9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.†  14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. REFLECTIONSWritten by Rebecca SheadOur family enjoys playing games together, and one that we've tried recently is called Wavelength. There are two teams. One person is given a category with a spectrum between two extremes (like “cold” to “hot”), and a point somewhere in between the extremes. They have to give a clue to help their teammates guess where that point lies – but they’ll need to be on the same “wavelength” to get close. Even if you know the person very well, it's still possible to be on a different wavelength and completely miss the mark!I can't help but feel sorry for Nicodemus in this passage. Jesus has just told him that for a person to be saved, they need to be born again (v3). I'm guessing that's the last thing he expected Jesus to say! No wonder he's a bit confused – he's not on the same wavelength as Jesus.But then Jesus rebukes him. Nicodemus is a Pharisee and a teacher, so he would have known his Old Testament very well. He would have been waiting for God to send the Messiah, and should have recognised who Jesus is.In his kindness, and to help Nicodemus understand, Jesus explains about the salvation that is coming. Moses lifted up a bronze snake on a pole, to save the Israelites who were bitten by venomous snakes when they grumbled against God (v14, see Numbers 21:4-9). He tells Nicodemus that in the same way, the Son of Man (Jesus) will be lifted up.Of course, we know that he is talking about dying on a Roman cross and rising to new life on the third day, but Nicodemus didn't know that! He was on a different wavelength. And then Jesus said that salvation will be eternal and will come through faith (v15). The Pharisees were dedicated to following the law perfectly to earn God’s favour. They were on a different wavelength.Many of our family, friends, neighbours, and colleagues are also on a different wavelength. They don’t understand why Jesus is so amazing, and they think faith is about trying to be good. Let’s pray for them this Christmas and help them to get onto God’s wavelength – sharing the good news that Jesus came to die in our place and they can receive his gift of eternal life by trusting in him.





























ABOUT THE AUTHORRebecca is a member of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.

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