Must Have JesusSample

He Is Greater

Scripture:

He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” John 3:31-36 NLT

We start off this chunk of Scripture with a contrast. We have humans, who are from this world. We think, act and speak of worldly things. We are imperfect. Infected by the disease of sin. On the other hand, we have our hope and Savior, Jesus Christ. Is there a way to reconcile our differences? Let’s keep reading…

Observation:

What John is communicating with his followers in this passage is pretty simple: Jesus must become greater, because He is greater. Nothing and no one is greater than Jesus. So, when we look at the differences between us and Jesus it seems like a lot. We are nothing compared to our King. But that did not stop Him from coming to rescue us. Jesus saw our disease and came down to earth anyway.

It was Sin, our disease, that got in the way of our relationship with God. Our pride, our selfish ways, and our indifference to the truth clouds our vision and leads us further and further from Him.

But there is hope, because John chapter 3 does not end there and neither does Nicodemus’ story. Verse 33 is addressing the followers of Jesus: “Anyone who believes Jesus’ words, knows that God is true. They accept and understand that Jesus was sent down by God, He speaks the words of God, and has unlimited access to the Spirit of God.”

What about Nicodemus? Did he ever really get what Jesus was trying to tell him? Did he ever choose to trust in all of who Jesus said He was? Well, If we read further in the Gospel of John, find out that Nicodemus actually helped bury Jesus, at great risk and personal cost. In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night asking a question.In John 19, alongside Joseph of Arimathea, he came into the light to prepare Jesus' body for burial. What a beautiful conclusion to Nicodemus' story.

Application:

So this is what we have to ask: Is Nicodemus’ story my story? Do I trust Jesus, for who He is, and live the kind of life that reflects that? Our trust in God is intended to lead to transformation in our lives that outdoes anything we could muster up on our own. Because when we realize that we must have Jesus every minute of every day, we become the kind of people who start to see what God is doing in the world and join Him in fixing what is broken.

Prayer:

Jesus, I pray that my life would reflect my love for you, so that when people see me, they also see you. I pray that trusting you would translate to following you more closely everyday. Amen.