Well, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter three. John chapter three.

It is a special Sunday for followers of Christ. It is Resurrection Sunday, and in a certain sense, we do recognize the resurrection in a special way on this day, but in another sense, we do that every Lord’s Day. That’s why we gather as the people of the Lord because of the resurrection, and as we’ve been Going through this Gospel of John, several have asked me, well, what passage are you going to preach on Resurrection Sunday, on Easter Sunday? Well, the next one, of course. And that’s where we are this morning, and we are just so lucky that we are in this passage on Resurrection Sunday, aren’t we?

It is the providence of God that he has led us to John chapter three, verses 11 through 15 this morning. And we’ve been talking for the last few weeks, starting in the end of chapter two really, about those who supposedly believed in Christ because of the signs that he did. But apparently, from Jesus’ dealings with them, and even from what it says at the end of chapter two, This was not saving belief. Chapter two, verse 24 says, Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men. So this belief that they had was not saving belief. There were many in Jesus’ day who believed something about him, but it was not saving belief. The same is true today.

As Pastor mentioned, you’ll see churches all over this country that are full today. What about next week and the week after? You see, there’s a lot of people who believe something about Jesus, apparently, because they gather on Easter. But what do they believe about Jesus that affects the rest of their life? So as you think about these different types of belief, and apparently there was those who were believing in him because of the signs, but it was not a saving belief, you have to ask, well, what is saving belief? How would you explain belief to somebody who doesn’t know what it is, who has no concept of belief? How would you explain belief?

Well, John Patton was a missionary to the New Hebrides Islands in the Pacific. And part of his work was to translate the Bible from English into their language so that they could read God’s word. And in that work, as he was translating different passages of scripture for the people, he was struggling to find a word for believe. Believe in the sense to trust, to entrust yourself to someone. Their language had no concept of that. So as he was struggling to find a word that they would understand what it meant to believe, he finally found a solution. And in fact, he was translating the passage that John Shelburne in his Sunday school class spoke to this morning in Philippians, or about the Philippians, in the book of Acts as Paul was in Philippi, speaking to the Philippian jailer.

And the Philippian jailer said, what must I do to be saved? And of course, in our English Bibles, the answer is, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. But how do you communicate that to a language that has no word for believe? Well, John Patton, the missionary, as he was doing his translation work, he translated that as, lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And I think that’s a good understanding of what saving belief really is. And that’s what we find in our text this morning. We’re now in the heart of chapter three and we’re in the middle of Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus. And although we won’t hear any more from Nicodemus himself, in our text this morning we see Jesus’ continued answer to him. We saw in the opening of chapter three here that Nicodemus comes and initiates this conversation with Jesus. He approached Jesus as a fellow teacher who had come from God. Rabbi, we know that you have come from God. But Jesus could see that Nicodemus still had a problem. Acknowledging some truth about Jesus was not enough for Nicodemus.

So Jesus’ response to him, without Nicodemus even asking, Jesus responds by saying, you need to be born again. Nicodemus, you need to be born again. He needed to be born again. made new. He needed to be regenerated. He needed to forsake all of his own efforts to find salvation. All of the work he had been doing his whole life as a Pharisee, as a ruler of the Jews, he needed to leave it all behind because that work’s righteousness will get him nowhere with God. He needed to start over. He needed God to come and replace his heart of stone with the heart of flesh. And if that truly took place in Nicodemus’ life, there would be undeniable evidence. As Jesus said in verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it’s going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. there will be evidence of a new birth in your life. Even if you can’t see it happen the moment that you are reborn, you will know that it has happened. You will know by the result of the Spirit’s work in your life. That’s what Jesus told Nicodemus. And Nicodemus couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe it. He said, how can these things be? How can this be? And Jesus says, you’re a teacher of Israel, and you don’t understand these things.

Nicodemus was the foremost teacher of Israel, even though he had been learning and teaching these things his whole life. Even though the Old Testament clearly teaches what Jesus is explaining. Nicodemus couldn’t believe it because nobody believes unless the Spirit enables him to. Nobody believes until the Spirit does his work of regeneration in their heart first. The Spirit opens the heart of the unbeliever so that they can believe. That is the very point Jesus is making to Nicodemus. And so Jesus responds, are you the teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? And that’s where we left off last week. But again, that’s not the end of the discussion. Jesus goes on to further explain what Nicodemus is missing. And that’s where we will be in our text this morning. After Jesus explained what needed to happen to Nicodemus in the new birth, now Jesus explains what needs to happen after the new birth. What needs to happen once Nicodemus is born again. Nicodemus needed to believe. And not a superficial belief in the signs Jesus had already done. He already had that kind of belief. Nicodemus needed to believe in what the signs pointed to. Nicodemus needed the belief that’s the result of being born again. And this text this morning focuses on three aspects of belief. We see the need for belief in verses 11 and 12. Then we see the object of belief. in verses 13 and 14, and lastly, number three, we see the result of belief in verse 15.

So I’ll read our passage this morning, verses 11 through 15 of John chapter three. This is the word of the Lord. Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know. and bear witness of what we have seen, and you do not accept our witness. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? And no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. In this answer from Jesus to Nicodemus, what we see first is the need for belief. The need for belief, the belief that Nicodemus doesn’t have. As I already mentioned, this comes after the initial conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus, where Nicodemus comes to see Jesus at night. But after his question in verse nine, how can these things be, this important Pharisee ruler is not heard from again. The rest of the words are Jesus. And so this dialogue between the two men becomes a discourse from Jesus.

Jesus is teaching now. And Nicodemus has already declared twice that he didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. But that wasn’t because Nicodemus had a lack of divine revelation. It wasn’t because God hadn’t told them things that Nicodemus should have already known. Again, he was highly educated in the Old Testament. Jesus says, are you the teacher of Israel? He was the teacher. The prominent teacher in Israel. And little did he know, he was having a conversation with the very source of truth. The very source of the Old Testament that he was an expert in. But Nicodemus did not accept the truth. He didn’t accept the truth that Jesus was testifying to. And in fact, here Jesus says he refuses to believe. You do not accept our witness. And it’s because he wasn’t born again yet. He hadn’t been born from above. He was born of the flesh, that was clear. But he hadn’t been born of the spirit, as Jesus said. And so he couldn’t understand the things of the spirit.

And as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, a natural man, or a man who is not born again yet, a man who has only been born of the flesh, does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined. This is where Nicodemus is. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to Nicodemus. How can a man be born when he is old? This is Nicodemus. But that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t responsible for his unbelief. That’s why Jesus is rebuking him here. Because even those who haven’t heard the gospel are still responsible for their ignorance.

Romans chapter one tells us that. In Romans one, starting verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. God has revealed himself. He has revealed himself in such a way that no man is without excuse. And Nicodemus even more so. Nicodemus even more so. He is even more responsible because he wasn’t just any old man. Out of all people, Nicodemus was without excuse. First of all, he was a Jew. Romans chapter 3 tells us, starting in verse 1, what advantage has the Jew or what value is circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God. It was the Jews who got the word of God first. So Nicodemus has the advantage of being a Jew. He had the word of God. It’s not as though he had no idea how this could have even happened.

He had the Old Testament. And not only that, he was an expert in it. He was a teacher. And yet Nicodemus did not believe. And he starts his statement here in verse 11 with, truly, truly. This is the third time Jesus has said this to Nicodemus. He’s trying to get it through his thick head. Truly, truly. This is the Greek word amen, which we translate as amen or amen. It’s how we end our prayers. It means this is true. And so Jesus, for the third time in this conversation, is saying, Nicodemus, this is true. This is true. Listen to what I’m saying, Nicodemus. Jesus is speaking with authority. And he says, truly, truly, I say to you, we speak. Jesus says, “we speak.”

Jesus is doing a couple things here. He’s including those who are following him and will come to believe what he’s teaching. There’s really not a lot of evidence yet that the disciples even get what he’s saying here, but they do eventually. But he is contrasting himself with Nicodemus’ group. If you remember back in verse two, how did Nicodemus introduce himself to Jesus? Rabbi, we know that you come from God. And Jesus responds with, we? We know? You all actually don’t know. We speak the truth and you don’t accept the truth, Nicodemus. So who is we? Nicodemus said, we know that you’re a teacher who has come from God. Jesus responds, I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen. As if to say, Nicodemus, we know a thing or two as well.

This Pharisee and the fellow Pharisees and Jews were ignorant of this new birth that Jesus was talking about. But Jesus and his disciples did believe. And Jesus was certain about the new birth, the regeneration that he was speaking about. And Jesus’ plural pronoun here is not only rebuking Nicodemus, he’s rebuking all those who were rejecting the truth he was teaching. As the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus is a representative of them. And we know that the Jewish people did not accept the testimony of Jesus. We saw that back in chapter one, verse 11. He came to what was his own, the Jews. And those who were his own did not receive him.

Their unbelief was a result of their spiritual ignorance. And Jesus gets even more intense with his rebuke of Nicodemus here. In verse 12 he says, if I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? Again, Nicodemus is the foremost expert here. And he was supposed to be a spiritual authority in Israel. But Jesus says, you don’t know anything about the spirit. Jesus says, I tried to give you earthly examples here, and you still don’t get it, Nicodemus. He used the illustration of birth, a physical earthly illustration so that Nicodemus could understand what he needs. Well, that didn’t work. So then he used the illustration of wind, an earthly example, saying, Nicodemus, here’s another example you should get. And Nicodemus responds, well, how can these things be? He still doesn’t get it.

Because of his lack of belief, Nicodemus couldn’t fathom any of the earthly truth that he was explaining, not to mention the heavenly truths that Jesus was here to reveal. He certainly couldn’t understand something like regeneration, or that Jesus wasn’t just a teacher from God, he is God himself in the flesh. You see, the first thing Nicodemus needed here was to see his need. For Nicodemus, as a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, his belief for salvation was in himself. It was in what he could do. It was in what he could do for God, and that was going to earn him some sort of favor with God, and that was gonna give him some advantage to get into the kingdom. But he needed to admit that he was a helpless sinner. That there was nothing he could do. Again, he’s an important person.

So the idea that he was helpless, and that he was in need. It was a foreign concept for him. People looked up to him. But saving belief begins with seeing your need. Like each one of us, Nicodemus needed to humble himself and admit that he was in spiritual darkness. Nicodemus is offended that Jesus is trying to explain things to him that he doesn’t understand. He needs to humble himself and see that he needs to come to the light of the Savior. And that meant he would have to confess his own sinfulness and his lack of righteousness.

But again, Nicodemus was like the many. who saw Jesus’ signs and believed on his name, they thought that Jesus was something they could add to their own belief in themselves and what they had done. They had a pretty good system going. We’re going to do all these things. We’re even going to add to the law and keep those things as well. Man, we’re doing pretty well for ourselves. Look at this, a miracle worker. Let’s bring him along. He’ll be great for our group.” These people would turn away when Jesus pushed them to see their own sinfulness and to see their need for a Savior. Because if you need a savior, that means you can’t save yourself. And that’s exactly where Nicodemus is.

He still needs to see his need for belief. And like the example I used to begin with, he still needs to see his need to lean his whole weight upon Jesus and be saved. Don’t just give a little over to Jesus, Give everything to Jesus. He is all of your salvation. None of your works are going to get you anywhere. All of it is what He has done. Not just part of your life or your soul, not just adding Jesus to what you already have, not just making room for Jesus in my life a little bit on Sundays, maybe, when I feel like it. Lean your whole weight on Him for salvation. That is the need for belief that every one of us has. And that is the first thing we see in our text.

Secondly, the second aspect of faith we see, not only the need for faith, the need for belief, but the object of belief. Or what or in whom do we need to believe? We need to believe in something, but what is it? What do we need to believe in? Verses 13 and 14. And no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. Here Jesus explains who he is, and what he came to do. He gives two examples here, and he gives two examples from the Old Testament. Jesus had just rebuked Nicodemus for his ignorance of earthly things, let alone heavenly things, and now he explains to the teacher of the Old Testament what the Old Testament is saying.

First, Jesus alludes to Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30, and a lot of people miss this from this passage. In fact, a lot of commentators don’t even mention Proverbs 30 when they’re explaining this verse, but that’s exactly what Jesus is doing here. He says, and no one has ascended into heaven but he who has descended from heaven, the Son of Man. That comes from Proverbs 30 verse 4. Turn there briefly. We’ll be there for just a minute. Proverbs 30 verse 4. In Proverbs 30 verse four, there’s a list of questions. There’s a list of questions whose answer is obviously God. Proverbs 30 verse four says this, who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of his earth? What is his name? It’s God. His name is Yahweh, the God of Israel.

All of these things are true of God. And it continues, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know. So again, all these questions in this verse, their answer is clearly God. But then that last line says, not only is this true of God, he has a son. So a side note that there are some who say that the Old Testament never speaks of the Son of God and there’s no mention of the Son of God in the Old Testament. And they’re wrong. Because Proverbs 30 verse 4 talks about God and His Son. But here Jesus is pointing to this verse that Nicodemus would surely know. And in verse 13 of John chapter three, no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven.

Proverbs 30 verse four, who has ascended into heaven and descended? God did. And then Jesus says, the son of man. Jesus is pointing Nicodemus to this verse and he says, yeah, there’s only one who ascends and descends from heaven, it’s the son. And Nicodemus, that’s me. In a sense, you’re right, Nicodemus, that I do come from God, but way more than you even know. Jesus is saying, Nicodemus, you know God’s word, why don’t you believe it? Only someone who’s been to heaven can truly know heavenly things, but we don’t have that ability. But there is one who has come from heaven, to tell us heavenly things. And He has come in the flesh, as John explained in chapter 1 again, verse 18. Again, as we go through the gospel of John, we keep referring back to the things John explained in his introduction.

But in John 1:18, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who’s in the bosom of the Father, He has explained it. This is Jesus. And Jesus is making it as plain as he can for Nicodemus. And later in this gospel, in chapter six, as John continually does, he keeps coming back to the same ideas. And here in chapter six, Jesus has almost the same discussion he has with Nicodemus. John 6 verses 44 through 47 says, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God, he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. This is what Jesus is telling Nicodemus. He’s saying, Nicodemus, it’s not your doing. that gets you saved, that gets you into the kingdom. No one can come to me unless God does the work.

And Jesus continually uses the fact that He came from heaven, that He came from God to prove who He is. This is the proof of who Jesus is. Because later in John 6, verses 61 and 62, Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? And in John chapter eight, verse 42, Jesus said to them, if God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceed forth and have come from God. For I have not even come of myself, but he sent me. In chapter 13, verse 3, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come forth from God and He was going back to God. And in chapter 16, verse 28, I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. I am leaving the world again and going to the Father. The Son descends from heaven and ascends back to heaven. That proves who He is.

So Nicodemus was right in believing that Jesus came from God, but he didn’t understand what that meant. And so here in verse 13, Jesus is saying, no one knows heavenly things except the one that came from heaven, and that’s me, Nicodemus. You should know this. Nicodemus, you teach the Old Testament. This is in the Old Testament. And next, Jesus reminds Nicodemus of another Old Testament passage that he would know well. In verse 14 of John 3, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. He begins that verse with and, showing us this is another Old Testament reference for Nicodemus, something he should understand. He goes to an illustration of Moses and the Israelites. In that illustration, Moses makes a bronze serpent and lifts it up so that the people could be saved.

I know Pastor Piatt likes to use this as an example of a good purpose for snakes. But as I like to point out to him all the time, it was a dead snake. And that bronze serpent was eventually destroyed by King Hezekiah because they turned it into an idol and were worshiping it. But again, this is an account that Nicodemus would know well. It’s from Numbers chapter 21. It’s a short account. It’s five verses from Numbers 21. Verses five through nine, I’ll read that account.

Numbers 21, five through nine, and the people spoke against God and against Moses. And they said, why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no food and no water and we loathe this miserable food. So, Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. Complain a little more. Then the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh that he may remove the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. Then Yahweh said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard, and it will be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it will live. And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard, and it happened. that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

That’s the whole story. As you read through the Old Testament, you might miss it. It’s five verses. You might miss the significance of it like Nicodemus did. But judgment comes upon the people of God for complaining. about the provision that he made for them. He saved them out of slavery. He fed them in the wilderness and they complain about it. So out of desperation, because God sent venomous snakes into their camp and they bit them, out of desperation, the Israelites begged Moses to pray for them that they might be saved.

So again, Moses is told by God to make this bronze serpent and to lift it up. above the camp so that they could see it. And those who were bitten, they would be healed. And all they had to do was look at it. But looking at the snake that was lifted up, it would symbolize that they acknowledged that they sinned against God. It acknowledged that they knew that the snakes came from God because of their sin. That this was the wrath of God poured out against them. And by looking to the snake, they’re submitting to his way of salvation. This is exactly what Nicodemus needed. They were trusting that God would forgive their sins and they would be healed. And Jesus uses this as an analogy for Nicodemus to point out why he was here.

The first analogy from Proverbs showed him who he was. Not only is he from God, he’s the son of God. Secondly, this is why I’m here, Nicodemus, so that I will be lifted up. And the point of this analogy is that just like the serpent had to be lifted up in the wilderness for them to be saved, even so must The Son of Man be lifted up. In the same way, this must happen. That term must, it emphasizes that Christ’s death was necessary and it was part of God’s plan. Jesus says often that these things must happen.

The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected. This was no mistake. The death of Christ was no accident. Jesus was not taken by surprise. Nothing happened to Jesus that God had not planned from the foundation of the world. Everything. This must happen. And eventually, the disciples would come to understand this. You can see it from their preaching. After Jesus had risen from the dead and gone back to heaven, and he left them to start and spread the church.

In Acts chapter 2, Peter, preaching, says this, men of Israel, listen close to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles, that’s where we are with Nicodemus, this man Attested to you with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. You nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put him to death. This man was delivered over by the plan of God and you are responsible for nailing him to the cross. And in Acts chapter 4, the disciples are praying to God. In verses 27 and 28 they say, truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur. They did it and you planned it. This must happen. Even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up. Jesus knew what He was here for. He knew why He came. He knew what must take place. He had to die as a substitute for sinners because the wages of sin is death.

And he knew, as the author of Hebrews explains in Hebrews 9.22, that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. And just like how out of love for the Israelites in the wilderness, God provided them a way of salvation, 1 John chapter 4 verses 9 and 10 says, God has sent his only begotten son into the world. so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. And he sent his son to be the propitiation of our sins. Jesus was the propitiation of our sins. That means he was the substitute for us. He paid the penalty that we owed. He hung on the cross that you and I should have been hanging on. He who was sinless became sin for us. He was lifted up in our place. And when God looked at Him on the cross, He saw you and your wickedness.

He was lifted up so that when we look to Him in belief, when we trust Him, He saves us and He gives us His righteousness so that now instead of before when God looked at Him on the cross and saw our wickedness, now when He looks at us, He sees His perfect, obedient righteousness. If you truly believe in Him. The Israelites were cured. by obediently looking to the serpent that was raised up. It was without any works of their own, without any of their own righteousness. It wasn’t added on top of their own goodness or their own worthiness. It was simply in hope and dependence that the word of God is true. That what God said is the truth.

And in the same way, whoever looks in faith alone to the crucified Christ on the cross will be saved. Jesus is explaining this to Nicodemus and he’s using examples that he should understand. That is the object of belief, Nicodemus. That’s what you need to believe in. He didn’t just need to believe that Jesus came from God. He didn’t just need to believe that Jesus was a prophet or a teacher. He didn’t even just need to believe that Jesus is a savior. He needed to trust him as his savior. He needed to lean his whole weight upon the Lord to be saved. You see, Nicodemus believed something about Jesus. He even believed true things about Jesus, but he was still leaning his weight on himself. He needed to look to the crucified Christ, the one who was raised up for the punishment of sin.

He needed to fully surrender to Christ as his Lord and his Savior. as the object of his belief. Not just the signs, Nicodemus. The one the signs point to. Only then could he be delivered from his sin. And then he would see, lastly, the result of saving belief. In verse 15, so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life. Eternal life. Eternal life is the result of true saving belief. And this eternal life is for whoever believes. In fact, this literally says the ones who believe. So that the ones who believe will in him have eternal life. It’s repeated this way in verse 16, and we’ll talk more about that next week.

But as I asked to begin with this morning, what is belief? What is saving belief? Nicodemus came to Jesus with a sort of belief. We know that you have come from God as a teacher and no one can do these signs unless God is with him. He believed true things. But that was not belief that led to eternal life. He needed to listen to what God’s word said and trust Christ for his salvation. He needed to believe that he was a sinner He needed to believe that he needed a savior. He needed to see that Jesus would be the one who was lifted up for his sin. And by looking to him in true belief and leaning all of his weight on the Lord Jesus Christ, he would be saved. That is saving belief. And that’s available to the ones who believe.

And that sentence in verse 15 is worded very carefully. It’s not just believing in him. Nicodemus already believed in him. He believed he was a teacher who had come from God. He could do signs that only someone from God could do. Eternal life is what is in Him. The ones who believe will, in Him, have eternal life. Once they’re in Him, eternal life begins. Truly trusting in Jesus as your Savior will result in receiving the life that is in Him. We know the Father has granted the Son to have life in Himself. He is the resurrection and the life. And all those who believe in Him will have the life that is in Him. This is the answer to Nicodemus’ question.

How can these things be? Nicodemus, this is how. This is how you can have eternal life, Nicodemus. He came seeking the kingdom. The kingdom of God is seen or entered into. The new birth is experienced and eternal life begins through the saving work of Jesus Christ, lifted up on the cross. And received by the ones who believe, wholly leaning on him and what he has done. So, are you in Him? Do you believe? Do you lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved? These are all different ways of saying the same thing. Do you believe? Today is Resurrection Sunday and this is why we celebrate this day. Because He was lifted up. And he was buried. He not only came and he lived in perfect obedience to his father, he really came, and yes, he lived and talked with and taught people like Nicodemus. He was a real man. And as he told Nicodemus, he really died.

He would be lifted up, just like the serpent. And he really took the sins of all who believe in him for salvation. And not only was he lifted up, he was taken down from that cross, and he was buried. For three days, he was dead. But as we remember, and we celebrate today, and every Lord’s Day, and every day, he rose victorious, and he conquered sin, and he conquered death. He rose again and was seen by hundreds of people who knew He really died. He was alive again. And then He ascended back to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father.

And He is coming again one day. He’s coming again to judge the living and the dead. And all of those who trust in Him for salvation, who wholly lean their weight on Him for the salvation from their sins, they will live eternally with Him. But all of those who reject Him, all of those who never truly put their trust in Him, all of those who don’t truly believe, Those who think Jesus is a nice addition to their life that they want to live for themselves. They will spend eternity in hell where they will forever be punished in the presence of the Lamb.

So the question for you this morning, do you believe? Do you lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved? He came so that you would see and believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you will have life in His name. So don’t leave here this morning without talking to somebody about how you can trust Christ as your Savior. Please find somebody here. Find me. And we can talk to you about how you can have the life that is in Him. And if you do believe, wholly lean all of your weight for your salvation on the Lord Jesus Christ. And go tell everyone you know who this Christ is and why he came.

Let’s stand and close in a word of prayer this morning. Our God, we are humbled by a passage of scripture like this that challenges Nicodemus’ belief and it challenges our belief. Lord, I pray that we would examine our own hearts and that we would look to see if we wholly lean all of our weight on you for our salvation. And I pray that if there is any area in our lives where we are depending on ourselves and thinking that we ourselves are earning our own righteousness, that you would reveal that to us and we would put that to death because we know why Jesus came. He came to live in perfect obedience and to die and be lifted up on that cross in our place and to be buried and rise again three days later so that all of our own useless works, righteousness could be forgotten so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we would live in Him. God, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for our Savior. We thank You for this day where we remember what it took to bring us to Yourself. We pray all of this in Christ’s precious name, amen.