Keep Looking Up

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  March 5, 2023

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Read John 3:1 – 17 (NIV)
 
In March of 2020, this passage from John’s Gospel was one of the Lectionary readings and I used it as the text for the sermon I preached that day entitled, “LOOK UP.”  Reflecting over where things were back then and where things are today, I want to follow along wtih that same theme and encourage us to KEEP LOOKING UP.
 
Back in 2020, the prevalent issues of the day that called for our attention included mass shootings, political unrest, and a little-known virus that was called the Novel Corona Virus which we have all since come to know but certainly not love as COVID-19.
 
Thinking back on those days, it was only two weeks later that we would have to make the decision to stop meeting in person for worship… a decision that we thought was only for the short-term… but as we all know, it would be almost fifteen months before we would be able to return to the sanctuary.
 
Now, in light of all that we have been through in the three years since then… I want to encourage us to do what I believe has continued to sustain us and that is to KEEP LOOKING UP… and both our Old and New Testament readings this morning encourage us to do just that.
 
The Old Testament reading from Psalms 121 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture.  It is the passage that I used in my Old Testament class during my first semester in Seminary. 
 
We had to do an analysis of our chosen passage and one of the things that I remember is one of the words that appears in the original Hebrew text… which is the word, “shamar,” which means “to keep, to watch, or to preserve.”
 
So, when we look at Psalm 121, we find that the psalmist is encouraging us to lift up our eyes to the hills… to look up to the One who keeps us, watches over us, and preserves us… protecting us from hurt, harm, and danger, both now and forevermore. 
 
Now, when we turn our attention to the New Testament lesson, we find the story of an encounter between Jesus and a man named, Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was a respected member of the Jewish council who went to see Jesus… because he was in search of something… presumably something that only Jesus could provide. 
 
But because of his status in the community (he was a Pharisee after all) … Nicodemus could ill-afford to be seen talking to the likes of Jesus.  So, the text says that Nicodemus went under cover of darkness… seemingly to preserve his stellar reputation among the other Jews.
 
Nicodemus began this close encounter with Jesus by acknowledging something that the Pharisees had apparently come to some agreement on… that Jesus must indeed have been sent by God… otherwise He would not have been able to do all of the miraculous things that He had been doing.
 
But what Jesus said in response to Nicodemus’ admission is puzzling.  He did not commend Nicodemus for stating the truth… nor did He ask Nicodemus what took him so long to figure it out.  Instead, Jesus made a pronouncement that would have flown in the face of everything that Nicodemus and the religious leaders of his day would have believed.
 
Jesus told Nicodemus that in order to enter the kingdom of God, he must be born again…  And that is where the debate began… not the kind of debate we have become accustomed to in this day and age… No moderator.  No timekeeper.  No audience.  No political careers on the line.  In reality, there was something much more important at stake… it was not about simply winning or losing an argument… it was about eternal salvation.
 
Not yet having a clear understanding… Nicodemus started by asking Jesus to explain this statement… this suggestion that he needed to do what would have seemed to be impossible… because to literally go back into his mother’s womb would have violated the laws of nature.
 
Now, just put things into perspective… Nicodemus and his colleagues, the Pharisees, were a group of religious Jews who advocated strict adherence to the most minute portions of the Jewish law and traditions.  They were legalists of the highest order and they rejected Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah because He did not follow all of their traditions… and not only that… they took issue with the fact that Jesus had the audacity to associate with the wrong class of people… sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes and the like…
 
As pastor and author Max Lucado puts it in his book, “He Still Moves Stones,”

 
So, what Jesus said to Nicodemus literally turned all of that upside down.  Jesus explained that it not a physical birth that results in someone gaining entrance into God’s kingdom.  Salvation requires a spiritual birth and that is something that only God can give. 
 
The fact of the matter is that we cannot save ourselves.  No matter how many good deeds we do… no matter how many church services we attend… no matter how many rules and regulations we follow… none of it will ever be enough for us to deserve salvation.
 
That is why Jesus explained to Nicodemus (and by extension, to us) that a spiritual rebirth is necessary. 
 
What Jesus impressed upon Nicodemus and what this text continues to impress upon us, all these centuries and generations later… is that the work of salvation is done through God’s grace.  And God extends that grace to any and everybody He chooses through Jesus’ death on the cross.
 
Unlike what Nicodemus and his buddies may have thought, it is not up to us to pick and choose who receives grace.  We are merely the beneficiaries of God’s grace… we are not the distributors.
 
Looking back at the text, Jesus went on to make a reference to Moses and the children of Israel who found themselves on the receiving end of some extremely harsh punishment for speaking against God and Moses. 
 
No doubt, a religious leader and scholar like Nicodemus would have been familiar with this story.  So, Jesus used this particular illustration to help get His point across to Nicodemus.  The original story is found in Numbers 21 (4-9) where we read:
   
And the comparison Jesus made between the Israelites and Nicodemus and the people of his time is still relevant to us today. 
 
Just as the Israelites were bitten by snakes.  Christians are bitten by sin. 
 
What do you mean, Pastor?
 
Well, both a snake bite and sin may begin with a little initial pain… but both will ultimately lead to intense suffering.  One leads to a physical death from the snake’s poison while the other leads to spiritual death from the poison of sin. 
 
In the story found in the Old Testament, a bronze snake was lifted up on a pole in the desert… while in the New Testament, Christ was lifted up on a cross at Calvary. 
 
Looking up at the snake saved the Israelites from physical death.  Looking up to Christ saves each of us from eternal death.
 
Now, after Jesus explained to Nicodemus that everyone who believes in Him can have eternal life… He answered the question that Nicodemus had not yet asked, which is, “Why?” 
 
What would make God so graciously and generously give eternal life to everyone who believes?  The answer is simple, love.
   
God loves us… so much so that He gave His Son for us, for each and every one of us.  And He gave this most precious gift unconditionally… despite what we look like, sound like or act like… despite the things we have done in the past and will likely do in the future... God loves us all. 
 
Sadly, however, we are living at a point in history when people are constantly drawing dividing lines between groups of people… excluding those who do not meet certain arbitrary sets of criteria based on such things as age, race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic status, or political affiliation. 
 
But that is contrary to how God would have us to live.  God’s love for us comes without exception and we are called to love the same way.
 
And before you say it, I know that it is hard to love others the way God would have us to love… because if we’re being honest… some people seem to go out of their way to be disagreeable and unlovable. 
 
But God calls us to love them anyhow.  After all, just think how disagreeable and unlovable we can be at times and yet God still loves us, right?
 
Perhaps underneath the surface of that disagreeable, seemingly unlovable, person is the heart of someone who is hurting.  Someone who needs to know that in spite of the pain and heartache they may be going through, God loves them and is calling them, and us, to KEEP LOOKING UP.
 
KEEP LOOKING UP to the One who assures us that although we will face trials and tribulations in this world, we can take heart because He has overcome the world (see John 16:33).
 
KEEP LOOKING UP to the One who promised never to leave us nor forsake us (see Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5).
 
KEEP LOOKING UP to the One who promised to give us the Comforter to teach us and remind us of everything Jesus has said (see John 14:26).
 
KEEP LOOKING UP to the One who loves us so much, He was willing to lay down His life for us… because we are His friends (see John 15:13-14).
 
KEEP LOOKING UP to the One the Apostle Paul wrote about to the Ephesians when he said, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:4 – 5).
 
KEEP LOOKING UP to the One the writer of Hebrews was referring to when he wrote, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (see Hebrews 6:19a).
 
And if you are willing to KEEP LOOKING UP to the One who came not to condemn the world but save the world and give us hope for eternity, then I want to invite you stand now and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: My Hope Is Built #537.
 

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