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| Chapter 3 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 The same came to Jesus by night and said unto Him, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, unless God be with him." 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said unto Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, unless a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, ‘Ye must be born again.’ 8 The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily I say unto thee, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son of Man who is in Heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He that believeth in Him is not condemned; but He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation: that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." 22 ¶ After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, 24 for John had not yet been cast into prison. 25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26 And they came unto John and said unto him, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness- -behold, the same baptizeth and all men come to him." 27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing, unless it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but that ‘I am sent before Him.’ 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 "He that cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what He hath seen and heard, to that He testifieth, and no man receiveth His testimony. 33 He that hath received His testimony hath set his seal to this: that God is true. 34 For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. 35 The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. 36 He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." |
The New Birth. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, "a teacher of the Jews." Nicodemus came by night probably to be undisturbed in his search for the truth. He used "we" in v2, this may show that he represented others of the leadership. He had realized that Jesus had some special powers given by God. v3 the answer Jesus gave on being born was familiar to all, but a second birth was not. We all have experienced a natural birth but to be able to get to heaven we must be born to live there, a second spiritual birth from God. v6-7 Nicodemus thought Jesus was talking about a natural birth. Even though he was a religious man he was blind to the truth. How true this is today, people cannot grasp that there has to be a new birth born of the Spirit to be able to go to heaven, the old nature is against God. v5 Jesus is not talking of baptism here as New Testament teaching always explains baptism as a symbol of death of the old nature. No amount of physical water can change a persons nature. Nicodemus must have been puzzled by these remarks by Jesus, he was a Jew, a special chosen people of God, why did they need to be born again? A child inherits the nature of its parents, earthly or heavenly. Also our nature decides on our appetite, things of world or things of God. 1 Peter 2:1-3. v8-13 The wind cannot be seen, only the effect can be felt, this is like the Spirit of God. What did Jesus mean? when a person is born of the Spirit it is like the action of the wind, you cannot tell where it has come from or going to, even today we still do not understand all the mysteries of a natural birth, but each life is different and unique. It is worth noting that the word used for wind in both the Greek and Hebrew can also mean spirit. v9-12 Nicodemus the teacher of Israel still could not understand. Jesus says "I used earthly examples and you could not understand, how will you understand spiritual truths?" Jesus continues,"You do not accept my witness, you do not believe my teaching." v14-18 The serpent on the pole. Jesus now uses an Old Testament story Num 21:4-9. A familiar story to Nicodemus, the nation had sinned against God and He sent a punishment of serpents, anyone bit would die. But God provided a way of salvation, a brass serpent on a pole, anyone bitten and then looking at the brass serpent would be healed. A story of God’s Grace and a persons belief and faith. Just as the serpent was lifted up for all to see so must the Son of Man be lifted up at calvary, to save mankind who have been bitten by sin and are dying. Rom 6:23. The cross was the Glory of Jesus, not a failure. With unbelievable love God sent His Son to be lifted up and die on that cross, any one who believes will be saved. v19-21 Light and Dark. Jesus, the ‘Light of God’ has come into the world but man does not like this light and prefers the darkness of evil and death, this stops them coming to the light because it shows their evil lives, it is not an intellectual problem but they just hate the "Light of truth." Nicodemus did eventually understand this ‘Light’ in John 19:38-42 and identified with Christ at Calvary, he saw the uplifted Saviour. v22-30 The Bridegroom. The ministries of John and Jesus were now running at the same time, but John did not want anyone to follow him, he was here to point the way to the Messiah. Under these situation people began to ask questions about the ministries and teachings. John’s disciples were asking questions about purity but this quickly turned to competition between John and Jesus, "John, everyone is following Jesus" The disciples of John were disappointed that John’s ministry was failing. John had the answer. "All ministries and blessings come from God, there can never be competition, I am the not the Christ, I was the one sent to prepare the way." John 1:23. John used an illustration, he was only the best man at the wedding, the bridegroom and bride are the center of a wedding, John said "that he enjoyed this position, He’s the Lord, he must increase and I decrease." 3:31-32 The Witness. It is not obvious who is speaking the words in these verses, it could have been John the Baptist or John the writer but the emphasis is on witness and testimony. This passage is about Jesus, He is acting as a witness. Why should we take any notice? v31 He is from heaven not called from heaven or given power from heaven. As such He must represent God the Father and knows what the Fathers desires and will is. This is confirmed in v34-35 for we see that the Father has given Jesus the authority. v34 God sent Him. Gave Him the Word. Gave Him the Spirit. v35 He loves Him, giving Him all things under His control. John 5:20. v36 When we respond to this witness then we have everlasting life, if we reject this witness then we must expect the wrath of God and eternal death separated from God. Thankfully God is patient and long suffering and is prepared to wait. 2 Peter 3:9. |
Easy English Translation
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