John 3:2

Nicodemus calls Jesus Teacher. Then, he says, We all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof that God is with you.

Nicodemus calls Jesus Teacher, yet he was a religious leader himself, a teacher of the sorts as well. But Nicodemus was a searcher and his searcher instinct appears to be greater than his teacher instinct. He was searching for something more than what he had as a leader of the Pharisee's. He needed to examine Jesus for himself.

They say that it's good to know what other religious theologies are about, and I agree — to a point. I think it's more important for me to know what I believe and why I believe it. Just a thought, what do you think?

Jesus then explains what being born again is all about.

John 3:5

Jesus said, The truth is, no one can enter into the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

To me this means it's free. Birth cost me nothing. My birth into this world was free of charge to me. It cost my mother (the pain of childbirth — and, oh yeah, I broke my elbow, mom) and my father (stitches from catching the house on fire) plus many other costs of raising a very curious boy. But to me, the cost was nothing, nada, zilch. The cost of birth by Spirit, however, was Jesus' very own life, his entire earthly existence. For me, that doesn't sound fair, but it's true. A free gift for all to receive and to apply.

Have you ever pursued one of those free gifts online? You know, the one that costs you a magazine subscription, a foreign language course and a credit card application. The importance of this scripture is that it can't be earned. No amount of do-gooding — "my own merit" — volunteering, missionary work, giving in the offering, is going to save my soul. I just receive it and apply it to my life. That's it.

John 3:8

This is the U2 verse. Jeus says, Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit.

Jesus says the spirit moves in Mysterious ways. Thus, the U2 reference. The thing about the Spirit of God is that it's unexplainable. When we say yes to Jesus, something in our spirit changes. For some it's a rapid fire thing. For others, it's a slow burn that takes a while to digest and soak in, but it's mysterious nonetheless.

John 3:9-10

This is a great exchange that basically says, Knowledge is great and respectable and should be pursued. However, it won't get you into the kingdom. I think this is something very relevant for our culture, and should be remembered.

John 3:13-15

Jesus talks of his own death: The Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.

Jesus is referring to the time when the children of Israel were attacked by poisonous snakes. God told Moses to put a snake on a pole and raise it up. Those that looked at it would be saved. So, Jesus on the cross became our remedy for the poison of the world that keeps us out of heaven. Pretty cool when you think about it. The international sign for medicine and help is an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus' death.

John 3:16

This brings us to the most famous scripture in the world, the end zone scripture. John 3:16. Everyone together now, For God so loved the world, the He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. I still love the King James Version of that scripture. It sounds so poetic and has so much impact with words like whosoever. It's all-inclusive. No one's left out. Believe. That's it. Believe Jesus died for you. Accept the free gift. No judgement. No condemnation. Just love.

John 3:18-20

Jesus doesn't judge. Our own actions do that. Our actions show our undoneness. Let me reference that word undone. In the Book of Isaiah (6:5), Isaiah says My destruction is sealed. In the King James Version it says, woe is me for I am undone. Isaiah gets a glimpse of the throne room of God and sees how holy He is. He looks at himself and realizes that he is nothing, destroyed, undone by the holiness of God. Notice how in both of these passages there is no judgement by Jesus, no condemnation by God, just the fact of their holiness and us being undone, destroyed by our own self. My own actions, my own thoughts or ignorance, my own unbelief, distrust, my own self destroys and judges me, not God. In Him there is only love.

John 3:22

Again, in this study we see Jesus chilling out. Maybe this is a theme to life: Chill out, relax a bit after you do something.

John 3:23-30

John the Baptist was baptizing people and people began telling him that Jesus was baptizing in another location, and John says something I need to apply more to my own life.

I quote from the New Living Testament (NLT) He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. How true. Jesus must become greater and greater in our lives, and we must become smaller and smaller. That's so easy in some areas of life, but in others, it's sometimes a huge challenge. I struggle with giving God control of all areas of my life, and I am not a big control freak. Another thing I notice is that John never says, I must become something else, he just says, I need to be a smaller version of my self. Maybe more transparent is the word. He does not imply not being John the Baptist. He implies not being JOHN THE BAPTIST. The idea is: We must become little Dales [you can insert your name here instead of mine] and God must become a BIG GOD! BIG JESUS!

John 3:31-36

We conclude this chapter with John the Baptist paraphrasing what Jesus said to Nicodemus earlier in the chapter. He says things like my understanding is limited to the things of earth, referring to the mysterious movements of the Spirit of God. He goes on to say, All who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Sounds a lot like John 3:16.

John understood. He got it. Jesus is the gift of eternal life, and his role was to point people to the cross.

Prayer: Abba, God, thank you for Your unfailing love, and for the end zone. You defined what it means to score a touchdown in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank you for the gift of your Son. Amen.

If you wish to receive Jesus, it's really simple. Just say this little prayer: Jesus, I recognize you as my Savior. Forgive me of my wrongs and come into my life. Give me strength as I start my journey with you. Amen.

If you said that prayer today, congratulations on becoming a follower of Jesus. If you would like to talk to someone, call me (805-234-1597), or email me. On the main page there's a Contact section with a built-in emailer. I would love to know that you received Jesus, and I would love to help get you plugged into a church no matter where you happen to be.