Sermon for March 1, 2026: The Water is Fine based upon John 3:1-17

​John 3:1-17 Nicodemus Visits Jesus (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)
 
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” 

Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 

Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 

Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 
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Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 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.”

“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 in order that the world might be saved through him.”

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​     We have mostly been reading through Matthew since Christmas, but now we’re going to switch over to the Gospel of John for a little while. If you remember from our Christmas pageant, in John, we don’t have any baby stories about Jesus. We meet Jesus for the first time in John at his baptism when he is adult. This is the first story where his mission is connected to water. The next time, it's in a miracle just one chapter later.

     The miracle is the first big one in John, where Jesus and his mom are at a wedding that has run out of wine. It was really embarrassing to run out of the most safe thing to drink at such a big gathering in a community and Jesus’ mom ordered him to help the poor bride and groom. Unlike the wedding I officiated that ran out drinks (lemonade in that case because they didn’t allow wine in the venue) where one of the friends and I ran to the store to get some more, Jesus just turned a bunch of water into wine. I mean dozens of gallons of water into dozens of gallons of wine. Jesus saved their reputation and the celebration with a tremendous, over-the-top act of generosity. And, then there’s another mention of water in today’s reading in chapter 3.

     You know how there are some stories that are in more than one Gospel? Well, this story about Nicodemus visiting Jesus is only in the Gospel of John. Does anyone remember who Nicodemus was? He was a Pharisee. And, you probably remember that Jesus and some Pharisees argue a lot because they all thought that the religious law was important but disagreed on how to follow it. What time of day did Nicodemus come talk to Jesus? He came to see him at night. According to Karoline Smith, in her book on the Gospel of John, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night because he’s afraid that his fellow pharisees will not approve of him having friendly conversations with Jesus. So, he went out when it was dark, and hoped other people would not be awake to see him.

     While Jesus performs miracles in all of the Gospels, John is the only one where the writer of the Gospel says that Jesus performs miracles specifically to prove himself to be the Messiah. In the chapter about John in his introduction to the New Testament, scholar Bart Ehrman points out that in John chapter 20: 30-31, it says: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you many come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and through believing you may have life in his name.” In John, seeing Jesus is believing him. Or, believing in him.

     One of the first things Nicodemus says to Jesus is that he saw him performing miracles, and seeing those miracles makes him believe that the power Jesus has has come from God. Because of what he has seen, Nicodemus also wants to talk to Jesus and wants to ask him some important questions about faith. Jesus reiterates that seeing is important: “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus misses the whole part about seeing because he gets distracted about the “being born” part.

     He asks, “How can anyone be born after having grown old?” In a commentary on this text, Cheryl Lindsay points out that interpreting Jesus literally here is not helpful. She says, “Literalism makes the complex even more complex; symbolism enables simplicity.” When Jesus tells him not to take these words literally, then Nicodemus can get closer to understanding what Jesus is talking about. Remember, we have already seen water change and be changed. Jesus was born anew at his baptism, passing through the waters of the Jordan. His mission was made clear in the miracle of the water into wine. He said to Nicodemus, “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” Water is powerful. It can change things. Nicodemus needs to remember the real power of water, and understand it as a metaphor for a force, the Spirit, that can bring change within.

     In a commentary she has on this text, Carolyn Brown offers her opinion that Nicodemus is trying to figure out how to be brave. And, Jesus is offering up a little instruction. It is possible to live differently, to live more bravely, but, you have to be willing to be changed. And not just changed a little. Changed a lot. Who here has seen how water can change things? Deserts bloom. Walls crumble. Solid stone gives way to cracks, then fissures, then canyons. The Spirit will mold us that way, Jesus says.

     Jesus, himself, will be a conduit for that Spirit. He will not bring condemnation but instead, will be source of life. He will be a passageway for divine healing. It’s like he’s saying to Nicodemus, “Come on in. The water’s fine.” He seems to be hoping Nicodemus will join him, awash in God’s love, born again and reconnected to God’s promise of love and justice. It’s too bad that we never see Nicodemus again in John, or in any other Gospel. Perhaps he was never willing to take the plunge into living faithfully in full view of God and everybody. Perhaps he became one of the throngs of people who followed Jesus. Perhaps he stayed among the Pharisees, recognizing Jesus’ wisdom and goodness, but staying home to living out his faith in familiar waters.

     All of us have our own Nicodemus moments, where we can be brave but only just a little at first, with the cover of darkness for protection. I pray that from those first steps, our next steps into the Spirit will be splashy enough for everyone to see. May we find the healing and new life we need. And, may it change us in ways that help us live out our faith more boldly, so that no one may be left wondering what happened to us in the rest of the story. Jesus says that the water is fine. Let us get ready to swim.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Carolyn C. Brown: https://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2014/02/year-second-sunday-in-lent-march-16-2014.html
Cheryl Lindsay: https://www.ucc.org/sermon-seeds/sermon-seeds-of-water-and-spirit/
Karoline Lewis: http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=5075
Karoline Lewis, John: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014).
Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction of The Early Christian Writings, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).