By Night and by Day, Part 1

By Night and By Day
John 3:1-17

John chapter 3 seems to be the most preached upon chapter of the Bible, and rightly so. John's portrayal of Jesus' night-time conversation with Nicodemus lays out the full message of Jesus' gospel. We have heard sermons preached from nearly every angle and depth with this passage. We have memorized verses from it and based entire curriculum for children and adults on this passage.
But my question is, has the passage become so familiar that we have lost some of it's meaning in our familiarity with it? Have we become complacent in our reading of this familiar passage? Have we gotten to the point that we skim it in reading because we think we already know everything there is to know about it?
Maybe. But let's try to read it again today. Let's try to hear it anew in this reading. Let's try to receive what God has for us in this passage today.
SCRIPTURE AND PRAYER
We had been through the same obstacle course earlier that day. We could even hear the rat-a-tat-tat and whistle of the M-60's rounds going over our heads as we climbed and crawled our way through, but this time it was different. This time it was dark. The only light was from the moon, the carefully placed explosions on the course, an occasional over head flare, and the tracer rounds of the M-60's zipping through the night sky. It was fun when we went through the course that morning, but at night it was different. It was dark. It was scary. It seemed real. That was only training.
Years later I would lay in a sleeping bag in the mountains of El Salvador on a humanitarian mission. With no weapons to protect us from the bands of Communist renegades and guerrilla war-lords we relied upon the 14-16 year old “soldiers” that were assigned to keep our compound secure. Things were fine during the day, but at night we could hear other sounds. At night we were vulnerable. At night we would hear gunfire and not know where it came from our where we should go. Others of you have been there in varying degrees, some truly in fear of your life. Friends of mine have been in real combat and talked of the darkness. My Grandfather was in the Battle of the Bulge and spent years overcoming his fear of the dark.
There is something about the dark isn't there. We don't have to be in the military to experience it. From children having to have the closet doors closed and a night light to adults walking through a dark sanctuary we all experience that uneasy feeling that comes with darkness.
But darkness also does other things doesn't it. Darkness conceals. It hides what is happening. It makes things hard to see, even large vehicles. Some of you may have noticed my vehicle looks a little different. Well, if you look close it is a different vehicle. We recently traded our older used Expedition for a newer used Expedition that gets 25% better gas mileage than our old one. You may also notice that it has a little blemish on the Drivers front Bumper. Now I don't know how you can miss a vehicle that size, and white on top of that, but the first night we had it in our possession a young lady didn't see it and backed into it. Because of the darkness she couldn't see it. You see, darkness conceals, in more ways than one.
Often it is in the dark, literally or figuratively, that we do most of our sinning. We don't want others to see what we are doing so we do them in secret, in hiding, in the dark.
Darkness is also when we get our best rest. We have labored all day and then at night we relax, we rest, we recline. It is at night, in darkness that we “reset” our clocks. It is in darkness that our body produces Melatonin, a chemical that helps regulate our sleep cycle and is crucial to our immune system and overall health.
But here in John darkness seems to take on another meaning. I have heard it said that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night to conceal his trip to see this “Jesus” that the Pharisees were opposed to.
Others have said that both Jesus and Nicodemus were so busy during the day that they couldn't carve out time for an appointment and so night-time was the only time the two could get together to talk.
But most all agree that John is using darkness not only as a marker for the time of day but as a metaphor for those who are symbolically in the dark.
I know everyone always wants to jump to 3:16-17 but let's spend just a few moments looking at just the first few verses of this passage.
In the first verse we meet Nicodemus, a character that John will develop through the chapters. His introduction though is crucial for we see just who this man is. Nicodemus is a ruler, a leader of the Jesus, a Pharisee – a teacher and a powerful one at that. When Nicodemus walked through the streets of his home town he was recognized as a religious authority.
Yet, this authority comes to Jesus at night, why? Because he is in the dark himself. He just doesn't get this Jesus. And in the darkness, he comes to Jesus and says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God...” (John 3:2)
Who is this “We”? Nick came by himself at night, we could call him Nick-at-Night if we want, so who does he mean when he says “we”?
- Maybe he is coming to speak for the Pharisees, the religious elite. But why would he have to come at night? If that was the case it would have been a part of his daily duties and he would not have needed the cover of darkness.
- Maybe he came to speak for the other closeted believers. Those that believed but were too afraid to be seen or heard.
- Or, maybe Nick-at-Night came saying “we know” when what he really meant was, “I don't have a clue.” He just doesn't know who this Jesus is or why he has come or what all his miracles mean. Nicodemus is truly in the dark.
As pastor and author Thomas Steagald puts it, “Nicodemus, in the dark, comes with a protest of knowledge that belies the truth: 'I do not know who you are.' He is trying desperately to fit Jesus into his view of things – to fit Jesus into the long line of teachers, prophets, whatever – one more in the sequence.”
Yet, before Nick-at-Night can even raise a question it seems that Jesus is answering his questions in verse 3, “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (or “born again”). This is a verse like 16. We jump to it and pull the text out of the midst of the story to make it an evangelistic effort. We have even wrapped our salvation language in this one phrase, “born again.” But when we remove this phrase from the context of what Jesus is saying and what John is portraying about Jesus we do it a disservice.
When we do that we assume that Jesus is talking to Nicodemus as an unsaved person, an unbeliever, an atheist, a skeptic, a pagan. But remember who Nick-at-Night is – a “teacher of Israel”, a “Leader of the Jews”. He was one of the key leaders, a Pharisee, a devout and faithful person. Nicodemus was a believer who studied the Scriptures, prayed daily, tithed, and made God a part of his daily life.
Now may I ask, does that sound like anyone you know? A believer who studys the Scriptures, prays daily, tithes, makes God a part of his or her daily life...
I return to a quote by Rev. Steagald,
"Jesus says to Nicodemus – not to an atheist or nonbeliever, not to a skeptic or pagan, but to a faithful Pharisee, to a leader of the Jews, to a teacher of Israel – unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God.
Familiar as this text is, and as comforting in a way, if we look deeply we find it to be frightening as well, for we are the ones who so often come to Jesus saying, “Lord, I know who you are.... I know what you want.” When I say such a thing or think such a thing, I prove only that I too am in the dark...."

So, we return to where we began, wandering in the dark through familiar territory yet, needing help to find our way. It is not until we find Jesus, each and every day, that we begin to see the light in more than just flashes from overhead flares offering an eery glare. Just as Jesus was telling a religious authority some 2000 years ago, he tells us today, unless we be born again, born anew, born from above with water and spirit we will not see the kingdom of God. As Jesus told him then, he tells us now, step out of the darkness, not just once but daily.

And, that is what Lent is about. That is what this season is about. I want to challenge you today to spend this week looking at your life, thinking of how you have been hiding in the dark. Then I want you to pray about how it is that you will step out of the darkness and into the light. If you follow his story as John develops his character, you will see that Nicodemus slowly begins to step out of the darkness and into the light. He begins to see things differently, he begins to act differently, eventually defending Jesus in front of others and taking part in Jesus' burial.

Nick-at-Night took bold steps but they all started with little ones, the first was coming in darkness to see the light of the world. What will your first step be?