February 24, 2002
The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel
Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Lessons: Genesis
12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; St. John 3:1-7
There are times, when we are
just as confused, just as clueless, just
as hard-headed, as Nicodemus, in our Gospel lesson for this morning. When we hear this account, it’s all too easy
for us to stand beside Jesus, looking judgmentally at Nicodemus, this leader of
the Jews; glaring at him as if he’s
some kind of dullard—as if he’s just, well, dense for not being able to
understand what Jesus is saying! And
yet, when you’re talking about what
Jesus and Nicodemus were talking about—if Jesus were talking with us, about
being born again, and born anew, by water and the Spirit, many of us would be
standing, not with Jesus, but with Nicodemus, scratching our heads, wondering
how these things could be. Scratching
our heads, wondering if it is, really, the way Jesus says it is. Scratching our heads, responding to Jesus,
with an all-too-telling, “whut’s that you say?”
And we’d be scratching our heads, maybe because we, also, have a hard
time understanding all that stuff about not entering the kingdom of God,
without being born of water and the Spirit.
Or maybe because we don’t want to understand all that stuff about not
entering the kingdom of God, without being born of water and the Spirit. Because once again, it sounds
exclusive. It sounds like Jesus is
saying, flat out, that you have to be baptized, to be saved!
That’s what it sounds like,
doesn’t it? The Church has always
understood that this passage is about baptism…just as St. John presents it as a
passage about baptism. You can fiddle
with this passage, and try to finagle it to say something else, but Jesus,
here, is talking with Nicodemus about being baptized. Being born from above, or being born again, by water and the
Spirit—means baptism. That’s what
Luther always called, the simple meaning of scripture. That scripture means what it says. And what this text says, is that no one can
enter the kingdom of God, without being born of water and the Spirit. Our confessions state the same thing, when
in the Large Catechism, Luther writes, “no one should doubt that baptism is of
divine origin, not something devised or invented by human beings. Moreover, it is solemnly and strictly
commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved, so that we are not
to regard it as an indifferent matter, like putting on a new red coat.”
The fact is, in our world today, many do indeed, regard
baptism as an indifferent matter, of little more consequence than whether or
not one will, or will not, wear their new red coat. And though that may come from gross misunderstanding of what
baptism is, and why one SHOULD seek baptism, my pastoral experience says it has
more to do with folks not WANTING to understanding baptism, as Jesus speaks of
it. In plain language, many people
today do not want to acknowledge Jesus’ words, that “no one can enter the
kingdom of God, without being born of water and the Spirit.” Many people today don’t like that idea, that
baptism is necessary for salvation—many people don’t like the suggestion that
outside of baptism, we can’t say for sure if one is, or isn’t saved! Consequently, many people don’t agree with
the confessions, not just of the Lutheran tradition, but of the holy, catholic
and apostolic Church, that state that baptism is necessary for salvation. So, like Nicodemus, with Nicodemus, many
find themselves today, standing over against Jesus, not wanting to grasp what
he’s saying about baptism, because they find it too hard too swallow. And maybe some of us here this morning, find
ourselves standing with Nicodemus on this issue. Maybe some of us just don’t want to accept these earthly and
heavenly things that Jesus is telling us about—because it sounds, too
exclusive, too harsh, leaving too much doubt, about whether or not, unbaptized
old Uncle Harry, or Aunt Harriet, will truly be saved, or not.
So, what do we do with our hesitation? Nicodemus was surely struggling with what
Jesus was saying to him—what if we’re struggling with the notion that, as Jesus
taught, and our confessions teach, you can not enter the kingdom of God without
being born again by water and the Spirit?
What do we do?
We trust Jesus at His word!
When our own thoughts and understandings conflict with the teachings of
Jesus, we trust Jesus, not our own thoughts and understandings. We are not Jesus’ judges, nor are we here to
judge Holy Scripture. There are all too many times in scripture, when we hear
of people disagreeing with Jesus, people questioning and doubting Jesus, people
trying to trap Jesus to prove their own point.
And then there’s Nicodemus, who doesn’t appear to exhibit animosity toward
Jesus, but neither is he able to accept what Jesus is saying. Whether Nicodemus came, in faith, to trust
Jesus at His word, we don’t exactly know.
He did speak up for Jesus, in the Sanhedrin, although somewhat
timidly. And after Jesus’ death, Nicodemus
came with Joseph of Arimathea, provided spices for the embalming, and assisted
in Jesus’ burial. But did He
believe? Did Nicodemus come to trust
Jesus at His word? Was Nicodemus, ever,
reborn by water and the Spirit? Was he
ever baptized, and physically, bodily incoporated into the kingdom of God? We don’t know. And maybe the scriptures don’t want us to know, what happened to
Nicodemus—leaving us, instead, with ourselves—with us, standing before
Jesus—asking ourselves—do I believe? Do
I take Jesus at His word? Do I trust
what Jesus says, completely? As we hear
Jesus’ teaching today, confronted with something that may be hard for us to
understand and accept—that’s the first thing we are called to do—to trust
Jesus’ word, in faith.
And the second thing, is to trust in God’s grace. When speaking about the necessity of
baptism, for salvation, it’s always helpful to remember that this is an
inclusive promise. The Gospel of Mark
says, “He who believes and is baptized, shall be saved. He who does not believe, shall be
condemned.” Baptism—being born of water
and the Spirit is an inclusive sign, or mark, that God gives to the person
being baptized, to say to them, “You are my beloved child—you are now part of
my eternal family, part of my eternal kingdom!” Father Luther said, “to appreciate and use Baptism aright, we
must draw strength and comfort from it when our sins and conscience oppress us,
and we must retort, ‘But I am baptized!’
And if I am baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have
eternal life, both in soul and body.”
(Large Catechism, IV, 44)
Because baptism assures the one who believes, of salvation, eternal
life, and the comfort of the Gospel, we want all who believe, to be
baptized! And we want all in the world,
to believe, in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus! In those familiar and beloved words, Jesus himself proclaims, “For God so loved
the world, that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may
not perish, but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved, through Him.” That’s what it’s all about.
Saving the world. Bringing all
people in the world, to faith/belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And those who come to believe, are to be
baptized, to have the concrete, visible act of Baptism, to cling to, rely on,
draw strength from, when we are struggling, suffering, uncertain, oppressed by
sin, death, and the devil! Being
baptized, and believing in God’s promises, and living in God’s kingdom, brings
hope and comfort and assurance, not only for this life, but for life,
ever-lasting—and that’s what we want for every person on earth—and that’s why
we want it for them. So that they may
not perish, but have eternal life. So
that they may be born again, born from above, by water and the Spirit, and so
enter the kingdom of God. So that the
world might be saved, through Jesus Christ.
That’s what Jesus said to Nicodemus, and that’s what Jesus says to you
and me, today. That God’s grace, in
Jesus Christ, is for all people. That
God sent His only begotten Son, to die on the cross for the sins of the world,
and to be raised from death, that we, too, might live in newness of life.
That, is what God, in His grace, is offering to the
world. And when people respond, by
believing; when they receive God’s grace, in and through Jesus
Christ, they are to be baptized—they are to be, born again, by water and the
Spirit, to enter the kingdom of God. And
that, is good news. That is THE, good
news, for us, and for all people, for whom Jesus died. It is such, good news,
that I hope we all, each and every one of us, just can’t wait, to tell it to
others. It is such good news, that I
hope each and every one of us, can’t wait, to tell someone who is not baptized,
about the joy and assurance and comfort and peace and strength and courage and
light and life, that comes, with being born again, by water and the Spirit…that
comes, with being baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit.