Today we have Frann Wohlers coming to share with us her depth of experience and Biblical knowledge as we dive into John 3 together and learn more about Christ's ultimate purpose on earth to offer salvation to people . . . to give us spiritual life, to be made alive in Christ.
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In John 3:1-13 we get to observe a conversation between Jesus and "a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews (v1)" who was curious about Jesus. The Pharisees were leaders who were highly zealous for ritual and religious purity according to both the Mosaic law and their own traditions. "A ruler of the Jews" refers to Nicodemus's membership in the Sanhedrin, the main ruling body of the Jews in Palestine; a kind of supreme court. So Nicodemus was one important dude among the Jewish rulers.
They no doubt had a spirited discussion under the protection of night so as no one would know about Nicodemus's growing curiosity about Jesus. Jesus gently confronted Nicodemus with his need to be born again and further demonstrated His identity as God's messenger. In v3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" and then in v5 Jesus repeats this statement and clarifies " . . . unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." This is imagery referring to our need to be cleansed and purified before entering God's kingdom.
The point of this is that God's Kingdom is open to anyone and everyone. The spirit (often referred to as the 'wind' in both Hebrew and Greek) is on the move and no one can control it or keep up with it. However, its effects can be seen. With Jesus, comes a new way of knowing that only comes from heaven. Jesus is the ladder which joins the two dimensions of God's world, the heavenly and the earthly. When we see or imagine Jesus hanging on the cross or "lifted up" as referenced here in John, we see the result of the all the sin and bad stuff in which we and our world are all stuck. AND we are seeing what God has done about it. We are seeing what God's own love looks like. When Jesus died on the cross, that was the full and dramatic display of God's own love. (Source: John for Everyone, Part One by N.T. Wright)
Further Insights and Cross Reference:
- Later in the Gospel of John we get glimpses of the impact this encounter with Jesus had on Nicodemus. Read John 7:50-52 and 19:38-42. What facts from Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus lead you to believe that he was open to the truth about Jesus?
- Read Ezekial 36:16-36. How does this message of the Old Testament passage compare with what Jesus said to Nicodemus about the need for regeneration (that is, interanl, spiritual transformation)?
- Read Numbers 21:5-9/ Why did John make mention of this Old Testament event? How does it compare to Christ death on the cross?
- Describe events that led to your being "born again"? What people, situations, and tools did God use?
- For further study, see: Prov 30:4, Isaiah 11:1-16, Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 62:4-5, Jeremiah 2:2, Dan 12:2, Matt 5:44-45, 1 Cor 4:7, 1 John 5:20
(Source: John by John MacArthur)
