Nicodemus was at the top of his game. A Pharisee among Pharisees. He was a leader of the people. He taught in Jerusalem. He was part of the Sanhedrin. And he worked hard to be faithful to God and stay at the top of his game.

I imagine one night he was studying the Torah as he often did. On this particular occasion he was reading the book of Numbers. He came upon the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness complaining against Moses. If they complained against Moses, God's prophet, they were also complaining against God. So God sent fiery serpents to bite the people and punish them for their lack of faith and their rebelliousness. Nicodemus the teacher thought, "Here's a lesson. Those sinners and tax collectors are always rebelling against God's laws and they suffer the bite of sin. Here we see that God is a God of justice who demands loyalty and faithfulness."

As Nicodemus read on he noticed that the people saw the error of their ways and they went to Moses and they begged Moses to ask God to deliver them. But why should God deliver such a people? Those who rebelled deserve to die. God's laws are righteous and his judgments are just. Nicodemus couldn't help but think of John the Baptist and his followers. They called people to repent. They even dared to say that God could forgive tax collectors and prostitutes and thieves. And what about that Jesus from Nazareth? He ate with tax collectors and sinners. Some of them even became his followers. Didn't these people know that God's judgment would come on such sinners? God's judgment would be like those poisonous serpents biting and exacting the penalty of sin.

So what did Nicodemus read that Moses do about these sinners? He prayed for them? Well, yes one could pray for such people. But really aren't they a lost cause, Nicodemus mused.

But look what God did when Moses prayed? God told Moses to make a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole so high that it could be seen all over the camp. That's good! It will remind the people of their sin and why they are being punished! But it was not just a reminder of their sin. It was a way for them to be delivered. It was lifted up so that those who were bitten could look at it and be healed.

Nicodemus was confused. God had every right to just let all those sinners die. They had rebelled against God. They had sinned. That is simple justice and God is a God of justice. But why punish them and then provide a way out of the punishment. God is a God of justice and a God of mercy?

Nicodemus couldn't help but think of Jesus of Nazareth again. The stories of him were many. He didn't just eat and associate with sinners he also healed and cast out demons and even raised the dead. His teachings were unorthodox but at the same time had a ring of truth to them as much as Nicodemus hated to admit it. Perhaps God was providing a way for those bitten by sin to be delivered from sure death? Jesus had told the people that they Kingdom of God was at hand. Maybe with the judgment of the kingdom would also come redemption?

If Jesus was right this could change everything. And no one could possibly do the things that Jesus is reported to have done without God. Only the power of God can cast our demons and bring the dead back to life. Maybe Jesus was like Moses holding up a bronze serpent for the people to look at and be saved. Maybe Jesus was a great prophet after all. And in the back of his mind the thought whispered, "Maybe even the Messiah?"

Nicodemus had to find out. The stakes were too high. If Jesus was right he had to know. Second hand reports by religiously dazed people were not sufficient evidence. He had to see for himself who this Jesus really was.

But how? He couldn't just walk up to him with the crowds around. He probably could not get to really talk to him that way. And what would the people think? They might misconstrue his action as an endorsement of Jesus. He would have to go to him at night when people would not see and he could really question Jesus and find out if he really was a prophet - or more.

So Nicodemus went to Jesus by night looking or answers. Was he a prophet, a holy man, the messiah? But often times answers produce more questions. The first thing Jesus said was "The truth is no one can see the kingdom without being born over." But how can an old man be born all over again? Jesus had an answer for that too: "You must be born both of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh and will pass away. What is born of Spirit is Spirit and is eternal. You cannot control the Spirit any more than you can control the wind. It's the same way with those who are born of the Spirit from above.

"But how can this be?" wondered Nicodemus. Jesus replied, "Come now, you are a great teacher and you don't know about the Spirit. We are bearing witness about what we have experienced, yet you have trouble accepting it. If you can't accept this how can you accept the other things I have to tell you. The only one who can tell you of heavenly things is the one who has been there and that can only be the Son of Man."

Jesus continued, "Let me put it on your level. You remember how Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness?" Nichodemus was shocked - how did he know? Jesus continued, "In the same way the Son of man must be lifted up. That way people can look up to him. And by looking up to him they can be saved. God loved the world so much that he sent his only begotten son so that people could look up to him and be saved! You see the Son of Man came not condemn the world because of its sin, but he came to save the world from its sin. Those who look up to him are saved, but those who do not look up remain in their condemnation.

Did Nicodemus get it? Did he understand that God's purpose was and always has been to save not to condemn. We know he got something. From that time on he looked out for Jesus. He even defended Jesus during his trial before the Sanhedrin.

But I don't think he really understood it all until later. Moses nailed the serpent to the pole and lifted it up so that the children of Israel could be saved from the consequences of their sin. When he saw Jesus nailed to a cross and lifted up and the people looking up to him it all came together.

Jesus was the Messiah. The Messiah came to save the lost. That is why Jesus reached out to the lost: the tax collectors and thieves and prostitutes and all kinds of sinners. Because he came to save them. He even reached out to stubborn old Pharisees.

I believe Nicodemus got it. Do you get it? Jesus came from heaven. Not to judge us because we were already condemned as guilty of sin. He came to save us. To allow himself to be nailed to a cross and lifted high for all to see.

He came for those who were lost. For the badest of the bad: gangsters and drug dealers and murdered and terrorists. But also for regular people like fishermen and government bureaucrats and factory workers. He even came for good church going people like a Pharisee named Nicodemus.

We have all been bitten by the serpent known as sin. We are all dying from the poison of sin. And we deserve to die! We were rebellious. But God has provided a way for us to be delivered. Look up to the one nailed to the pole and be saved!

Nicodemus and I are old friends. I have spent a lot of time with him and learned a few things too. Let me tell you about Nicodemus. Most folks would think that he was on top of the world. He had a good education and position as a Pharisee. He always got the best seats at the synagogues and people would ask him to speak and they even listened to what he had to say some times. And he had political position too as a member of the Sanhedrin.

But Old Nick he was different from those other Pharisees. He actually practiced what he preached or at least tried to. He really seemed to care about honoring God. And that sometimes got him into trouble. That is where Jesus comes into the story.

Jesus had been traveling around and had gotten himself a reputation as a healer and a man of God. Nicodemus had gotten wind of some of his teachings and recognized how dangerous they were. But he also heard of the wonders he had done. Even John's disciples seemed to accept Jesus as the real thing. Only God can give a person the ability to do all that Jesus did. So Nick wanted to learn more - more than he could from other people's reports or from public events. He needed to see Jesus face to face!

So that is when it happened. Nicodemus went to see Jesus. But like I said, Nick was a smart guy, so he went at night; far away from the prying eyes of the religious elite - away from the clamor of the crowds. Just Nick and Jesus alone so that Nick could ask the questions he wanted to ask. And so that he wouldn't cause any more trouble for himself than was necessary.

Nicodemus approached Jesus and said, "I have come here because I know that no one can do the things you've been doing without God's help." Jesus could see that he was sincere, so he laid it on the line for him. Jesus said, "You can't see the kingdom of God without being born over." Of course the way Jesus said it there were two possible meanings. You must be born over again and you must be born from God above.

Old Nick was good at book learnin' but sometimes he could be a little thick. He grabbed on to the first meaning and took it as literally as he could. He replied to Jesus "How could I crawl back into the womb and be born all over again?" Jesus chuckled a little at the misunderstanding but he explained himself. He said you must be born of water and the spirit. By that he meant you must have a physical birth, the one Nicodemus was thinking of, and a spiritual birth. It is a new beginning but it is one that comes from God above by his Holy Spirit! That is why Jesus told him you must be born over.

This was still a little hard for Nick to take in. "How can this be" he said. You see Nick had grown up thinking he had to earn forgiveness. If he did all the right things that would please God and God would not punish. And he also worshipped in the temple where God's holy presence was separated from the world. How could the Holy God of the universe send the Holy Spirit to him and just wipe the slate of his life clean giving him a clean start?

But Jesus was ready for him. "You should know better," said Jesus, "after all you are a teacher. You remember the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness. They sinned and the Lord allowed fiery serpents to bite them. But do you remember that the Almighty also provided a way for them to be saved from the fiery serpents. He told Moses to put a brose serpent on a pole and lift it up and all the people had to do was look at the serpent and they would be healed.

"You see God is doing the same thing here. The Son of Man will be lifted up so that people can look to him to be saved." Nick was starting to catch on but I don't think that he realized that Jesus was talking about his own death on a cross. Nick may not have grasped that fact but what Jesus said next made all the sense in the world. "You see," Jesus said, "God loves the world. So much indeed that he gave His only Son, so that people could believe in him and be saved. You see the Almighty doesn't want to condemn the world but to save it!"

I guess Nick got what Jesus was saying. He seems to have become a believer. When the Sanhedrin was trying to arrest Jesus Nicodemus defended him. And when they finally crucified Jesus he was with Joseph of Arimathea when they took Jesus' body for burial.

I said that Nicodemus and I are old friends. Actually I never met the man of course. My children may think I am old enough to have met him but actually he was before my time. But I still feel like I know him just like I know you all. Like him I am a man with theological training and I am a teacher. Like him I sincerely want to know God. And like him I can be a little dense some times.

And I find that I need to listen hard over and over again to what Jesus tells Old Nick. First, to see the Kingdom of God you must be born over! We Christians have beaten the phrase "Born Again" to death. It is a new beginning but the way Jesus said it, and John recorded it, it means more than just a new start. It is a new start from above. God is the source of our new life! And it is a gift from above.

The other thing to remember is John 3:16. "For God so loved the World that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." But don't forget John 3:14 - Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up. Jesus was lifted on the cross so that we could be saved. That is why God sent him. And don't forget John 3:17 either. God wasn't looking for an excuse to condemn us. God's motivation all along was to save us.

I've known Nicodemus for a long time. Perhaps you have too? Have you ever known someone who was earnestly seeking abundant spiritual life? Have you known someone who was learned but could still be a little dense sometimes? I have. Sometimes it was me. Perhaps you have been Nicodemus.

Let's take to heart what Jesus told him. Eternal life is a gift from God above. It is a clean start. And God's desire is and always has been, all the way back to the Old Testament, to save us. That is why he sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins!

Maybe you know someone like Nicodemus who needs to be born over. Have you been born over? Have you received the gift of new life from the Holy Spirit of God? That's why Jesus came. That's why he died on the cross, to give new life. So accept the gift of Jesus which God has given for you, and do it today!

Let's get one thing straight from the beginning: Abram was already set in his ways. You have to understand that to grasp the significance of what is transpiring here between God and Abram. Abram was already 75 years old. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Abram was definitely old in both dog and human years. He had lived in Haran most of his life. His family was there and his friends. The High School he graduated from and the barber shop where he always got his beard trimmed were there. Even his parents were buried there. A person doesn't just start all over from the beginning at 75. Most folks are just settling down at that age. They are not contemplating starting a new carrier. Oh, there are a few notable exceptions like grandma Moses who didn't start painting until she was 80. 75 is generally not considered the age to forge new paths in life.

But that is exactly what God asked Abram and Sarai to do. God said, "Abram, leave your hometown and your friends and family and go to a place that I will show you." God didn't say, "Go to Canaan or the Promised Land." God didn't tell them where they were going. Just that they would be shown the place. And why should they go! Because, "I, God, will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing." That was an attractive promise to an old man with no children.

So Abram went as God had told him. He stepped out. Out of his comfortable peaceful life in Haran. Out of the rocking chair on the front porch of the old home place. And into the road ahead of him to spend his retirement years following a God with no name. No longer would he be Abram of Haran, but he would be Abram of some place that God would show him.

Now that is faith! God said "jump" and Abram didn't even ask in which direction he just let God guide him. God said, "Step out Old man," and in faith Abram did it.

God is always asking people to step out in faith. Just look through the Scriptures. Consider Noah who was asked to build an ark just because God said there would be a flood. Or Moses, who was asked to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of the slaves, just because God told him to. Or the Prophets who were asked to prophesy all kinds of unbelievable things just because God said they would be so.

That is what faith is. Faith is steppin' out of our present patterns only because God is calling us to. It means trusting God's promises and God's word even though we don't understand or can't see how they are true. Faith means taking a chance on a promise we don't fully understand. For some it may mean changing even though they are 75 and set in their ways.

The Bible tells us it is through Faith that we are saved. Abraham couldn't make himself a great nation, but God did because Abram trusted God's promise. Likewise we can't save ourselves. We can't find happiness and peace and joy on our own. But God can give us all those things. If only we will trust the Almighty to guide us.

This is what Jesus was talking about to Nicodemus. Nicodemus, like Abram, lived a comfortable life. As a Pharisee he had position, power and wealth. But that couldn't buy him what he really needed. What he really needed was a restored relationship with his Heavenly Father. He needed the Kingdom of Heaven.

So by night he came to Jesus seeking help from God through Jesus a man of God. Jesus told him, "Surely you must be born over." You might say hold it pastor my Bible says "born again." And so it should, but the original Greek word for again also means from above. From Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus it is clear that he means both from heaven above and again. So I prefer the translation "born over" because "over" can mean above or again too. Nicodemus didn't understand what Jesus meant by, "be born again." Jesus told him you have to be born of water and the Spirit. Jesus was referring to the water of womb but he was also alluding to the water of Baptism, and the Spirit of God that comes only from above. In other words you have to start all over again, make a new beginning. But this beginning is not your own doing. It is not a work of the flesh. It must be God's work in you.

You see Nicodemus had lived his whole life trying to earn his salvation. Like many of the Pharisees he thought that he could keep the law and earn God's saving favor. And I am sure that many people told him he was doing well in his religious life and that he should just keep trying. But Jesus said, "No, you must start all over again with God's help." You must step out in a new direction and trust what God is doing. Because whoever places their faith in what God is doing in Christ has eternal life.

Faith is steppin' out in trust. It is trusting God's word and God's promised enough to take a chance. Abraham took a chance on leaving home at 75 to start new life. He didn't do it because he had a plan or an idea. He did it because God said, "Do this and I will bless you."

Jesus told Nicodemus to take a chance on making a new beginning. Not a new beginning created by the flesh. Not based on his own intuition, intelligence, and good works. But one based on the grace and forgiveness of God given through the Holy Spirit.

And God calls all humanity to step out in faith. When we first turn to Christ we step out and take a chance. We place our trust in Christ and his promise of salvation. And God blesses us with the fruits of salvation: Peace, Love, Joy. And as we grow in Christ, God is always calling us to step out.

Step out with faith in God! Trust God's unfailing love. God blessed Abram and Sarai and made them a great nation. No matter what your situation is in life today, God wants to bless you in some way. God wants you to have happiness and Peace and Joy in your life. Just let the Almighty guide you, and if you don't know how to do that, then just ask and God can be trusted to show you. The record is clear: God blesses those who place their trust in him, and God will bless you if you do the same.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up." The Children of Israel were wandering in the desert. Now the desert is an awful place to wander. Some would say that there is not much in the desert. It is true there is not much water. There is also not much food. It might be more correct to say that there are a lot of things in the desert. There are a lot of prickly plants. There are a lot of snakes and scorpions. There are also a lot of vultures to remind you of what will happen if you don't get out. The weather is also not pleasant. It is burning hot in the daytime, and bitterly cold at night.

The Children of Israel had been in the desert for a while and there seemed to be no end in sight. Some began to complain. The Bible says, "They became impatient upon the way." And they began to say, "Moses, why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this desert? There is no food or water out here. All we have to eat in this awful manna day after day. We roast in the day and freeze at night. And all for what? Some pie in the sky promised land."

The people complained too much, so God sent fiery serpents to plague the people. The serpents bit the people. And they cried out in pain. Many died. Finally, some of them came to Moses and asked him to pray to God that this plague would end. It took a while, but they finally turned to God.

Now God's plan all along was to save the Children of Israel not to destroy them. After all God was leading them out of slavery at the time. God heard their cries of pain and it hurt God. Their Heavenly Father felt the fiery serpents just as they did. And God saw that they were turning back to their Lord. So the Gracious One in heaven heard Moses' prayer of supplication.

God decided to devise a way to save the Children of Israel from perishing without letting them forget the lesson they had learned. God said to Moses, "Make a bronze serpent. It will remind the people of their disobedience, but it will also be the means of their salvation. Then nail the bronze snake to a pole. Lift it high so that it can be seen from every part of the camp. When anyone is bitten by one of the serpents all they need to do is look up at the bronze serpent and they will be healed."

Moses did as God directed and the people were saved. But, I imagine there were a few stubborn people who didn't look up. The Bible doesn't tell us this, but human nature being what it is, it follows that some refused to obey God's directions. I imagine there were some who refused to look up and be saved. Because of their stubbornness they would not look to God for salvation. And they perished.

You know, the Children of God have always been in a wilderness. I'm not talking about the terrain in Israel and the Holy Land. I am talking about the spiritual surroundings in which the people of God live. This world is an awful place to wander spiritually. Often times it is hard to find spiritual food. The world knows nothing of the bread and water of life. And in this desert the nights are dark and as cold as a dead heart, and the days are as hot as the fires of Hell. On top of this there are many demons, which wait to sting and bite.

Many people perish because of these dangers. They perish in a wilderness of sin because they have no spiritual food or water. They are bit or stung by various desires. Some wander lost in the darkness and cold of night. Some swelter under the hellish heat of the day. Just look at the world around you! People are possessed by the demons of greed and lust. Many are possessed by the desire for drugs. People ignore those in need around them because they are chasing after the desires of the flesh. Many are lost in this wilderness of sin. All suffer in this spiritual desert, but many perish.

But God is not blind to what is happening. God sees, and God cares. God sees the perishing. God hears their cries of anguish. Our Heavenly Father even feels the pain of their suffering.

God loves the world and does not wish that any perish. So God decided to make a way of salvation for the people. But this situation was a lot bigger then that time in the desert. The scope of the problem was wider. It was not just a group of pilgrims in the wilderness. It was an entire world of people lost in sin. The cause of suffering was not just a few hundred snakes. It was all the demons and serpents of hell. Sin and death were devouring God's Children. The solution had to be a global one not just a local one. It had to heal the world of the effects of sin. It had to cure death itself and ensure eternal life.

So God went to work. Moses was not around, and anyway, this job was too big for him. First God took the sins of the world. The Almighty poured them out of an old dusty flask. Then God mixed them with the tears of a mother and a father. Then God called his son. And God poured the sins of the world upon him. And as if that were not enough, God took his only son and nailed him to a pole. Then God hoisted him up high for all to see. Choking back the tears God said, "Look at what I have done for you. Look upon the sins of the world poured on the only righteous person to ever live. Look upon your torment. Look upon death! Look, and be saved. And the light of Christ's death shone for the whole world to see.

But you know how human nature is. There were some stubborn people. They refused to look up. They would rather look down into the shadows and perish. They loved the darkness. And refused to accept the light. And they perished.

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of Man be lifted up, for God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that whoever trusts in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God sent his son to die, not to have an excuse to condemn the world but that through his death the world might be saved. Those who look up to him for salvation will be saved. And those who don't look up to him will perish because they do not trust in God.

Through Christ the light of salvation has come into the world. But people loved the darkness because they were evil. And some refused to come to the light. But others came to the light and were saved.

Christ was lifted up for us. He bore our sins. He endured our punishment. And he died our death for us. What wondrous love is this that God sent his only son to die for us. So look upon the cross and see your suffering and shame. Look upon the cross and see the way that God saves you. Christ was lifted up for our salvation; look up to him to be saved and sanctified.

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