Sanhedrin. Then together with Joseph of Arimathea, he will help prepare and entomb Jesus' body, which my study bible calls "a bold public expression of faith." It notes, "According to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter, and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to leave Jerusalem." Joseph of Arimathea's presence here tells us that faith is open to all, that those capable of the type of faith Jesus seeks are to be found everywhere. Poised right after the previous verses, it gives us to understand that faith takes us one by one, making its own community out of wherever we are -- the division of Jesus' "sword of truth" cuts through all nominal worldly groups or belonging.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, bur cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Here we have an extremely powerful passage about baptism, and rebirth in Spirit. Jesus teaches of rebirth "in water and the Spirit" -- this is a clear description of baptism. Quite literally, the word we understand as "again" (in "born again") means "from above." While one may be tempted to read this passage in a purely "spiritual" vein, it's important, I think, that we note that Jesus speaks of both water and Spirit. Our faith, once again, is on display here. This isn't just about a mental conviction or understanding, and Christ is not in the world only in spiritual terms, but rather unites all things -- both "worldly" and spiritual. He is God and man, united as one, and so in baptism we have both the Holy Spirit and the element -- water -- that makes up the greater percentage of our world and our bodies. The world, created by God, is basically good, because it is God's creation. So the Holy Spirit, united to creation, is an image of God's kingdom on earth, united to creation. Our faith is incarnational; it is not separate in any way from who we are, just as Christ was one of us, not separate from who we are. But this mysterious reality takes place in a mystery, just as did the sign of water turned to wine inside the stone pots. It "cometh not with observation" -- but is truly the action of the Spirit within us. Jesus' analogy to the wind (in the Greek, the word for Spirit means wind, breath or spirit) teaches us something important about signs and the mystery of God's grace in the world: with us, in us, and yet still holy, beyond our full understanding.

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." Here, once again, is a passage packed with spiritual and theological meaning, upon which may rest the whole of our faith. Christ speaks of what He knows, of the place from which He comes. He is a witness to the reality of heavenly things. But here, in speaking of baptism and the action of Spirit, the rebirth through water and the Spirit, He speaks of "earthly things." Indeed, baptism is but the beginning of our lives in Christ.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus completes the picture of this fully incarnational power of His life and ministry in the world, by referring to the Cross. Jesus refers to the incident in which Moses lifted up his staff with a bronze serpent upon it, in order to cure the Israelites from the bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:9). My study bible has a powerful note: "Christ will be lifted up on the Cross. As the believer beholds the crucified Christ through faith as Savior, the poisonous bite of that old serpent, the devil, and the bite of sin and death, is counteracted and cured. The moment of Christ's greatest humiliation becomes the moment of exaltation for completing His redeeming work." Christ unites the history of Israel with the vision of what is to come: His death on the Cross. Thus, the Cross becomes the powerful symbol of the ultimate transformation of our lives in this world. Jesus is not here only for the moments on the mountain tops, of which there will be plenty. But His exaltation and glorification also come in the moments this world offers us of deepest despair and darkness. The transfiguration of our lives -- God's saving action -- will work through all things, including the struggles we undergo with the darkness of the world. And this is the great light that shines for all of us, this fully incarnational reality of Christ's greatest triumph, and the symbol of the Cross's meaning for all of us. This agonizing death as a criminal becomes for all of us a moment of transcendence and saving power through the work of God in the world. Let us also note the depth of the incarnational power here: Jesus clearly uses the title "Son of Man" - twice - as the title for a heavenly person.

So, let's think about these powerful words and teachings here in this Gospel. We understand it to be written during a time of terrible persecutions for the Christian community. John, perhaps the youngest disciple, is an old man at the time of its writing. He was Jesus' "beloved disciple" according to a traditional understanding. He also became a son for Mary after Jesus' death. In times of persecution and difficulty, whatever those difficulties may be in our lives, let us remember this fully incarnational Savior and His life in the world. Let us remember this talk with Nicodemus about "worldly things." Those "worldly things" are the action of the Spirit in the world, the grace with which we are graced in order to live our lives in this faith, with Him. Through all things, the action of the Spirit is there. Like the wind, we don't know where it comes from; we can't predict where it's going. We can only see its effects. But we can live our lives in the kind of faith that takes root in all of our lives, in each moment, even in the darkest and most difficult of times -- perhaps most especially then. John has written to us about this light, that "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Let us remember that to be born of water and Spirit is the beginning, that this faith is part of all of our lives, even the times that don't seem exalted and transcendent. The action of this wind, this Spirit, can work as God worked at the moment of triumph on the Cross, to turn our lives to witness, to something much more than we can see or know. The Cross defies all of our expectations and assumptions about God. Let us understand that the full effects of our faith are something we may never totally know in our lifetimes in the world -- and that a moment that seems neither like a triumph or exaltation may be just that!