John 3

Welcome back gang!  Crack your Bibles open to John 3 and let's get started.  Don't forget to pray that God will open the eyes of your soul to His message for you. I felt drawn to the person of Nicodemus in this section.  He is a Pharisee and observer of the law of Moses.  Simply put the Pharisees were strict observers of the law and were constantly involving Jesus in debates over Scripture.  Nicodemus is interesting because he doesn't seem to be debating but asking real questions, he is really interested in what Christ has to say.  Notice, Nicodemus came "at night".  Either to avoid embarrassment from his friends or to have uninterrupted time with Jesus.  He also seems convinced that Jesus is not some magician or heretic but that there is something different about Him (v2).

Jesus engages Nick in a conversation about faith in Him.  The picture that He uses is of someone being born again.  That there is some type of 2nd birth that takes place after believing (2 Cor 5:17).  I think that the water and Spirit comment in v5, is Jesus repeating the same concept.  Water meaning natural child birth and Spirit meaning new life in Christ.  Jesus presents the gospel to this law keeper!  John 3:16 which is no doubt one of the most quoted verses in the Bible here.  Jesus is telling Nick, who had previously thought God just wanted him to obey a bunch of rules, that a connection with God is about faith and belief.  This would be a totally new concept for this Pharisee!

Maybe it is for you too.  Maybe your life with Jesus has been about "do this...don't do that" and that has kinda been it.  Did you know, that God wants you to trust Him?  He wants to draw close in a relationship with you?  All you need to do is believe that He is who He said He is.  Trust in Christ today and be born again.  See you tomorrow.

Cool Fact:
Nicodemus appears several times in the Gospel of John.  You see Him defending Jesus in John 7:50-51 and at Christ's death in John 19:39.  Pretty safe to say Nicodemus genuinely accepted Christ in this account because his actions followed his belief!