Consultation

John 3: 1-21

16 ‘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.

There are occasions in life when we go and consult people who we think may be able to help us in some way. At the beginning we may not have much hope in them but we go just in case they have that little something we need. Jesus experienced people coming to Him for this and similar purposes many times.  We are considering together the questions regarding life that Jesus answers. In the story of the Clearing of the Temple we found Jesus answering the identity question regarding authentic worshipers. In the next story of a man called Nicodemus the identity question continues but this time the question is a bit different. It goes a bit like this; ‘is the problem we face simply one of religious practice?’ ‘I mean let’s face it; we were all were cheering when those dodgy bankers were turned out of the temple the other day.’ We tend to see ourselves offering to practice the right rituals don’t we? I’ll dress the way I need to, bow at the right time, sit and stand to order and say the ‘amen’ right on time. Sorted! ‘Bankers; who needs them?’ 

The John 3 story appears to be at least on one level the attempt by an educated man who is part of the ruling elite to ask Jesus what rituals are needed to make things right. No doubt he will have a few suggestions for Jesus given the chance to share them.  He starts out (1-3) by stating his own knowledge, the authority of his important friends to pass judgement and referring to what Jesus has just done in clearing the temple as obviously a godly act. It’s all about the right ritual stuff and appearing holy and keeping the right laws isn't it Jesus? You’re really one of us Jesus; you’re in our denomination aren't you? Jesus goes straight to the answer of the real question; He refuses to play doctrinal games with a master in rhetoric and word games. Jesus makes it clear that the real issue is; ‘who is your acknowledged creator redeemer?  Are you born from above, is your Father the Creator God, or are you an offspring of a doctrine, a set of values, attitudes and beliefs from your own socio-political class? Are you simply meeting your needs your own way and making a denomination out of it?’ To be born from above means accepting who God created us to be and living according to the creative design plan. This is why God gave us His Son Jesus so we could see the perfect living example of His creative design plan in action. If we would only hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice we would escape the religious ritual war; the prejudice, violence and discrimination all present in the life of Nicodemus and in our lives also.    We would find ourselves participants in eternal life where self-sacrificial love is the key and peace-making is the door into the Kingdom of God. The name Nicodemus means ‘victor over the people’; the name Jesus means ‘Saviour’. The writer of John appears to be making us and offer: which person will we choose to consult and what advice will we choose to live by?  Do we need ritualistic victory over people or do we need a Saviour?