John 3:1-21

The classic passage from John. Nicodemus – a Pharisee among the rulers of the Jews – visits Jesus and states that he knows that Jesus is from God; Jesus' miraculous signs confirm it.

 

Jesus launches off from Nicodemus' confession that He is from God to point out that only those born again from above can see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus is confused as to how a person can be born again. Jesus repeats his statement, replacing "again from above" with the words "from water and the Spirit"; this is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. A man must be born of the Spirit to see and enter spiritual kingdom life. Fleshly living won't get anyone there. Just as flesh cannot follow the wind from its source to its destination even though it detects the existence of wind, so also flesh cannot comprehend the source and destination of spiritual existence even though a spiritual kingdom clearly exists.

 

Jesus scolds Nicodemus for his continued confusion; Nicodemus is, after all, one of Israel's teachers. Jesus knows what He is talking about; He has seen it, but Israel's teachers don't receive His testimony. How will they possibly believe Jesus' heavenly message when they don't even believe His earthly statements?

 

Nicodemus began the conversation by noting that Jesus "came from God". Now Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one has ascended into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. Essentially Jesus says, "I've been there! Listen to me!" And just as temporary salvation from death by snakebite came when Moses lifted up a snake in the desert, so also eternal salvation from spiritual death will come to those who believe in the Son of Man when He is lifted up! This is the good news Jesus came to preach and live! Spiritual salvation has come!

 

Why? How? Here's how! God loved the world, and in His love God gave His one and only Son so that all who believe in Him may have eternal life! We don't have to die! God did not send Jesus into the world to judge us, but to save us through Jesus! The whole world was already condemned, already judged! But God sent Jesus into the world so that those who believe in Him will no longer be condemned! The message about Jesus can be nothing but good news. Bad news has been around since the Fall; we all stand condemned. That changes, though, because of Jesus. There is a way out of condemnation, and it is by trusting in Jesus!

 

Here's the sad thing. Men who already stand judged and condemned refuse to come to the light, to Jesus, for life. Why? Because their deeds are evil. So they prefer to hide in darkness, even though life is found in the light of Jesus.

 

But still, those who live in truth come to Jesus. They do not fear the light. And the light reveals the truth that practicing the truth is done by the grace of God. Those who are in the light have been born spiritually, just as Jesus told Nicodemus they must be.

 

Father, I believe in Jesus! It is so obvious that any good I do is not my own. I get angry too quickly, impatient too readily, unkind too hastily for me to believe that I am any good on my own. It is so easy to try to make myself look good, to cover up all my flaws and sins. But when I step into the light of Jesus, I see that all my efforts to hide and justify my shameful deeds are pointless, and serve only to keep me condemned in my sins. May I step into the light always. And when I am there, help me not to sin against You!