A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file. Aspects is written by David S. Lampel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #18, May 1992 (Internet Edition) B O W I N G T O T H E W I N D O F C H A N G E ----------------------------------------------------------------- In this issue: Perspective - Minister/Ministry Perspective - Flirting With the Kingdom of God Perspective - To a New Life Born Perspective - Cause and Effect Perspective - Aliens and Strangers ----------------------------------------------------------------- Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 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." "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. -JOH 3:1-15 NIV _________________________ Since January, we have been observing Jesus prepare for His earthly ministry. He began that preparation in the Jerusalem temple at the age of 12: listening, learning--even (to the astonishment of the the teachers) teaching. Then, after eighteen years of living with, helping, and learning from His earthly family Jesus left His home in Nazareth to be baptized by John. From the waters of the Jordan He traveled into the surrounding desert wilderness to be tempered and strengthened by the testing of God and the temptations of Satan. Jesus emerged from that time in the wilderness with only one task remaining before beginning His work: to assemble His disciples--those who would learn from Him how to carry on the work of the Gospel. One could say the ministry of Jesus began at the moment of His birth. Did He not, in that tiny and seemingly helpless state, touch the lives of all those with whom He came into contact? Did He not minister to the shepherds, the magi, Mary and Joseph? Did He not minister to the Temple teachers at the age of twelve and to His brother John at the Jordan? Did He probably not minister even to the angels who came to minister to Him after His battle with Satan? It is hard to see Jesus interacting with anyone without Him ministering to them. But for the sake of this series, I would like to set the beginning point for Jesus' ministry at the start of His formal ministry as an adult: after His baptism, after His testing in the wilderness, after even He had taken some of His first disciples. _________________________ Out here in God's country, perched atop a low hill in a piece of the world where apparently all storm systems meet, we know when the wind is blowing--as it does with remarkable frequency. When the wind comes drifting or roaring by, the first sign is the gentle and pleasant fluttering of leaves. Then follows the slightly more disturbing waving back and forth of heretofore stationary objects: oak trees, fences, power lines, buildings. Tiny ripples begin to move across the normally placid and benign pond, then blossom into miniature whitecaps. Doors and shuttered windows rattle in their frames. Dark, billowing clouds scoot by, as if hurrying to an appointment for which they are late. The wind takes on interesting new dimensions when temperatures drop. Add a fierce, Northern gale to an otherwise pleasant winter temp and suddenly one understands the true meaning of glacial hypothermia. But no matter how many indicators there are for the passing wind, we still cannot really define it. Sure, the weather reporter will spout unintelligible babble about high pressure cold fronts, isobars and troughs, but none of it really explains precisely what the wind is. Can I hold it in my hand? Where does it come from--and where is it going? Draw me a picture of wind. Jesus ministered to people in myriad ways. Sometimes He would employ an earthy, hands-on method to heal a broken body. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"(2) Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.(3) Sometimes He would minister to people by long distance. Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.(4) Jesus would often minister to people by showing them the error of their ways. As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."(5) But sometimes a more cerebral approach was needed--as with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Minister/Ministry ------------- Just what does the word "ministry" mean? Vine's says that a minister is a servant, an attendant; he or she is to serve, to wait upon others. A person with a ministry does the work of a minister. The words translated as such in the New Testament are usually one form or another of the Greek DIAKONIA. "These words are distinctive in that their focus is squarely on loving action on behalf of a brother or sister or a neighbor. A similar word, DOULOS, can mean either 'slave' or 'servant,' and it focuses attention on our subjection to Jesus. But these ministry words call us to look at our fellow human beings as objects of the loving services we extend to them for Jesus' sake. "It was Jesus Himself who set both the tone and the example for such Christian ministry. He called His disciples to find greatness through servanthood, '. . . just as the Son of man did not come to be served (DIAKONEO) but to serve (DIAKONEO), and give His life as a ransom for many.' (MAT 20:28)."(1) Into the Word ------------- Jesus touched the lives of hundreds--possibly thousands--of people. But how many can you list by name who were ministered to by Jesus? Person Scripture Reference ------ ------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective F L I R T I N G W I T H ------------- T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D "The connection in which the Evangelist introduces the story of Nicodemus throws great light on the aspect under which we are to regard it. He has just been saying that upon our Lord's first visit to Jerusalem at the Passover there was a considerable amount of interest excited, and a kind of imperfect faith in Him drawn out, based solely on His miracles. He adds that this faith was regarded by Christ as unreliable; and he goes on to explain that our Lord exercised great reserve in His dealings with the persons who professed it, for the reason that 'He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.' "Now, if you note that reiteration of the word 'man,' you will understand the description which is given of the person who is next introduced. 'He knew what was in man. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus.' It would have been enough to have said, 'There was a Pharisee.' When John says 'a man of the Pharisees,' it is as if he had said, 'Now, here is one illustration of the sort of thing that I have been speaking about; one specimen of an imperfect faith built upon miracles; and one illustration of the way in which Jesus Christ dealt with it.'"(6) _________________________ We know little of Nicodemus, but from what we do know, he seems an extraordinary man. These things can be itemized fairly easily: * He was a Jew * His name as we know it is Greek; the Hebrew form would be Naqdimon. * He was a Pharisee and a member of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin.(7) * He was probably wealthy.(8) * Jesus refers to him as 'the teacher of Israel;' not specific, but certainly the outstanding teacher of the nation. In addition, Nicodemus held a certain level of respect (possibly even admiration) for Jesus. Some commentators have thought little of it (see An Imperfect Faith, below), while others adopt a more understanding interpretation.(9) In any case, he did approach Jesus on his own. He came bearing the heavy load of all his legalistic traditions, yet curious about (dare we say, hungry for) the teachings of this one called Jesus of Nazareth. The first thing Jesus said to Nicodemus was that he would have to dump a lot of that traditional baggage. I can well imagine Nicodemus' difficulty at grasping Jesus' meaning. First, his perception of the "kingdom of God" was undoubtedly quite different from that of Jesus. It would be based on the ancient concept of God's kingdom encomposing all of the universe, and as one of God's chosen people (the Hebrews) not to mention a member of the Pharisees, Nicodemus would have a hard time understanding that he would have to go through any sort of change to qualify for this kingdom--much less some mysterious rebirth. He would recall such passages as PSA 103:19: The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all. (NASB) More importantly, Nicodemus would be waiting, with the rest of Israel, for the establishment of God's visible, earthly kingdom when the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.(13) Israel was looking for a Messiah that would crush and destroy other kingdoms. To them, Jesus did not appear to be that person. He wanted Nicodemus to understand that His kingdom had already arrived and it was standing before him. Jesus was the kingdom--as well as being the gateway through which God's future kingdom would be established.(14) _________________________ "Jesus informed Nicodemus that no man could even see the kingdom of God without a spiritual rebirth. Birth is our mode of entrance into the world and brings with it the potential equipment for adjustment to the world. To be born again, or 'born from above,' means a transformation of a person so that he is able to enter another world and adapt to its conditions. Anothen means 'from above' and should be rendered thus. To belong to the heavenly kingdom, one must be born into it."(12) Into the Word ------------- Kingdom of God: MAT 12:28 MAT 19:24 MAT 21:31,43 MAR 1:15 MAR 4:11-30 MAR 9:1,47 MAR 10:14-25 MAR 12:34 MAR 14:25 MAR 15:43 LUK 4:43 LUK 6:20 LUK 7:28 LUK 8:1,10 LUK 9:2,11 LUK 9:27-62 LUK 10:9-11 LUK 11:20 LUK 13:18-29 LUK 14:15 LUK 16:16 LUK 17:20-21 LUK 18:16-29 LUK 19:11 LUK 21:31 LUK 22:16-51 JOH 3:3-5 ACT 1:3 ACT 8:12 ACT 14:22 ACT 19:8 ACT 28:23,31 ROM 14:17 1CO 4:20 1CO 6:9-10 1CO 15:50 GAL 5:21 COL 4:11 2TH 1:5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective T O A N E W L I F E B O R N ------------- [Jesus enters. He is tired at the end of a very long day. His shoulders sag; He sighs, lowers his head and closes His eyes. Nicodemus enters.] NICODEMUS: (formally, yet with an underlying air of anticipation) Rabbi, I don't mean to intrude. Your disciple outside gave me entrance. JESUS: You are welcome, councillor. NICODEMUS: I am Nicodemus. JESUS: And I'm honored by a member of the Sanhedrin. What brings you at such a late hour? NICODEMUS: (after looking about) Discretion. JESUS: (with a knowing smile) Ah yes. Discretion. NICODEMUS: Please, don't think ill of me. I'm just......cautious. Even I have my detractors; there are those who would not be pleased with my speaking with you. JESUS: And why have you come to speak with me? And in the middle of the night? NICODEMUS: (anxiously; going to JESUS) Questions. I can no longer trust the information that falls on my ears. Too many around me offer answers that have little to do with the truth. (firmly) And I want to know the truth. JESUS: The truth can....at times....be disturbing. NICODEMUS: (sarcastically) More disturbing than the council? JESUS: What do you think is the truth about me? NICODEMUS: (choosing his words carefully) Well, we know that you have come as a teacher from God. You must be from God; no one could perform these miracles unless God is with him. JESUS: I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he can't even see the kingdom of God. NICODEMUS: (shaking his head; almost interrupting) They warned me you would speak in mysteries! All right. My first question: How can a man be "born" when he is already old? Is this one of your mysteries? Have you devised a way for a man to re- enter his mother's womb and be born for a second time? JESUS: You are born of your mother once. But unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you will not enter the kingdom of God. (NICODEMUS tries to interrupt) No, listen. You came seeking the truth, and the truth is.....that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit....is Spirit. NICODEMUS: (keying off the word "water") Uh....the water. You said "water". Now, we Jews have always had the baptism by water. Is this what you refer to? Must one be a Jew first? JESUS: But you only baptize those new to the faith. NICODEMUS: (chiding himself) Of course, it's only for the Gentiles. (trying a different angle) Many have associated you with the baptizer, John. Is this the water you speak of? JESUS: Those who are baptized by John, do so as a symbol of their repentance. It is an act of submission to God. And with that repentance comes the Spirit. (NICODEMUS is still unsure) Don't try to reason through it. Nicodemus, when the wind hits your face and you hear it whistle by your ears, you know it's a real thing, don't you? Yet, you have no idea of its origin---or its destination. You only know that it's real. The Spirit is from God. You cannot see it, or touch it, or know where it is going. But you can feel it. It is real. NICODEMUS: Rabbi, I mean no disrespect, but, (throwing up his hands) how can this be? (struggling) You are either the wisest man that has ever lived or, you.....well,....that is......... JESUS: (with gentle incredulity) And you, the teacher of Israel, don't understand these things? You came to me for truth. NICODEMUS: I came to you for answers. JESUS: Do you wish only answers that are pleasing to the ear? I tell you what I know and have seen and still you do not believe me! NICODEMUS: But I want to believe! JESUS: Nicodemus, I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how can I speak to you of heavenly things? NICODEMUS: From where do you get your knowledge of heaven? JESUS: No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven....the Son of Man. NICODEMUS: And, you are........ JESUS: (affectionately) Nicodemus, you know it already. That's why you came to me tonight. You knew it up here--in your mind; you came tonight so that you might know it here--in your heart. NICODEMUS: Do you realize what it is you're saying? JESUS: Yes,....I know. Do you, Nicodemus? (Jesus waits, while NICODEMUS struggles with his response; then) Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too, the Son of Man must be lifted up........so that whoever believes in Him, may have eternal life. God loved the world so much, that He gave that world His one and only Son, that anyone who would believe in Him would not perish...but have eternal life! (as Jesus exits) Nicodemus, listen to your heart. [Nicodemus is left alone on stage. Intro to song begins as Jesus exits. During the intro, the inner struggles of Nicodemus are evident; Nicodemus sings:] IF I FOLLOW JESUS Have I met Messiah? I want to believe, But the other Pharisees tell me He's out to deceive. Everything I've heard Him say And all I've seen Him do, Make it hard to doubt That what His followers say is true. CHORUS: If I follow Jesus, what will the people say? Will I be able to bear it If my family turns away? If I follow Jesus, the thought makes me afraid. But my soul keeps crying: Please don't turn away. He wants a decision, but what am I to do? Risk my life and reputation on what He says is true? I don't know where He's going, But He says that He's The Way. And though it breaks my heart to leave, I know that I can't stay. CHORUS (10) [As music fades at end of song, Nicodemus turns to where Jesus exited.] NICODEMUS: (exiting excitedly) Jesus! (11) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective C A U S E A N D E F F E C T ------------- "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."(15) I have to confess that I have long misinterpreted this verse. I have usually read it as if the last phrase said ". . . so is the Holy Spirit". But Jesus isn't really talking about the Spirit as much as He is talking about people who are controlled by the Spirit. Jesus is talking cause and effect. He is trying to get the traditionalist Nicodemus to see that a relationship with God is not acquired through the umbilical cord, but through a conscious, life-changing decision. You have to start fresh, start all over again. Be born from above. Once you do this, the Holy Spirit rushes into the cavernous void of your life--lifting you, energizing you. And people will know the Spirit is in you because of the dynamic change that comes over your life. You've been reborn! _________________________ Jesus Shall Reign Jesus shall reign where'er the sun Does his successive journeys run; His kingdom spread from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more. From north to south the princes meet To pay their homage at His feet; While western empires own their Lord, And savage tribes attend His word. To Him shall endless prayer be made, And endless praises crown His head; His name like sweet perfume shall rise With every morning sacrifice. People and realms of every tongue Dwell on His love with sweetest song, And infant voices shall proclaim Their early blessings on His name. Let ev'ry creature rise and bring His grateful honors to our King; Angels descend with songs again, And earth repeat the loud "Amen!"(16) _________________________ "Jesus asserted that the entrance into the kingdom of God that Nicodemus desired could not be achieved by legalism or outward conformity. It requires an inner change. Membership in the kingdom of God is not a prerogative of any particular race or culture, not is it hereditary. It is given only by the direct act of God. The origin and the destination of the wind are unknown to the one who feels it and acknowledges its reality. Just so, the new life of one born of the Spirit is unexplainable by ordinary reasoning; and its outcome is unpredictable, though its actuality is undeniable."(17) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(18) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective A L I E N S A N D S T R A N G E R S ------------- Yesterday was Earth Day. It was that special day set aside once a year for us to contemplate and actively pursue those things we used to call "conservation." Now, I'd like to establish something right up front. I recycle my plastic milk containers, my tin cans, and my glass bottles; I don't pour used motor oil down the sewer or into the soil; and I don't burn my old tires. I care about the destruction of the rain forests and the polluting of our fresh-water streams. I don't throw litter out the window of my car and the enzymes in my laundry detergent are bio-degradable. But some of the Earth Day gospel being bandied about is beginning to bother me. In some quarters, people are sounding a new level of desperation, a wailing and gnashing of teeth over the impending doom of our precious home planet. Some refer to the earth as "Gaia" (pronounced "guy-uh"), the great procreative Mother goddess of us all: to some, a politically-correct metaphor encouraging a more militant ecology--to others, a living, breathing being. Common in all these disturbing diatribes is the school of thought that says this earth is all we have, and that we simply must preserve and protect and nurture it, for without Gaia, all is lost. David Brin, in the Afterword of his novel, Earth, writes: "After all the philosophy and speculations are finished, we're still left with just words, metaphors. They are our tools for understanding the world, but it's always well to remember they have only a nodding acquaintance with reality. Reality is this world, the only oasis we know of."(19) Well, my apologies, Mr. Brin, but I have a different reality than you. My reality is the God of heaven and His kingdom, not the kingdom of this temporal planet--whatever its name. This is what Jesus was trying to get Nicodemus to understand. Everyone born of the Spirit is lifted out of this world--eventually and immediately. The kingdom of God is the reality of Christ, here and now and forever. "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."(20) Into the Word ------------- How did Jesus minister to Nicodemus? What was the result? ======================================================================== NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Notes ----- 1 Lawrence O. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Zondervan, 1985), p.443. 2 MAR 8:23 3 JOH 9:6-7 4 JOH 4:46-51 5 LUK 10:38-42 6 Alexander Maclaren, in his Expositions of Holy Scripture (Baker, 1984), Vol 10, p.143-144. 7 The Pharisees were a separatist party, principal among their obligations were tithing, ritual cleanliness and an adherance to the oral law--a series of unwritten interpretations of the Divine oracles handed down from generation to generation, forming an elaborate system dictating every aspect of worship and daily life. The Jerusalem Sanhedrin was the highest tribunal of the Jews; also called the 'council' or the 'chief priests and the scribes with the elders.' 8 See John 19:38-40. 9 "It is altogether rash to speak of the manner of his first approach to Christ as most commentators have done. We can scarcely realize the difficulties which he had to overcome. It must have been a mighty power of conviction, to break down prejudice so far as to lead this old Sanhedrist to acknowledge a Galilean, untrained in the schools, as a Teacher come from God, and to repair to Him for direction on, perhaps, the most delicate and important point in Jewish theology." (Alfred Edersheim in his The Life a nd Times of Jesus the Messiah (MacDonald, facsimile; originally 1883), Vol 1, p.381.) 10 From the musical The Old Rugged Cross, by John Lee, words & music by David Baroni & Niles Borop. 11 To A New Life Born (c) Copyright 1986-1995 David S. Lampel. 12 The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 1984), Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, p.47. 13 DAN 2:44 NASB. 14 I haven't the space here to do justice to the Biblical concept of kingdom. I would heartily recommend the following resources: - Lawrence O. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Zondervan, 1985), p.377-382. - New Bible Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Tyndale, 1984), p.656-659. - Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology (Inter-Varsity Press, 1981), p.409-431. 15 JOH 3:8 NASB 16 Isaac Watts (based on PSA 72), Hymn #444 in the Worship and Service Hymnal (Hope, 1962). Last verse from Hymn #231 in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (WORD, 1986). 17 The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 1984), Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, p.47. 18 EPH 2:10 19 David Brin, Earth (Bantam, 1990), p.590. 20 JOH 17:13-26 Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in Aspects is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. Brief quotations not to exceed more than 500 words may be used, with the appropriate copyright notice, to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. 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