“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
Most of us have seen paramedics or physicians with clothing or other items with insignias showing a pole with a serpent wrapped around it. This is derived from Numbers 21 when Moses pleaded to God on behalf of the Hebrew people who were being bitten by poisonous serpents. At the Lord’s instruction, Moses made a bronze serpent and set it upon a pole and everyone who looked up at it was healed. In today’s gospel, just as the Hebrew people received life by looking up at the serpent, Jesus being exalted high on the cross brings life to all who look up to Him in faith.
This Sunday’s gospel (John 3:1-17), begins with the story of one man’s journey into salvation through Jesus Christ. That man is Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee, and teacher. In his search for truth, he was fearful of persecution from the leaders of Israel. He, therefore, went to see Jesus at night, symbolic of spiritual darkness. But he saw something of God’s wisdom and power in Jesus and He began the conversation by respectfully calling Jesus Rabbi. He knew Jesus was “a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs you do apart from the presence of God.” Nicodemus saw the knowledge and authority of God in Jesus. Jesus sensed Nicodemus’ desire to delve deeper into things of the spirit as well as his hesitance. He needed to release his hold on the world of power and privilege to begin to see spiritually.
Jesus confronted Nicodemus with the need for a totally new beginning; to be born from above, in order to see God’s kingdom. But Nicodemus, blinded to the fullness of Jesus’ words, hears only what seems incredulous, being biologically born again. Jesus clarifies, “what is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of Spirit is spirit.” With His divine authority, Jesus explained that life is made up of flesh and spirit. We are born in the flesh, and we inherit the narrative, the way of life of our family and community. We are reborn in the life-giving power of the Spirit and are transformed from children of the world into children of God, inheritors of God’s kingdom of love. To be reborn from above is a kind of dying or breaking away from the world’s fleshly attractions that hold us captive and a turning toward a spiritual relationship with God through Christ. To be reborn is to accept God’s loving, grace-filled invitation through the water of baptism.
The Spirit is like wind. Just as wind can only be discerned by its effect, rebirth and new life in the Spirit is discerned by the effect. We see the effects of the Spirit working in Nicodemus’ life later in the gospel as after Jesus’ death he was no longer a secret follower but boldly joined Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus’ body for burial.
This Lent, as we contemplate on Jesus’ journey to the cross, we stand in awe at God’s unending love for us; His desire for all persons to be saved and enter His kingdom. May Nicodemus’ story of growth towards deeper spiritual insight and faith be our story. And may we remember always to look up to the cross and exalt the name of God, the Savior of the World and King of endless Glory.
