New Life Through JesusSample

Now, 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.” That’s where our verse for today fits into the story. Jesus answered and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” So Nicodemus said to Jesus in reply, “How can someone be born when they're old?” And Jesus goes on to say, “Truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”

So here we have a situation where Jesus is being confronted by someone who, number one, is a ruler. Number two, he is a Pharisee, who are generally opposed to Jesus. Nicodemus is a ruler. He has power within that community, and he's coming to Jesus at night by stealth because he understands that there's something about Jesus that's different.

And Jesus doesn't answer his question the way Nicodemus expects it to be answered. He answers it from a completely different perspective, and he goes straight to the heart of the matter.

And that is, that you must be born again. You have to be changed on the inside. There has to be spiritual awakening that happens on the inside of you, and Nicodemus being from a religious framework, from a power-based framework, is trying to understand this, and he can't understand it.

For us at Easter this year, when you think about Jesus, his claim over your life is the same today. You can say, “Well, I've got my life. It's all set up here. I know what I'm doing.” But Jesus comes in from the side and says, “You have to be born again. You have to have a spiritual awakening. A miracle has to happen on the inside of you.”

Because if that doesn't happen, you can't enter the Kingdom of God. Being religious won't do it. Being a better person won't do it. It's all about a revelation of who Jesus is and being born again from the inside out. So the question for you this Easter is: are you looking to Jesus for your salvation? The other question is: what do we do about that?

How do we take hold of this? It's all about calling on the name of the Lord. It's all about looking to Jesus, not religious denominations or church affiliations. That's all good. But really, the heart of the matter is: have you been born again?

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for this miracle you offer us, this new life in you. Help us to remember to put our faith in you alone for salvation, to look to you, and not rely on ourselves. Help us to love others as you love us. Amen.

Author: Grant Thomson

Author Bio: Grant is the CEO of Bible Society Australia, with a background as a pastor. He has a passion for Opening The Bible with all people, everywhere.