Trinity B, 2024

Text: John 3:1-17

Title: “We Know…”

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit

“We know…” says Nicodemus to Jesus.

“We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs you do unless God is with him.”

That’s a dangerous way to begin a conversation with the Lord of heaven and earth, by stating what you know, what you’ve figured out. 

“Here’s what we know, Jesus.  We’ve been watching you and listening to you, and this is what we’ve come up with: ‘You are sent by God.’”

Now, that’s certainly true, Jesus was sent by God, but what Nicodemus says doesn’t go nearly far enough.  Jesus wasn’t just sent by God, like just another teacher or prophet, He was God Himself. 

The more that Jesus talks to Nicodemus, the clearer it becomes how much Nicodemus doesn’t know, how much he still has yet to learn.  Nicodemus doesn’t even know what it means to be born again. And Jesus says, that’s just the beginning.  That’s the basic stuff.  I have much more than that to teach you beyond this.

What do you know about Jesus?  What do you know about the nature of God?

We’ve just confessed the Athanasian Creed, and that might make you a bit more humble about what you know or understand about the divine nature.  Did you understand everything that you just said?  What do you truly know about God?

Isaiah knew something about the nature of God.  Isaiah knew that God was mighty and holy.  And he knew that he was unclean.  And Isaiah knew that the holiness of God could utterly destroy him.

Peter knew something about Jesus.  Peter knew that Jesus had died and rose and again, and that He was the one who had sent the Holy Spirit upon them at Pentecost.

After hearing his message, the crowd realized how much they didn’t know.  They didn’t know what to do next, how to respond to this news.  The next few verses from Acts 2 go like this:

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“Repent and be baptized,” says Peter.

“You must be born again,” says Jesus.

If you want to truly know who God is and what that means for you, you need a fresh start.

No more coming to Jesus and declaring what you know, what you’ve managed to figure out. 

You need to start over as a newborn child.

Now, that’s not easy, especially if your newborn years were a long, long time ago. 

Can you imagine starting over from scratch, not knowing anything, not knowing how to walk or talk or take care of yourself?

Can you imagine not knowing what is right or wrong, good or bad?

As difficult as it may seem, that’s what it means to be in God’s kingdom.

Not to earn a spot in the kingdom with your smarts and intelligence and perceptive abilities, but to come in knowing nothing, as a blank slate, and being willing to learn from Jesus as newborns learn from their parents, no matter how old you are.

You were born again, you were baptized.

And that baptism was in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And every Divine Service begins in the same way, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

By receiving that name, by being born into that name, everything that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has done is now given to you.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not some abstract concept for theologians to sit around and argue about.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity defines who you are as a baptized, born again child of God.

Everything that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does, He does for you.

God the Father is your creator.  He made the whole world, the heavens and the earth, and He made you in His image.  He’s only got one of you, and He would never want to lose you.

And so, despite your ignorance, despite your sinfulness, despite your rebellion, despite your constant desire to do things your own way, God the Father still loves you.

God the Father loves you with a love that is beyond your ability to comprehend or understand.  He loves you as the perfect Father loves His beloved child. 

You know that God the Father loves you because of His gifts to you.  He gives freely without expecting anything in return.  His gifts truly come with no strings attached  He gives to you not out of obligation, but purely out of love.

God loves you so much that He gave what was most beloved and most precious to Him, His only Son, Jesus Christ. 

When God the Father sent His Son into the world, He knew what would happen.  He knew that Jesus would be rejected.  He knew that Jesus would suffer.  He knew that Jesus would be lifted up and nailed to cross.  But He still sent Him.

And as the obedient Son of God, Jesus came. Jesus willingly laid down His life for you, in your place, on the cross.  And every time you make the sign of the cross, you remember that incredible sacrifice that He made for you.  That cross was made upon your forehead and your heart when you were baptized, and every time you hear that name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Name in which you were baptized, you are invited to remember that sacrifice with the sign of the cross.

Jesus didn’t just die for the world.  He died for you.  And me.  And unclean Isaiah.  And ignorant Nicodemus.  And Peter and the disciples.  And that crowd at Pentecost from every country under heaven. 

And then the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit into the world, the Spirit who gives you life.  Not just life for a few years here and now, but eternal life that lasts forever.

You can’t see the Spirit, any more than you can see the wind.  But you can see where the Holy Spirit is at work, just like you can see where the wind is blowing.

If you are confessing your faith in Jesus, that means the Holy Spirit is at work.

If you see yourself displaying the fruit of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, if that’s what your life looks like, that means that the Holy Spirit is at work in you.

You may not completely understand everything, and that’s okay.  It’s better to come in humility, acknowledging what you don’t know, than to come boasting of what you do know.

Just know this.  God the Father is your Father.  He loves you and gives you everything you need for today and for eternity.

God the Son is your brother and your Savior. He died for you to take away your guilt and shame.

God the Holy Spirit is in you.  He makes you holy.  He creates and strengthens your faith.  And He gives you life forever.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

There is one God, but three persons.  Not ideas, not concepts, not teachings, but persons—persons who love you.  Persons who made you, who saved you, and who make you holy.  But most of all, a God who loves you more than you could ever understand or comprehend.  That’s what we know.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit