What another great afternoon! Sherri had off so we spent quite a bit of the day outside getting yard work done. Getting ready for winter!!
Today is usually Lectionary group, but I have my one-on-one with the district superintendent this morning, so I will miss my group. Still errand day though!! Yahoo!
In our first story, we meet Nicodemus- a member of the Sanhedrin- religious, educated, and influential. Nicodemus knows that Jesus is from God- a huge step of faith! We are not sure why he came to see Jesus at night. Some think he didn't want to be noticed by others, some think he wanted some uninterrupted time, some think that was the only time the two had an opening in their schedule. Jesus shatters Nicodemus' (and Jewish) theology. The assumption was that they would inherit God's kingdom by their racial identity (being Jew), but Jesus says that to inherit the kingdom, we must be born again. Nicodemus' response, "Wait? What?" Jesus confirms that what is needed is a radical transformation. Just being born from our mother (born of water, amniotic fluid) doesn't ensure our acceptance to God's kingdom. What assures us is our complete inner change- born from the Spirit. Nicodemus is a highly religious man, and now Jesus is saying that even he has to be reborn! What does that say about us?!
Nicodemus needs more help in understanding (vv 9-10). Nicodemus believes the Hebrew scriptures say that a person's heritage/ethnicity is good enough for being allowed into God's kingdom (v 11), but Jesus says it is more than that. Nicodemus should have understood, but he didn't; Jesus responds with, "I can't say anything more to get you to understand!" (v 12). Jesus mentions the serpent in Moses' story (Numbers 21:4-9). God instructed Moses to craft a bronze serpent wrapped around a staff; it would save anyone who was bitten by a poisonous snake (read the story for better understanding). Jesus is saying He will be like that serpent- raised up on a staff to save people. Serpents are generally symbols of evil, but the bronze one was made by being refined in fire (tested) so it is now "good" as Jesus is good. The caduceus is symbolic of healing and has some interesting stories to go with it!
Now probably the most quoted piece of scripture, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world..." This is probably the most powerful statement in all of the Bible. God didn't wait for the world to love God, God did this independently of us. The caveat that people sometimes gloss over- believe! It is our belief that gives us to God. God gave us light in Genesis 1 so we could be apart form the darkness; that same Light is given to us (v 19) so we could again be apart form the darkness. But we have to want that! I guess Nicodemus accepted that for now because that is the last we hear of him until chapter 7 (and then again in chapter 19).
Jesus comes to John the Baptist again. Jesus begins baptizing and John's followers seem to get upset (v 26). "Everyone is going to Jesus rather than you!" John essentially says he is the best-man at the wedding and Jesus is the groom (vv 28-29). People aren't here to see John- they are here to see Jesus! John then says, "He must increase and I must decrease" (v 30). This should be a statement that we all are willing and able to make!
John wants people to know where Jesus came from and what Jesus is all about (v 31). John can only talk of things in this world, but Jesus is different. Jesus is from God and knows the Godly things. John cautions that people should listen and accept what Jesus has to say or there will be a penalty (v 36).
Chapter three is probably a must read for everyone! It tells us some very basic yet important information: we must be born again, the Son of Man must be lifted up, we must decrease, Jesus must increase. Some great words in this chapter!
I hope you like this chapter! Have a great day!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
I like the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. It does seem like Nicodemus is trying to keep his visit in private since John thought it important to mention that he visited Jesus "by night".
ReplyDeleteWhen reading vs. 8 I thought that Jesus' point is that you believe in things that you cannot explain (like you hear and feel wind but do not know where it comes from or where it is going). But then he adds - "so is every one that is born of the Spirit". ????? I also like vs. 11 and 12 - if you don't believe when I tell you of earthly things that I have witnessed and testify to, how can you believe me when I tell you of heavenly things? I think the whole conversation is great!! When I was young, I memorized John 3:16 for a Sunday School performance. I have never forgotten it. However, I did not go further and read John 3:17 - which I really think it's just as important as 3:16. That God did NOT send his son to condemn but to save. John seems to know a lot about John the Baptize and things that happened around him. I wonder if the author John was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. He talks a lot about him. But I do admire John the Baptist - always remembering where his "place" was in the scheme of things - never wavering in his testimony to Jesus.
Just a note to our previous conversation - Mary had to know who Jesus was and His purpose in life from the circumstances surrounding his birth and the prophecy of Simeon when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to the temple.
Just thinking - wouldn't Joseph have to work? And since Mary and the brethren are not always mentioned, perhaps they, too, returned home?
These are the times when I do wish that we were meeting in person so we could have these discussions!!
Loved the chapter!!!
I like the Nicodemus conversation too. It is honest and pure. I feel like Nicodemus at times!
DeleteAnd agreed on 3:17- we forget that one don't we!!
John the Baptist was quite a popular and well known person. He was one of the "lead" prophets of the time, so most everyone knew of him.
We don't hear much about Joseph- ever! After the birth narrative, he never comes up. Which is interesting, considering it is a patriarchal society!
Good points Donna
My commentary says that tradition says that Joseph had died by the time of the wedding at Cana.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I wonder, if that's true, why didn't anyone mention it in their Gospel!?
DeleteThanks!
Am I understanding this right...When it says you must be born not only by water but by spirit. Does this mean having your faith or some people will say, I have been saved or have you excepted Jesus or God as your Lord and savior. I get kind of annoyed with these questions.
ReplyDeleteI like vs17 God did not send his son into the world to condemn it's people. He sends him to save us!
The Jews thought that they would inherit the kingdom through their ancestry (born of water). Jesus is saying we have to go one step further and accept Jesus as Savior and have faith in God (born of the Spirit).
DeleteGood points Cindy!
This is without a doubt, the best chapter in many ways that I have read since starting this Bible study way back in January. There is a lot of material and ideas in this chapter that there is too much to comment on in a forum like this.
ReplyDeleteThe first item to discuss is the idea of being “born again.” I hear this term often and it implies to me someone who has become fanatical about being a Christian to the point of being “holier than thou.” This concept is an unpleasant one to me because of its negative connotation. I like the idea of being born of water (Baptism) and the spirit. By “spirit”, I assume that John means the spirit of God in heaven. What else could it mean?
Nicodemus is featured in popular (rock) music. I was looking for one artist whose name escapes me at the moment. However, when I went searching just now, I found that there is a lot of music around the name “Nicodemus” and a lot of religious music as well. I was very surprised.
Now we come to verse 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he [sic] gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” [NIV]. This is my favorite verse in the Bible, and it is extremely popular. I believe that it ties in to the “born again” theme as it was presented earlier in this chapter.
This is followed by a discussion focused on John the Baptist. One of my sidebars asks “Why didn’t Jon the Baptist become Jesus’ disciple? (Verses 3.27 to 3.30)” John explained that he was called to point people to the Messiah. John’s role was only to precede Jesus and not to follow him as a disciple. I have paraphrased the sidebar and I hope I have done it correctly.
Before I close, I want to ask a question about the synaptic gospels. Did Mark, Luke and Matthew collaborate on their gospels or was each one written separately? I ask this as their gospels, although different, tell almost the same story, whereas John is much different, and he leaves out the story of Christmas and includes the Cana wedding. These are differences that we have seen thus far, and there may be more.
This is a great chapter and is the gospel in a nutshell!
ReplyDeleteBorn of water means to be born from your mom (water= amitotic fluid); born of the Spirit means to accept God and have faith tat Jesus is the Messiah. Unfortunately, the "born agains" are sometimes seen as fanatics and over the edge...but we all need to be "born again"
Thanks for investigating the Nicodemus name in rock!
3:16 is the ":born again" Theme!
YEs, John's "role" was to point people to JEsus, not work with him.
Re: the syoptics. Mark was written first; most of Mark is also found in Matthew and Luke (estimates of up to 75%). Matthew was written second and then Luke. Matthew and Luke share about 50% of their writing with each other. The idea is that Mark wrote and then Matthew and Luke used his material and added their information. These three books were written in the late 50, early 60s to mid 70s or so.
John is very different and written much later (mid 90s to 100).
Great question Jack