“IT’S WORTH THE WAIT”

JOHN 3:1-17

2  He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."

3  Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

4  Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"

5  Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

6  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7  Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.'

8  The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

9  Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

10  Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11  "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.

12  If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

13  No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

According to the old saying, patience is a virtue.  While that may be true, patience is in very short supply these days.  That lack of patience is obvious when you look at the way people drive on 128.  That lack of patience is obvious when you listen to the way people grumble while they’re standing in line at the supermarket.  That lack of patience can also be seen in the way an old farmer reacted one day when he went to church.  Now this church was way out in the country.  So, the preachers were usually young minister fresh out of seminary.  On this particular Sunday the only ones who showed up were one of those young ministers and the old farmer.  “Brother,” the young minister said, “you and I seem to be the only ones here this morning. I don’t know if I should go ahead with the sermon or not.”  “Well,” the old farmer said, “I ain’t no preacher, but if I went out to the pasture with a load of hay and only one cow showed up, I’d still feed that cow!”  Well, those words of wisdom inspired the young minister and he began to preach like he had never preached before.  He preached about everything he ever learned in seminary.  Finally, after two hours, the young minister finally said, “Amen.” He then turned to the old farmer and him what he thought about the sermon.  “Well,” the old farmer said, “I ain’t no preacher, but if I went out to the pasture with a load of hay and only one cow showed up, I wouldn’t dump the whole load on him.” 

Nicodemus took his time before he made a decision to follow Jesus and that shouldn’t come as a big surprise.  You see Nicodemus had a lot to loose if he followed Jesus.  After all, Nicodemus was a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin.  Nicodemus was a member of the religious elite and if one of his fellow Pharisees saw him talking to Jesus they would have immediately ostracized him.  That’s why Nicodemus went to Jesus in the middle of the night.  He didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing.

Jesus was patient with Nicodemus.  Not only was Nicodemus torn about following Jesus, but he also didn’t really understand what Jesus was telling him.  When Jesus said that you have to be born again before you can enter the kingdom Nicodemus took his words literally and ended up totally confused.  Nicodemus asked Jesus how it was possible for a man to enter his mother’s womb a second time. Jesus was talking symbolically, of course.  He meant that you have to have a complete change of heart before you can enter the kingdom.

Jesus was surprised that Nicodemus didn’t understand him, but he also spent a fair amount of time explaining his words to him.   Yes, Jesus was patient with Nicodemus that night and eventually his patience paid off.  You can see how it paid off by looking at what happened the next time Nicodemus shows up in John’s Gospel.  The next time Nicodemus shows up in John’s Gospel he actually defends Jesus before the Sanhedrin.  When some of his fellow Pharisees condemn Jesus, Nicodemus reminds them that Jesus deserves a chance to defend himself just like everyone else.

By the way, Nicodemus shows up one more time in John’s Gospel, but we’ll get to that in a few minutes.

Jesus was patient with Nicodemus, and you may be a very patient person yourself.  Then again, it’s possible that someone you know is putting your patience to the test right now. Maybe you have a friend with a problem who keeps complaining to you about it instead of doing something about it.  Maybe your parents won’t accept the fact that the time has come to move into an assisted living facility and you’re running yourself ragged trying to take care of them.  Maybe you have a son who’s giving you a lot of grief because he think that he knows better than you.

A minister with a son like that saw an opportunity to change things a little when the son got his driver’s license.  It happened when the son asked him if he could use the family car.  “Well,” he said.  “I’ll make a deal with you.  If you bring your grades up, study your Bible a little more and get a haircut we’ll talk about it.”  The son went away disappointed but a month later he was back to talk about using the family car.  “Well,” the father said, “I'm really proud of you. You brought your grades up, and you studied your Bible more, but you didn't get that hair cut!”  The son must have been waiting for that argument because he new exactly what to say.  He nodded his head and said, “You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that. Samson had long hair. Moses had long hair, and so did Jesus.”   The father smiled.  “That’s true,” he said, “and they also walked everywhere they went.”

Sometimes it isn’t easy to be patient. Maybe the key to being patient though can be found in the words that Jesus shared with Nicodemus.  Maybe the key to being patient is in being born again.  Now there’s a lot of confusion about what it means to be born again.  So, I’m going to share with you what I think it means to be born again.  I think it’s helpful to look at it this way.  The first time you’re born the world revolves around you and what you want. Just look at any baby.  Every time a baby cries it’s sending everyone a message and that message is simple.  I want something.  The baby cries and the message is “I want to be fed.”  The baby cries and the message is “I want to be changed.”  The baby cries and the message is “I want to be held.”  I want.  I want.  I want.

When you’re born again the world stops revolving around you and what you want and starts to revolve around God and what God wants.  And what does God want?

God always wants healing and reconciliation.  God always wants love and understanding.  God always wants encouragement and affirmation. 

In her book, The Hearing Test Mary Ann Bird shares a grace filled story from her childhood.  It’s a story about one person who patient and reached out to her when every one else wanted nothing to do with her.  She writes, ““I grew up knowing I was different,” she writes, “and I hated it.  I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started to go to school, my classmates – who were constantly teasing – made it clear to me how I must look to others; a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and hollow and somewhat garbled speech…by the age of seven I was convinced that no one outside my own family could ever love me.  There was, however, a teacher in the second grade that we all adored – Mrs. Leonard…Annually we had a hearing test….Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn.  I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back – things like, ‘The sky is blue,’ or ‘Do you have new shoes?’  I waited there for those words which God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life.  Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, ‘I wish you were my little girl.’”

When you’re born again your world revolves around God and what God wants and it makes it a lot easier to be patient.  That’s because you know that given enough time God’s grace can and will do something wonderful and your patience will be rewarded.  Just look at Jesus and Nicodemus.  As I mentioned Nicodemus shows up one more time in John’s Gospel.  Do you remember when and where?  It’s after Jesus is crucified. After Jesus is crucified Nicodemus boldly goes to the Romans and claims the body so they can give him a decent burial.  Jesus was patient with Nicodemus and his patience paid off.  When it comes to God’s grace the old saying is true.  Good things come to those who wait.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

February 17, 2008