Study on John 3:1-21

Moving into John 3, we get into the story of Nicodemus, the Pharisaical ruler who came to Jesus by night seeking an explanation concerning the supernatural things he had seen. We read in John 2:23, "...many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did"; following this, we logically infer that Nicodemus has witnessed the miracles which Jesus performed in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover and has now sought out this Miracle-worker to question Him. Nicodemus came at night surely to protect his reputation, as the types of questions he would ask Jesus certainly would not bring credit upon him if asked openly. The Pharisees and Sadducees routinely sought to condemn Jesus through their lines of questioning, but Nicodemus questioned with an open, seeking heart, trying to discern the spiritual things he had seen. To do this in the midst of his colleagues would have been political suicide. So, although Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, nonetheless he still came.

Nicodemus begins his discourse with a statement, rather than a question, in verse 2: "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". We see here first that Nicodemus calls Jesus "Rabbi", honoring Jesus as he acknowledges that God is with Him. It's interesting to see him say, "we know..." which tells us that not only Nicodemus but also the other Jewish leaders witnessed these miracles and rightly concluded He had "come from God". What has separated Nicodemus from these other priests? Obviously it is a reasoning acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah coupled with the necessary action of coming to Jesus. Knowledge is not good enough; it doesn't complete the transaction, so to speak. These men saw the miracles Jesus performed, but only Nicodemus physically came to Jesus. Yes, he came at night, but he came. We need to understand the importance of this. As Nicodemus put his career, possibly his life, in jeopardy by coming to Jesus, we likewise need to not only understand who Jesus is but also come to Him even if it means disrupting the comforts our lives have provided.

So Nicodemus has concluded that "...God is with Him (Jesus)" and his mind then struggles with the implications of what this actually means. He goes to Jesus to seek guidance, and Jesus' first words to Nicodemus point him to salvation through the act of being born-again of the Spirit. In verse 3, Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". Nicodemus struggles with this and questions it, to which Jesus simply repeats Himself and then adds clarification in the verses to follow. With a quick look at 1 Corinthians 2:14, we can see where this inability to comprehend comes from. Paul says, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned". We see this verse in action as Jesus tries to shed light into the darkness of Nicodemus' mind. Again to Nicodemus' credit, although he doesn't understand he asks for further explanation which tells of the right place of his heart in desiring the things of God, even in spite of his ignorance.

In verse 6, Jesus offers clarification, saying, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit". I love how Jesus slowly, methodically, lovingly tries to explain to Nicodemus the simple truth of man's two natures; that is, to be born-again is to be born of the Spirit of God, not of the flesh of man by entering into the womb a second time. We learned in John 1:12-13, "But as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believed in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God". To enter into the kingdom of God, Nicodemus must simply believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Rightful and Righteous Heir of heaven, and be born of the Spirit of God.

Attempting to further explain the process, Jesus says in verse 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." Here Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit's work on earth, in men, equating it with the wind so as to further Nicodemus' understanding. He says "it (the Holy Spirit) blows where it wishes", telling us firstly that we have no control over who the Holy Spirit will save. That's a comforting thought; as if I can not control it I am not responsible for its affects, i.e. saving men's souls. Jesus says, "...you hear the sound of it", meaning we see the power of the Holy Spirit in people's lives as they are saved and move away from the things of the world and towards the things of God. Again, although we can see the Holy Spirit's affect, we are by no means responsible for it just as we are not responsible for the sound of the wind.

In verse 9, Nicodemus still isn't quite catching on, and asks, "How can these things be?" Jesus, incredulous (if that's possible), responds, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?" Basically, "how did you get your position, Nicodemus? This is supposed to be easy for you! You, as a ruler of the Jews, should understand what I'm saying!" I can just imagine, expecting Nicodemus to now understand and then hearing his further doubt, Jesus must have just sighed, shook His head, and threw up His hands! "There's no teaching this guy!" I wonder how Nicodemus felt at this point? I bet he's pretty glad he came to Jesus by night, so no one was around to see Jesus burn him like this!

Verse 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". Whoa. This is some heavy stuff here. Jesus responds with "We", as in, more than one, more than just Jesus. Jesus is speaking of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. In Matthew 3:16-17, we read, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". The completeness of the Holy Trinity is here given, as Matthew records the "We" of which Jesus speaks in verse 11 of John. So in response to Nicodemus, Jesus tries to explain to him that, although he may not understand these things, Jesus can personally testify, as a witness would in court, of their perfect trueness. "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen..." tells us of a firsthand account regarding these matters. Jesus is not giving someone else's description of events, but can rather offer eyewitness testimony of the things of heaven, especially the means by which man can enter therein. Essentially, even if we struggle with doubt, we can safely take Jesus at His word and believe Him in all things, trusting that He will always prove to be perfectly aware of our condition and what's best for us.

Jesus further goes on to explain in verse 12, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" I understand this to be a further condemnation of our limited human intellect, as Jesus tells Nicodemus that if earthly secrets are far beyond our grasp, as evinced in Nicodemus' inability to understand up to this point, how will we possibly understand the true glory of salvation other than to simply take Jesus, a firsthand, reliable witness, at His Word? Rather than attempting to wrap a neat little bow around the greatness of God and His plan for our eternal salvation, we need to accept that we will never be able to begin to understand God's love or His mercy or His glory or His greatness! It's further comforting to accept this in that we're worshipping a Being of far greater intelligence than our own. If I could understand all of God's ways I would have no need to look to Him for help. Furthermore, if we don't have the things of this earth figured out, which are by nature limited and finite, how could we possibly expect to understand those of infinite worth which Jesus is here speaking? Nicodemus, likewise we, will never begin to understand the things of God apart from Him. It is only through the renewing power of the Holy Spirit who has created in us a new, spiritual man are we able to begin to comprehend these heavenly things. I'm just happy Jesus spoke slowly and repeated Himself often!

Jesus gives proof for this firsthand knowledge in verse 13: "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven". This is some pretty deep theology here, and I can't say I can wrap my mind all the way around this one. I'll point out the further proof of Jesus' divinity, as He says, "...the Son of Man who is in heaven", which assumes His omnipresence. Jesus says "is", not "was" or "will be", but "is", present tense. That fully God and fully man claim is verified here, and it simply blows my mind. While Jesus was walking the earth He was also still in heaven. Jesus also speaks of the Incarnation, His descent from heaven to be made flesh and dwell among us. Jesus willingly cast of His robes of glory and took on the weak, feeble human form to come to earth and provide a way for man to reach heaven through His suffering and death on the cross. Wow.

The remaining verses of this study, 14 through 21, contain the whole of the gospel in perfectly clear, easily discernible truths. In verses 14-15 we read, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". Looking back at Numbers 21:9 we see what this alludes to: "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". This took place as the Israelites were wandering around the desert, essentially complaining about the numerous miracles God had performed to save them and sustain them. God sent serpents among the people and many died. When they cried out to Moses regarding their sin in condemning God, God provided a way of life for them through the serpent on the pole. If they were bitten, they only need to look upon the serpent on the pole and they would live. What an amazing foreshadowing of what Jesus would do on the cross! As they were bitten by the serpents among them as punishment for their sin, they need only to look upon the serpent and their lives would be saved! Likewise, here Jesus is saying, very clearly, that He has come to earth for one purpose, "That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life"! How awesome is this stuff?

Jesus further goes on, in verse 16, to sum up the whole of His ministry and God's plan in what has become, rightly so, the most quoted verse of the entire Bible. John 3:16 says, "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". It's so simple! Jesus repeats Himself four times, almost word for word, in this passage. He says, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life", "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life", but that the world through Him might be saved", and "He who believes in Him is not condemned", in verses 15-18, respectively! I think He's trying to tell us something here! Jesus is hammering this point home to Nicodemus, and to us, that it's a simple matter of choice. God's gift of free will is such that we have to make a decision to either believe in His name or not. In our own hands lie the keys to eternal life! It's a simple matter of believing in Jesus! We don't have to work our way into heaven, we don't have to be good before we can be saved, and we don't have to do anything other than simply believe! That's it!

Jesus tells us His thoughts and plans for us are only good, as are His Father's. In verse 17, He says, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but (AGAIN!) that the world through Him might be saved". God desires that the world be saved. The entire world! Every man, woman, and child God loves and wishes to be saved! The prisons that are filled with murderers and rapists and thieves, God wishes them to be saved and spend eternity in heaven with Him! It's so simple, and I'm so grateful that it is! We know that God is no respecter of persons, and we also know that violating even one of God's commands renders us unqualified for heaven. As God can not look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13), Jesus had to take our sin on Himself and endure all the punishment we deserve so as to make us holy and pure in God's sight. We read in Matthew 27:46 Jesus, as He hung on the cross, cry out, "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" At this time, the eyes of the Father turned away from the Son as the sin of the world was laid upon He who had never sinned. That perfect Lamb was sacrificed so that, if only we believe, God can look upon us and call us His children! Praise Jesus for His willingness to go to the cross in our stead!

Wrapping up this study, we read in verses 18-21 the cause for and eventual outcome of unbelief. Jesus says those who do not belief are condemned already to spend eternity separating from God due to their conscience decision to turn from their Creator and live after their own desires. He says in verse 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". Rather than believing in Jesus, men have chosen instead to continue in their selfish ways thereby blaspheming the name of God. Their own selfish desires hold them captive from surrendering their lives to the perfect will of God. Understanding what belief in Jesus would entail, forgoing their own ambitions and living after Christ, men have loved the darkness so as to avoid having to be held responsible for their evil deeds. Conversely, those who believe in Jesus and submit to His will come to the light (verse 21) that they may be seen and examined and held accountable for their actions. In living after God, their actions will be holy and pure, with a mind towards glorifying God's name and presenting themselves as a living sacrifice. This is certainly not to say that we as Christians, as believers, will never stumble; far from it. I can personally vouch for the power of the flesh and the failure of living after my own desire. It's through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me that I conquer, as Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 9:10, "For when I am weak, then I am strong". When I have emptied myself of all selfish thoughts and desires, when I completely surrender to the perfect will of God, when I cry out to Jesus and say, "Lord I can't do this! Help me Jesus!" it's only then that God is able to work in me and change me to Christ's perfect image. As John the Baptist said further in chapter 3, verse 30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." It is only by believing in Jesus' name will we be saved, and it's only by total submission to God's will that we are conformed to His image. It's a tough pill to swallow, so to speak, but only when I put aside my pride and arrogance and cry out to God will I ever see any progress towards conquering the sins in my life. I struggle with so much, so often, but as I learn and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, I will have victory over sin in my life! We accept that we are saved by God's grace, but we also need to remember that we live daily in His grace as well! It's only by His hand that we survive each day, and how grateful am I that He sent His Son to the cross that through my belief in Him I might have eternal life and the power of the Holy Spirit living within me as I look forward to coming home to heaven!