It's Greek to Me!

It's Greek to me!

This is a modern colloquialism intended to convey the message that you don't understand something at all.  Greek is a foreign language that uses a totally different aphabet...so when you are trying to understand something that makes no sense to you, you could say "it's Greek to me!"

This week we are looking a Nicodemus' conversation in John chapter 3. we know that Nicodemus was a power religious leader with a soft heart. He came to Jesus because he truly wanted to understand who Jesus really was.

Yet, when he came, he brought all of his religious training, heritage, and traditions with him. From what he knew, the one way to inherit the kingdom of God was to be faithful to the rules and regulations of the Jewish law an the teachings of the ancient leaders.

Jesus knew this of course, so He cut straight to the chase....rather than confirming Nicodemus' religious heritage and traditions, Jesus made it clear that the rules were changing...entering the kingdom of God would now be based on a RELATIONSHIP with God rather than adherance to an impossible list of RULES. A person must be spiritually reborn to enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV 

This was difficult of Nicodemus to understand immediately. A lifetime of dependence on the Law would not be broken overnight.

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” John 3:4 NIV

For some people, this would be the end of the story. They would reject Jesus' teaching and stay with what they already think is true. 

Nicodemus was made of different stuff. We don't see an immediate change, but he reappears in the New Testament several times and that gives us a glimpse into how the teachings of Jesus transformed the heart of Nicodemus.

How stuck are we in our ways? Are we able to learn something new from the Spirit each day as He teaches us?

Dear God, today I acknowledge that I am sometimes very stubborn in my thinking and I am not open to hearing You speak to me each day. Help me to have a heart like Nicodemus...open and willing to hear Your truth. In Jesus' Name, amen.