"The Musts of Lent"

A sermon preached on The Third Sunday of Lent, March 11, 2007 at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on John 3:1-6, 14-17 and 25-30.

Scholars have called John’s gospel the "Re-Genesis" or "Genesis Revisited," and one can see why that is when reading the very opening chapter of these two books. Probably all of here us have memorized part, if not all of those infamous words that begin the Old Testament book of Genesis; "In the beginning, God created..." Certainly, one can’t help but notice the similarity between the book of Genesis and John’s gospel. John opens his gospel in much the same way as the book of Genesis opens, John writes; "In the beginning was the Word..." But there is a drastic difference. While Genesis is about the creation of the physical world and the beginning of life, John’s focus is on re-creation and the beginning of eternal life.
In Genesis we are told that in the beginning the earth was dark, void and formless, and the Spirit of God hovered and moved. Then, we are told, that God spoke creation into existence; "Let there be light..." and from light God moved to the other elements that make up our world from water, to land, to sky, to vegetation, to the sun, and the moon and the stars, to the birds of the air, to the creatures of the sea and land, and then ultimately to humans. It is a beautiful litany that tells of the creation of the physical order and in the end, God saw all that he had made and declared that it was good.
But then, something happened, the lights went out, if you will. And again, there was darkness - but this time it wasn’t physical darkness, but spiritual darkness. A catastrophe had occurred. The created had willingly rebelled. Free people had preferred darkness over light.
But again God, who is love, moved. Again he said, "Let there be light," and there was light, but this time the light came from a different source - the Son of God and re-creation or, better yet, redemption was made possible. And here, in the 3rd chapter of John’s Gospel we have before us the promise and hope of the light of the Son and the re-creation or redemption he brings to our lives.
All our lives we are told what we should or shouldn’t do! Sometimes we heed to the advice. While other times we dismiss it, claiming that we know what is best for us. In a popular children’s poem we find these words;

"Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be."

It is said that Christianity is a religion of imperatives. It is not a religion or a gospel of "maybe," or "I hope so" or "if you can." Rather, it’s a gospel of "you must!" In fact the foundation upon which faith is built is a solid rock, not shifting sand. And what’s more, the truths of God are clear-cut, and dynamic and imperative. They are never ambiguous.
Certainly that is evident in our Gospel Lesson this morning. Here in the 3rd chapter of John we discover three imperatives - three "musts" that capture the attention of our hearts. The first is in verse 7, where Jesus said; "You must be born again." This is the must of conversion. The second is found in verse 14; "Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." This is the must of the cross. And then the third and final is found in verse 30 where John said; "He must increase and I must decrease." This is the must of consecration. And my friends, these three musts are essential to the Christian faith, and they are certainly a part of our Lenten journey.
The first imperative or must John points out is the imperative of conversion. And with that imperative he uses the story of Nicodemus. Now, keep in mind, Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. It is believed that he became a disciple of Christ after his conversion. He was described by Jesus as "the teacher of Israel," implying that he was well trained in the Jewish law and traditions. Nicodemus was a wealthy, educated and powerful man. He was well respected by his people and was a descendant of the patriarch, Abraham. Yet, Jesus said to him; "You must be born again." The Greek adverb translated "again" can also mean "from the beginning" suggesting a new creation and it could also mean "from above" meaning from God.
But notice Nicodemus’ response. He had it all wrong. He wasn’t thinking spiritually. Nicodemus wondered if it might be a second physical birth and with that he said, "I’m an old man... how am I to re-enter my mother’s womb?" But Jesus said no, the being "born again" that I’m talking about is not of physical origin; rather, it is a new life that comes from the Spirit of God. It is an act of God. In other words, Jesus told Nicodemus that physical generation was not enough, nor would his descent from the line of Abraham enable him to be saved, which was a common belief among the Jews. They believed that because they were descendants of Abraham then they automatically were given merit or credit - that Abraham’s righteousness was, somehow, imputed to them.
And so, Jesus said to him, "YOU must be born again." Now, if Jesus would have said this to a Samaritan or to some other Gentile, Nicodemus would have been shaking his head in agreement. Because, after all, a Samaritan - a Gentile was not a Jew and could not expect anything on those grounds. But Nicodemus was a Jew by birth and he had a right to expect something on that basis. After all, he was of the "chosen people." But Jesus said; "You must be born again" in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Like the Jewish people of his day, Nicodemus knew God’s law - he was well versed in the torah, but he knew nothing of God’s love. He was a moral man. He recognized Jesus as a Rabbi - a Teacher, but he did not know him as the Messiah - God’s Son - the Savior, and many Christians are like Nicodemus today!
Here, Jesus reminds us that it doesn’t matter who our descendants are, if Jesus isn’t our descendant, if he isn’t our Savior, if we are not born anew in his Spirit then we are spiritually dead - for only those who are born again spiritually will be able to see the kingdom of God, Jesus said.
The second imperative we see here in our Gospel Lesson is the imperative or the must of the cross. Jesus was considered perfect. He was without sin, he had no blemishes or defects and that was essential. Going back to the Old Covenant, the animals - the lambs used in the sacrifices had to be perfect, they could not have any blemishes or defects, and so Jesus – the Lamb of God – the True Passover Sacrifice was also pure, sinless. But still yet, we can’t help but ask, must there also be a cross? Must our Lord suffer and die? Oh, how we want to avoid the cross at all cost. How we want to by-pass Good Friday and jump right to Easter morning.
Jesus’ life was a perfect example of prayer, obedience and sacrifice; yet, he had to die. Jesus said; "The Son of Man must be lifted up." I think it is important to point out that John does an interesting thing here. He links this chapter with the words of chapter 21 in the book of Numbers. Where, you may recall, the children of Israel were on their way to the Promised Land and, as was often the case, they began to get impatient and they started murmuring and complaining against God and Moses, so God allowed serpents to come into the camp. The serpents bit the people and many of them died. Then God commanded Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole in the midst of the camp, and whoever believed the promise and looked on the serpent of brass was healed and lived. And so, with that in mind, Jesus says, "Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." In other words, Jesus is saying, in like manner, I must be lifted up on the cross that whoever believes and looks upon me shall be healed and live. The cross is one of God’s great imperatives. There was no other way to provide salvation without the cross. As the author of Hebrews reminds us; for "without the shedding of blood there is no remission" of sins. The cross - the crucifixion was a must in order for there to be redemption.
But there is one more imperative that we must not overlook and that is the imperative or the must of consecration. And John drives this point home with John the Baptist’ words; "I must decrease and he," that is to say Jesus "must increase." I can only imagine that wasn’t easy for John to say, especially since the limelight had been turned from him to another. In fact, we are told that some of John’s disciples had just reported how the people were turning to Jesus. Where once the multitudes followed John, now they were following Christ. Once they came from all the cities of Judah to hear John, now they were listening to Jesus. In fact, poor John was about to be thrown into prison and forgotten about. Yet John said; "I must decrease and he must increase." This is a must of consecration. This is our prayer for Lent, isn’t it? We allow the opportunities of Lent - the opportunities of worship and prayer, Bible study and fasting, sacrifice and almsgiving to be opportunities in which Christ increases and we decrease. The season of Lent is a constant reminder that the Christian life is one in which we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus – in other words, we must become totally obedient to Christ!
C. William Nichols tells the story of the novelist A. J. Cronin who was a medical doctor before becoming a writing. As a staff doctor in a hospital in Australia, he admired the competence and dedication of a nurse who worked closely with him. One night, after an exhausting series of emergencies, the doctor asked the nurse how much she was paid. When she reported the small amount of her wage, he exploded, "You ought to get twice that much. God knows you’re worth it." She replied humbly, "Doctor, if God knows I’m worth it, that’s all that matters."
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote; "All service ranks the same with God," no matter what your divine assignment, if you fulfill it to the best of your ability it is your glory.
It is a fact, some things in life are a must, they cannot be avoided. And it’s no different when it comes to our Christian lives. As John reminds us; conversion is a must, the cross is a must and consecration is a must. For only God can use us if we are willing to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him. Only if we are willing to say; "Take my life and let me be consecrated, Lord, to thee!"