John 3:1-17
Introduction
I find it intriguing that there are certain words that can have opposing connotations depending on the context and the individual perspective. One of those words is curiosity. Is it a good thing to be curious? You might have a grandchild who seems to be curious, that is they are motivated to figure out how things work, and you think it is a good thing. But then we have phrases like “Curiosity killed the cat” and cartoon characters like “Curious George” who is always getting into trouble. One dictionary provided two synonyms for ‘curious’: inquisitive and nosy. That really gets to the heart of this complex concept.
I would describe myself as a curious person. That has gotten me into trouble. I will give a specific example that is relevant to what we are talking about today. I have two periods of church attendance in my life separated by about five years of unbelief and nonattendance. In that first period, I was say that I had a non-curious faith. I was a passive recipient of religious teachings. When I did begin to question my beliefs, this did not lead to asking questions but rather simply giving up. I eventually returned to church and my curiosity pendulum swung to the other extreme. I attended a new church, one that placed a lot of spiritual authority on the pastor. My friends would listen to the pastor and would “Amen” everything that was said. Meanwhile, I would be listening to what the pastor said and would be comparing it to what I knew of the Bible. I would begin to ask questions about how a claim in a sermon fit with another passage of Scripture. I was not trying to make trouble, I was curious as to how all these things fit together. My friends would get frustrated with me. You are not supposed think for yourself, you are supposed to just accept what the God-given pastor said. I sometimes was challenged to adopt child-like faith. I was single at the time but if I knew then what I know now as a parent, I would have pointed out the children rarely just passively accept what they are taught but are constantly asking questions. I would say that child-like faith presumes an element of curiosity. I have tried to shape my own pastoral ministry in such a way that encourages rather than discourages curiosity. I would always rather people ask questions than to simply accept what I say because I have the role of a pastor.
Even in my own walk with Jesus, I try to cultivate an attitude of curiosity. I realize that it can get messy when you ask the hard questions. Things can be simpler if we don’t ask the questions. However, I am convinced that all truth is God’s truth and that if my understanding of God and the Bible changes, even in uncomfortable ways, then I am doing the right thing. I also believe it is biblical to be curious, as we shall see.
Curious Nicodemus
When I started reading the Bible again after returning to church, I was encourage to read the Gospel of John. One of the sections that really stood out was the third chapter. It has both the famous teaching on being born again as well as the popular verse, John 3:16. So I have been drawn to this passage over and over. One of the things that I notice is that no matter how often I read it, I seem to see something new every time.
The passage focuses on a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. We are told that Nicodemus is a Pharisee. The Pharisees were one of the four main sects of Judaism, along with the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots. This is where we need to check our bias. We have been taught from Sunday school that the Pharisees are the bad guys. None of us would take it as a complement if someone called us a Pharisee. We equate Pharisees with hypocrites and see them as the enemies of Jesus who ended up killing him. While some Pharisees did oppose Jesus and caused him trouble, the Pharisees actually drop out of the picture by the time Jesus was arrested. Also, it seems that a number of Pharisees came to faith in Jesus, including the Apostle Paul. But we have been trained to treat Pharisees with suspicion and to question their motives.
So the first question we have to ask is why did Nicodemus approach Jesus? Was he trying to catch him in a trap as some other religious leaders did or was he genuinely curious? He said to Jesus: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” He may have said that ironically or sincerely. Some have made a big deal about Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night, perhaps suggesting that he was trying to hide the conversation. That may or may not be true, but it also might suggest that Nicodemus was sincere. If he was trying to embarrass Jesus in a theological debate, he would have done it in the day in front of a crowd.
Jesus provides the confusing teaching of “You must be born again.” Nicodemus struggled with this and asked how this could be physically possible. We might chuckle at how dense Nicodemus was because we have a better understanding of spiritual new birth. But to me, asking a question that might make himself look foolish, points to the curiosity of Nicodemus. How many times have we heard something we didn’t understand but we didn’t ask because we just didn’t want to go there?
This passage seems to end with Nicodemus still not understanding, either by choice or real confusion. We might conclude that this was not the most successful evangelistic conversation. But this is not the last we hear of Nicodemus. Later, when the religious leaders are getting angry with Jesus, Nicodemus speaks out in defence of Jesus: “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” (John 7:51) We are then told in John 19:39 that Nicodemus helped Joseph of Arimathea bury Jesus’ body after the crucifixion at a time when the disciples were hiding in fear. While I’m not sure that Nicodemus ever fully understood everything to his own satisfaction, I think his curiosity led to a genuine faith in Jesus.
A Curious Church
Our theme for this Sunday is: “Blessed are the curious.” Do we really want to be a curious church? We don’t want curiosity in the sense of being nosy. That just leads to gossip and all sorts of relational conflict. We don’t need to know all of the details about each other’s struggles. But what about curiosity in the sense of being inquisitive?
You might be thinking that you want a child-like faith. That’s great, you should come to Jesus like a child. A curious child who is not afraid to ask questions. This does not mean that you are obligated to find an answer to every theological question that is out there. It does mean that when certain pressing questions rise up in your heart that you are willing to ask them. This is the key to curiosity: the emphasis is on asking the questions and not on getting the answers. We might get the answers we want, but we might not. Did Nicodemus ever fully understand the concept of being born again? I don’t know. Think of John 3:16. It says: “For 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.” It doesn’t say: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever figures everything out shall not perish but have eternal life.”
I have found that there are many Christians who see asking questions as contradicting faith. If we had true faith, we would ask these kinds of questions. Or would we? The truth is that we can not stop the questions from rising up in our heart. If we push these questions down, that is when I see people’s faith begin to break down. It’s important that we create space to ask hard questions, not so we can immediately answer them, but so that faith can flourish in a healthy atmosphere.
Conclusion
Curiosity may have killed the cat but curiosity doesn’t kill the Christian. Questions are good. Questions are healthy. But what if we find the wrong answer? Thankfully we are not saved by getting every answer right on a heavenly theology exam. We are saved by our faith in Jesus. We of course need to seek the truth, but our humble attempts do not determine our destiny. Nicodemus was curious and he asked questions. He did not fully understand what Jesus said but that was okay. Nicodemus handled the broken body of Jesus when all of his close friends were hiding. Are you curious? Don’t be ashamed of that. Blessed are the curious. Ask your questions but have patience with yourself as you seek the answers.
