How do I get in to this kingdom?

The kingdom of heaven is near.  Jesus

When Jesus began speaking out about who he was and why he was here, this was his message.

He was announcing a new kingdom, different from any other kingdom ever before. A kingdom in which things are done in the way they’re done in heaven (which I believe is not ‘up there’, some place else physically, but all around us in a spiritual dimension, where all is exactly as God always intended it to be…). A kingdom that we can access, we can be a part of, not just when we die and ‘go’ to heaven, but right here, right now. Jesus came to show that all live as part of his kingdom right here, right now.

As people around Jesus heard his message of this revolutionary new kingdom, the question on their lips must surely have been this.

How do I get in to this kingdom?

One of the powerful, religious leaders of the time (a member of the Jewish ruling council no less!), Nicodemus, came to ask Jesus exactly this. The account of their encounter is recorded in John 3. This secret rendezvous is preceded by some action. Elizabeth and Zechariah’s son (remember him from the Christmas story?), John, has already spoken up about who Jesus is and people are starting to follow him. Jesus has already changed water into wine at a wedding and chased the money lenders and traders out of the temple, God’s holy place.

Jesus is already seen as a revolutionary, subversive figure, a potential threat to the status quo. That’s why Nicodemus comes to see him at night, so that no one will know.

Nicodemus: Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.

Jesus: Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

Nicodemus: How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!

Jesus: Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’

Nicodemus:How can this be?

Jesus: You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:2-21

So Jesus, how do I get in to this kingdom?

For everyone out there with that sense that ‘There must be more than this’, then surely this is a key question that we’re longing to find the answer to. There’s a kingdom where good overcomes evil, where light overcomes the darkness, where all is as it should be, where love and justice overcome hate and injustice – who wouldn’t want to be a part of that kingdom?

It’s a complex thing to explain – how to enter a kingdom that is not a physical kingdom. You can’t plan a trip there, apply for a visa, check your passport is valid, have the necessary jabs. This kingdom cannot be seen; it’s all about spirit – God’s spirit connecting with our spirit, spirit as invisible as the wind. And so Jesus uses an everyday image to illustrate what he’s saying – the example of childbirth. He talks about being ‘born again’ – a phrase which has been taken up by elements of the Christian church, which has made it into something it is not. For those who refer to themselves as born again Christians, this notion of being born again has become the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven. There’s a whole ritual that has grown up around it, a particular prayer that must be prayed, a language that must be adopted…. However, let’s be clear, Jesus doesn’t use this illustration ever again. He never uses the phrase ‘born again’ ever again. Not once. In fact, it’s only ever once recorded anywhere else in the whole of the New Testament.

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  1 Peter 1:23

However, having said that, it really is a wonderful illustration of exactly what Jesus is trying to convey here. This is a different birth, a new birth. Out with the old, in with the new – that’s the impulse we were talking about yesterday. When we experience this spiritual awakening, it’s as if we have become a new creation. Everything changes – the way we see the world around us, the way we treat others….everything is new. We blink our eyes open to see the wonders of the world with fresh eyes. We experience a renewing of our mind. We have to learn to speak to people in a new way. It’s as if we are starting out on life all over again. However old we are, we feel brand new.

This wisdom, enlightenment, awakening, flash of light, however you choose to describe it is different from conventional knowledge. It has to be experienced, not learned. That’s why the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were floundering. They knew all that there was to know about God, but they didn’t know God. This is why Jesus had to come as the son of man – the creator of the whole universe in human form – to explain face to face how this kingdom was different and to show through his own life and death how we can enter into this kingdom too.

There’s a choice, isn’t there? Jesus spells it out to Nicodemus.

We can choose to believe. Or not.

We can choose to embrace this new way of living. Or not.

We can choose to be saved. Or not.

We can choose to walk in the light. Or not.

We can choose to live authentically. Or not.

So Jesus, how do I get in to this kingdom?

Simply believe.

Believe there is a better way. Believe that the light can overcome the darkness. Seek out that way, that truth, that life. Continue on this journey of discovery as we study the life and teachings of Jesus and work out what it is to life a life of light and faith and love.

For some, spiritual awakening can be a dramatic conversion experience; for others, a gradually awakening that takes place over a lifetime. For many, it’s a combination of the two. As we’ll discover as we continue on this journey through the Gospels, this encounter with the way, the truth and the life is different for every individual, for every individual is different.

So go ahead. Do it your way. Work out what ‘believe’ means for you today.

Choose life.