Read John 2:13-25. Jesus returned to Jerusalem for the Passover (April 7, AD 30) just as his parents had always done. All Jews were required by Old Testament Law to do this every year, although, in practice, most did not. This is the first of the four Passovers that Jesus went to Jerusalem to attend. At this Passover, He drove the merchants out of the Temple. He did this again at the last Passover He attended before His crucifixion. He also taught in the Temple.
1. What did Jesus say they were doing to the Temple?
They were making it a place of business.
2. How have we made Christianity or churches today into a business?
Well-paid churches and staffs, for the most part, fundraisers to support building programs and other activities, selling Christian literature, music and paraphernalia.
Read John 3:1-21.
3. Who was Nicodemus?
The Jewish religious leadership, like our religious climate today, was not a homogeneous group. There were many different sects or divisions. The two most well-known were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the religious conservatives of the day, drawn mainly from the common people, who believed that the laws of the Old Testament should be strictly applied to all aspects of daily life, that there was a resurrection, that angels and spirit beings were real and existed, that there was an Oral Law handed down from the Fathers as well as a Written Law and that this was as authoritative as the Written Law or the Old Testament Scriptures. They were zealous in trying to be separate from those they considered unclean and impure.
On the other hand, the Sadducees corresponded, more or less, to the religious liberals of our day. For the most part, they were the aristocracy of the priesthood, tracing their ancestry back to Zadok, the High Priest during the reign of King David. They rejected the concept of the oral law, the existence of a resurrection, angels or spirits. They held a much more relaxed interpretation of the Law and especially its application to daily life. During the time of our Lord’s first advent and especially after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, their power was ebbing.
Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisee party, and he was a ruler of the Jews. This last statement indicates that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, or Council, which, during the New Testament period, was the principal instrument of justice among the Jews. Although Judea was a conquered province of Rome, Rome allowed quite a bit of self-rule, especially in the religious matters of its subjugated peoples. Rome allowed the Sanhedrin, composed of seventy-one men, to handle all issues of Jewish law and many criminal matters as well. They could not administer capital punishment as this was reserved for Roman officials. Most of the time, the Roman authorities, as in the case of our Lord, handed down judgments following the recommendation of the Sanhedrin in capital crimes. Nicodemus, therefore, was a conservative, well-respected member of Jewish society.
4. What possible reasons might explain why Nicodemus came at night to see Jesus?
We are not told why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. It is often taught that he came by night out of fear because he did not want to be seen by others of his party who opposed our Lord and incur their anger and condemnation. Yet, we are not told this. While it is true that the Pharisees opposed our Lord, much of the opposition did not solidify until later in our Lord’s ministry. We know that they generally opposed the ministry of John the Baptizer and no doubt would have been suspicious of our Lord, who proclaimed the same message. Yet probably many were at this point curious and had not made up their minds concerning our Lord.
There are other legitimate reasons why Nicodemus may have come by night. One reason could have been that he, without a doubt, was a busy man, and this was the only free time he had to come. Another reason was that he might have heard our Lord speak in a synagogue on a Sabbath and waited until sundown to come and question Him further. Perhaps the best alternative reason, however, would be that our Lord was extremely busy with the crowds, and this was the free time He had in which He could answer Nicodemus’s question. The fact remains that we just do not know why he came at night.
5. Summarize the thrust of the message Jesus told Nicodemus in your own words.
Following the polite introduction by Nicodemus, John proceeds to give us our Lord’s response to an unstated question. Either John did not see it necessary to tell us his question knowing that we could easily deduce it from the context, or, more likely, our Lord did not wait for the question since He knew what it would be. The unstated question is, ‘What must a person do to gain entrance into the kingdom of God?’
The message of John the Baptizer was, ‘Get ready! The Kingdom is at hand!’ This was also the message of our Lord. John had been quite hard on the Pharisees and religious leaders, implying that they were destined for the fire rather than the Kingdom. No doubt Nicodemus had heard John’s message, and he had undoubtedly witnessed or had heard of the miracles of our Lord. His unspoken question, therefore, was very simple, ‘If the kingdom of God is at hand, what can I do to be sure of entering it?’
Our Lord’s reply in verses 3 through 21 has three main parts. First, in verses 3-8, He tells Nicodemus that in order to see (enter) the kingdom of God, he had to be born spiritually as well as physically. Second, in verses 9 through 16, He tells him how this can take place, namely by placing his faith in Him, the Son of God. Finally, in verses 17 through 21, He tells Nicodemus that although God did not send the Messiah to judge the world but to save it, nevertheless, judgment will come to all who reject the light.
6. What is the specific sin which brings judgment upon a person?
There is only one unforgivable sin, the sin of rejecting the light, the revelation of the truth, in order to knowingly continue in one’s sin. When our Lord hung upon the cross, God the Father laid upon Him the sin of the whole world, the sin of every man, woman and child that has ever lived or will live upon this earth. He paid the debt for all sin, past, present and future, in full. It is not these sins that now condemn us; it is only one sin, the sin of rejecting the gift of life offered by faith in Jesus Christ. It is not murder or suicide, lying or stealing, adultery or fornication; it is not gluttony, lust or drug addiction. It is not rape, violence or any other sin we commit in action or attitude. What condemns us is our choice not to accept and rely upon God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ, choosing instead to keep our own sin because we want it rather than the truth and light of God. We are judged because light has come into our world, and we love the darkness and our sin more than the light.
The light is the revelation that God has given us. In John’s Day and ours, it is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, His death and resurrection. In the Old Testament, it was the promise of one who would come to save us. The light that God has given may differ from age to age, but the principle is universal and constant. If we reject the light given us in favor of remaining in our sin, we incur the judgment of God.
Read John 3:22-36.
7. What kinds of potential problems could have arisen from this comparison?
Jealousy on the part of the followers of John with the ministry of our Lord, arguments over which was a better ministry, etc.
8. How did John handle the complaint that people were going out to see this new teacher rather than coming to him?
He pointed out that we can only do what is given us to do. This new teacher should become greater than John.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. Our Lord’s actions in cleansing the temple ought to be very instructive for the church as a whole and local churches individually today. The fact that He physically drove out those conducting business on the Temple grounds in what could almost be described as a violent manner indicates His attitude toward this practice. This commercialization of the temple was (and is) unacceptable for our Lord. God does not record His reaction to any other error of the religious establishment in such a manner as this.
Although our Lord became angry at times, He was never controlled by His anger. He was angry but did not sin because His actions were not governed by that emotion. He was not overcome with rage to the degree that it caused Him to react as He did. What He did and how He did it was carefully controlled by the Spirit and calculated to be a lesson for us today and those who witnessed this on that day.
Yet, unfortunately, we have done exactly what these leaders did and have surpassed them in our commercialization of religion today in our nation. Christianity, today in our culture, is big business, very big business. Although there are many exceptions, of course, for the most part, churches are business organizations that market a product. Just as with Herod’s Temple, so too today, billions of dollars have been spent on huge, beautiful buildings not so much for the glory of our Lord but for the pride and glory of the leaders and members of those congregations. Church leaders realize that a large and beautiful building attracts people, and more people mean more giving!
Today, much of a church’s activity is directed towards fundraising, increasing attendance, and giving. The vending of Christian music, clothing and devotional material is widespread and profitable. Services today are directed toward entertainment and building up good emotional feelings more than the proclamation of the truths of God’s Word. They are directed toward getting the attention and attendance of those outside the church rather than building up those within it. If people feel good and enjoy the service, they will come back. Salaries and benefits for ministers and staff of churches are, for the most part, good. In larger churches, very good!
The church today has come far from what it was in the early days following our Lord’s death, resurrection and ascension. God did not give many details concerning how local churches are to be structured, how services are to be carried out, when, where or how often they meet. This freedom allowed the church to adapt to different cultures and different ages. In its evolution, however, it has become something other than what God had intended. We have become what our Lord reacted against when He cleansed the Temple.
The local church is a fellowship of believers who encourage and build up one another. It does not need a building to function correctly, as is witnessed by the success of the early church and the success of the underground church in those countries where public churches are banned. The giving of the early church was not primarily to pay the salary of hired clergy or staff who would do the work God called all the saints to do but to meet the needs of the saints in that local church or other churches. Those in the church carried on the work of the ministry, with pastors and evangelists serving many different churches, teaching the individual members of these churches how to carry on the ministry given to them.
Today, however, we market faith in Jesus Christ or at least a form of religion. The success of a church today is almost always measured in the number of members it boasts, the size and cost of the sanctuary and physical plant it has or by its annual budget.
2. This is not so much an application that arises from the message of the text but one which arises from a possible misinterpretation of the text itself. While it may be true that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night out of fear of being seen with Him by other members of the Pharisees or Sanhedrin, we do not know that this is the case. There are many possible reasons why his visit was at night.
We must be cautious in drawing conclusions from a very limited amount of information. This is true in our interpretation of the Scriptures and in our everyday lives as well. We must be careful not to read into the actions of others, motives when there could be many reasons for the actions in question.
3. John’s attitude and actions when confronted with those who compared his ministry to that of our Lord are instructive for us today. While it is doubtful that any of us will be compared to our Lord in His life and work, the lesson applies to any comparison on human levels.
John stated at the outset of his reply that no one has any ministry or work, any gift or ability that has not been given to him by God. The breadth and depth of our ministry are determined by God. What God has given me to do is unique to me, and you are not judged by my ministry or its results. Likewise, I am not judged by yours or anyone else’s. We are only judged by God based on what He has given us to do. If He has called a person to be an evangelist with a worldwide scope, that person will be judged according to what was given him. If God has called a person to pray faithfully for a worker in a local church, this becomes the basis for judgment and reward.
There are times when the ministry of one person is ending, and another’s begins in the same area or field. One sows and another waters, and yet another reaps. Recognizing this and allowing the Spirit to work unhindered through another is a mark of great maturity. We do not compete with each other. We are not to compare our work with the work of another. The ministry is God’s. He gives it to us and empowers us, and we are privileged to be used by Him. It is to Him that all the honor belongs for anything accomplished.