John 3:1-21
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with Him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.”
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:1-21 JESUS GIVES THE GIFT OF TIME
Springford Baptist Church: July 16, 2023.
A young boy shoves his hand into his pocket and pulls out a few crumpled bills and some coins. This is what he has to purchase a birthday gift for his sister. He begins to look around the store and to gaze at the items on the shelves. He wonders what he can buy with what he has?
When any of us goes shopping for a gift, we have to know what we are willing to spend. How much will the gift we are going to give cost us?
We often do not realize what a costly gift time is until we give it to someone else. It does cost us something to give someone else our time.
An important detail that I see here in this account from Scripture of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus is that Jesus willingly gave Nicodemus His time.
Notice we are told in John 3:2 that Nicodemus, “came to Jesus at night”.
It is possible that Nicodemus made the choice to come at night because he did not want others to know about it and did not want to be judged by the other Jewish leaders. It is also likely that he wanted an opportunity for an extended conversation with Jesus that would not be interrupted by all the crowds of people around Jesus during the daytime.
Jesus’ days were full weren’t they? He spent his time preaching and teaching and healing people. We can know from personal experience that when our day has been full and nighttime comes, we are tired.
If someone comes to visit at night after a busy day, then it is a gift to give that person your time and attention.
I recall when growing up, a neighbour who came to visit at night and was often very late going home. When we are tired after a long day, giving the gift of our time is a costly gift.
Jesus was willing to give the gift of time even after a long and demanding day. This is the gift that He gave to Nicodemus.
Jesus listened carefully to Nicodemus’s questions and took time to answer them.
This week as we ask the question, “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO”?, we recognize that Jesus would give the gift of time.
While some might turn a nighttime visitor away, Jesus did not. Jesus knew that this conversation was going to be an important part in Nicodemus discovering the truth of God’s love for our world and specifically for each of us. Jesus was willing to give this gift of time.
We will look more closely at what Jesus gave Nicodemus with this gift of His time.
Jesus tells Nicodemus at the outset of their conversation, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
Here Jesus is speaking about the necessity of being born of God’s Spirit. This is essential in order to experience what God has for us. It is God initiated, not something we can do by ourselves.
The motivation of Jesus being willing to give His time is made clear in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
In the midst of Jesus giving this gift of time to Nicodemus, Jesus gives Him the key to eternal life. It is motivated by God’s love in sending Jesus and Jesus is that radical expression of love in being willing to give Himself for our world, for each of us.
When we consider the extent to which Jesus was willing to give, we can not dispute that Jesus would give the gift of time.
There was a recent article in the Brantford Expositor highlighting 2 sisters. One has just celebrated her 100th birthday and the other is 105 years old. A typical question is asked for such an occasion: “To what do you attribute living so long”? The 105 year old responds, “Don’t have kids.”
The implication is that the time and energy and sacrifices made in raising a family can wear a person out. Yet we also know that the blessing of choosing to give in loving ways gives life meaning and matters greatly.
We will consider some scenarios that would involve us being willing to give our time and with each we will ask the question, “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO”? This is the question we will need to answer if we are to walk in His steps.
The first situation is this: The phone rings and you realize that it is someone who usually talks for an extended period of time. There is a decision to be made about whether you will answer the phone or not. It seems like a simple matter. You do have time without anything else happening to answer the call. However, you have just poured yourself a cup of tea and were planning to sit down and to relax with your feet up. What will you do? Well, let’s ask our question: “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO”?
Jesus would answer that call and take time to listen to that person even if the conversation is long and things are repeated that have been said before. Jesus would be more concerned about that person feeling loved and cared about than His plans to relax.
Another possible situation: You zip into the grocery store to quickly grab a few items and see someone you know who has been going through a hard time. Do you duck into the next aisle to avoid being seen or do you set aside your hurried intention to dash in and out of the grocery store and take time to talk with this person knowing that this may take awhile. Again we ask, “What would Jesus do”?
Jesus would walk towards the person and extend genuine concern and take time to offer support. Jesus might even suggest going for coffee in order to have longer to listen and express care.
Now what about this? You have looked forward to the end of the day and are just settling into a comfortable chair when a knock comes to your door. A friend has had an upsetting day and wants to talk with you. That friend begins by saying, “I could come back at another time.” One look at your friend’s face indicates that this friend is really struggling. It doesn’t take long at all to determine the answer to the question, “What would Jesus do”? Of course, Jesus would open the door and warmly welcome the friend to come in.
In each of these situations and many others like them, what is being asked for is the gift of time.
In Jesus’ willingness to give the gift of time to Nicodemus, truth was spoken and we today can read Jesus’ words recorded in Scripture that can bring the assurance of eternal life with God.
We can expect that in following Jesus’ example of giving the gift of time, that it will be a costly gift. How much are we willing to spend on this priceless gift?