Jesus Talks to Nicodemus

Even when Jesus was little His family went to Jerusalem at Passover. In 27 A.D., Jesus went to Jerusalem just as He always had. Having defeated Satan and begun His ministry, He now went with great authority and zeal. When He arrived at the temple He found the sellers of oxen, sheep and doves for sacrifices and those who changed money to what was acceptable as offerings were doing their business right in the temple courtyard.

He quickly made a scourge of cords and drove all of the animals and their owners out of the grounds and overturned the tables of the money-changers. He told those who were selling doves to take them out. "Do not make my Father's house a marketplace!"

The leaders of the Jews asked him by what authority he could justify the things He had just done."

Jesus told them, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days!"

The Jewish leaders exclaimed, "It took forty-six years to build this temple and you claim you will raise it up again in three days?!!" But He was actually referring to the temple of His body, which would be resurrected from the dead after three days in the grave. After He was resurrected, his disciples remembered what He had said and believed it. At this time Jesus was doing many miracles and many people believed.

There was a man who was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus in the night so he wouldn't be recognized. He admitted to Jesus, "Teacher, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do the miracles you have been doing unless God is with him."

The reply Jesus made to Nicodemus must have startled and puzzled him, it didn't seem to have any relationship to what Nicodemus had said: "Truly and seriously I want you to understand, unless a man is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God!"

Nicodemus, of course, knew what "born" means and asked Jesus, "But how is it possible for a man to be born when he is old? Can he enter again into his mothers womb and be born?"

Jesus answered, "Truly and seriously I want you to understand, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God!" Nicodemus began to get a little idea what Jesus was saying, but then Jesus said, "Whoever is born of the flesh IS flesh and whoever is born of the Spirit IS spirit. Don't be amazed and puzzled because I'm telling you it's absolutely necessary for you to be born again.

"The wind blows where ever it pleases - you can hear it and see its effects, but you can't see it and you can't tell where it comes from or where it goes. This is what everyone is like when they're born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus was perplexed and asked, "How can these things possibly be?"

Jesus asked him, "Are you a teacher and master in Israel and you don't know and understand these things?!" Then Jesus began to teach Nicodemus.

"Most seriously and truly I'm telling you what I know for certain and what I have personally seen, but you leaders of Israel will not accept my testimony and witness. And if I tell you earthly things and you don't believe them, how can you possibly believe when I tell you heavenly things?

"No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man." (Jesus himself, who is now in heaven.)

"Just as Moses lifted up the brass serpent on a stake in the wilderness, it has been planned from the biginning that the Son of man shall be lifted up on a stake so that every one who believes in Him and all he stands for will not die and remain dead forever, but may have eternal life.

"Because God loves everyone in the world so much that He has given His only begotten Son as a sacrifice so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will be given eternal life. This shows that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world can be saved through His sacrifice and resurrection.

"Anyone who believes in God's son as the true Messiah is not condemned. But one who knows and understands but doesn't believe is condemned because he hasn't believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (This does not mean such a person is forever condemned, but they are condemned until such a time as they do acknowledge Jesus is the Messiah and Savior.)

Jesus continued, "The Judgment and the condemnation are because the Light has come into the world but men love darkness because the things they do are evil; everyone who practices evil detests the light. He will not come into the light because his evil works will be exposed for all to see. But those who do good and practice truth are in the light so that everyone can see what they are accomplishing in and through God."

After this conversation with Nicodemus Jesus and His disciples out into Judea and they were baptizing. John and his disciples were also baptizing because John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Life of Christ Part Seven - Jesus in Samaria

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