John 3:1-21
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Intro/Background
It’s been a bit!
In John, we’ve seen Jesus’ baptism by His cousin, John the Baptist
We saw Him calling His first disciples
Then His first miracle, changing water into wine at that wedding
Then Him flipping over the money changers tables at the temple because the religious leaders were getting rich off of peoples’ worship rather than serving them and pointing them to the Lord
Tonight we’re going to read the most famous verse in the entire Bible - John 3:16 which I’m sure you all can quote
We’ll read the context of that verse though, and hopefully open you eyes to how powerful that statement is that Jesus give us
Lesson - John 3:1-21.
Verses 1-3
This dude name Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the middle of the night to have a little chat with Jesus
We know that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a “ruler of the Jews”
He is one of the religious leaders (Pharisee) - those who were supposed to be leading the people into a closer relationship w/ Jesus
We know that the Pharisees though hated Jesus. We saw that it was b/c He was disrupting their power over the people (they came and questioned John and his big following) and their prosperity from the people (overturning the money changers tables at the temple)
He was a member of the Sanhedrin Court
Comprised of 70 members, it was Israel’s equivalent of the Supreme Court
They didn’t have a president or a king or a legislature, so their Sanhedrin Council was it, they were the ultimate rulers in Israel (other than the Romans)
He was influential - “a ruler of the Jews”
He wasn’t just a regular old rabbi, he was very well known, very powerful. People did what he said, and I’m sure he was wealthy and probably had everything you could want in life during this time
But Nicodemus wasn’t content with what he had. He had some burning questions about life, a hole in his soul so to speak, and he needed to talk to this Jesus guy about them
We also see that he was impressed by the miracles Jesus had been doing
Not like what we talked about 2 weeks ago, where it was this superficial belief in Jesus - I truly believe that Nicodemus knew that something was different about this prophet from Nazareth
Why do I believe that? B/c he came to talk in the cover of darkness
Nicodemus didn’t want other people to know that he was talking w/ Jesus
So he sets up this “secret” meeting to talk to Him one on one
He wanted his questions answered but he didn’t want to risk losing his position or power as a Pharisee or member of the Sanhedrin
Notice what he says, he doesn’t come out and ask a question, he makes a statement - “no one can do theses signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Jesus doesn’t mess around, He cuts right to the chase about what Nicodemus is interested in - how to have a real relationship with God
He says, “You have to be born again to see the kingdom of God”
This was a way radical statement for Nicodemus to hear
1 - he hadn’t grown up in a church where you hear the phrase “born again” so he didn’t know what it meant
Maybe you have heard that phrase before, maybe you haven’t, and maybe you don’t know what it really means to be born again. Well, that’s exactly what Jesus is going to explain to us as we read
2 - the Jews all thought that they were automatically part of the kingdom of God b/c were descendants of Abraham. So to hear that you had to do something else to have a relationship w/ God beyond just be a Jew, that would have rocked his world
Nicodemus naturally asks Jesus what He means
Verses 4-8
He takes it literally. “Jesus, you’re crazy. I can’t be ‘born again’ - how can a grown man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again? That’s crazy talk!”
Jesus starts to pull the curtain back on what He really means
There are two births - the birth of the flesh when you were brought into existence on this earth as a baby, and then a second birth which is a spiritual birth
That second birth is what Jesus is talking about when He says, “You must be born again”
The Greek word for “again” in born again could also be translated “from above”
We get this idea of a new life from the concept of being born again. It’s more than a change (transformation), its a newness, a regeneration. Taking something and making it completely new
So to be born again, to have this new life and to be a part of the kingdom of God, you have to experience this spiritual birth
This is all rocking Nicodemus’ world - look at verse 9
Verses 9-13
Nicodemus is like, “How is this possible?!?!”
Remember, he thought that you were a part of God’s kingdom by being a Jew - a descendant of Abraham
And a good Jew too, one that kept all the OT rules
So to be told that it’s not about your family, your heritage, or how good you are, it just confuses him so much
Jesus responds with, “And I thought you were such a famous and knowledgeable teacher?”
Throws in a little humble pie for him
Then Jesus basically says, “Look, I’m telling you deep stuff, heavenly stuff. And what I say is real, I’ve seen it, We’ve seen it (speaking of the Trinity), and I’ve come down from heaven to tell you
Verses 14-16
Jesus tells Nicodemus the key to this all - Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man (Messiah) be lifted up - speaking of Jesus’ death on the cross
Jesus refers to this story in Numbers 21.
The children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness and they started to complain about all the wandering
There’s no food, no water, we hate this manna that God gives us every day. Why are we walking in the desert? God just brought us out of Egypt to die here
This wasn’t the first time they messed up and sinned or complained
And God had enough of their complaining
So He sent poisonous snakes to start biting the people and they start dying
Their sin caused death
The people beg Moses, “Ask God to make it stop!”
So God tells Moses to make this bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and whoever looks at the serpent would be saved from the judgement of sin
The people didn’t have to do anything, they just needed to look to the serpent and trust that God would save them, and He did
This is such a cool picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross
We had earned a spiritual death b/c of our sin
We all have messed up, lied, stolen, judged, lusted, hated, disobeyed, even worse
And that sin deserves a judgement, just like a crime commited deserves a sentence
Without justice, you have lawlessness and anarchy
So we we destined to die b/c of our sin
But just as that bronze serpent was lifted up, Jesus was lifted up on the cross to take the judgement/punishment that we deserve, so all we need to do is look to the cross and believe in Jesus to be saved
And when we are saved, we get eternal life - life that starts now and lasts forever
Why did God send His Son to this earth to be lifted up on a cross so us sinners could be saved?
John 3:16 - b/c He loves us
It was His gift to us - He gave us His Son to be slaughtered so that we could have life
And all we need to do is put our faith and trust in Him! No works, no penance, no perfection standards, just faith
That is how we become born again
Verses 17-21
This good news gets even better.
Remember we said that God did all of this for us b/c of His love for us
Maybe you would think that Him needing His Son to die to save us would make Him resentful - but Jesus tells us it’s the opposite
God didn’t send His Son so he could condemn us, He sent His Son so that we may be saved and not condemned to death
We don’t get to hear what happened to Nicodemus in this story, we don’t read that he accepted what Jesus said and was born again that night, or if he called Jesus crazy and walked away
Whether it was that night, or whether it was later, we do know that Nicodemus was born again and became a disciple of Jesus
We read about him later in the gospels as being a disciple
So my question is for you tonight - have you been born again?
Have you experienced that spiritual birth where you received a newness of life?
You can’t go to heaven one day b/c your parents are Christians. Or b/c you came to youth group. Or even b/c you read your Bible or did good things. The only way to go to heaven is to be born again.
You must confess that you’re a sinner, that you’ve messed up and that you deserve a spiritual judgement, and then ask God to forgive you of your sins, and put your faith in Him to follow Him as your Savior
I’m going to pray now and give you an opportunity to do that if you haven’t yet. And then we’ll break up into small groups to talk about what we studied
Pray
Small Groups
Sample Small Group Questions
Sample Small Group Questions
When have you felt like you wanted to start life all over again?
Why do you think Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus at night?
How would you describe what it means to be born again to someone?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. What does that verse say about what it’s like to be born again?
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Why did God have to send His Son to die for us to be able to be born again?
How do you see God’s love for us in His plan to save us?
What does the word condemnation mean? How could God condemn us if we aren’t born again?
From the Oxford Dictionary: condemnation - the action of condemning someone to a punishment; sentencing.
Now read Romans 8:1. With that verse plus what we read in John tonight, how we we avoid being condemned by God?
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Read Galatians 2:20. What does that verse say our live should look like once we are born again?
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Question for personal reflection, not discussion: Have you been born again? If so, are you living out what God has called us to do in Galatians 2:20? If not, do you want to be born again tonight?
If you do, talk with your small group leader after prayer and they can walk you though how to be born again.
Prayer Requests and Group Prayer
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