2nd February 2026

2nd February 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 3:1-13 focus John 2:23-3:3)


Message (Alan Burke) 


Have you ever wanted to be able to read people’s minds? It would be handy from time to time with the good lady because every now and again you are told ‘it’s fine’ and you know it’s not fine, or rather after years of hearing ‘it’s fine’ you know that it’s not fine even though you have been told that ‘it’s fine’. Being able to read minds in that moment might be quite handy. Generally though I suspect that I’d never be able to see people in the same light again, that it would destroy my relationships with everyone and it would finally push me over the edge and see me living as a recluse. Now as we come to these verses, context is important. As chapter 2 concluded, we were told how many people believed in Jesus’ name but Jesus would not entrust himself to them. Rather than entrust himself, it is believed, Jesus would not believe in them “for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”


Jesus’ knowledge here of the hearts of those who believed was rooted in who he was as the Son of God, true God and true man. He had supernatural understanding of the hearts and minds of all. He is not like we are; he cannot be deceived by others, he cannot be caught off guard, for he knew all men, he knew what was in man, he knows us each one better than we know ourselves and he knows our hearts that are by their nature evil. In Jeremiah 17 we are told; “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind.…” (Je 17:10). While we can only see the outward action, the Lord knows the motivation. We can put the face on, but Jesus knows our heart, he knows our sin, he knows if we are his. The reason though I begin this way is that as we come to Nicodemus, we need to bear this in mind. Look again to what we are told along this time with 3:1 for; He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. Now there was a man… (Jn 2:25-3:1) Nicodemus is being included in this who have seen the miraculous signs, who believed in the signs rather than Jesus; his belief was not a genuine faith. This man Nicodemus, he comes to Jesus who knew what was in him, who knows the hearts of all people. 


And Nicodemus, we are told, came to Jesus at night; he came under the cover of darkness. Now think to what we are being told here; the only reason to mention that he came at night is if Nicodemus wanted to avoid drawing attention with his meeting with Jesus.  Nicodemus could see that the signs, the miracles that Jesus preformed, that testified to who he was. It was not only Nicodemus that had seen the signs, for he said, “we know” there were other members of the Sanhedrin who for whatever reason didn’t come even under the cover of darkness. Jesus gets to the heart of the reason why Nicodemus comes and he explains the necessity of new birth, of being born again. He tells Nicodemus; “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 


For anyone to be a Christian, they must be born again. This work of regeneration is required; there is no other way to become a citizen of the kingdom of God. There is no such thing as a Christian who has not been born again. The sad reality is that the church in this land is full of people who have grown up in the church, who have experienced the waters of baptism, who have partook of the bread and wine, but they have no salvation. They have not been born again and are not Christians. The only way to salvation is to trust in Jesus Christ, to be born again. Being born again rests on the work of God the Spirit. What must come is new life given by God. This is what we must pray for amongst us, that the LORD would work by his Spirit that many would come to saving faith, be born again, for it is not a matter of external conduct; faith is a matter of the heart. I do not know what is in your heart; I can’t read your mind, and for that I am very thankful, but is your heart the Lord? Is your heart the LORD’S? If not, repent and believe in Jesus Christ.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q87 What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.
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