Why follow Jesus
Jesus and Nicodemus
Jesus introduces the gospel
John clarifies who Jesus is
Scripture
Observations
Interpretation
Application
1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
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4 Nicodemus said to 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, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 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 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
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11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, 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 whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
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22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.
23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.
24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification.
26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.
34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 19:30 - Nicodemus brought burial spices.
1 Corinthians 2:14 - Natural man does not understand spiritual things
I Cor 1:18 - Message of the cross is foolishness to those who don't believe
1-21 Jesus Teaches the Teacher
Pharisees: See word study below: They sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and by outward forms of piety, and such as ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving; and, comparatively negligent of genuine piety, they prided themselves on their fancied good works. They held strenuously to a belief in the existence of good and evil angels, and to the expectation of a Messiah; and they cherished the hope that the dead, after a preliminary experience either of reward or of penalty in Hades, would be recalled to life by him, and be requited each according to his individual deeds. . BLB
Nicodemus was a member of Sanhedrin. He was an example of one of those superficial believers noted in chapter 2.
2
John 7:50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" 52 They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."
6
[1Co 15:50 NKJV] 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
8-13 God as the Wind - power and impact
8
[Ecc 11:5 NKJV] 5 As you do not know what [is] the way of the wind, [Or] how the bones [grow] in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
9
Nicodemus is confused by the metaphor about spiritual rebirth.
[Jhn 6:52, 60 NKJV] 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us [His] flesh to eat?" ... 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard [this], said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
10
The rabbi's had gotten so temporal in how life was to be lived on earth, they were missing the parallel eternal principles to live by.
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11
[Jhn 3:32 NKJV] 32 "And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
12
Jesus repeatedly took earthly, temporal concepts and used them to explain eternal principles, but people had a hard time understanding the supernatural.
If you don't understand earthly stories I tell of God's work, how can you understand eternal truths.
13
Jesus was the only person to have come down from heaven, and that would then ascend back to it.
[Eph 4:7-9 NKJV] 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
14
Jesus as serpent on the pole
Moses as the Jewish leaders
Son of Man - Daniel 7:13 - used 85 times
Num 21: snakes biting people - bronze snake - bronze symbolizes judgement for sin, and looking at it meant believing God could heal them.
[Num 21:9 NKJV] 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
[Jhn 8:28 NKJV] 28 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [He], and [that] I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
15
[Jhn 6:47 NKJV] 47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
John 17:2-4 2 "as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
To believe in Jesus is to believe that I have rejected God and by repenting of my independence and following Jesus, I can be restored to God.
Mark 10:17 - main asks what he must do to inherit eternal life
16
[Rom 5:8 NKJV] 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Loved - gave unconditional gift of suffering and life of Jesus.
17
[Luk 9:56 NKJV] 56 "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save [them]." And they went to another village.
Focus on redemption before judgement.
1 John 5 - we are already condemned.
[Mat 1:21 NKJV] 21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
18
[Jhn 5:24 NKJV] 24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
19-21 Jesus as light and Darkness
Condemnation was a bi-product of people turning to darkness, away from light of truth and rejecting God as Lord.
Evil = rejection of God's authority in my actions
20
[Eph 5:11, 13 NKJV] 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose [them]. ... 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
21
[1Co 15:10 NKJV] 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God [which was] with me.
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22
Come out of city of Jerusalem and go west to Judea - Southern Israel by Jerusalem.
Disciples were baptizing followers of Jesus.
[Jhn 4:1-2 NKJV] 1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),
23
John continues his ministry calling people to repent and follow the Messiah, Jesus.
[Mat 3:5-6 NKJV] 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
24
[Mat 4:12 NKJV] 12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.
[Mat 14:3 NKJV] 3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put [him] in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
25
Mark 7:1-23 - Dispute between Pharisees about why the Disciples did not follow the ceremonial washing required by scripture. Jesus calls them legalists for following tradition, but not loving God and others.
26
[Jhn 1:7 NKJV] 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
[Jhn 1:15 NKJV] 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' "
[Mar 2:2 NKJV] 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive [them], not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
[Mar 3:10 NKJV] 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.
[Mar 5:24 NKJV] 24 So [Jesus] went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Numbers 11:26-30 Men are jealous on Moses behalf.
Luke 9:46-50 . Jesus clarifies that the kingdom is not about competion but humility.
27
[1Co 3:5-6 NKJV] 5 Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
[1Co 4:7 NKJV] 7 For who makes you differ [from another]? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive [it], why do you boast as if you had not received [it]?
28
[Mal 3:1 NKJV] 1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
Luke 1:44 - John leapt in womb at the voice of Mary, Jesus's mother.
29
[2Co 11:2 NKJV] 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.
30
[Isa 9:7 NKJV] 7 Of the increase of [His] government and peace [There will be] no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isa 54:5 - Messiah will be their redeemer
31
[Mat 28:18 NKJV] 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
[1Co 15:47 NKJV] 47 The first man [was] of the earth, [made] of dust; the second Man [is] the Lord from heaven.
32
[Isa 53:1, 3 NKJV] 1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ... 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, [our] faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
33
[1Jo 5:10 NKJV] 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
34
[Deu 18:18 NKJV] 18 'I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
[Jhn 7:16 NKJV] 16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
God does not give the spirit by measure - in the Old Testament the Spirit was given by measure to prophets, Elisha asking for a double portion. Here Jesus has the whole power of the Spirit.
35
[Heb 2:8 NKJV] 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing [that is] not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.
36
wrath of God - We will be judged
Luke 9:11-27 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
Matt 25:46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Christmas
Unto us a child is born = Human side
Unto us a son is given = Divine side
Nicodemus is attracted to Jesus because of the miracles. He recognizes Jesus is from God. He recognized Christ's works as supernatural, which is God's domain.
As a Jew he would have been proud of his earthly birth and culture. Saying he had to be born again would have stated that his first birth was not good enough for God. (Jesus always started with what earthly things were important to a person)
He was very familiar with the breaking of water in birth, and the flesh (natural world) and Jesus applies to the Spiritual birth (supernatural world).
Even though he was a political leader he did not come to argue politics, but came to comfort his soul.
Nicodemus was either intimidated by his peers by being associated with Jesus or by the crowds who would not allow a conversation so he came at night.
He started with a statement of recognition that Jesus was from God. By looking for the Messiah to come, he is seeking the Kingdom of God, but is thinking of it on earth.
John had said Jesus was the Messiah and for people to repent and be saved. Jesus starts to talk about Salvation through - Spiritual Birth,
Jesus responds with how he can seek the kingdom, by supernatural spiritual death and rebirth.
Jesus points their earthly questions to the eternal solutions.
10
Nicodemus had come under darkness, and in ignorance of the truth, and was shown the light by Jesus
We testify - pointing to the trinity testifying but men not receiving.
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11
Jesus had experienced the work of the Holy Spirit and could testify from observation of what the results were (miracles, repentance)
Jesus was not dealing in theological positions, postulations, or philosophical discussions, this was testimony of actual observations.
13
Jesus speaks of his future as Messiah relating back to a story Nicodemus would know about salvation from God.
14
He also foretells of his death in "being lifted up" on the cross as a spectacle for all to choose to believe and receive salvation and eternal life or deny and chose death.
15
Believe in Jesus = eternal life
Eternal life starts now.
18
condemnation - if we do not believe in Jesus we are condemned, because we love darkness.
everlasting life - we are saved, love light, do the truth that our deeds may be clearly seen, and are done in God.
19 -
light - truth of supernatural life and God that Jesus brought
This destroys the notion of gaining from increasing power and control on earth.
People feel shame when they are exposed the light, they shy away from the light because it exposes their sin and makes them ashamed.
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22
Jesus and his disciples traveled from Jerusalem up the west side of the Jordan River Aenon.
23
John moved his ministry before Jesus was announced in the wilderness, to the west side of the Jordan where there was much water...where people would possibly go to get water.
24
John later thrown in prison by Herod for marrying his brother's wife.
25
Purification - The Jews not only argued from the Law, but from all the Rabbinical teachings about physical purification. They were more concerned with that than repentance which was a path to spiritual purification.
26
John's disciples had been distracted by the Jewish leaders who were pointing out that they were not performing the rituals their Rabbi's had defined to be the most moral.
Jews were commanded to keep clean so they could worship God and serve others. They focused on extra ways to be clean, but not on obedience in service.
John's disciples express envy at the following that Jesus had. John clarifies that his purpose was getting people to follow Jesus.
John gives glory to God for the ministry and following that he had.
Bridegroom analogy - easily understood that the role of the friend is to be there for the bridegroom to get married. Jesus was there as the Bridegroom to be joined with the bride which was the church/believers.
27
We don't compete with others in building the kingdom, just as a hand does not compete with an eye in the body of Christ.
John acknowledges that Jesus is from heaven and over all on earth.
John demonstrates gratefulness to God for what God has called him to do.
John understood his calling was to introduce others to Jesus. He felt fulfilled as Jesus' ministry grew.
29
God had made a marriage covenant with the people of Israel (Is 54:5, 62:4)
God was recognized as the bridegroom for Israel in the old testament, and now Jesus is spoken of as God who is the bridegroom.
Jesus was the groom and Israel needed to seek Jesus as the bride of Christ.
Jesus more reliable than previous prophets because as God he has the Holy Spirit working and speaking through him.
Must
- you must be born again
- the Son of man must be lifted up
- Jesus must increase
Witness
John bore witness of Jesus
Jesus bore witness of the truth
Jesus is credible
- He came from God (above) and is God John 6:38-42, John 5:29
- He shares his experience with the father John 8:38
- He was authorized by God the father -jJoh 13:33
- He is the source of our Salvation - to escape God's wrath
If you reject Jesus, you face God's wrath.
Showing unconditional love is a supernatural activity and is a miracle to people, that can attract them to the truth about submitting to God and entering his Kingdom.
Do I apply my cultural interpretation of righteousness over what scripture teaches?
What do I perceive in my worship that is earthly that has supernatural eternal outcomes?
God does not want to fix and clean up our dead damaged lives...we have to be born again
11-21
I need to be looking in scripture for the application of any Biblical truth from a supernatural aspect for the Kingdom.
15
Eternal life is supernatural life and power that starts as soon as you submit to God.
16
I believe by submitting to him and living a supernatural life here now.
17
How do I balance being salt and light but not condemn unbelievers?
How do I make sure I love the light? By reading God's word for understanding and applying it in my relationships with others.
I like John the Baptist am to introduce people to Jesus and call to repentance and submission to God.
As long as Jesus and the Kingdom increase then I should have no other ambitions for myself.
I can find joy - satisfaction, fulfillment when I am able to perform the purpose and calling of seeking the kingdom and sharing it with others.
How can I continually seek to decrease my importance so I can see an increase in others following Jesus Christ?
Word Studies: Pharisees: A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. In addition to OT books the Pharisees recognised in oral tradition a standard of belief and life. They sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and by outward forms of piety, and such as ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving; and, comparatively negligent of genuine piety, they prided themselves on their fancied good works. They held strenuously to a belief in the existence of good and evil angels, and to the expectation of a Messiah; and they cherished the hope that the dead, after a preliminary experience either of reward or of penalty in Hades, would be recalled to life by him, and be requited each according to his individual deeds. In opposition to the usurped dominion of the Herods and the rule of the Romans, they stoutly upheld the theocracy and their country's cause, and possessed great influence with the common people. According to Josephus they numbered more than 6000. They were bitter enemies of Jesus and his cause; and were in turn severely rebuked by him for their avarice, ambition, hollow reliance on outward works, and affection of piety in order to gain popularity. from an Aramaic word peras (found in Dan 5:28), signifying "to separate," owing to a different manner of life from that of the general public. The "Pharisees" and Sadducees appear as distinct parties in the latter half of the 2nd cent. B.C., though they represent tendencies traceable much earlier in Jewish history, tendencies which became pronounced after the return from Babylon (537 B.C.). The immediate progenitors of the two parties were, respectively, the Hasideans and the Hellenizers; the latter, the antecedents of the Sadducees, aimed at removing Judaism from its narrowness and sharing in the advantages of Greek life and culture. The Hasidaeans, a transcription of the Hebrew chasidim, i.e., "pious ones," were a society of men zealous for religion, who acted under the guidance of the scribes, in opposition to the godless Hellenizing party; they scrupled to oppose the legitimate high priest even when he was on the Greek side. Thus the Hellenizers were a political sect, while the Hasidaens, whose fundamental principle was complete separation from non-Jewish elements, were the strictly legal party among the Jews, and were ultimately the more popular and influential party. In their zeal for the Law they almost deified it and their attitude became merely external, formal, and mechanical. They laid stress, not upon the righteousness of an action, but upon its formal correctness. Consequently their opposition to Christ was inevitable; His manner of life and teaching was essentially a condemnation of theirs; hence His denunciation of them, e.g., Mat 6:2, 5, 16; 15:7 and chapter 23. BLB