Gospel of Saint John

0.000000 1.480000 Welcome to this Bible study.
1.480000 4.720000 We're now lecture four out of 15.
4.720000 8.840000 Before I start, I have a series called Q&A,
8.840000 10.920000 which I'm displaying here.
10.920000 15.960000 And you can access it right now by going to qa.corbono.com.
15.960000 20.000000 And I have a short talk on Lent, which I thought
20.000000 22.160000 you might find useful.
22.160000 27.000000 Oftentimes, I sense the way we approach Lent,
28.280000 31.480000 you know, benefit from some tweaking.
31.480000 34.160000 And I'm offering this to you in this very short talk.
34.160000 37.600000 So I would recommend you value yourself for this.
37.600000 40.480000 It's both audio and video.
40.480000 43.600000 So you can either listen to me or watch me.
43.600000 46.920000 And I sort of explained the purpose of Lent
46.920000 49.960000 and how we can approach it covenantally.
49.960000 52.240000 I thought you might benefit from it.
52.240000 53.600000 All right, if you have any questions about this,
53.600000 54.920000 we can talk about it later.
54.920000 56.800000 But that's all I'm going to say.
56.800000 61.000000 You can find it as I sum qnaqa.corbono.com.
61.000000 63.480000 That's how you can get to it.
63.480000 68.240000 I'm pretty certain most of you are familiar with this passage
68.240000 71.400000 where Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night.
71.400000 73.400000 And they have a short conversation.
73.400000 74.840000 We're going to get into that.
74.840000 77.760000 We are, as I said, in the fourth lecture.
77.760000 80.920000 And you can see how the gospel of St. John
80.920000 83.040000 is divided into two books.
83.040000 85.560000 The book of signs that runs all the way from chapter one
85.560000 87.480000 to chapter 11.
87.480000 91.400000 And then the book of glory from chapter 11 to chapter 14.
91.400000 96.000000 The first part is Jesus coming as the strong partying
96.000000 98.800000 and overtaking the current order.
98.800000 99.560000 That's what we are.
99.560000 102.040000 And that's where we are going to get into today
102.040000 106.560000 is the chapter three verse one through 21, Nicodemus,
106.560000 109.360000 and Rebirth into the family.
109.360000 112.280000 Now, by way of summary, in lecture one,
112.280000 115.640000 we've set up the foundation of the four senses of scripture,
115.640000 120.120000 the covenantal bond, and of blessing and curses.
120.120000 122.120000 In lecture two, we got into the prologue
122.120000 126.600000 and we saw how the strong party is being introduced
126.600000 132.280000 as from a tunitarian standpoint, as well as from a human standpoint.
132.280000 138.200000 Last time, we got into the systematic overtaking
138.200000 142.320000 of the old order geographically when the spirit came
142.320000 146.880000 upon Jesus in the Jordan River liturgically
146.880000 149.280000 with the new temple and financially.
149.280000 154.640000 And at Kena, with the change of that water,
154.640000 156.760000 the water for purification into wine,
156.760000 160.400000 and at the new temple financially.
160.400000 164.120000 Today's goal, we're going to see how Jesus is going
164.120000 168.120000 to confront the highest teaching office of Israel
168.120000 169.120000 and exposes its limits.
169.120000 173.880000 In other words, now Jesus is going to be overtaking
173.880000 175.680000 the teaching function.
175.680000 178.320000 And like I told you before, it's a systematic dismantling
178.320000 181.200000 of this order in order to establish the new order.
181.200000 185.880000 And that's what we're going to see tonight.
185.880000 192.000000 So today's lecture, which is four, not three, sorry,
192.000000 195.000000 we're going to read the gospel.
195.000000 196.840000 And then we're going to talk about the Pharisees
196.840000 198.160000 because Nicodemus is a Pharisee.
198.160000 201.480000 We're going to make sure we understand who is this group,
201.480000 204.800000 what all do they play.
204.800000 207.520000 And then we're going to look at two separate scenes,
207.520000 210.320000 the one where Nicodemus goes to Jesus at night,
210.320000 214.840000 and then the discourse of Jesus on the descent and the ascent.
214.840000 216.160000 And then we'll conclude.
216.160000 221.280000 Here's a takeaway for us.
221.280000 225.880000 Am I like Nicodemus trying to understand God purely
225.880000 229.600000 through my own intellect and rule following?
229.600000 232.240000 Or have I truly allowed the Holy Spirit to blow
232.240000 236.640000 where He wills in my life, transforming me into a son
236.640000 240.160000 and a daughter of the Father?
240.160000 242.960000 Do we have this sort of a meekness about us
242.960000 246.080000 to follow where Jesus wants us to go?
246.080000 247.560000 Or are we set in our ways?
247.560000 255.360000 I think it's a good reflection for Lent,
255.360000 257.520000 or something you might want to consider.
257.520000 262.160000 Again, as usual, if you want to ask questions during the lecture,
262.160000 264.720000 grab that QR code, and you can essentially
264.720000 266.600000 ask those questions anonymously,
266.600000 268.800000 at the end of the lecture, we'll always have a Q&A session.
268.800000 270.000000 You don't have to do any of this.
270.000000 272.720000 You can ask your questions during the Q&A, just fine.
272.720000 278.000000 But in case you'd like to do so, it's available to you here.
278.000000 281.560000 Please stand and let's start with a prayer.
281.560000 285.360000 The name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
285.360000 288.680000 Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
288.680000 291.560000 and kindle in them the fire of your love.
291.560000 295.200000 Send forth your spirit, and then shall be created.
295.200000 298.200000 And you shall renew the face of the earth.
298.200000 301.560000 O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit
301.560000 304.080000 did instruct the hearts of the faithful,
304.080000 308.520000 granted by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise
308.520000 311.040000 and ever enjoy His consolations
311.040000 313.640000 through Christ our Lord, Amen.
313.640000 321.960000 St. Joseph, St. Michael, all He gardens all He angels and saints.
321.960000 324.240000 Name of the Father of the Son of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
324.240000 326.880000 Please be seated.
326.880000 329.480000 So let's go to this gospel.
329.480000 331.560000 I'm now ready to you, and you can see I've highlighted
331.560000 335.720000 specific words which are important for us
335.720000 340.200000 to really understand the meaning behind the text.
340.200000 343.560000 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
343.560000 345.400000 a ruler of the Jews.
345.400000 348.200000 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him,
348.200000 352.200000 "Rabbi, we know that your teacher come from God
352.200000 355.280000 for no one can do these signs that you do
355.280000 358.720000 unless God is with him."
358.720000 361.520000 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you
361.520000 366.480000 unless one is born and new, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
366.480000 370.080000 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born
370.080000 371.680000 when he is old?
371.680000 375.480000 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
375.480000 377.800000 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you
377.800000 381.520000 unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
381.520000 384.440000 he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
384.440000 387.280000 That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
387.280000 391.280000 and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.
391.280000 393.480000 Do not marvel that I said to you,
393.480000 395.560000 you must be born a new.
395.560000 397.320000 The wind blows where it wills,
397.320000 399.080000 and you hear the sound of it,
399.080000 403.440000 but you do not know when it comes or whether it goes,
403.440000 407.800000 so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
407.800000 411.440000 Nicodemus said to him, "How can this be?"
411.440000 413.880000 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel
413.880000 416.480000 and yet you do not understand this?"
416.480000 419.080000 "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know
419.080000 421.680000 and bear witness to what we have seen,
421.680000 425.400000 but you do not receive our testimony.
425.400000 429.560000 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe,
429.560000 433.000000 how can you believe I tell you heavenly things?
433.000000 434.760000 No one has ascended into heaven,
434.760000 438.880000 but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
438.880000 441.640000 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
441.640000 444.320000 so must the Son of Man be lifted up
444.320000 448.440000 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
448.440000 453.920000 Now, I'm sure you've heard this text countless times,
453.920000 456.800000 you're used to it."
456.800000 461.280000 And there is this thing that we all develop out of necessity,
461.280000 464.200000 which I call polite piety.
464.200000 468.240000 And the idea of polite piety is that,
468.240000 472.720000 well, this is our Lord speaking, it must be true, it's true,
472.720000 477.560000 it means something, and most likely in the only one
477.560000 478.880000 who doesn't really understand.
480.440000 484.640000 So we politely acquiesce, and we don't say anything.
484.640000 486.360000 And the problem with that polite piety
486.360000 489.040000 it acts now as a wall to true faith,
489.040000 490.880000 which is the illumination of our reason.
490.880000 492.240000 So we need to break that down.
492.240000 498.720000 Okay, I'm going to skip this for now,
498.720000 499.960000 I'll come back to it later.
499.960000 502.440000 Let's get into the Pharisees first,
502.440000 506.440000 because, well, why we'll right here, right?
506.440000 507.720000 Now, there was a man,
508.920000 511.880000 Pharisees, so are these guys, who are the Pharisees?
511.880000 514.080000 We have to understand that context,
514.080000 515.960000 we're going to make sense of any other stuff
515.960000 518.080000 that we're talking about here tonight.
518.080000 519.440000 So what are the Pharisees?
519.440000 525.640000 So, first, you have the Sadducees, the Sadducees,
525.640000 529.040000 the Sadducees are aristocrats.
529.040000 532.400000 They're not a religious order.
532.400000 537.400000 They're just the high brow of Judean society.
538.720000 541.600000 They have the money, they have the power,
541.600000 543.880000 and they have the political clout.
543.880000 546.360000 So they play a prominent role
546.360000 549.880000 in the maintenance of the faith in Judea.
549.880000 554.520000 Their lineage is established.
554.520000 557.520000 They're either from the tribe of Benjamin,
557.520000 558.760000 or the tribe of Judah.
558.760000 562.280000 They know who they are, they know where they're coming from.
562.280000 566.240000 Some of them are priests.
567.440000 569.800000 Some Sadducees are priests.
569.800000 572.240000 Not all priests are Sadducees.
572.240000 579.840000 And I'm sorry, I said, Judean, I'm just,
579.840000 581.320000 the priests, right?
581.320000 584.280000 The wealthy folks are, for the most part,
584.280000 585.080000 from the tribe of Judah.
585.080000 586.800000 The priests are from the tribe of Levi.
586.800000 588.520000 They have to be priests.
588.520000 593.760000 What is really interesting is that they rejected the oral tradition
593.760000 595.800000 and focused solely on a temple cult.
597.040000 599.600000 Pragmatic, they're pragmatic collaborators with Rome,
599.600000 600.880000 the Sadducees.
600.880000 605.080000 They are willing to collaborate with the occupier
605.080000 606.240000 so that they can govern.
606.240000 610.000000 Therefore, many look at them as traders.
610.000000 616.440000 And they consider stability in the current temple system
616.440000 618.480000 that they have a covenantal blessing.
618.480000 621.480000 Never mind that Rome rules.
621.480000 623.160000 Never mind you don't have the kingdom of David.
623.160000 627.920000 Never mind the whole order that God wished to establish
627.920000 629.320000 is not present.
629.320000 630.800000 The fact that there is a temple,
630.800000 632.600000 the fact that the system is established,
632.600000 635.280000 the fact that the comfortable room is blessing enough.
635.280000 637.560000 Those are the Sadducees.
637.560000 640.280000 What are the Pharisees?
640.280000 643.520000 The Pharisees are the separated ones, the perushine.
643.520000 648.240000 First, they are lay folks, they're not priests.
648.240000 653.080000 They're a lay reform movement born in the Maccabean crisis.
653.360000 655.240000 So, during the Maccabean crisis,
655.240000 657.400000 there was a Hellenization in the temple
657.400000 659.640000 and Maccabean, his brother, revolted
659.640000 662.840000 and put a stop to it.
662.840000 667.320000 And out of this revolt came the slay reform group
667.320000 671.120000 known at the perushine, the separated ones, the Pharisees.
671.120000 675.000000 Their authority was not based on bloodline,
675.000000 678.320000 so it doesn't matter where they come from,
678.320000 682.040000 but on mastery of the Torah, the law.
682.040000 684.880000 Those guys knew the law inside and out.
684.880000 689.800000 And they start to build a fence around the law
689.800000 692.520000 to avoid the curse of exile,
692.520000 695.560000 focusing on internalizing ritual purity for every Jew.
695.560000 700.160000 They've seen that Israel was destroyed several times
700.160000 703.000000 due to the curses that was provoked
703.000000 705.800000 by them not obeying the law.
705.800000 710.040000 So they decided that in order to avoid that,
710.040000 715.040000 they will follow the law, and that became very important to them.
715.040000 721.200000 Now, there were two schools of Pharisees,
721.200000 725.880000 the School of Hillel, who was a Pharisee
725.880000 729.040000 who really emphasized humility and mercy.
729.040000 731.080000 He sought to make the law accessible
731.080000 733.760000 and basically said, what is hateful to you
733.760000 735.560000 do not do to your neighbor.
735.560000 738.680000 That, he said, is the summary of the entire law.
738.680000 741.840000 Everything else is application of this.
741.840000 744.760000 He had a lenient approach to the covenant,
744.760000 747.920000 and then you have the School of Shema'i,
747.920000 751.360000 which is rigorous and nationalistic.
751.360000 753.560000 It has a strict adherence to the letter,
753.560000 756.720000 protective Jewish identity against Roman influence,
756.720000 759.320000 it's the hard line approach to the law.
759.320000 764.320000 One of their star pupil, a genius in his own right,
764.320000 765.400000 his name is Saul.
767.560000 771.040000 So Saul was a Pharisee of the School of Shema'i.
771.040000 774.560000 So these people, the Pharisees, were not aristocrats.
774.560000 776.880000 They were not rich, they were all over the place.
776.880000 780.440000 Most likely, in the preceding chapter,
780.440000 782.640000 when we saw the wedding feast of Khena,
782.640000 785.000000 the steward was a Pharisee.
785.000000 787.040000 They were present everywhere, they would teach the people,
787.040000 789.520000 they would answer questions, people who come to them,
789.520000 792.160000 I want to obey the law, what am I supposed to do in a situation?
792.160000 794.640000 And they were the ones who were the reference point
794.640000 796.760000 for how to live the law.
796.760000 799.960000 Now here's the key takeaway.
799.960000 803.400000 Jesus is not opposing them
803.400000 807.560000 because there is something fundamentally wrong
807.560000 810.040000 with the law over their zeal.
810.040000 814.400000 That's not the problem, you understand?
814.400000 817.000000 That's not the problem.
817.000000 820.560000 The problem is that there's something far better
820.560000 825.120000 that came and they can't recognize it.
826.120000 828.680000 They just can't.
828.680000 833.680000 So it is the case of the good being the enemy of the best.
833.680000 835.920000 That's what we're dealing with here.
835.920000 839.480000 They just cannot recognize in this Galilean
839.480000 842.920000 the fulfillment of the law and of the prophecies.
842.920000 849.320000 And we all have to understand, this is hard.
849.320000 850.160000 This is hard.
850.160000 854.080000 You can get a whiff of that, a good feel for this.
854.080000 858.360000 If you watch the movie, guess who's coming to dinner tonight?
858.360000 859.480000 How many of you have seen this movie?
859.480000 860.240000 Raise your hand.
860.240000 866.560000 I do strongly recommend you watch this movie.
866.560000 871.560000 It's an older movie, but it's in color for the young guys.
871.560000 875.560000 Not black and white.
875.560000 880.080000 And the premise of the story is that there's this young woman
880.080000 883.400000 who is the daughter of a well-to-do family
883.400000 886.800000 in San Francisco, father's educated and mother's sophisticated
886.800000 888.160000 and she's coming home.
888.160000 893.240000 She's white as white can be
893.240000 896.600000 and she's bringing her bow who happens to be a black guy.
896.600000 899.000000 And we're talking 1960s, right?
899.000000 901.760000 That's the period in which this movie takes place.
901.760000 904.480000 And it's dealing with the shock.
904.480000 909.680000 Jesus would be that to the Pharisees.
909.680000 912.640000 It's a huge shock to the system
912.640000 913.960000 and I know what to do with it.
913.960000 917.960000 People trust them.
917.960000 921.400000 They are the final authority on the Torah.
921.400000 923.820000 They were the legal architects of the nation.
923.820000 926.920000 They are community leader,
926.920000 929.080000 unlike all those Sadducees who are up there
929.080000 933.880000 and they're, you know, social strata.
933.880000 937.160000 They live among the people becoming the gold standard
937.160000 938.480000 of holiness.
939.920000 942.640000 And they were the cultural firewall
942.640000 944.880000 against Roman paganism.
944.880000 947.400000 They protected the people from Hellenization.
947.400000 951.920000 Again, they'd done a lot of good.
951.920000 955.440000 Chances are that if you were to meet today,
955.440000 958.320000 if somehow I can open up a portal
958.320000 961.520000 and bring from ancient Israel, Pharisees
961.520000 965.120000 and then Jesus and his motley crew,
965.120000 969.560000 you'd find the Pharisees far more approachable.
970.480000 974.760000 They're clean, they're educated, they're polite.
974.760000 978.000000 They speak with an appropriate accent
978.000000 983.680000 compared to these Galileans who smell like fish
983.680000 989.200000 and who speak with that funky accent of theirs
989.200000 992.160000 and you're not really sure what the background is.
995.840000 1000.440000 He take away many of us, oftentimes, act like Pharisees.
1000.440000 1001.720000 And there's nothing wrong with it.
1001.720000 1003.040000 There's a lot of good in here.
1003.040000 1004.120000 I hope you see that.
1004.120000 1008.960000 So again, it's the failure to recognize
1008.960000 1015.040000 that the Lord has come and He's come in ways we they did not expect.
1015.040000 1019.040000 The three layers of the law, what do we say the law?
1019.040000 1019.880000 There is the law.
1019.880000 1022.000000 What do we mean by that word the law?
1022.000000 1024.440000 Think of it as a concentric circles.
1024.440000 1028.800000 That the heart of it is the decalogue, the Ten Commandments.
1028.800000 1031.040000 That is the law that God gave.
1031.040000 1035.080000 He only gave the Ten Commandments any Old Testament.
1035.080000 1036.240000 That's the only thing He did.
1036.240000 1040.880000 Then you have the second circle
1040.880000 1044.880000 which was given by Moses, not by God.
1044.880000 1049.240000 That was given because of the rebellion,
1049.240000 1050.720000 because of the golden calf.
1052.600000 1054.560000 And it has a whole list of interdicts
1054.560000 1056.680000 and how they have to behave, what they're supposed to do,
1056.680000 1057.920000 that sort of thing.
1057.920000 1061.640000 And then around there there is an oral fence,
1061.640000 1064.480000 an oral tradition that was developed
1064.480000 1066.160000 in order to address practical issues.
1066.160000 1069.000000 So for instance, you're not supposed to work on a Sabbath.
1069.000000 1071.440000 Okay, you're not supposed to, what does it mean to work?
1071.440000 1074.520000 Now that becomes a problem.
1074.520000 1076.680000 How do I know I'm working, I'm not working.
1076.680000 1081.360000 So let's say my brother asks me to go and visit him
1082.160000 1082.160000 and he nibs three miles away from me.
1082.960000 1088.440000 I have to walk three miles, is walking three miles work.
1088.440000 1091.880000 Well, that's not in the law of Moses,
1091.880000 1093.360000 nowhere does he specify that.
1093.360000 1095.280000 So you go to the Pharisees and the Pharisees
1095.280000 1099.040000 define specifically in order to answer to this problem
1099.040000 1103.680000 and others, how many steps you can take on a Sabbath
1103.680000 1105.640000 before it's considered work?
1105.640000 1108.960000 Well, if you really think about it,
1108.960000 1110.280000 this is not crazy.
1111.280000 1113.960000 Yeah, people taking the law seriously,
1113.960000 1116.200000 they want to live it, they want to follow God,
1116.200000 1117.440000 they need to know.
1117.440000 1118.960000 So you provide answers.
1118.960000 1126.040000 It becomes a problem when the law becomes
1126.040000 1128.600000 not a means to an end but the end.
1128.600000 1133.800000 So the tradition of the elders,
1133.800000 1136.080000 this is something that Jesus railed about,
1136.080000 1137.840000 human interpretation meant to ensure the law
1137.840000 1140.880000 was never accidentally broken, often a heavy burden.
1140.880000 1144.160000 Often a heavy burden because they tacked all that
1144.160000 1148.640000 and the whole edifice now became the standard of holiness.
1148.640000 1154.040000 Now, in Christian terms, this weeks of pelagianism,
1154.040000 1159.400000 pelagianism is one of the earliest heresy in the church.
1159.400000 1162.840000 And pelagias was a monk in England who went to Rome
1162.840000 1167.240000 and saw the disillusioned lives of priests and others
1167.240000 1171.200000 and then he then decreed that salvation is possible
1171.200000 1174.480000 for those who work for it.
1174.480000 1176.880000 He basically denied baptism.
1176.880000 1179.720000 He denied the necessity of grace.
1179.720000 1182.000000 All you need to do, if you make an effort,
1182.000000 1183.840000 if you believe in yourself, if you can do it,
1183.840000 1185.840000 you'll get it.
1185.840000 1188.920000 Prisionism is well in our life today.
1188.920000 1193.400000 But that's pelagianism right there.
1193.400000 1195.040000 You don't need God's help, you don't need anything,
1195.040000 1195.880000 you can do it.
1195.880000 1198.920000 You have to take all this edifice, absorb it,
1198.920000 1203.000000 live by it and you'll be saved in his head.
1203.000000 1206.640000 And he sees this guy who doesn't fit the mold at all.
1206.640000 1209.840000 First of all, he's baptized in the Jordan,
1209.840000 1211.080000 but the Spirit comes upon him.
1211.080000 1211.920000 That makes no sense.
1211.920000 1213.280000 This contradiction, the Spirit should have been
1213.280000 1215.960000 in a temple, what's it doing here?
1215.960000 1218.880000 Then he's performing this, he performed this miracle
1218.880000 1220.280000 turning water into wine.
1220.280000 1223.440000 So obviously, Nicodemus is forced to recognize God
1223.440000 1226.200000 as with him, otherwise there's no way to, he can do that.
1226.200000 1231.920000 But he wants to understand, or does he, or does he?
1231.920000 1240.920000 So, Nicodemus, the name, conquer of the people.
1240.920000 1248.440000 Another translation would be, "crusher of democracy."
1250.960000 1254.720000 He's not the nice guy that he will become later on
1254.720000 1257.960000 when he actually bears the body of Jesus.
1257.960000 1261.200000 He is clearly a leader and an aristocrite.
1261.200000 1262.680000 He belongs to this group.
1262.680000 1267.280000 A Pharisee with a Greek name representing high social status
1267.280000 1268.400000 and mastery of the law.
1268.400000 1271.480000 He's a conqueror of human tradition,
1271.480000 1273.640000 but he comes by night.
1273.640000 1277.240000 And that signals that even the best human teacher
1277.240000 1281.840000 is spiritually lacking without the light of the logos.
1281.840000 1283.880000 We are all coming to Jesus by night
1283.880000 1285.480000 when we come to Him on our own.
1285.480000 1288.200000 No, Nicodemus, all of us do.
1288.200000 1292.200000 Now, let's go to this again.
1292.200000 1295.600000 Nicodemus, Rabbi, we know that your teacher
1295.600000 1298.240000 come from God for no one can do these signs
1298.240000 1300.520000 that you do unless God is with Him.
1300.520000 1302.240000 Jesus, truly, truly I say to you,
1302.240000 1305.240000 unless one is born a new, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
1305.240000 1307.600000 Nicodemus, how can a man be born when he is old?
1307.600000 1309.440000 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb
1309.440000 1310.440000 and be born?
1310.440000 1312.040000 Jesus, truly, truly I say to you,
1312.040000 1314.120000 unless one is born of water in the Spirit,
1314.120000 1315.680000 he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
1315.680000 1317.400000 That which is born of the flesh, is flesh,
1317.400000 1319.480000 and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.
1319.480000 1321.000000 Do not marvel at, I said this to you.
1321.000000 1322.760000 You must be born in the wind blows,
1322.760000 1324.800000 where it wills, and you hear the sound of it,
1324.800000 1327.560000 but you do not know when it comes or whether it goes,
1327.560000 1330.120000 so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
1330.120000 1332.600000 This text, this text,
1332.600000 1336.920000 without the proper intent,
1336.920000 1340.440000 is utterly and completely absurd.
1340.440000 1344.720000 Just as it was the case with Netanyahu,
1344.720000 1351.200000 behold, in Israel, I don't know, there is no God.
1351.200000 1353.680000 How do you know me, before Philip saw you,
1353.680000 1356.600000 before Philip talked to you or saw you,
1356.600000 1358.760000 I saw you under the tree.
1358.760000 1361.680000 Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
1361.680000 1363.600000 It makes no sense without the proper intent,
1363.600000 1364.960000 the proper interpretive key.
1364.960000 1367.040000 Let me show you how absurd this is.
1367.040000 1370.240000 So we used to it, we can't even see it anymore, but watch.
1370.240000 1374.080000 Let's summarize that script.
1374.080000 1378.560000 Nicodemus, we know you are a great teacher
1378.560000 1380.480000 because of your science.
1380.480000 1384.080000 Well, that's logical, polite, academic.
1384.080000 1386.120000 Up to this point, we're all tracking.
1386.120000 1389.920000 We kind of follow, we understand the script.
1389.920000 1391.240000 We understand what's going on.
1392.040000 1395.400000 If somebody said that to you, what would be the response?
1395.400000 1397.080000 What would be the appropriate response?
1397.080000 1402.760000 Thank you, or I see that you're taking this seriously,
1402.760000 1404.120000 or some such thing, right?
1404.120000 1406.040000 What does Jesus say?
1406.040000 1410.040000 Seriously, you must be born again.
1410.040000 1411.800000 That would be the response or something like this.
1411.800000 1415.320000 If you came to me and said, oh, you understand scripture,
1415.320000 1418.200000 looked at it and you said, you need to wear diapers.
1420.280000 1421.160000 Would that make sense to you?
1421.160000 1423.960000 This is how absurd that is.
1423.960000 1430.760000 Nicodemus, how can I ran out of the womb?
1430.760000 1433.000000 Notice how polite he is, right?
1433.000000 1435.720000 He's just like, it doesn't call the absurdity.
1435.720000 1436.520000 He just goes with it.
1436.520000 1440.040000 But he's obviously seriously confused.
1440.040000 1444.120000 Jesus, the wind blows where it wills.
1444.120000 1447.800000 Jesus doesn't answer Nicodemus' question.
1447.800000 1449.320000 You know what it is?
1450.280000 1452.120000 This is not a conversation.
1452.120000 1455.560000 This is certainly not a conversation between two friendly parties.
1455.560000 1457.320000 You see that?
1457.320000 1460.680000 So the first mistake that people make is thinking,
1460.680000 1463.880000 this is a conversation between two friendly parties.
1463.880000 1467.400000 If you go that route, this text becomes completely absurd.
1467.400000 1468.360000 You can't make sense of it.
1468.360000 1471.560000 Let me put it to you in terms.
1471.560000 1473.800000 I really want to drive this point home.
1473.800000 1475.640000 I'm going to put it in modern terms.
1477.400000 1479.000000 Here's a little scene, the characters.
1479.000000 1479.960000 You have a customer.
1479.960000 1481.320000 A polite, well-dressed man.
1481.320000 1486.120000 A mechanic, a mysterious authoritative figure under a car.
1486.120000 1489.640000 The scene, a local auto repair shop.
1489.640000 1492.360000 The customer approaching tentatively.
1492.360000 1494.200000 Sir, I've seen the way you work.
1494.200000 1497.240000 We all know you're a master mechanic because no one can fix an engine
1497.240000 1500.200000 that's been totaled unless he has direct line to the manufacturer.
1500.200000 1502.120000 The mechanic.
1502.120000 1505.160000 Slides out from under the car, looks him in the eye.
1505.160000 1509.000000 A man, a man, I tell you, unless a man turns back into a drop of oil,
1509.000000 1510.520000 he can't even look at the transmission.
1510.520000 1513.240000 That's what's going on.
1513.240000 1515.480000 This is the level of absurdity in this text.
1515.480000 1518.200000 The customer.
1518.200000 1519.000000 What?
1519.000000 1520.120000 I'm a 50-year-old man.
1520.120000 1521.400000 How can I turn into a drop of oil?
1521.400000 1523.160000 Do I have to climb back into the refinery?
1523.160000 1526.840000 The mechanic doesn't pull back, doesn't explain.
1526.840000 1529.400000 Makes it, you know, he doubles down.
1529.400000 1530.680000 Truly, truly, I say to you,
1530.680000 1533.080000 unless you are made of combustion and spark,
1533.080000 1535.000000 you can't enter the driver's seat.
1535.000000 1538.200000 The wind blows the exhaust, you hear the sound of it,
1538.200000 1541.560000 but you have no idea where the fuel comes from or where the fumes go.
1541.560000 1543.160000 That is...
1543.160000 1548.360000 And it led many, many theologians, especially in modern times,
1548.360000 1552.200000 to conclude that this text is garbled,
1552.200000 1554.360000 that people messed with it.
1554.360000 1559.400000 That actually, there was never an exchange between Jesus and the Academias,
1559.400000 1562.280000 it's all constructed to drive a point.
1562.280000 1564.200000 But what? But is it?
1564.920000 1568.760000 So, here are some of the ways in which they read this.
1568.760000 1572.040000 The moral awakening view, it's the liberal ethical school.
1572.040000 1576.840000 The idea, born again, is a metaphor for a fresh start or a change of heart.
1576.840000 1580.600000 It's about becoming a better person or having more spiritual outlook on life.
1580.600000 1584.040000 So, the problem is that it turns a new covenant
1584.040000 1587.480000 to just a better version of the old covenant, more rules, just nicer ones.
1587.480000 1592.120000 The evangelical revivalist school, the decision for Christ.
1592.120000 1595.240000 Born again is a one-time emotional and intellectual moment,
1595.240000 1597.480000 where you accept Jesus as your personal savior.
1597.480000 1599.320000 It is a purely internal experience.
1599.320000 1603.160000 Again, it takes away the sacrament, it takes away water and spirit,
1603.160000 1605.240000 because it's just an interior conviction.
1605.240000 1607.640000 The whole discourse on the necessity, the wind,
1607.640000 1609.800000 and being born of water spirit goes away.
1609.800000 1613.480000 And then the world play view, the academic critical school.
1613.480000 1617.800000 This encounter is clever literary device, like I told you, never happened,
1618.440000 1622.600000 using the Greek word anothen, which can mean both again and from above.
1622.600000 1626.360000 Nekedemus thinks again, physical Jesus means from above spiritual.
1626.360000 1630.440000 And why this is linguistically true, it really is possible like a crossword puzzle,
1630.440000 1631.720000 rather than a covenantal degree.
1631.720000 1635.400000 It doesn't explain why the strong part is resetting the terms of the office.
1635.400000 1641.160000 All these expeditions hone in on specific pieces of the sex, but don't give you intent.
1641.160000 1644.280000 They don't give you a logical intent.
1645.240000 1651.240000 They would also explain why Saint John doesn't bother to give you a meta-text.
1651.240000 1654.440000 He doesn't need to explain the text to his readers.
1654.440000 1657.320000 He assumes they will understand what he's talking about.
1657.320000 1661.640000 So they had the context in mind, and he knew they had the context in mind.
1661.640000 1664.200000 Here's the first thing you have to change.
1664.200000 1667.480000 This is not a friendly negotiation.
1667.480000 1669.000000 Remember what I said.
1669.000000 1674.920000 The initial piece of the gospel of Saint John is the king coming to conquer.
1675.160000 1679.960000 In order to conquer the king's senses, Harold, Saint John the Baptist,
1679.960000 1682.440000 to let people know he's coming.
1682.440000 1685.960000 The Harold speaks what the king speaks.
1685.960000 1688.440000 They're one mind, they're of one mind.
1688.440000 1696.680000 Before he actually goes in and destroys a city, and I'm talking here about any king
1696.680000 1703.640000 in the old order, before he goes into the destroyer's city, he negotiates.
1704.040000 1707.080000 What is he negotiating?
1707.080000 1710.600000 He's negotiating with the representative of that city.
1710.600000 1716.280000 There are choices, one of which is becoming members of his kingdom.
1716.280000 1725.400000 Jesus is laying down the conditions for them to become citizens of his kingdom.
1725.400000 1731.720000 So Nicodemus who doesn't know that comes and sets the tone of the conversation
1731.720000 1736.440000 by praising Jesus, Jesus immediately stops him,
1736.440000 1742.360000 ignoring what he said, and flips the conversation on him.
1742.360000 1745.080000 Because he's the king.
1745.080000 1751.080000 Nicodemus doesn't recognize that yet, but Jesus does.
1751.080000 1758.360000 And so now as a king, he's telling him, he are the conditions for you to join my kingdom.
1759.160000 1761.800000 Now watch what Jesus does. He did the same thing with the steward.
1761.800000 1767.880000 The steward never expected, when in case of a king, I never expected to drink
1767.880000 1773.160000 purification water, water free purification, that would have been sacrilegious to him.
1773.160000 1780.920000 But Jesus made him drink that, and he then recognized it as the best wine.
1782.360000 1789.640000 So the way Jesus conquers hearts is by confusing them and giving them the very best.
1789.640000 1793.720000 He did that with Nicodemus. He does this with us.
1793.720000 1803.240000 Oftentimes we're confused about what Jesus is up to.
1803.240000 1810.120000 We don't understand. We look at the world around us, we look at our families,
1810.120000 1816.760000 we look at our own lives and we're confused. We can't make sense of it.
1816.760000 1821.160000 And then we look at this confusion as the enemy.
1821.160000 1829.320000 We look at this confusion as a curse. We look at it as something we want to go away,
1829.320000 1836.840000 we don't want the confusion. We reject it. And so we start to search for certainties,
1837.640000 1847.000000 for meaning, for sense, ignoring that Jesus is in that confusion.
1847.000000 1856.200000 Why? Because he needs to reset the framework. We're not seeing it right. We're not seeing it the way
1856.200000 1865.240000 it needs to be seen. We're not. And the only way for him to do that is to cut through our preconception,
1865.240000 1870.760000 our ideas, our thoughts, our certainty, and present us with the truth.
1870.760000 1884.600000 That's what he does. He's the sovereign king who is come to free us from sin by sharing with us the truth.
1884.600000 1893.240000 Now, what is interesting is that Jesus goes straight to the matter and tells him
1893.240000 1899.960000 in order for you to be part of my kingdom, you have to be born a new from the spirit
1899.960000 1906.920000 with water and a spirit. That's baptism. That's the sacrament of baptism. Now, it's really odd
1906.920000 1916.760000 because Jesus seems to be putting the card before the horse. There is no institution of Eucharist yet.
1916.760000 1926.520000 There is no church. There is no new priesthood. None of that exists. And he's talking to a representative
1926.520000 1935.480000 of the old order. Why is he revealing to him the necessity of baptism before he reveals it to his
1935.480000 1941.960000 own apostles? It's incongruous. It doesn't make sense until you understand that as a king,
1941.960000 1948.200000 he doesn't need to explain it to his followers because they follow him. He needs to explain it to those
1948.200000 1953.080000 who are on the other side and telling them if you need to be, if you want to join me, be part of
1953.080000 1959.240000 my kingdom, that's what you need to do. That's what you have to do. So, this is a negotiation between
1959.240000 1967.000000 two parties, one representing the old order, one representing the new order. Now, when you hold on to
1967.000000 1972.360000 that key, now the text makes sense. The absurdity goes away. This, and other texts like it,
1972.360000 1985.240000 explain why the church is unable at this point to assert or affirm that babies who die without
1985.240000 1992.760000 baptism go to heaven. We cannot say that because of this.
1992.760000 2006.840000 Now, we all wish it's true, but we can't take our wish and make a reality because we need the
2006.840000 2014.680000 necessity of baptism. There is no way to go around that. So, we have no answer yet. So, the
2014.680000 2020.200000 covenantal logic, when a new king arrives, he does not first explain the new tax code to his friends
2020.200000 2025.560000 in the kitchen. He marches into the throne room and serves notice of the outgoing administration.
2025.560000 2032.600000 By addressing the Gideamus first, Jesus is legally and formally robbing the old office of its authority.
2032.600000 2040.280000 That's what's going on. The sovereign decree, the plural U. In verse 11, Jesus says, truly, truly,
2040.280000 2047.000000 I say to you, plural, not singular. In English, you can't see that, right? You have to go back to the
2047.000000 2055.320000 Greek or lead in different language, but the U is plural, not Nicodemus, U. Who's you, the Pharisees?
2055.320000 2061.240000 That's the group to which Nicodemus belongs. So, you, your group, and what the order it represents,
2061.240000 2069.640000 do not receive our testimony. So, we are now in a conflict. And then Jesus uses our.
2069.640000 2073.480000 And this is another one that is awfully debated. Like, who is the hour?
2075.480000 2080.280000 And then Jesus says also, we speak of what we know, you speak of what you, we, who's the we? Jesus,
2080.280000 2085.800000 using our oil, we speak in itself, and no we? No. If you understand the structure of the covenant,
2085.800000 2090.680000 you understand there's a herald. The herald represents the king, and the herald and king say the
2090.680000 2097.880000 same thing. So, the we and the hour is Jesus and sing on the Baptist. That's it. And there's no need to,
2097.880000 2105.080000 you know, complicate matters. If you understand how the kingdom works, how the covenant works,
2105.080000 2110.120000 and how the covenantal degree works, and who, who are the players. So, Jesus is addressing the
2110.120000 2117.000000 entire Pharisee's body and the Sanhedrin through Nicodemus. Now, here's the obligation of a king
2117.000000 2122.280000 and a covenant. The strong party sets the rules, regardless of the weak parties disposition.
2122.280000 2127.480000 Jesus discloses the conditions of the kingdom, not because Nicodemus is ready
2127.480000 2134.200000 to hear them, but because as the king, he is obligated to herald the terms of the new bond.
2134.200000 2137.480000 The obduresy of the listener does not silence the decree of the sovereign.
2137.480000 2147.800000 If you think about it, Jesus sets, tells us what is required to go to heaven, regardless of whether
2147.800000 2154.600000 we're ready or not. That's why this passage happens right there. That's why Saint John lines up
2154.600000 2158.840000 the meeting with Nicodemus right after the three other passages, because now it's the teaching
2158.840000 2165.320000 office that's being taken away. So, the stakes are getting higher and higher. And then he's arguing
2165.320000 2174.120000 backward. He argues backward because he's going to the goal. He's going to the purpose of his kingdom.
2174.120000 2179.880000 He's establishing your kingdom so he can actually help us get to heaven. That's the goal. And now,
2179.880000 2186.600000 he's going to move backward from that goal to the means which are the sacraments. And then before
2186.600000 2191.720000 that, the sacrifice. You see him working backward. You have to be born of water in the spirit.
2191.720000 2198.520000 And then he's going to talk about the spirit that blows whatever the spirit wills. And then he's
2198.520000 2204.280000 going to talk about his own sacrifice with the serpent being lifted. He's moving chronologically
2204.280000 2211.080000 backward because he goes from the goal to the means. Again, the meeting occurs. Nicodemus comes with
2211.080000 2216.840000 his own plan, his own preconceived ideas. He's here to negotiate to see if he can include Jesus
2216.840000 2221.960000 into this fall to the Pharisees. Jesus immediately cuts this conversation. It's sterile. It's not going
2221.960000 2228.600000 to go anywhere. Reframes the conversation and tells them straight up, "If you want to be part of my kingdom,
2228.600000 2233.400000 that's what you need to do." Why is he telling this to Nicodemus? Because Jesus is absolutely hoping,
2233.400000 2238.600000 and he also knows that eventually Nicodemus is going to convert. And Nicodemus is going to remember
2238.600000 2247.640000 this, and he's going to use this. You need to be baptized. And the reason why baptism works is
2247.640000 2254.280000 because the spirit is sovereign, and it's not your action, and it's not the totality of all those
2254.280000 2260.760000 laws that you created that's going to get you to be holy. It is the spirit. He's establishing the
2260.760000 2266.920000 foundational Catholic teaching of grace, the necessity of grace, before, during, and after every
2266.920000 2272.600000 good act that allow us to get to heaven. Without grace, we cannot do anything. And then before that,
2272.600000 2276.520000 he's explaining to me how this is going to happen, it's going to happen through the way he's going to
2276.520000 2283.720000 rule, which is not on the throne, but on the cross. So oftentimes, we too go to Jesus with our perspective,
2283.720000 2292.360000 shifted for it needs to be. And you know why I know that? It's really simple. You know how many
2292.360000 2300.360000 conversations have been with people outside the Bible study, where the heart of the matter is salvation,
2300.360000 2317.800000 versus what the president is up to, or some other political concern, or some other familial concern,
2317.800000 2325.720000 or things that matter, they're important, but they're not the most important. That tells you,
2325.720000 2333.400000 you know, where the heart is, that's where our treasure is, right? And if you really think about
2333.400000 2338.760000 your own conversations when you go to dinner with friends or family, what are you talking about?
2341.080000 2348.280000 You will notice that most of us, most of the time, are in the Pharisees camp. However, the Church gives us
2348.280000 2355.160000 this beautiful season of length to remind us of the graces that Jesus wants to give us. Lent,
2355.160000 2365.720000 Christmas hides in length. You see, Jesus has a gift under the tree for you in length.
2367.400000 2373.240000 But if all you're doing is focusing on, "Should I eat mayo or not eat mayo?" Can I eat an
2373.240000 2377.000000 possible burger? Because it's chemically structurally looked like meat, is it meat?
2377.000000 2384.360000 And those are important considerations. I'm not saying you shouldn't think seriously about
2384.360000 2391.880000 what you're eating during length, or not eating during length. But if that's all you're focusing on,
2391.880000 2399.480000 then you're like Nicodemus. You're losing sight of the goal. The goal is that in Lent, there are
2399.480000 2405.960000 supergraces that God wants to give you. He's the strong party. He knows what he wants to give you.
2405.960000 2411.160000 Instead, all of us come around and agenda. We made our list. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that.
2411.160000 2415.480000 I'm going to do that. We already know. We filled out the whole... Jesus is nothing to say.
2415.480000 2420.920000 Instead of going to Him like Samuel is saying, "Speak Lord, Your servant is listening. What should I be
2420.920000 2426.360000 working on?" You see, evidently, you go to the strong party and let the strong party govern.
2426.360000 2432.680000 He is arguing backward because he defines the nature of citizenship. You must be re-authored. You
2432.680000 2438.360000 must be reborn before revealing its cost. And in your covenant, the strong party defines the family
2438.360000 2447.560000 bond first, establishing that it is a matter of birth, not behavior. You must be born, not you must
2447.560000 2453.400000 do to a Pharisee that is slap at the face because that's all they do. They do, do. And in setting them,
2453.400000 2458.680000 you have to be born. If the strong party says you must be born into the family to stay in the house,
2458.680000 2463.400000 doesn't matter how many signs you've seen or how well you know the old house rules,
2463.400000 2470.520000 you cannot study your way into nature. You do not possess. You can teach dogs all the tricks you
2470.520000 2477.960000 want. The dog will never be your son if you're a same person that is. You can teach a fish and a fish
2477.960000 2485.480000 bowl to do tricks. That fish will never be your daughter. It's a change of nature. It's a fundamental
2485.480000 2493.880000 shift in our nature that only Christ can operate. To a Pharisee, it's very hard. And it's very hard for
2493.880000 2502.440000 us in so many ways. You see, if you're Catholic who try to live the faith, what we mostly do is focus on
2502.440000 2509.960000 piety. So we go to Daily Mass, we sit on rosary. We get into this groove, this routine, which is
2509.960000 2513.800000 wonderful. It's a beautiful thing. I'm not saying don't do that. Do that. Absolutely. Do it.
2513.800000 2519.880000 But don't do it for it because these things are just giving you the spiritual energy you need to
2519.880000 2526.200000 go somewhere. They're filling your tank with spiritual energy, with grace. But if it's all that's
2526.200000 2530.440000 you're doing and you go sit in your car and go nowhere, meaning you're not working on your virtues,
2530.440000 2537.080000 you can't list your vices and your virtues and you're not working diligently on them, you're going
2537.080000 2544.600000 nowhere. And guess what? Somebody comes, he criticizes us over anything we're doing.
2545.400000 2550.360000 Then the true nature shows up. Without the birth of certificate of water and the spirit, you remain a
2550.360000 2556.520000 trespasser in the kingdom. Can't get there. Jesus is not inventing water's ritual, He is overtaking
2556.520000 2563.800000 them. So all the... the purification that they're doing, He's not rejecting it, He's not throwing it
2563.800000 2569.400000 away, He's not saying the law that Moses gave you, or the things He asked you to do, I am going to get
2569.400000 2576.760000 rid of them. That's not what He's doing. He's sublimating them, He's giving them the real purpose before
2576.760000 2584.920000 their shadows, now their reality. The Pharisees were experts in the mechve, the ritual baths. They had
2584.920000 2591.720000 washings for everything, cups, plates, hands, bodies. They were water-only rituals. They could clean
2591.720000 2598.680000 the skin but not the soul. There were medicinal reminders of the curse of uncleanness. So you understand
2598.680000 2604.600000 that the entire sacrificial system and the Old Testament could not forgive sins.
2604.600000 2615.560000 Your sins were never forgiven by the rituals of the Old Testament. That ritual did not have that power.
2615.560000 2624.200000 But it had the power to prepare you, it had the power to make you aware of sin, it had the power to
2624.200000 2633.800000 make you understand the necessity of holiness. It was of the Old, of the entire ancient civilization,
2633.800000 2642.280000 the best of the best was the Jewish system. It was unmatched, unparalleled, not the Romans,
2642.280000 2647.640000 not the Greeks, not the Chinese, not the Hindus. I don't care where you go, you will never find
2647.640000 2655.560000 a system as perfect, as precise, as focused on teaching you the necessity of holiness,
2655.560000 2666.200000 of mercy, of love, as the Old Testament. It doesn't exist. So I don't want you to think I look down on it.
2667.480000 2680.200000 Absolutely not. It was amazing. It was wonderful as far as natural systems go.
2680.200000 2690.360000 But it is nothing compared to the New Testament. Nothing because the new covenant is powered by grace.
2691.640000 2698.440000 The prophetic blueprint, Ezekiel 36, Jesus points Nicodemus back to the promise, "I will sprinkle
2698.440000 2704.920000 clean water upon you, and in new spirit I will put within you." You see, the Sadducees
2704.920000 2709.240000 particularly had completely rejected the prophets. They didn't believe in the resurrection,
2709.240000 2715.800000 and they only considered the materialistic legal order around them. The Pharisees were ambivalent,
2715.800000 2721.880000 they were all over the place. But Jesus is reminding him, "Ezekiel prophesied that."
2721.880000 2728.360000 And then to take over, Jesus is telling the Pharisee, "You have been using the water as a rule,
2728.360000 2737.640000 I'm using it as a womb." Talk about the mind-blowing change. You have to be born. You go to the womb
2737.640000 2744.600000 of baptism, to be born again. By marrying the physical water of the Old Covenant to the supernatural
2744.600000 2753.000000 spirit that the new Jesus abrogates the need for 613 washings. They had 613 rules of purification.
2753.000000 2759.720000 You had to follow in order to be considered holy. Now, I find that amazing that they could actually go
2759.720000 2765.080000 to such length. I mean, as a guy, I tell you, and I think the guys around here, the guy around here,
2765.080000 2772.520000 will concur that may not admit it, especially if their wives are here. If I take a shower,
2772.520000 2779.720000 I'll figure out which limb I'm going to wash. Like I'll pick one. I'll do the other ones next time.
2779.720000 2786.120000 If I'm living alone, I might go a month without taking a shower. I don't care. I'm a guy.
2786.120000 2799.400000 613 rules. They followed religiously. That is amazing. I don't look down on this. I'm impressed.
2801.560000 2809.640000 So what does that mean? It means that the demands of the new covenant is even more
2809.640000 2814.520000 stringent and hard.
2814.520000 2826.600000 Not less. It's the real deal. And without the grace of God, we can do any of it.
2829.080000 2835.880000 Anyone of us who thinks that we are good is in danger of losing himself.
2835.880000 2843.240000 We can't do anything without the grace of God. But with the grace of God, you have Padre Pio.
2843.240000 2847.320000 You have sin to raise a little child Jesus. You have sin to raise a little child.
2847.320000 2853.720000 With the grace of God. One birth, one baptism is sufficient for the new covenant family.
2854.360000 2861.400000 One. Because what God does, God doesn't take back away and there is no force on earth to
2861.400000 2865.400000 abrogate that. You can even say to him, "How can this be?" Jesus answered him,
2865.400000 2871.240000 "Are you a teacher of Israel?" You see, here we go. Are you a teacher of Israel? The irony here.
2871.240000 2878.440000 He is a teacher of Israel, of course. And he, Jesus, is in appearances, anyway,
2878.440000 2882.760000 is a Galilean. And yet you do not understand this. Truly, truly, I say to you,
2882.760000 2888.920000 we speak, here we go, of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen. But you do not receive
2888.920000 2894.200000 our testimony. This we, we, our is him and John the Baptist, and John the Baptist. If I have told
2894.200000 2899.480000 you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
2899.480000 2907.480000 So what is this earthly things versus heavenly things? Earthly things are things that are related
2907.480000 2913.160000 to our life of faith here on earth. Heavenly things are things that relate to the Trinity.
2913.160000 2919.720000 So Jesus is eager. He's eager to share the life that is affinity with him, but he can't.
2919.720000 2923.560000 Because he can't even understand the basics.
2923.560000 2934.840000 Okay? He can't even understand the basics. Now, I'm going to take a quick segue to show you something
2934.840000 2941.480000 absolutely amazing. It's one of my favorite passages in the gospel. It's the Syrophonician woman.
2941.480000 2950.680000 Never mind that she's from my backyard, right? Side and entire are in Lebanon. So she's Lebanese. She's
2950.680000 2957.000000 one of us, but setting that aside. This woman comes to Jesus and the apostles and she's yelling,
2958.760000 2967.640000 my daughter is possessed by a demon. Take it out. The apostles tell Jesus, she's bothering us. Send her away.
2967.640000 2975.560000 Jesus doesn't answer and he goes and sits down and she comes and kneels before him and says
2975.560000 2985.000000 and entreats him and for him to basically take that demon away. Jesus answers, it is not right to give
2985.000000 2997.640000 the food of the children to the dogs. Dogs are unclean animals. So if you touch a dog, you become
2997.640000 3003.000000 unclean. Now, if you're wondering why, it has to do with the sacrificial system in Egypt. There's a
3003.000000 3008.680000 whole complicated story behind this, but be that as it may, they're unclean animals. So they were used
3008.680000 3019.160000 by the Israelites as a way to speak of the Gentiles. Okay? And that's what Jesus is doing. Straight up.
3019.160000 3026.200000 And then she says, yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from the table with the
3026.200000 3032.120000 children. Okay? And then there is a same strange moment as we saw with Nathaniel, oh woman, how great
3032.120000 3041.480000 is your faith? Go, your daughter is here, your faith has saved you. Okay, what is going on?
3041.480000 3052.360000 Jesus says, first, first he tells them, I was only sent, I was only sent to the children of Israel.
3052.360000 3059.160000 So he seems, it seems as if he's sort of rejecting her. Well, in one way he is, but he's really
3059.160000 3067.880000 isn't because he says, I was only sent by implication. What does it mean for them? The apostles.
3067.880000 3080.680000 I was only sent, not you, meaning who's supposed to deal with her? You, you're supposed to be the one
3080.680000 3091.640000 helping her. But what did they say? She's bothering us. Send her away. No clue. They don't understand.
3091.640000 3098.760000 So then what is it that they don't understand? She comes and then she tells Jesus this,
3098.760000 3105.480000 it is not right to give the food of the children to the dogs. What is he basically saying? It is
3105.480000 3110.440000 saying exactly what you would hear priests say in a church. If you're not a Catholic, you cannot
3110.440000 3123.320000 receive communion. That's what he's talking about. And then she says, yes Lord, but even those who are
3123.320000 3132.520000 not Catholics receive the graces through the Catholics. What is it that Jesus is praising in this
3132.520000 3141.080000 woman? Her understanding of ecclesiology, the whole nature of the church and the flow of grace,
3141.080000 3148.200000 she got that. Yeah, that's mind blowing. That's why he says, oh woman, how great in your faith.
3148.200000 3155.160000 What did she get it from? I have no idea. But definitely the spirit blows where it wills.
3156.280000 3162.520000 She understood the structure of the church, namely that grace flows from the Trinity to the Blessed
3162.520000 3169.000000 Virgin Mary, to the Catholic Church, every altar through all the masses, to the Catholics,
3169.000000 3177.320000 and then from them it's supposed to flow into the world. She got that. Not the Apostles.
3179.160000 3193.000000 Sandra Ways is bothering us. It's incredible. The Holy Spirit picked one who is not part of the family
3193.000000 3201.720000 to understand the structure of the family. And Nicodemus is not able to. We speak of what we know
3201.720000 3207.640000 and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. And then he talks about
3208.600000 3214.200000 ascending into heaven and ascending from heaven. So what is he meaning by that?
3214.200000 3222.120000 So the problem for Nicodemus, first of all, is that it's not a question of intelligence. He's
3222.120000 3230.680000 planning intelligent. It's a problem of origin. Earth, the authority cannot grasp heavenly realities.
3230.680000 3237.080000 The old order cannot bring about the new birth because it has never ascended to heaven, meaning
3237.080000 3247.560000 the old order has never seen or beheld the Trinity. So therefore it can't bring about the real change.
3247.560000 3253.880000 Truly, truly I say to you, we speak of what we know, but you do not receive our testimony.
3253.880000 3259.240000 The issue is not lack of information. The issue is the refusal of testimony.
3261.160000 3268.120000 You see, the problem isn't Nicodemus that you don't understand. The problem isn't that your order
3268.120000 3274.600000 is different than ours. The problem isn't that you're not able to square away what I'm doing
3274.600000 3280.520000 with what you're coming from. The problem is that you're rejecting the signs that I'm giving you.
3280.520000 3286.760000 Jesus pulls away all this misunderstanding that Nicodemus has and goes straight to the heart.
3288.520000 3293.320000 I'm doing signs that you know no one can, no one else could do. That should lead you to say,
3293.320000 3298.520000 this is from God. I must follow. Instead, you're bulky.
3298.520000 3308.040000 But the problem, this is terrifying because as soon as Jesus does something,
3308.040000 3316.440000 the blessings and the curses are right in front of us. Either we fall in line or we don't.
3316.680000 3325.000000 No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
3325.000000 3330.360000 He's basically saying, no rabbi has ascended to heaven. No priest has ascended to heaven.
3330.360000 3334.680000 No Sanhedrin delegation has ascended to heaven. He's abrogating their authority.
3334.680000 3343.480000 Only the Son has descended. Therefore, the one who descended defines eternal life, knows the Father,
3343.480000 3349.640000 sets the covenantal terms. This is not authoritarianism. This is ontological authority.
3349.640000 3355.080000 This is authority by existence. And Nicodemus at this point cannot see that.
3355.080000 3361.480000 Now this title, the Son of Man comes from the prophecy in the book of Daniel, where Daniel sees one
3361.480000 3369.640000 like the Son of Man. It is the highest title somebody can apply to himself to say his God, ironically.
3369.640000 3375.240000 Son of Man doesn't mean I'm the Son of Adam. Son of Man means I'm God because of that vision.
3375.240000 3377.160000 And they all understood that. They all knew that.
3377.160000 3385.640000 Why does the sin matters? The only Son has made him known. Christ does not speculate about God.
3385.640000 3390.280000 He reveals what he has seen. He speaks from heaven, not about heaven.
3390.280000 3396.920000 I can speak about heaven. Christ speaks from heaven. It's a huge difference.
3398.840000 3403.560000 To reject him is to reject the only eyewitness to eternity.
3403.560000 3411.080000 The Son of Man receives the minion glory and everlasting kingdom that's Daniel chapter 7.
3411.080000 3418.040000 All nations serve him. His kingdom does not pass away. In John chapter 3, Jesus quietly claims
3418.040000 3424.760000 that title. The one who descends is the one who reigns. That's why he brings all this now.
3425.880000 3430.920000 He's asserting his authority to explain to Nicodemus the difference between your teaching office
3430.920000 3437.640000 and my teaching office. You speak of what you don't know. I speak of what I know.
3437.640000 3443.480000 And there's a golf separating us and I'm explaining to you how you can join me. I'm inviting you to
3443.480000 3453.720000 join me so you can receive eternal life. Because he alone descended, his commands are not optional.
3453.720000 3459.720000 His warnings are not authorical. His covenant is definitive. To ignore him is not to break a rule.
3459.720000 3465.480000 It is to refuse life. It's really thinking about it. It's the implication of terrifying.
3465.480000 3471.240000 Christ is not one voice among many. He is the only one who has seen the Father,
3471.240000 3474.920000 the judge entrusted with all judgments, the source of eternal life.
3474.920000 3479.240000 Therefore, total allegiance is rational. Half measures are irrational.
3481.480000 3486.200000 Put it this way. The only one that matters is Jesus. Even if you don't love him.
3486.200000 3491.160000 Send love aside. If you don't love him, logically speaking, the only one you care about is him.
3491.160000 3496.120000 Because he is the one who renders judgment. And he's nothing I'd like to correct.
3496.120000 3502.120000 People somehow have been taught or told that your actions, by your actions,
3502.120000 3509.480000 can them knew to help or save you. But that's kind of a half truth.
3510.840000 3513.640000 Because if your actions truly condemned you to hell,
3513.640000 3516.360000 then your action should be able to allow you to go to heaven.
3516.360000 3519.800000 And if that's the case, you don't need to cross. We're back into Pelagianism.
3519.800000 3527.560000 No. Regardless of what your actions are, regardless of the sum total of your actions,
3527.560000 3533.960000 Christ's judgment is sovereign. His judgment is not constrained by your actions.
3535.160000 3541.800000 You're not telling Christ what to do. He judges you according to his sovereign will.
3541.800000 3548.680000 And there's no escaping that. That's the only thing that matters. At the end of the day,
3548.680000 3553.640000 if there's one thing you want to keep in mind, it's this. One day, you'll stand alone in front of
3553.640000 3563.400000 that throne and he, the just judge, will judge you. So what does that mean if my actions can't
3564.680000 3570.120000 order his judgment? What am I supposed to do? Well, he tells us one of the parables.
3570.120000 3577.720000 The only thing you can do is love him. That's what you can do. That's the only thing that matters.
3577.720000 3583.960000 Loving him. Because by loving him you show you're serious about him. You chose him.
3583.960000 3592.760000 And if there's one thing that Jesus, by his own words, will not deny his love.
3593.880000 3600.360000 Because he is love. So you love him and you leave the rest in his hands.
3600.360000 3608.040000 So remember, there's an asymmetry in the descent and the ascent. Not remember, I mean,
3608.040000 3613.080000 I was just now going to point out the way down the incarnation. The eternal sun descends from heaven,
3613.080000 3618.680000 conceived by the Holy Spirit, received an intimacy by his mother, hidden, silent, obedient. He comes
3618.680000 3623.640000 down in love, he comes down in humility, he comes down in closeness. The ascent is true,
3623.640000 3633.480000 the cross. Through the cross. Don't separate Christmas from Easter. They go together.
3633.480000 3641.320000 The incarnation reveals God's nearness, but the cross establishes his reign. The sensuals love.
3641.320000 3647.960000 Ascent conquers sin. The sent unites divinity in humanity. Ascent redeems humanity. The king
3647.960000 3655.400000 rules not merely because he came down, but because he was lifted up. John 1232, and I, when I'm lifted
3655.400000 3665.240000 up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. So at the end of this segment, Jesus is not only
3665.240000 3673.000000 taken over the teaching authority of the Pharisees, but he has explained what's at stake. He has
3673.000000 3680.520000 revealed why he's as the authority, why he's teaching is eternal, and why is his authority
3680.520000 3687.160000 is everlasting, because he is the one who descended, and he's the one who ascends, and no one else can do that.
3687.160000 3696.120000 So in descent, God becomes man, lifted up, the king reigns from the cross. The resurrection,
3696.120000 3701.560000 authority, vindicated, ascension, the minion revealed. This is not a political conquest. It's a
3701.560000 3707.400000 redemptive conquest. He does not open heaven by destroying enemies, but by offering himself
3707.400000 3714.360000 for them. That we're going to see later. It is easier for Jesus to dismantle the current order
3714.360000 3719.880000 than it is to convince His apostles and disciples of the true nature of His kingship.
3719.880000 3724.760000 That is going to be the hard part.
3728.920000 3733.720000 The teacher of Israel stands in a dark. The son who descended speaks from heaven.
3733.720000 3740.840000 Birth, not credentials, determines entry. Water and spirit establishes a new family bond.
3740.840000 3747.720000 The son of man will be lifted up. Life is given to those who believe. Refusal is not intellectual
3747.720000 3757.640000 disagreement. It's rejection of life itself. Christ is not an advisor. He is the source of life,
3758.520000 3764.360000 to encounter Him is to make a choice, an eternal choice. So choose wisely.
3764.360000 3775.800000 When I pray, do I know how to listen? Although I go to Jesus with my list of
3775.800000 3784.760000 things I want Him to do for me, when Christ confronts me with something I don't understand,
3784.760000 3793.960000 do I leave the church? Escribes my go-to in hardship or my Lord and life.
3793.960000 3802.760000 In the Council of Orange, Canon 7, if anyone affirms that we can, by the power of nature,
3802.760000 3807.160000 think anything good, without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
3807.160000 3813.800000 He's deceived by heretical spirit. Canon 9, it is by the grace of God that we both believe and do
3813.800000 3820.120000 good works. Canon 20, God's grace does not find man fit for salvation, but makes them so.
3820.120000 3830.680000 So in the end, it is grace. Grace is all in all. It's what we need. It's what sustains us and what
3830.680000 3837.080000 we'll bring us to heaven. We're going to take a moment of, we're going to end with a prayer,
3837.080000 3840.040000 then we're going to take a break and come back for questions. For those of you who need to leave,
3841.160000 3845.880000 may God be with you, otherwise we'll go through questions. So please stand.
3845.880000 3851.000000 The name of the Father of the Son of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Lord Jesus, we want to thank you and
3851.000000 3856.840000 praise you and glorify you for every good thought, every inspiration that you're putting into our
3856.840000 3861.400000 heart through the Holy Spirit. We ask you, Lord, to give us the grace to put them into effect.
3861.400000 3867.160000 And we ask all of this through the intercession of Mary, most holy, as we pray.
3867.720000 3874.360000 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women. Blessed is the fruit of
3874.360000 3881.880000 thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now in the hour of our death,
3881.880000 3890.360000 amen. Say, in Joseph. Say, Michael. Say, Anthony. All ye angels and saints.
3890.360000 3893.640000 The name of the Father of the Son of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
3894.280000 3900.586625 [BLANK_AUDIO]