John 3:1-36 Must be Born Again July
18, 2016
Remember, Chapter 1 explains that Jesus was the
God, Spokesman, Creator of All Things in the Old Testament.
Then we covered John the Baptist, calling of the First
Disciples
Chapter 2, we covered the first miracle of Jesus
at the Wedding at Cana then we went to the Temple and Jesus Cleanses the Temple.
You Must Be Born Again
John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews {ruling Council}.
·
Nicodemus {a Greek name} had everything: He was
a Pharisee: he was disciplined and respected. He was very wealthy and from a
distinguished family.
·
Nicodemus was also a ruler {a rabbi}; a member
of the Sanhedrin, or the National Council, and a teacher...but despite all of this, he
was still “in the dark” before he met Jesus! Talmud said he was one of the 3
richest men in Jerusalem
·
He did help Joseph in the burial of Jesus.
·
Reported that he survived the destruction of
Jerusalem.
·
Believed Old Testament was inspired; Messiah was
coming, World Tomorrow, the resurrection, in miracle and obey written and oral
law
·
Reports that he was the brother of Josephus,
Jewish History Writer
John 3:2 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 {miracles} that You do unless God is with
him."
Interesting, doing miracles is not a sign from God. Satan can do them. We have to be careful. Why at night, who is We.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one
will be according by {the working or} power of Satan. He will use every kind of power, including signs, lying
wonders that serve the lie.
Nicodemus was one of the ‘many’ who ‘believed in His name,’ when they beheld His
signs, Remember from John 2:23
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the
feast, many
believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did {or
performed}.
His coming by night could be to avoid the hostility of the
other Pharisees:
Perhaps he was timid, or perhaps he wanted an
uninterrupted interview with Jesus. Jews believes their
Jewish lineage would save them.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God."
The ancient Greek word translated again {anothen} can be
translated “from above.” To be born from
above is to be born again.
Imagine Nicodemus shock at hearing this, he is not saved
by being Jewish.
Jesus just gave him some
instruction and told him he was wrong: Nicodemus, like all Jews, automatically supposed
that all who were born as children of Abraham would, as Abraham's seed, be
citizens of the kingdom, but Jesus shows him that no one can be a new creature
in Christ Jesus unless he is born anew.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation
{creature}; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
All it is, we receive the Holy Spirit, combine with
Spirit in man and we become a new creature.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 "I'm going to give you a new heart,
and I'm going to give you a new spirit within all
of your deepest parts. I'll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it
with one that's sensitive to me. (27) I'll place my spirit within you, empowering you
to live according to my regulations and to keep my just decrees.
John 3:4 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?"
Two types of birth
1st birth – from the womb – water caries you
2nd birth – spiritual – the Holy Spirit caries
you
He rested in the letter, without paying proper attention
to the spirit:
He was surprise by the two questions for Jews: 1) The
possibility of the new birth; and 2) The process of the new birth.
Nicodemus clearly does not understand Jesus or the truth
about the new birth.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly,
I say to you, unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Unless one is born of water
refers to baptism {outward sign}, and
born of Spirit {inward sign}, receiving the Holy
Spirit after baptism, to make us a
new creation, living in us. The laying
on of hands after baptism.
Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he
who does not believe will be condemned.
John 3:6-7 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.'
To be born again, is to be inwardly
changed from all sinfulness to having the Holy Spirit living in us; God
see us as holiness because of the Holy Spirit
He, being a Jew, believed he had the
inner transformation promised in the New Covenant. Jesus wants him to take hold
of the fact that he does not have it,
and must be born again
John 3:8 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."
These winds here referred to, will probably be a mystery
to us, so is the operation of the Holy Spirit in a new birth. We cannot tell or understand where the wind comes from or go to with our natural senses, but we see its effects.
So it is with the Spirit, we do not understand
everything about the new birth before we experience it.
John 3:9-10 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?
Nicodemus, being confused, wanted
to know how he could experience the
spiritual birth spoken of by Jesus. He has to think outside of the box.
The question implies that Nicodemus
was one of the {Master} Doctors of the Law then Jesus rebuked him and
should not be ignorant about spiritual birth on what Jesus just said. We covered one example in
Ezekiel, now 2 more are plainly laid out in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD your God will circumcise
your heart and the heart of your
descendants, to love
the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul, that you may live.
Jeremiah 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it
on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My
people.
John 3:11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness
{testimony}.
Jesus is also rebuking the other Pharisees
as well for not understanding the very basic
doctrine of salvation and the new birth. He considered Jesus a teacher from God and
yet it was deemed criminal among the Jews to question or depart from the
authority of their teachers.
John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if
I tell you heavenly
things?
If he could not believe this, how could he understand and
receive testimony concerning; Heavenly Kingdom, God, Eternal Glory and who
Jesus is?
John 3:13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that
is, the Son of
Man who is in heaven.
Jesus just told him He is God: (1) That He existed
before He appeared on earth. (2) That heaven was
His true abode. (3) That, on earth, His
spirit was in communication with heaven. He also just gave him some Heavenly stuff. Jesus
“makes it clear that He can speak with
authority about things in heaven, but no one else can
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, {type; Jesus crucified on the cross}
An event only here explain why Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness. As the bitten
Israelites were healed by looking upon the brazen serpent lifted on high, so the world in sin is saved by
looking to Jesus lifted up upon the cross
(by His blood}. {only place that explains the serpent}
Numbers 21:9 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. {delivered from death}
Serpent was made of bronze and is a metal associated with
judgment in the Bible and must be passed through the fires of Judgment. They
had to look to the serpent to be saved.
Isaiah 45:22 "Look to Me, and be
saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no
other.
John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
When we trust, believe and have faith in Him, we will
have Eternal Life.
For God So Loved the World
John 3:16-17 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.
We all know this verse:
(1) That
God is love. (2) That
he loved the world {not restricted to any one nation} (3) That he so
loved that he gave his Son. (4) That he came to keep men from perishing. Put trust in
Jesus, our Lord
At His first
coming, Jesus came so that the world through Him
might be saved. When Jesus comes again, He will come in judgment upon those who refused His offer of salvation.
John 3:18
"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.
Interesting:
Believed In the name, a person condemn himself when they do not believe.
John 3:19
And this is the condemnation {verdict} {basis for judgment}, that the light has
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because
their deeds were evil.
We know before the light is Jesus, darkness was Satan and
individuals follow by their rejection of Jesus because of wickedness. People hate the light of God’s truth.
John 3:20-21 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, {for fear} 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 {or in sight} in
God."
Think Nicodemus got an ear full, Something he had to
think deeply about.
·
Visit with Jesus at night John 3:2-10
·
Defense of Jesus at Sanhedrin John 7:51-52
·
He anointed Jesus burial John 19:39-42
John the Baptist Exalts the Messiah
John 3:22
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and
there He remained
with them and baptized.
They left Jerusalem, to the region or land round about
Jerusalem. Jesus was baptizing through
His Disciples. (John 4:2)
John 3:23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.
And they came and were baptized.
Aenon: The exact location is uncertain, probably west of
Jordan River.
John 3:24-25 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.
Jesus ministry started before Johns ended and sometime later
put in prison. Makes me wonder about the
Holy Spirit during this time. Was the
disciples baptizing as John was baptizing?
John ministry was to call men to repentance, baptize them and to prepare
them for the Messiah,
What the precise subject of this dispute was we do not
know. As John and Jesus were the only teachers who baptized Jews, from what
follows, it would seem probable that it was about what is the most important
baptism, either performed by John disciples or by the disciples of Jesus.
Remember, the Jews associated baptism with ceremonial
purification and only authorize person to baptize was someone appointed and
approved by the Pharisees, to become a Gentile Jew.
John 3:26
And they came
to John and said to him, "Rabbi,
He who was with you beyond {on the other side of} the Jordan, to whom you have
testified--behold, He is baptizing, and all {everyone} are coming to Him!"
The disciples were concern that John was losing his
disciples to another person, Jesus. Are
they jealous or wanted permission to go.
John 3:27-29 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.
They complain of the fact that Jesus baptized and was
very popular at this time, but John refers to the witness he had done, and
affirms that each is fulfilling the work "given him of heaven." A metaphor was given.
John said he is
the “best man” at the “wedding” between Jesus and Jesus’ followers. In the
Jewish wedding customs of that day, the friend of the bridegroom arranged many of the details of the
wedding and brought the bride to the groom.
{Church}
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
John the
Baptist insisted that Jesus Christ had to increase in
popularity, authority and influence among the people; must grow until His
doctrine shall continue to spread until it extends through all the earth.
And he, John, had to decrease his ministry to point his disciples to Jesus by my teaching which must cease when
Jesus is fully established. Even
though John encouraged his disciples to also follow Jesus, there were still
some found many years later in Ephesus (Acts 19).
John 3:31 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.
He who comes from above refers to Jesus Christ. He
who is of the earth refers to John the Baptist. John emphasized his
earthly origin and its limitations. John proclaimed divine truth on earth;
Jesus, on the other hand, is from heaven and above all.
Basically Jesus, who is, therefore, above
and over John.
John 3:32
And what He
has seen and heard, that He testifies;
and {yet} no one
receives His testimony. {who
is He, Jesus or John} ??
The phrases
express the clear and perfect knowledge Christ has of all truths and doctrines;
he having all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in him.
The testimony of God, which is greater than that of man; yet few gave any
heed or credit to it; few or none among the Jews
The testimony which John had borne to the Jews, that
Jesus was the promised Messiah
John 3:33 He who has received His testimony has
certified that God is true.
Certified means “to seal.” In a society where many
could not read, seals were used to convey a clear message, even to the
illiterate. A seal indicated ownership to all and expressed a person’s personal
guarantee. To receive Jesus’ testimony is to certify that God is true regarding
what He has sealed.
John 3:34
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give
the Spirit by measure {without limit}.
Does this mean, we have the full Spirit or no Spirit at all,
not half full.
John 3:35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His
hand.
The Father also gave Jesus all things, including the
authority to give life and judge. The phrase into His
hand signifies the Son’s authority over the use of “all things.”
John 3:36 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."
The wrath of God:
·
The word does not
mean a sudden gust of passion or a
burst of temper.
·
Rather, it is the settled displeasure of God
against sin.
·
It is the divine allergy to moral evil, the
reaction of righteousness to unrighteousness.
·
Violent Passion, Anger, Vengeance
The wrath of God abides:
·
It abides in this world, because there is
there is no “statute of
limitations” on sin.
·
It
abides into the next world, because those who reject Jesus cannot
offer a perfect sacrifice acceptable to God.
·
The wrath of God abides until it is
satisfied by receiving the perfect payment Jesus made on the cross.
We might say that John 3
is a “must
read” chapter of the Bible. These are the “musts” in
John 3.
•
The Sinner’s must: you must
be born again (Joh_3:7).
• The Savior’s must: so
must the Son of Man be lifted
up (Joh_3:14).
• The Messiah’s must: He must increase (Joh_3:30).
• The Servant’s must: I must decrease (Joh_3:30).
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