Chosen - Jesus Invites...
Sermon Video Clips
Copyright: South Bay Community Church
Sermon Preamble
Let’s recap what we have learned so far in the sermon series called Chosen: (1) Jesus knows our name and invites us to come and see; (2) The Lord offers true Sabbath rest for our souls with Jesus and in Jesus; (3) We are cherished children of God deeply loved by Jesus. (4) The Lord will provide for our needs as we seek first the Kingdom of God. To be chosen by Jesus means so much more. So far, we have been examining what it means to be chosen by Jesus; in this message we will look at what it means for us to choose Jesus in return. To be chosen means that Jesus offers an invitation to live a good, beautiful, and abundant life with Him. Will we accept and choose Jesus in return? The choice is ours, and the choice has costs.
“Selah” as we view the video clips from The Chosen media series
As we view the video clips from The Chosen media series, we will pause, reflect, and invite the Holy Spirit to communicate with us. The Hebrew word for pause and reflection is “Selah.” After each video clip we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring to our hearts and minds what we heard, what we learned, and what we felt.
The context for Jesus’ invitation to Nicodemus in John 3:16
Let’s review the famous scripture of John 3:16-17: “16For 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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The context is that Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews. The Jewish religious leaders are beginning to take issue with Jesus. Battle lines are being drawn. These religious leaders are getting concerned about what Jesus is teaching, saying, and doing. Nicodemus is attracted to what Jesus is doing and teaching. Nicodemus seeks Jesus secretly at night to ask questions (John 3:1-15).
Given what we know about Jesus and Nicodemus, the writers of The Chosen media series added to the biblical account some details to help us enter this video scene. The details could have happened just this way.
Let’s enter this scene and watch Video Clip 1 – Nicodemus and Jesus. After you view the video clip, let’s pause and reflect (Selah) as you let the Spirit bring to your mind what you heard, learned, or felt from that video clip.
Jesus is the Son of God
No one could do what Jesus did except God; Jesus is God. Jesus did not come to overthrow Rome or engage in politics as the Jews were expecting. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but He came to save the world from the brokenness of sin and establish the Kingdom of God’s rule in this world.
To enter into the Kingdom of God, we have to first choose to believe in Jesus and choose to be born again. Jesus explained that being born again is a spiritual rebirth in our souls. The rebirth accomplished by the Holy Spirit is spiritual, not from humanly developed religion. The Holy Spirit is a mystery, working much like the wind. We cannot see or grab the Holy Spirit, but we can feel, experience, and see the Holy Spirit’s effects.
Nicodemus, similar to some of us, has concerns about choosing and following Jesus
The part of the video clip where Jesus invites Nicodemus to follow Him is not in the Bible, but it is both plausible and possible. Nicodemus was drawn to Jesus. Hear the concerns from Nicodemus taking the next step and following Jesus. Nicodemus had a prominent role as a religious leader. Nicodemus had a comfortable, stable life and a family. He had questions about what following Jesus would mean. He wasn’t sure about this nomadic life without roots or security. Jesus even noted that Nicodemus was advanced in age, perhaps set in his ways, and perhaps his body did not move the way it used to move.
There were many reasons for Nicodemus not to give up what he had of worldly comforts and follow Jesus. Many reasons are the same ones we struggle with today! You can see in the video clip that Nicodemus was conflicted. You can feel that Nicodemus was touched by Jesus. You can feel Nicodemus’ adoration, worship, and love for Jesus. You can see that Nicodemus believed Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Nicodemus was visibly and demonstratively moved to be in the presence of Jesus.
Jesus had chosen Nicodemus; Jesus offered an invitation; Nicodemus had a choice to make.
Jesus’ Invitation to Matthew
Jesus invited Matthew, the Jewish tax collector, to follow Him. “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…’” (Matthew 9:9-13).
Let’s enter this scene and watch Video Clip 2 – Matthew and Jesus. The Chosen video provides additional details. The Jews at large felt that tax collectors were betraying their own people. Jewish tax collectors charged extra for themselves while collecting taxes from Jews for the oppressive Roman regime. Gaius, the Roman official, noted that no Jew lived as well as Matthew.
Yet, Matthew was willing to let it all go. Jesus’ invitation to Matthew is in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In all three biblical accounts, Matthew immediately got up and followed Jesus. His choice was Jesus.
Why do you think Matthew immediately chose Jesus in response to Jesus’ invitation?
Some reasons for Matthew, like us, to choose Jesus
Perhaps Matthew’s life was not really working for him; something was not quite right. In The Chosen story line, Matthew is estranged from his parents; he is lonely and unhappy. He has experienced that his riches do not satisfy. For us today, we may have tried all that life has to offer, and it doesn’t satisfy.
Perhaps Matthew saw something in Jesus and wanted to learn more. When Jesus chose him, Matthew felt wanted and affirmed. Matthew saw the possibilities of a different life. For us today, perhaps we’ve come to the end of ourselves and have to admit that our lives just aren’t working. Something is missing. We get a taste of Jesus, feel His love, feel His acceptance, feel chosen, and we want more. We catch a glimpse that our lives could be different and see possibilities.
The Spirit was at work drawing Matthew to Jesus. Similarly for us today, the Holy Spirit is moving within. Are we are ready and willing to listen?
It is important to be ready and willing to listen. Often, Jesus is inviting us to come and follow Him through the Holy Spirit, but instead we choose to ignore Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and go our own way. The choice is ours.
It does cost us something to choose and follow Jesus
Jesus is honest about the cost to choose and follow Him. Nicodemus knew it. Matthew knew it. Jesus declares the cost in Luke 9. “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it’” (Luke 9: 23-25).
Jesus makes it plain that we have a choice. We must choose carefully. Jesus makes the same point a few chapters later when He tells people to first sit down and count the cost before following Him (Luke 14:25-33). There is a cost, and Jesus articulates that cost. To choose Jesus means that we must deny ourselves, we must give up our own ways, and we must take up our cross.
Following Jesus means to take up our cross
This statement of taking up our cross would have been startling for the original hearers in biblical times. Cross bearing in Jesus’ time on earth was a powerful image. The cross was a symbol of execution and shame for criminals who would carry their crosses to their death.
At this time in Luke 9, Jesus had not died on the cross for our salvation. The cross did not have the same spiritual significance and meaning for salvation it has for us today. In the day of Jesus on earth, the cross was despised, and it meant failure, embarrassment, and death. Today, the cross used in biblical times would be akin to the electric chair. The cross was something to avoid that resulted in death, not something to embrace leading to eternal life.
Even after Jesus’ death, the instruction of Jesus to take up your cross would be a costly choice. For Christians in the 1st century, following Jesus was new, counter-cultural, and a threat to the establishment. To take up one’s cross in biblical times, meant unpopularity, rejection, persecution, and even death.
The cost of choosing Jesus is death to our natural selves and to this world
Following Jesus means that we are choosing to walk a different path with Jesus. After we follow Jesus, we should look and act differently because we are on a completely different path. We are moving in a completely different direction. This different direction is often referred to as an upside down Kingdom of God.
Choosing Jesus means a walk of integrity, purity, faithfulness, and a humble service that the world may take advantage of.
Choosing Jesus means denying some of our natural inclinations for fame, fortune, or power. Choosing Jesus means rejecting the values of this world for the values of the Kingdom of God.
Choosing Jesus means our focus is on the well-being of others before our own well-being. Jesus means denying the notion that it is all about me, my self-actualization, my advancement, my goals, and my desires.
Choosing Jesus means denying our human tendency to see ourselves at the center of the universe, which we do as humans naturally. We cannot help it.
Choosing Jesus costs everything the world tells us to be true. The Holy Spirit enables us to exchange every human inclination for our renewed and transformed mind.
Really choosing Jesus is hard; it is an everyday struggle.
Jesus says we are to take up our cross daily
Every day we must choose to die to ourselves in both big ways and small ways. Every day we should choose Jesus. Every day we remember that it is not about us, but instead it is all about Jesus. Thank God that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer to strengthen and help us because we could never do it on our own.
Jesus invites, but we must choose. The choice costs something.
Jesus is patient and loving with the choices of Nicodemus, the Disciples, and Us
The scene from our last video clip is the day the disciples leave Capernaum to begin their journey with Jesus. Let’s enter this scene and view Video Clip 3 – Nicodemus Choice.
It is interesting to see the contrast between the disciples and Nicodemus. The disciples are excited and ready to go on an adventure with Jesus. They have chosen Jesus, even though they do not always get things right. Jesus is loving and patient with the disciples. It will be a grand adventure. They have started on a journey that has cost them something. There will be more costs ahead for them, as we know.
For Nicodemus, the cost was too great at that time. He could not make the choice to daily follow Jesus. But Nicodemus did what he could. His heart was turned toward Jesus, and he took a step. He provided gold for the journey of Jesus and the disciples. His heart wanted to do so much more. Nicodemus just could not take that next step. The loving nature of our Lord showed as Jesus was loving and patient with Nicodemus. There was no condemnation of Nicodemus from Jesus.
In the bible, we see Nicodemus two more times; each time more ready to choose Jesus
Each time, Nicodemus is becoming bolder for Jesus. In the first biblical appearance of Nicodemus, he meets Jesus secretly at night. Then in John 7 Nicodemus intervenes when the religious leaders want to seize Jesus. Nicodemus halts their actions with a verbal question that checks their motives and defends Jesus. “Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of them asked, ‘Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?’” (John 7:50-51). Then, after the death of Jesus, Nicodemus is with Joseph of Arimathea to lay Jesus in the tomb. “Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight….Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb… they laid Jesus there.” (John 19: 39-42). With each account, we see Nicodemus more ready to choose Jesus. Nicodemus understood that to choose Jesus cost something. He eventually surrendered fully.
Jesus is inviting us today with love and patience to choose and follow Jesus daily
It may be that Jesus has been calling you and you have been torn. Perhaps you want to grow closer to Jesus, but do not yet feel ready to take that step. Jesus through the Holy Spirit is inviting you again to come and follow Him. Perhaps today is the day you say Yes, for Jesus is waiting for you.
Perhaps you have been following Jesus for a long time, but the Spirit has brought to your mind an area of your life or a situation. Jesus is inviting you to take up your cross, deny yourself, and sacrifice to go the way of Jesus and not your own way. Jesus invites you to choose Him, even though there is a cost. There may be a cost to your pride, a cost to your desires, a cost to your preferences, or another cost. You know what it costs. The truth is that whatever the cost, choosing and following Jesus is worth it.
Let’s remember all that it means that Jesus chooses us.
There is nothing more precious than choosing and following Jesus regardless of the cost. Choosing Jesus is worth everything and anything we may have to surrender.
Jesus has chosen you. The question is, Will you choose Jesus today and choose Jesus again and again every day?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FOR USE IN FAMILY GROUP
Sermon Preamble
-We should remember the various truths explored in this Chosen sermon series that God initiates our relationship by choosing us. Which of the four truths explored so far in this sermon series do you find most difficult to remember as a foundational truth that God chooses us and invites us to respond by choosing and following God?
“Selah” as we view the video clips from The Chosen media series
-After viewing the video clips, pausing and reflecting guided by the Holy Spirit, what did the Holy Spirit bring to your heart and mind to hear, learn, and feel?
The context for Jesus’ Invitation to Nicodemus in John 3:16
-Nicodemus is a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin group of rulers. Why do you think Nicodemus is relating to Jesus only at night when no one else will see them relating to each other? In what ways and why can other members of a group you are part of cause you to hide your developing relationship with Jesus?
Jesus is the Son of God
-What is the primary purpose of Jesus becoming incarnate on the earth as fully God and fully human? Was the primary purpose to overthrow the oppressive Roman government? Why do you think there are still oppressive world systems and governments?
Nicodemus, similar to some of us, has concerns about choosing and following Jesus
-As we may struggle with a choice to choose and follow Jesus, what concerns about choosing and following Jesus might be applicable in your life journey?
Jesus’ Invitation to Matthew
-Matthew, who became a gospel writer, was a Jewish tax collector hated by the Jewish people. Consider that all are ultimately accountable to God and God’s direction to us to love and forgive. What is your response when you see that a member of your race and culture is actively participating in the system that oppresses your culture? A current example may be the African American Memphis police officers charged with murder for recently killing Tyre Nichols, an African American man.
Some reasons for Matthew, like us, to choose Jesus
-Perhaps our life journey is not working for us, or an abundance of material possessions does not satisfy. These items oriented to selfish worldly desires need to be replaced with choosing and following Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us a glimpse that our lives could be radically different.
What factors are important to you in your choice to follow Jesus?
-What spiritual practices can help you be ready to listen to the Holy Spirit rather than going your own way?
It does cost us something to choose and follow Jesus
-In making our choice, what are the costs articulated by Jesus to choosing and following Jesus?
Following Jesus means to take up our cross
-When Jesus instructed the original hearers to take up the cross prior to his death, what did the cross mean and represent?
The cost of choosing Jesus is death to our natural selves and to this world
-In what ways does our life journey after choosing to follow Jesus look radically different?
Jesus says we are to take up our cross daily
-How often does God call upon us to choose and follow Jesus? Why?
Jesus is patient and loving with the choices of Nicodemus, the Disciples, and Us
-What are the characteristics of God common to each of us whether our choice is to immediately choose and follow Jesus like the disciples (and still make mistakes) or to determine that we are not ready for the next step, like Nicodemus? Why?
In the bible, we see Nicodemus two more times; each time more ready to choose Jesus
-Based on the biblical passages on Nicodemus and the insight from the writers of The Chosen media series, how would you describe the heart of Nicodemus for Jesus? Why?
Jesus is inviting us today with love and patience to choose and follow Jesus daily
-Describe the circumstances when you have experienced loving patience in your relationship with Jesus? Does loving patience apply whether or not you are ready to follow Jesus? Is there an area of your life in which Jesus is inviting you to take up your cross, deny yourself, and daily sacrifice to go the way of the cross, not your own way? Why?
-In what ways will you choose Jesus today and choose Jesus again and again every day?
Sermon Preamble
Let’s recap what we have learned so far in the sermon series called Chosen: (1) Jesus knows our name and invites us to come and see; (2) The Lord offers true Sabbath rest for our souls with Jesus and in Jesus; (3) We are cherished children of God deeply loved by Jesus. (4) The Lord will provide for our needs as we seek first the Kingdom of God. To be chosen by Jesus means so much more. So far, we have been examining what it means to be chosen by Jesus; in this message we will look at what it means for us to choose Jesus in return. To be chosen means that Jesus offers an invitation to live a good, beautiful, and abundant life with Him. Will we accept and choose Jesus in return? The choice is ours, and the choice has costs.
“Selah” as we view the video clips from The Chosen media series
As we view the video clips from The Chosen media series, we will pause, reflect, and invite the Holy Spirit to communicate with us. The Hebrew word for pause and reflection is “Selah.” After each video clip we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring to our hearts and minds what we heard, what we learned, and what we felt.
The context for Jesus’ invitation to Nicodemus in John 3:16
Let’s review the famous scripture of John 3:16-17: “16For 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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The context is that Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews. The Jewish religious leaders are beginning to take issue with Jesus. Battle lines are being drawn. These religious leaders are getting concerned about what Jesus is teaching, saying, and doing. Nicodemus is attracted to what Jesus is doing and teaching. Nicodemus seeks Jesus secretly at night to ask questions (John 3:1-15).
Given what we know about Jesus and Nicodemus, the writers of The Chosen media series added to the biblical account some details to help us enter this video scene. The details could have happened just this way.
Let’s enter this scene and watch Video Clip 1 – Nicodemus and Jesus. After you view the video clip, let’s pause and reflect (Selah) as you let the Spirit bring to your mind what you heard, learned, or felt from that video clip.
Jesus is the Son of God
No one could do what Jesus did except God; Jesus is God. Jesus did not come to overthrow Rome or engage in politics as the Jews were expecting. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but He came to save the world from the brokenness of sin and establish the Kingdom of God’s rule in this world.
To enter into the Kingdom of God, we have to first choose to believe in Jesus and choose to be born again. Jesus explained that being born again is a spiritual rebirth in our souls. The rebirth accomplished by the Holy Spirit is spiritual, not from humanly developed religion. The Holy Spirit is a mystery, working much like the wind. We cannot see or grab the Holy Spirit, but we can feel, experience, and see the Holy Spirit’s effects.
Nicodemus, similar to some of us, has concerns about choosing and following Jesus
The part of the video clip where Jesus invites Nicodemus to follow Him is not in the Bible, but it is both plausible and possible. Nicodemus was drawn to Jesus. Hear the concerns from Nicodemus taking the next step and following Jesus. Nicodemus had a prominent role as a religious leader. Nicodemus had a comfortable, stable life and a family. He had questions about what following Jesus would mean. He wasn’t sure about this nomadic life without roots or security. Jesus even noted that Nicodemus was advanced in age, perhaps set in his ways, and perhaps his body did not move the way it used to move.
There were many reasons for Nicodemus not to give up what he had of worldly comforts and follow Jesus. Many reasons are the same ones we struggle with today! You can see in the video clip that Nicodemus was conflicted. You can feel that Nicodemus was touched by Jesus. You can feel Nicodemus’ adoration, worship, and love for Jesus. You can see that Nicodemus believed Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Nicodemus was visibly and demonstratively moved to be in the presence of Jesus.
Jesus had chosen Nicodemus; Jesus offered an invitation; Nicodemus had a choice to make.
Jesus’ Invitation to Matthew
Jesus invited Matthew, the Jewish tax collector, to follow Him. “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…’” (Matthew 9:9-13).
Let’s enter this scene and watch Video Clip 2 – Matthew and Jesus. The Chosen video provides additional details. The Jews at large felt that tax collectors were betraying their own people. Jewish tax collectors charged extra for themselves while collecting taxes from Jews for the oppressive Roman regime. Gaius, the Roman official, noted that no Jew lived as well as Matthew.
Yet, Matthew was willing to let it all go. Jesus’ invitation to Matthew is in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In all three biblical accounts, Matthew immediately got up and followed Jesus. His choice was Jesus.
Why do you think Matthew immediately chose Jesus in response to Jesus’ invitation?
Some reasons for Matthew, like us, to choose Jesus
Perhaps Matthew’s life was not really working for him; something was not quite right. In The Chosen story line, Matthew is estranged from his parents; he is lonely and unhappy. He has experienced that his riches do not satisfy. For us today, we may have tried all that life has to offer, and it doesn’t satisfy.
Perhaps Matthew saw something in Jesus and wanted to learn more. When Jesus chose him, Matthew felt wanted and affirmed. Matthew saw the possibilities of a different life. For us today, perhaps we’ve come to the end of ourselves and have to admit that our lives just aren’t working. Something is missing. We get a taste of Jesus, feel His love, feel His acceptance, feel chosen, and we want more. We catch a glimpse that our lives could be different and see possibilities.
The Spirit was at work drawing Matthew to Jesus. Similarly for us today, the Holy Spirit is moving within. Are we are ready and willing to listen?
It is important to be ready and willing to listen. Often, Jesus is inviting us to come and follow Him through the Holy Spirit, but instead we choose to ignore Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and go our own way. The choice is ours.
It does cost us something to choose and follow Jesus
Jesus is honest about the cost to choose and follow Him. Nicodemus knew it. Matthew knew it. Jesus declares the cost in Luke 9. “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it’” (Luke 9: 23-25).
Jesus makes it plain that we have a choice. We must choose carefully. Jesus makes the same point a few chapters later when He tells people to first sit down and count the cost before following Him (Luke 14:25-33). There is a cost, and Jesus articulates that cost. To choose Jesus means that we must deny ourselves, we must give up our own ways, and we must take up our cross.
Following Jesus means to take up our cross
This statement of taking up our cross would have been startling for the original hearers in biblical times. Cross bearing in Jesus’ time on earth was a powerful image. The cross was a symbol of execution and shame for criminals who would carry their crosses to their death.
At this time in Luke 9, Jesus had not died on the cross for our salvation. The cross did not have the same spiritual significance and meaning for salvation it has for us today. In the day of Jesus on earth, the cross was despised, and it meant failure, embarrassment, and death. Today, the cross used in biblical times would be akin to the electric chair. The cross was something to avoid that resulted in death, not something to embrace leading to eternal life.
Even after Jesus’ death, the instruction of Jesus to take up your cross would be a costly choice. For Christians in the 1st century, following Jesus was new, counter-cultural, and a threat to the establishment. To take up one’s cross in biblical times, meant unpopularity, rejection, persecution, and even death.
The cost of choosing Jesus is death to our natural selves and to this world
Following Jesus means that we are choosing to walk a different path with Jesus. After we follow Jesus, we should look and act differently because we are on a completely different path. We are moving in a completely different direction. This different direction is often referred to as an upside down Kingdom of God.
Choosing Jesus means a walk of integrity, purity, faithfulness, and a humble service that the world may take advantage of.
Choosing Jesus means denying some of our natural inclinations for fame, fortune, or power. Choosing Jesus means rejecting the values of this world for the values of the Kingdom of God.
Choosing Jesus means our focus is on the well-being of others before our own well-being. Jesus means denying the notion that it is all about me, my self-actualization, my advancement, my goals, and my desires.
Choosing Jesus means denying our human tendency to see ourselves at the center of the universe, which we do as humans naturally. We cannot help it.
Choosing Jesus costs everything the world tells us to be true. The Holy Spirit enables us to exchange every human inclination for our renewed and transformed mind.
Really choosing Jesus is hard; it is an everyday struggle.
Jesus says we are to take up our cross daily
Every day we must choose to die to ourselves in both big ways and small ways. Every day we should choose Jesus. Every day we remember that it is not about us, but instead it is all about Jesus. Thank God that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer to strengthen and help us because we could never do it on our own.
Jesus invites, but we must choose. The choice costs something.
Jesus is patient and loving with the choices of Nicodemus, the Disciples, and Us
The scene from our last video clip is the day the disciples leave Capernaum to begin their journey with Jesus. Let’s enter this scene and view Video Clip 3 – Nicodemus Choice.
It is interesting to see the contrast between the disciples and Nicodemus. The disciples are excited and ready to go on an adventure with Jesus. They have chosen Jesus, even though they do not always get things right. Jesus is loving and patient with the disciples. It will be a grand adventure. They have started on a journey that has cost them something. There will be more costs ahead for them, as we know.
For Nicodemus, the cost was too great at that time. He could not make the choice to daily follow Jesus. But Nicodemus did what he could. His heart was turned toward Jesus, and he took a step. He provided gold for the journey of Jesus and the disciples. His heart wanted to do so much more. Nicodemus just could not take that next step. The loving nature of our Lord showed as Jesus was loving and patient with Nicodemus. There was no condemnation of Nicodemus from Jesus.
In the bible, we see Nicodemus two more times; each time more ready to choose Jesus
Each time, Nicodemus is becoming bolder for Jesus. In the first biblical appearance of Nicodemus, he meets Jesus secretly at night. Then in John 7 Nicodemus intervenes when the religious leaders want to seize Jesus. Nicodemus halts their actions with a verbal question that checks their motives and defends Jesus. “Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of them asked, ‘Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?’” (John 7:50-51). Then, after the death of Jesus, Nicodemus is with Joseph of Arimathea to lay Jesus in the tomb. “Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight….Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb… they laid Jesus there.” (John 19: 39-42). With each account, we see Nicodemus more ready to choose Jesus. Nicodemus understood that to choose Jesus cost something. He eventually surrendered fully.
Jesus is inviting us today with love and patience to choose and follow Jesus daily
It may be that Jesus has been calling you and you have been torn. Perhaps you want to grow closer to Jesus, but do not yet feel ready to take that step. Jesus through the Holy Spirit is inviting you again to come and follow Him. Perhaps today is the day you say Yes, for Jesus is waiting for you.
Perhaps you have been following Jesus for a long time, but the Spirit has brought to your mind an area of your life or a situation. Jesus is inviting you to take up your cross, deny yourself, and sacrifice to go the way of Jesus and not your own way. Jesus invites you to choose Him, even though there is a cost. There may be a cost to your pride, a cost to your desires, a cost to your preferences, or another cost. You know what it costs. The truth is that whatever the cost, choosing and following Jesus is worth it.
Let’s remember all that it means that Jesus chooses us.
There is nothing more precious than choosing and following Jesus regardless of the cost. Choosing Jesus is worth everything and anything we may have to surrender.
Jesus has chosen you. The question is, Will you choose Jesus today and choose Jesus again and again every day?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FOR USE IN FAMILY GROUP
Sermon Preamble
-We should remember the various truths explored in this Chosen sermon series that God initiates our relationship by choosing us. Which of the four truths explored so far in this sermon series do you find most difficult to remember as a foundational truth that God chooses us and invites us to respond by choosing and following God?
“Selah” as we view the video clips from The Chosen media series
-After viewing the video clips, pausing and reflecting guided by the Holy Spirit, what did the Holy Spirit bring to your heart and mind to hear, learn, and feel?
The context for Jesus’ Invitation to Nicodemus in John 3:16
-Nicodemus is a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin group of rulers. Why do you think Nicodemus is relating to Jesus only at night when no one else will see them relating to each other? In what ways and why can other members of a group you are part of cause you to hide your developing relationship with Jesus?
Jesus is the Son of God
-What is the primary purpose of Jesus becoming incarnate on the earth as fully God and fully human? Was the primary purpose to overthrow the oppressive Roman government? Why do you think there are still oppressive world systems and governments?
Nicodemus, similar to some of us, has concerns about choosing and following Jesus
-As we may struggle with a choice to choose and follow Jesus, what concerns about choosing and following Jesus might be applicable in your life journey?
Jesus’ Invitation to Matthew
-Matthew, who became a gospel writer, was a Jewish tax collector hated by the Jewish people. Consider that all are ultimately accountable to God and God’s direction to us to love and forgive. What is your response when you see that a member of your race and culture is actively participating in the system that oppresses your culture? A current example may be the African American Memphis police officers charged with murder for recently killing Tyre Nichols, an African American man.
Some reasons for Matthew, like us, to choose Jesus
-Perhaps our life journey is not working for us, or an abundance of material possessions does not satisfy. These items oriented to selfish worldly desires need to be replaced with choosing and following Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us a glimpse that our lives could be radically different.
What factors are important to you in your choice to follow Jesus?
-What spiritual practices can help you be ready to listen to the Holy Spirit rather than going your own way?
It does cost us something to choose and follow Jesus
-In making our choice, what are the costs articulated by Jesus to choosing and following Jesus?
Following Jesus means to take up our cross
-When Jesus instructed the original hearers to take up the cross prior to his death, what did the cross mean and represent?
The cost of choosing Jesus is death to our natural selves and to this world
-In what ways does our life journey after choosing to follow Jesus look radically different?
Jesus says we are to take up our cross daily
-How often does God call upon us to choose and follow Jesus? Why?
Jesus is patient and loving with the choices of Nicodemus, the Disciples, and Us
-What are the characteristics of God common to each of us whether our choice is to immediately choose and follow Jesus like the disciples (and still make mistakes) or to determine that we are not ready for the next step, like Nicodemus? Why?
In the bible, we see Nicodemus two more times; each time more ready to choose Jesus
-Based on the biblical passages on Nicodemus and the insight from the writers of The Chosen media series, how would you describe the heart of Nicodemus for Jesus? Why?
Jesus is inviting us today with love and patience to choose and follow Jesus daily
-Describe the circumstances when you have experienced loving patience in your relationship with Jesus? Does loving patience apply whether or not you are ready to follow Jesus? Is there an area of your life in which Jesus is inviting you to take up your cross, deny yourself, and daily sacrifice to go the way of the cross, not your own way? Why?
-In what ways will you choose Jesus today and choose Jesus again and again every day?
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