The Good Man (6 of 8)
Series: The Kinds of People Jesus Ministered To
Dennis Marquardt
John 3:1-21
INTRO: Though the Pharisees were known as self righteous and legalistic there were some who were really good people. Even among the leaders there were those who had a genuine concern for their fellow man and cared a great deal about people's relationship to God.
Nicodemus was such a man. A ruling Pharisee on the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jewish people, he was a "good man" – one who seemed to care about the things of God and his fellow man. Unlike some of the other Pharisees who thought Jesus was a joke at best or an evil man at worse, Nicodemus really believed Jesus to be a "good man" too, someone whom God had blessed and used in mighty ways.
As a "good man" Nicodemus may have looked for a word of reassurance from Jesus, but instead was confronted with his need to know more than just the law. Though Nicodemus knew well the law of God there was emptiness in his heart to know the God of the law.
ILLUS: Christianity is not, and never has been, about finding the right combination of words! It is about encountering the living and loving God. -- Alister E. McGrath in Understanding Doctrine: What It Is. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 3.
The fact that a "good man" went looking for Jesus says something about the real and deep need that he felt in his own heart.
PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us that being a "good man" or "good woman" is not enough for eternal life in heaven; only a new birth by God's Spirit can open the way to heaven. The work of the Spirit comes by faith through Jesus Christ.
I. GOOD MAN'S OBSERVATIONS John 3:1-2
A. Concern John 3:1
1. Nicodemus was the kind of man every organization would love to have.
a. It is apparent from his brief conversation with Jesus and the few other texts that tell us about him that he was a man deeply concerned about his people.
b. Everything that can be deduced about ...
Series: The Kinds of People Jesus Ministered To
Dennis Marquardt
John 3:1-21
INTRO: Though the Pharisees were known as self righteous and legalistic there were some who were really good people. Even among the leaders there were those who had a genuine concern for their fellow man and cared a great deal about people's relationship to God.
Nicodemus was such a man. A ruling Pharisee on the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jewish people, he was a "good man" – one who seemed to care about the things of God and his fellow man. Unlike some of the other Pharisees who thought Jesus was a joke at best or an evil man at worse, Nicodemus really believed Jesus to be a "good man" too, someone whom God had blessed and used in mighty ways.
As a "good man" Nicodemus may have looked for a word of reassurance from Jesus, but instead was confronted with his need to know more than just the law. Though Nicodemus knew well the law of God there was emptiness in his heart to know the God of the law.
ILLUS: Christianity is not, and never has been, about finding the right combination of words! It is about encountering the living and loving God. -- Alister E. McGrath in Understanding Doctrine: What It Is. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 3.
The fact that a "good man" went looking for Jesus says something about the real and deep need that he felt in his own heart.
PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us that being a "good man" or "good woman" is not enough for eternal life in heaven; only a new birth by God's Spirit can open the way to heaven. The work of the Spirit comes by faith through Jesus Christ.
I. GOOD MAN'S OBSERVATIONS John 3:1-2
A. Concern John 3:1
1. Nicodemus was the kind of man every organization would love to have.
a. It is apparent from his brief conversation with Jesus and the few other texts that tell us about him that he was a man deeply concerned about his people.
b. Everything that can be deduced about ...
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