John
© copyright 2008 Darroll Evans, all
rights reserved
Chapter 3
(Teachings from this chapter are used somewhere in
the world each Sunday)
John
3:1-21
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, except God be
with him.
3 Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be
born when he is old? can he enter the second time into
his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except 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 listeth, 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 that we do know,
and testify that 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 which 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 on 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.
Here, we meet a Pharisaic leader
named Nicodemus!
He represents all of non-Messianic
Israel!
Nicodemus knew that law but did not
know the Law-giver!
Even today, many non-Messianic
Rabbis will quote Jesus in their weekly homilies, with no understanding of the
meaning or true source they quote!
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night!
Perhaps because of his personal
shame!
He told Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher from God, because none can (Gr. dunamai-δύναμαι), has the power man to do these miracles, unless God is
with him.
In turn, Jesus explained, “Truthfully, I say, except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The point Jesus was making is
missing from most translations. The Greek text does not indicate being
physically born again. Instead it means
being born from above. The Greek word translated “again” is anōthen-ἄνωθεν meaning
“above”.
Nicodemus asked, “How can a man be
born when he is old?” Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and
be born?”
For those who have little spiritual
understanding that is a valid question!
Jesus replied, “Truthfully except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God.”
Being born of water is a reference
physical birth when the mother’s “water breaks.”
Being born of the Spirit is a
reference to spiritual birth when we are “born again.”
Then He said, “That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit.”
Trying to mix flesh and Spirit
simply does not work!
Christ continued, “Don’t be amazed when I say, ‘You must be born again.’”
Then Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it
wishes! You may hear the sound, but cannot tell where it comes from, or where
it goes! That is the way with all who are born of the Spirit!”
Does that sound confusing?
It did to Nicodemus!
He asked Jesus, “How is that possible?”
Jesus countered, “Are you a leader of Israel, and yet don’t know these things?
“Truthfully I tell you that we speak of what we
know, and testify of what we have seen! However, you do not accept our
testimony!
“If I have
told you earthly things, and you did not believe, how shall you believe,
heavenly things?
“None has ascended into heaven, except He that came
down from heaven, that is to say, the Son of man which is in heaven.
“And, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
the Son of man must be lifted up!
”So that whoever trusts in Him should not perish, but
have eternal life!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life!”
John 3:16 may be the most known verse in the entire Bible. Even the lost can
quote John 3:16.
God’s love for the world is
undeniable; however His blessings are reserved for His children.
The key to John 3:16 is the word
“believeth.”
Believeth (Gr. pisteuō-πιστεύω) is not a simple understanding that a man named Jesus
walked the earth. It speaks of faith and
trust in, and commitment to Christ Jesus! In that belief, we entrust our well
being to Him!
Christ continued, “Because, God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him may be saved!
Let me ask, “Do you actually believe
that statement?” The truth is that most Christians do not believe it! Most believe that the will of men can and
does override the will of God!
Let’s look further.
“He that
trusts in Him is not condemned! However, he that does not trust is already
condemned, because he has not trusted in the name of God’s only begotten Son!
There is a fact here that most
Christians overlook!
Romans
11:32 For God hath concluded them all in
unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
God had place all men in a state of
unbelief do that He may have mercy on all men!
Does that fit your theological
stance?
“And, this
is the condemnation: that [the] (Gr.
ho-ὁ) Light is come into the world, but
men loved [the] darkness rather than [the] Light, because their deeds were evil.
“Because, all that do what is evil hates the Light,
neither comes to the Light, lest his deeds should be reprimanded.
“But, he that abides in Truth comes to the Light, so
that his deeds may clearly seen by all to be produced in God!”
What is abiding Truth?
John
14:6 Jesus saith
unto him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John
3:22-36
22 After
these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he
tarried with them, and baptized.
23 And John also
was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim,
because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
24 For John was
not yet 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 Jordan, to
whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth,
and all men come to him.
27 John answered
and said, A man can receive nothing, except 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, which 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, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
33 He that hath
received his testimony hath set to his seal 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 on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him.
After speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus
and his disciples went in to the Judean countryside and baptized.
Please note that prior to the
resurrection even Christ Jesus practiced the normal Jewish “regenerational
baptism.”
John was also baptizing in the Aenon-Salim area (a
springs area near where the Jordan empties into the Sea of Galilee), because
there was enough water there!
Water baptism requires dunking or
immersion!
Today’s Christian baptism is in
Christ!
Gal
3:27 For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
At that point, John had not yet been imprisoned.
John's disciples and the Jews were
talking about the Jewish mikvah purification baptism.
They asked John, “Rabbi, He that was
with you beyond Jordan, the one of whom you bore witness is now baptizing and
all are coming to Him.”
They were jealous for John.
They were interested in defending
“his” ministry.
But, John was not jealous!
John retorted, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”
You all know that I said, “I am not the Christ, but that I am sent ahead of
him.”
“He that has the bride is the
bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him,
greatly rejoices because of the bridegroom's voice! In this, my joy therefore
is fulfilled (Gr. plēroō-πληρόω).”
The John told his followers what many preachers fail to understand. “He must
increase, but I must decrease.”
We cannot fulfill the gospel!
The gospel is totally about Christ
Jesus!
Salvation is in Him alone!
John went on, “He that comes from above is above all! He that is of the earth
is earthly, and consequently speaks about the earth! He
that comes from heaven is above all!
“And, what He has seen and heard is what He proclaims. And, none {of the
earthly} will accept His proclamations.
“However, anyone who accepts His testimony has accepted His stamp of approval
[the Holy Spirit], because God is true.
“Because, the One whom God sent proclaims the words of God!
For God does not give the Spirit in a limited way to him!
“The Father loves the Son, and has
given all things into His hand!
“He that trusts in the Son has everlasting life, and he that does not trust the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
The only way to come out from under
the wrath of God is to accept Christ Jesus as Lord of your life!