Nicodemus

Nicodemus

John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. ...

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

COUNTING THE DAYS

- Deputation of Pharisees challenging John the Baptist. John 1:19-28

- The next day, John declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God. John 1-29

- The next day (day three), John declares to his disciples, one was Andrew. John 1-35

- The next day (day four), Jesus left for Galilee (with Andrew and Peter) and collects Philip and Nathanael John 1:43-51

- Three days later (day seven), there was a wedding in Cana. John 2:1

John 2:12-14 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

It was the Passover and Jesus, his mother, his brothers and his new disciples of only a few days were celebrating the Passover. What is that?

A Seder Outline

The Seder can perhaps best be described as a "talk-feast." Conducted around a table laden with the bounty of the earth, it is people spending a leisurely evening engaged in good talk and good food. For the rabbis who formalized its procedures, Seder was the pre-eminent vehicle of cultural transmission from one generation to the next. Long before printed books and formal schools, the yearly Seder night transformed every Jewish home into a classroom, with the Haggadah (from the Hebrew root "to tell") as the text.

The word "Seder" means order. The tradition understands the Passover table ritual as a fixed progression, 15 steps, a logical unfolding of the single most important Jewish lesson from the retelling of the single most significant Jewish experience. In actuality, the Pesach Seder is one of the most carefully constructed learning experiences ever created. In an amazing combination of aural and tactile learning tasks, the Seder has something for everybody--drink, food, symbols, prayers, songs, stories, philosophy, text study, simulations, ritual actions--all designed with one overall goal: to take each person at the Seder back to Egypt, to re-enact the dramatic Exodus story, to make each one of us feel as she or he had actually been redeemed from Mitzrayim (Egypt).

The Pesach Seder is a talk-feast in four acts. Four is an all-important number in understanding the Haggadah. And so, here is the "script," the Seder outline.

Act I: The Beginning

The Prologue: Even before the Seder begins, there are a number of activities which create the setting. A production of this magnitude cannot be staged without adequate preparation. Formal preparations can include ridding the house of chametz, "kashering" the kitchen for Passover, setting the Passover table, and preparing the meal.

Hadlakat ha-Nerot (Lighting the Festival Candles): Before the seder begins, the Yom Tov (festival) candles are lit, signifying the beginning of the holiday.

Scene 1: Kadeish (The First Cup of Wine): The festival Kiddush is chanted, praising God who sanctifies the people Israel and the Festival seasons, and thanking God for enabling us to reach this time of celebration.

Scene 2: Ur'chatz (Wash Hands): In traditional homes it is the custom to wash hands before eating. Here, we wash hands as if preparing to eat, but without reciting a blessing.

Scene 3: Karpas (Appetizer): A green vegetable is dipped in salt water, a reminder of the tears of our ancestors in Egypt. It is a kind of historic appetizer.

Scene 4: Yachatz (Break the middle Matzah): The matzah is introduced silently. We break the middle matzah in order to hide one portion as the afikomen, the "dessert" of our meal, a symbol of the redemption yet to come.

Curtain: Ha Lachma Anya (Invitation): We uncover the matzot, calling them the "bread of affliction," for as we are about to begin our story, our ancestors are enslaved in Egypt. We invite all who are hungry or needy to join in our Pesach service. As Act I closes, we acknowledge our slavery, but hope for our freedom.

Act II: Maggid (The Telling)

Act II is the heart of the seder experience. We tell the story of our Exodus from slavery to freedom in four ways, in four different tellings. Each telling begins with a question, to which an answer is given, and for which we praise God, the Hero of our story.

Scene 1: The First Telling. The first telling begins with the famous Four Questions (really one question with four statements), traditionally asked by the youngest member of the seder party. The answer, which is to begin with the degradation of our people and end with the story of redemption, tells the story in one brilliant, concise sentence: "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but Adonai our God brought us forth with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm." But this story deserves more than a one-sentence summary, so, we have three more versions to come. God is deserving of praise which we pronounce four times.

Scene 2: The Second Telling. The second telling begins with the question of the Four Children. Here, the Haggadah teaches us that to tell the story well, we must tell it differently to different types of learners. Although the questions are different, they all relate to the same central question: "What is this Passover service all about?" The answer in this telling goes back even earlier in Jewish history, back to our idol-worshipping roots. Yet, we recall the promise God made to Abraham to make his descendants a great nation. We praise God who kept a promise then and keeps the Covenant with us alive to this day.

Scene 3: The Third Telling. The third telling offers the learner the core story of the Exodus as related in four verses in Deuteronomy. By exploring the meaning of these words, we embellish the answer, we flesh out the story of our liberation. The climax of this story is the awe-full series of Ten Plagues which God brought upon Egypt, convincing Pharaoh to let the people go. We then praise God who, if God had performed only this one act of kindness, Dayeinu--it would have been enough!

Scene 4: The Fourth Telling. The fourth telling returns to concrete symbols with questions about the Pesach (paschal lamb), matzah, and maror, the central symbols on the seder table. The specific questions are answered, but once again, the key question is "Why do we do this ritual? Why do we tell this story?" The answer is directed to each person, individually: "Because in each generation, every individual should feel as if he or she had actually been redeemed from Egypt." We are redeemed and therefore, we acclaim God with a new song, Halleluyah, and we praise Adonai, Redeemer of Israel.

Curtain: Kos Sheini. (the second cup of wine) : Act II comes to a close with the sanctification of the second cup of wine, a reminder of God's promise to deliver us. We have told the Exodus story four times, we have relived the slavery and the liberation from bondage. We celebrate our redemption with a cup of wine.

Act III: The Feast

The third act of the talk-feast is the feast itself. As with all Jewish holiday meals, there are ritual actions before and after the meal. On Passover, some of these rituals are common to any Jewish meal (washing hands, motzi, birkat ha-mazon), while others are specific to the Passover celebration (maror, korech, tzafun). The importance of these rituals is to underscore the fact that this is no ordinary meal. In fact, it is no ordinary Festival meal. It is the Pesach feast which we reenact today as our ancestors did on that fateful night in Egypt. To some observers, this is the climax of the seder itself; we eat the matzah, the maror, and the korech--substitute for the paschal sacrifice, just as the Israelites did on the eve of Passover.

Scene 1: Prepare to eat

We actually began the preparation for the meal at the very beginning of the seder with the kiddush. Then, we washed without a blessing and ate an appetizer, the karpas. Now, we continue the preliminaries to the feast by performing the four ritual acts:

· rochtza) (Washing) --we wash our hands and recite the blessing for this act which precedes the breaking of bread at every traditional Jewish meal.

· Motzi/Matza (Motzi/Blessing of the Matzah)--we praise God, first for the general blessing of bringing forth the bread from the earth, and then for the specific blessing of matzah, the bread of freedom.

· Maror--we eat the bitter herbs, symbol of our former slavery.

· Koreich--we bind the matzah and maror together, just as Rabbi Hillel did at his seder nearly 2000 years ago as a reminder of the paschal offering on Passover night.

Scene 2: Schulchan Orech (Set the Table): The festive meal is eaten.

Scene 3: Tzafun (Dessert): We find or redeem that which is tzafun--hidden, the afikomen. It is our dessert, the last morsel of food eaten at the seder, a symbol of redemption.

Scene 4: Bareich (Blessing after the food): We praise God for providing us food, the Promised Land, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jerusalem, and all the goodness we have in our lives.

Curtain:Kos Shli'shee (The third cup of wine): The meal concludes with the third cup of wine, another reminder of God's promise of redemption.

Act IV: Redemption

We have told the story of the Exodus. We have eaten the symbolic foods and the festive meal. Now, we celebrate our redemption, with praise for God the Redeemer and prayers for our ultimate redemption in Messianic times. We sing songs of praise, songs of joy, we recognize the harvest season, and we conclude with the final cup of wine and the prayer for our return to Jerusalem.

Scene 1: Eliahu ha-Navi (Elijah the Prophet): The redemption theme is sounded by the lilting, hopeful strains of "Elliahu ha-Navi," welcoming to the table Elijah the Prophet, harbinger of the Messiah.

Scene 2: Hallel (Songs of Praise): The recitation of Hallel which began before the meal with Halleluyah, now continues with the remaining psalms of praise for God who redeems the people Israel.

Scene 3:Songs: With the formal requirement of the seder completed, the mood turns more festive with the singing of songs which celebrate our rejoicing.

Curtain: Kos R'vi'i/Nirtzah (The fourth cup of wine/acceptance): The seder now draws to a conclusion, marked by the fourth cup of wine and a prayer that our seder be accepted and the promise of our redemption be fulfilled. We end with the messianic hope spoken by generations of Jews: "Next year in Jerusalem!"

This seder outline was adapted from The Art of Jewish Living: The Passover Seder by Dr. Ron Wolfson, published by the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs and the University of Judaism, 1988.

PASSOVER

The Passover is the meal Jesus was having that became known as the Last Supper three years later. That is where he took a piece of the bread and said, "This is my body." This is the meal where he took the cup and said, "This is my blood." The Seder is the very organized meal and sequence of events at the Passover celebration. When Jesus said those things, he was referring to portions of the Seder in the order of the Seder.

It is in the context of this celebration and teaching session that a learned, religious leader came by night to talk to Jesus. Just days before -- nine or ten -- a man out in the desert dressed like Elijah with the spirit of Elijah on him presented Jesus as the Lamb of God. The sacrifice of a lamb’s blood has to do with the doorpost of their house to protect them from the angel of death who seeing the blood would "passover" them. Nicodemus, who knew about John the Baptist and his high priest heritage, had just celebrated the Passover remembering the sacrificial lamb and the Exodus from Egypt. He had eaten the bitter herbs. He had dipped the items in the salt water. He had heard again the account -- maybe he even presented them. But he had some questions after the meal. He came to Jesus.

WE DON’T KNOW THE FIRST QUESTION

I have heard the sermons about Nicodemus coming at night, in hiding, out of fear of the Jews. I am not sure scripture defends that "timidity" or "fear."

John 7:45-52 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"

46 "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.

47 "You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. 48 "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law-there is a curse on them."

50 Nicodemus , who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"

52 They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

John 19:38-39 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus , the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

Joseph feared -- did Nicodemus? Or was Nicodemus simply encouraging Joseph?

But what was the question Nicodemus brought? Did he come at night because he had just finished the Seder and had just heard the 4 questions again? He had just heard the account of the Israelites being lead to freedom with all the miracles. And here is a man, announced by the legitimate high priest as the Lamb of God, obviously doing miracles beyond what Moses did -- but still a man. Jesus knew his real question even though he didn’t ask it.

"How can you a man be doing these miracles?"

"Well, you need to be born again in order to do things that are normal in the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Huh/"

"You don’t remember the yeast thing? You are now in the Feast of Unleaven bread. You have new bread in your house. The yeast represents sin. The unleaven bread represents the new creation. How is this done? By the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who comes and causes that new birth in you. Flesh is flesh, but Spirit is Spirit. You must be born a human -- through the water. And then you must be born again into the Kingdom -- through the Spirit. This is Kingdom of heaven stuff. If you struggle with the stuff I show you on earth -- water into wine; healing; miracles -- how will you comprehend Kingdom of Heaven stuff? A person in the Kingdom of Heaven has been born twice."

BORN AGAIN

It sounds like the title of a popular book. And it seems to have entered into our American language in any number of silly ways. Any type of personal improvement has the testimony of someone who feels "born again." And if asked in the religious / church way, of course, "everyone" is born again, expecially politicians.

What was Nicodemus asking Jesus? "How are you doing these miracles?" Nicodemus was a religious man. Well trained in religion. He was part of the religious ruling circle. He had earned his way into the inner circle. Can I assume he or his peers were not out healing the sick, raising the dead, or turning water into wine? Can I assume that he and his peers were not cleansing the Temple?

"Jesus, how are you doing these miracles?"

"You must be born again."

Nicodemus did not need religion. He had lots of that. He did not need learning. He had that too. But his religion and learning did not produce the miraculous. He knew the miracles of the Exodus and had just retold them, but that did not produce miracles out of him. The ceremony did not bring results.

John 3:8 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."

John 3:11-15 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. 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 desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

What is it and how is it done? Nicodemus knew that the Israelites in the desert had sinned and were being killed by snakes. The cure was simple enough. Moses made a serpent and put it up on a cross so that everyone could see it. The people did not heal themselves -- they looked at the serpent lifted up. They believed. But Moses was a man, the healing came from God.

A person does not become "born again" by their good works or resolutions. The Spirit only gives birth when the person looks to the one sent from heaven: the Son of Man; the Son of God. This is outside of man’s efforts or man’s religion. This may well be the offense of the cross. "I, as my own self-made god, cannot do it on my own -- I need Jesus."

"But Jesus, how do you do all those miracles?"

FIRST THINGS FIRST

John 3:16-21 "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 he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men 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 his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

We have learned at least the first few words and Nicodemus was taken through the spiritual logic one more time.

1. God did this, not man -- and not you.

2. There is a Lamb that must be sacrificed and God must provide that Lamb, his only Son..

3. Belief is how it happens, not performance or works -- belief. And the Spirit causes a new birth, a new creation.

4. The death of the Lamb of God does not condemn the world, but save the world.

5. This is the "light" talked about the prophets.

6. Then comes Kingdom of Heaven stuff.

This concept is unique to Christianity. We have a Redeemer and he is not us.

We have a resurrected Redeemer and we did not do it. Because He lives, we too will live. Because all authority has been given to Him, He has given it to us and as Christians, signs and wonders follow us.

THE QUESTION AGAIN

"How do you do all these signs and wonders?"

"You must be born again -- born of the Spirit"

"How is that done?"

"Believing on the One who descended from heaven and was lifted up on the cross -- the Lamb of God.

And signs and wonders will follow those who believe."

"Really?"

"Walk in the light and see."

John the Baptist, the legitimate high priest, presented the Lamb of God. Seven days later, the Lamb of God created wine out of water -- and then cleansed the Temple. Within a few days, the Passover feast happened where all Jews remembered the Exodus and entered into a week of eating unleavened bread. Nicodemus was one of them. He looked at two weeks of miraculous ministry that challenged even Moses and wondered. He partook of the Paschal Lamb and wondered about the declaration of High Priest John. In the night of Passover, he walked into the light.