If you have been to New York City, perhaps you had a chance to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, which arched the East River and joined Manhattan to Brooklyn. It was built 137 years ago, but still this bridge remains a major transportation artery in New York City. So what’s the secret? In June 1872, the Chief Engineer of the project wrote as follows:
John Piper once asked the following question at one conference (“Getting to the Bottom of Your Joy,” Passion 2011), “What’s at the bottom of your joy?” “What is the feeder of your happiness?” All of our joys have a foundation. What does it mean by that? Let me give you an example. One time Lydia got her report card – all A’s. That made her very happy. We had a conversation something like this. I said, “Lydia, why are you happy about making an A on a test?” She said, “Because it helps me to get into school to be a teacher.” Then I said, “Why do you want to be a teacher?” She said, “Because I want to help children.” I asked, “Why does that make you happy?” If we continue this “why – because” conversation, we get to the bottom of what makes us happy. At the bottom there are only two possibilities of our joy: making much of me, or making much of God. Self or God.
The default mode of the human heart is self-centered, self-exalting, making much of self (cf. Jer 17:9). That’s why being “born again” is necessary. The new birth changes the default mode of our fallen heart. It changes the bottom of what makes us happy. It changes the foundation below the water line.
Nicodemus
"To such of the general public as might imagine that no work had been done on the New York tower, because they see no evidence of it above the water, I should simply remark that the amount of the masonry and concrete laid on that foundation during the past winter, under water, is equal in quantity to the entire masonry of the Brooklyn tower visible today above the water line.”The Brooklyn Bridge still remains strong because, 137 years ago, the Chief Engineer and his construction team did their most patient work where no one could see it: on the foundations of the towers below the water line. This story tells us a timeless principle in life: the work done below the water line that determines whether he or she will stand the test of time and challenge.[1]
John Piper once asked the following question at one conference (“Getting to the Bottom of Your Joy,” Passion 2011), “What’s at the bottom of your joy?” “What is the feeder of your happiness?” All of our joys have a foundation. What does it mean by that? Let me give you an example. One time Lydia got her report card – all A’s. That made her very happy. We had a conversation something like this. I said, “Lydia, why are you happy about making an A on a test?” She said, “Because it helps me to get into school to be a teacher.” Then I said, “Why do you want to be a teacher?” She said, “Because I want to help children.” I asked, “Why does that make you happy?” If we continue this “why – because” conversation, we get to the bottom of what makes us happy. At the bottom there are only two possibilities of our joy: making much of me, or making much of God. Self or God.
The default mode of the human heart is self-centered, self-exalting, making much of self (cf. Jer 17:9). That’s why being “born again” is necessary. The new birth changes the default mode of our fallen heart. It changes the bottom of what makes us happy. It changes the foundation below the water line.
Nicodemus
In today’s passage we see a contrast between a person who has self at the bottom and a person who has God at the bottom – a contrast between Nicodemus and John the Baptist. First, we meet Nicodemus. The Bible introduces Nicodemus as a man of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews (v. 1), the teacher of Israel (v. 9). In other words, he was serious about God. He was a good man, moral man. He was knowledgeable, experienced, respected, full of credentials. Above the water line, he seemed to be a perfect example of how to live as God’s people. But in reality, below the water line, Nicodemus felt miserable. He felt thirsty. He felt something was missing. Why? Because there was self at the bottom. Because self at the bottom could never satisfy his heart made for God. Blaise Pascal rightly said, “There is a God-shaped hole in the heart of every person which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
So Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. And Jesus said to him, “You must be born again.” Here Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus, you need something new at the bottom. Now God is not at the bottom. You are at the bottom. You must exchange yourself at the bottom with God.” So, to be born again is to experience this exchange at the bottom – an exchanged life! It is no longer I at the bottom, but Christ is at the bottom.
The story of Nicodemus is our story. Nicodemus is old you, old me. At first, when Jesus says to Nicodemus, “You must be born again” in verse 3, he uses a second person singular. But later, when he says, “You must be born again” in verse 7, he uses a second person plural, also in verse 11 and 12. In other words, Jesus is speaking not only to Nicodemus, but to all of us. Nicodemus represents humankind. The truths are universal. You and I must be born again. We must experience this wonderful exchange. Self at the bottom ought to be replaced by God at the bottom. We know, from Nicodemus’ story, it’s possible to enjoy worshiping God, praying to God, singing hymns, reading the Bible without this exchange. It’s possible to do all kinds of good works and religious activities without this exchange at the bottom. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus says, “At the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking. And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important (MSG)” The question is ranking. So what’s at the bottom of your joy – Making much of you or making much of God?
John the Baptist
So Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. And Jesus said to him, “You must be born again.” Here Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus, you need something new at the bottom. Now God is not at the bottom. You are at the bottom. You must exchange yourself at the bottom with God.” So, to be born again is to experience this exchange at the bottom – an exchanged life! It is no longer I at the bottom, but Christ is at the bottom.
The story of Nicodemus is our story. Nicodemus is old you, old me. At first, when Jesus says to Nicodemus, “You must be born again” in verse 3, he uses a second person singular. But later, when he says, “You must be born again” in verse 7, he uses a second person plural, also in verse 11 and 12. In other words, Jesus is speaking not only to Nicodemus, but to all of us. Nicodemus represents humankind. The truths are universal. You and I must be born again. We must experience this wonderful exchange. Self at the bottom ought to be replaced by God at the bottom. We know, from Nicodemus’ story, it’s possible to enjoy worshiping God, praying to God, singing hymns, reading the Bible without this exchange. It’s possible to do all kinds of good works and religious activities without this exchange at the bottom. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus says, “At the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking. And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important (MSG)” The question is ranking. So what’s at the bottom of your joy – Making much of you or making much of God?
John the Baptist
Today’s passage invites us to see below the water line. And then, it takes us to meet John the Baptist – the one who has God at the bottom of his joy. How do we know what’s at the bottom? Oftentimes, storms in life reveal what’s in there below the water line. John the Baptist was a rising star. Everyone in Israel was talking about him, and many of them came out to be baptized by him. But then, all of sudden a storm came. He saw his ministry begin to fade away as Jesus began his ministry. His disciples said, “Rabbi, your star is sinking. Your ministry is diminishing. All are going to Jesus, the one whom you testified. What are we going to do?” They were upset, anxious, jealous. But, John said to them, “I am not the Messiah. I am not the Bridegroom. I am the friend of the bridegroom, his ‘best man,’ who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). So what’s at the bottom? Making much of Christ!
William Barclay tells us about the role of the bridegroom’s friend in Jesus’ time as follows:[2]
How Can This Be?
William Barclay tells us about the role of the bridegroom’s friend in Jesus’ time as follows:[2]
The “friend of the bridegroom” had a unique place at a Jewish wedding. He acted as the liaison between the bride and the bridegroom… And he had one special duty. It was his duty to guard the bridal chamber and to let no false lover in. He would only open the door when in the dark he heard the bridegroom’s voice and recognized it. When he heard the bridegroom’s voice he was glad and he let him in, and he went away rejoicing, for his task was completed.The joy of a best man! The joy of making much of Christ, the Bridegroom! This is the new birth, new heart, new creation, new exchange! John the Baptist is new you, new me. When we are born again, myself being made much of, ceases to be the bottom, and God becomes the bottom for the first time. God becomes our source of all our joys. Then, so naturally, we treasure him, savor him, enjoy making much of him!
How Can This Be?
Our Christian journey is a journey from making much of self to making much of God, a journey from a life of Nicodemus to a life of John the Baptist. It takes a miracle to change. We need the new birth. “How can this be?” “How can we be born again, born from above?” Nicodemus asked. And we ask today. Jesus answers, “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” (vv. 14-15). It is not enough to be educated. It is not enough to be born and grow up in the church. It is not enough to do religious activity. We must look to Jesus, who brings new life.
This reminds me of the story of Charles Spurgeon’s conversion. He was 15 years old. At that time he felt miserable and agonized over his sins. Then one snowy day, Spurgeon could not get to his normal church, so he turned down a side street and came to a small Methodist church. There were about 12-15 people there that day. The minister didn’t make it because of the snow, so a lay man from the church went into the pulpit and began to preach on Isaiah 45:22, which reads, “Look to me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” The preacher said, “My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, ‘Look.’ Well, a person doesn’t need to go to college to learn to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look.” Then he pointed out that the text says, “Look to Me,” not to yourself. At the end, the preacher looked directly at young Spurgeon and said, “Young man, you look very miserable. And you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then he shouted, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but to look and live.” That moment Spurgeon looked to Christ and was born again. That moment Christ became the bottom.
Let us examine ourselves and ask, “What’s at the bottom of my joy?” Do I rejoice because God is committed to making much of me? Or Do I rejoice because God is my supreme joy and treasure as the bottom? May the Spirit of God help us put God at the bottom. May we treasure him, make much of him, rejoice in him always.
-------------
[1] Gordon Macdonald, “Building Below the Water Line,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2004/october-online-only/cln41004.html
[2] Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe (Crossway, 19990, 93.
This reminds me of the story of Charles Spurgeon’s conversion. He was 15 years old. At that time he felt miserable and agonized over his sins. Then one snowy day, Spurgeon could not get to his normal church, so he turned down a side street and came to a small Methodist church. There were about 12-15 people there that day. The minister didn’t make it because of the snow, so a lay man from the church went into the pulpit and began to preach on Isaiah 45:22, which reads, “Look to me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” The preacher said, “My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, ‘Look.’ Well, a person doesn’t need to go to college to learn to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look.” Then he pointed out that the text says, “Look to Me,” not to yourself. At the end, the preacher looked directly at young Spurgeon and said, “Young man, you look very miserable. And you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then he shouted, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but to look and live.” That moment Spurgeon looked to Christ and was born again. That moment Christ became the bottom.
Let us examine ourselves and ask, “What’s at the bottom of my joy?” Do I rejoice because God is committed to making much of me? Or Do I rejoice because God is my supreme joy and treasure as the bottom? May the Spirit of God help us put God at the bottom. May we treasure him, make much of him, rejoice in him always.
“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Amen.
-------------
[1] Gordon Macdonald, “Building Below the Water Line,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2004/october-online-only/cln41004.html
[2] Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe (Crossway, 19990, 93.
No comments:
Post a Comment