Author: Jeff Englund

John 3: 9

“‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked.”

What a great question! Nicodemus has seen or heard reliable testimony that Jesus has done extraordinary things. The signs Jesus caused to happen point to a relationship with a higher power than any known on earth. Recognizing that what they are seeing is beyond the power of mortals, some accuse Jesus of being demon possessed. Others believe he is the Messiah. Certainly, Nicodemus is living in a most amazing and challenging time.

“How can this be?” he asks…

Q: How would you answer Nicodemus?

John 3:8

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

As I read this passage and write this short comment, the wind outside my house is blowing. More than 2000 years after he spoke them, Jesus’ words still ring true. I can hear the wind blowing but I have no idea where it comes from or where it is going.

I remember when I was a child, I went through a phase of building and flying kites. Once, I flew a kite so high in the sky that I almost lost sight of it. And then, the string broke, and within seconds I did lose sight of it. Where did it go?

Q: How is being born of the Spirit like being borne on the wind?

John 3:7

“You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

Remember, that when Jesus speaks this verse, he is talking with Nicodemus, a high ranking member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, and a respected teacher in Israel. Jesus clearly expects that Nicodemus should understand the things he is saying. Yet, Nicodemus seems confused.

Q: If you were able to help Nicodemus understand what Jesus meant, what would you tell him?

John 3:5-6

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.’”

With this verse Jesus lays down a gauntlet. (In olden days, to ‘throw down the gauntlet’ was to challenge someone to a duel … often to the death.) Here he literally spells out a challenge that means the difference between life and death.

Q: How do you understand the meaning of, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit?”

John 3: 4

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

I expect that Nicodemus was taken off guard a bit by Jesus’ statement that only people who are born again will see the kingdom of God. What could this mean? Considering that Jesus was speaking directly to Nicodemus’ heart, it is not surprising that his mind went into overdrive trying to recover control of the conversation. Logically a person can only be born once! Right?

Q: If you agree with Nicodemus that it would be awkward at best to try and be born again physically, what do you think Jesus was really trying to get Nicodemus to see?

John 3: 3

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’”

You gotta admit that the way John tells this story, Jesus does not mess around! No chit chat or small talk this evening! Jesus does not have to ask, “Why Nicodemus, what brings you out this way so late at night?” He knows! He knows Nicodemus’ heart and what is on his mind. Without preamble or further introduction, he cuts right to the heart of the matter: You need to be born again!!

Q: What do you think Nicodemus had on his heart and mind for Jesus to make the statement he did?

Continue reading “The Heart of the Matter”

John 3: 2b

“For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Isn’t it interesting what Nicodemus says here? “For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Clearly, this line of thought was not common or popular in any form among his fellow Pharisees, and yet logically it seems like a very reasonable statement to make. After all, the “signs” that Jesus did while on earth were unique. No one else in history has claimed the power to do the things that Jesus did.

Q: How do you explain the fact that others saw Jesus do the same things Nicodemus saw and yet refused to admit what Nicodemus so reasonably admitted; that Jesus could not have done the things he did if God were not with him?

Continue reading “Admission”

John 3: 2a

“He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God.’”

When Nicodemus comes to see Jesus and talk with him, he starts out by calling him, “Rabbi,” meaning “teacher.” Technically Nicodemus was a teacher of the highest order, so he was either being extremely deferential or extremely sarcastic in his address to Jesus. But Nicodemus does not stop there. He goes on to commend Jesus as “a teacher who has come from God.”

Q: What do you think Nicodemus meant by the statement that Jesus had “come from God?”

Continue reading “Origins”

John 3:1-2

“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night”

With just a few short strokes of his Pen, John sketches out a picture of this Pharisee named Nicodemus. Clearly, he is drawn to Jesus. Unlike other Pharisees who try to entrap Jesus at dinner, or reprimand him in the synagogue, Nicodemus comes to see Jesus away from the crowds and away from other eyes.

Q: How many reasons can you think of for a Pharisee to visit someone at night?

John 2: 25

“He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.”

There are many amazing things about our God, and this sentence encompasses one of the most amazing! Knowing each one of us intimately, knowing we could not be trusted, he still comes to earth as one of us and allows us to torture and kill Him in order to provide for our redemption.

Q: What does is say about our God that he would be born a man knowing people to be untrustworthy, knowing what would happen to him, but also knowing that this would allow him to redeem all whom he calls to repentance?

Continue reading “Knowing”