The gospel of jesus (yeshua) John 3:1-21

John 3:1-21 John: 3. 1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 3:1,2 John: 3. 1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

This man named Nicodemus, was one of the Pharisees This man named Nicodemus, was one of the Pharisees. The pharisees were the religious leaders in Israel at the time. The jewish encyclopedia says the following about them: Party representing the religious views, practises, and hopes of the kernel of the Jewish people in the time of the Second Temple and in opposition to the priestly Sadducees. They were accordingly scrupulous observers of the Law as interpreted by the Soferim, or Scribes, in accordance with tradition. The Pharisees formed a league or brotherhood of their own ("ḥaburah"), admitting only those who, in the presence of three members, pledged themselves to the strict observance of Levitical purity, to the avoidance of closer association with the 'Am ha-Areẓ (the ignorant and careless boor), to the scrupulous payment of tithes and other imposts due to the priest, the Levite, and the poor, and to a conscientious regard for vows and for other people's property. John 3:1,2

John 3 :1,2 Jesus said a lot (all bad) about the pharisees. Here are some of them: Matthew 12:38-42 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.“ “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.“ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language.

John 3:1,2 The fact that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night was because he came in secret, he could not be found by the others with him. But he did believe Jesus came from God, he was convicted by God, that is why he came to Jesus.

John 3:3-10 John: 3. 3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

John 3:3-10 Nicodemus could not understand what Jesus was saying, this is because God had not revealed it to him. The Holy spirit is how God reveals scripture to us. Without the Holy Spirit it is almost aways difficult to understand scripture. Even Jesus told him, ‘ you’re a leader of Isreal and you don’t understand these things’. Nicodemus thought Jesus was talking about a physical rebirth, which is impossible. Jesus was talking about being reborn in spirit, which is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That which is born of flesh is when we are born as babies from our mother. That which is born into the spirit is spirit, refers to being born of the spirit, The Holy Spirit enters our bodies when we accept Jesus as a forgiveness of our sins and our salvation. The water part can refer to our baptism and our earthly birth. Baptism is not necessary for salvation but if you have the means to get it done you should do it. When we are born from our mothers we are born from water also. You cant be saved if your not alive. Being baptized is a choice one makes when they are old enough to understand what they are doing. The wind blows and we cant see where it comes from or where it is going. So are those who God chooses to save. We cant make someone be saved. It is God who brings them into salvation not people. So we have no idea of who God is going to save or not save. It is our job to tell people about Jesus, it is Gods job to bring them to salvation.

John 3:11,12 John: 3. 11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

John 3:11,12 Here Jesus tells Nicodemus that if someone tells you about what they have seen with their own eyes, or know something that they have experienced in their own lives (such as being saved) and You wont believe them, then there is no way you are going to believe them if they try to explain heavenly things or spiritual things, such as prophecy or Jesus’s return. Anything the bible says that we cannot see with our own eyes.

John 3:13-15 John: 3. 13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:13-15 Jesus here says that He came down from heaven, and is in heaven, and that He came down and nobody can get in but Him. Here He is saying that He came from God, and is God, and will return to heaven, and that nobody can earn their way into heaven. Only thru Him can someone get into heaven. Whe Moses and the Jews where wondering through the desert for 40 years after their exodus from Egypt, a lot of them died from snake bites. If you got up to a million people walking through the desert some of them are going to step on snakes. The Jews complained to Moses about this, so Moses asked God, and God told Moses to make a staff with a snake on it, and hold it up while you are walking. If someone is biten by a snake, all they have to do is look at the staff and God will heal them. Here Jesus is saying that just like that staff, He himself must be lifted up (crucified and raised into heaven) so that people can look at Him and be saved from their sins and receive eternal life from God.

John 3:16,17 John: 3. 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:16,17 Jesus tells us here ( the most used verse in the new testament ) that God loves us so much, even as sinners, that He came down from heaven just to be crucified so that our sins can be forgiven and we can have eternal life. That’s amazing, God who created everything, even though we did not do what He wanted us to do, that He would do such a thing. Most people would never do such a thing, though some might give their lives for someone righteous or someone they love. But He did it for sinners. Everyone, and no one deserves it. It was a gift from God, and by not accepting it is an insult to God. That’s why Jesus says the next verses. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it. When Jesus returns, which is very soon, then He will condemn it. The Jews at the time did not accept Jesus because they were expecting the christ to set up the Jewish state as rulers of the world. He will do that when He returns again, but first He had to save us from sin, our biggest enemy.

John 3:18-21 John: 3. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 3:18-21 Jesus tells us that only those who believe in Him are saved. So there is no other way for people to be saved except by Jesus. God fulfills the law of Moses and sets up a new standard for us. No longer can we be saved through the law because it is impossible to do. Instead the law becomes our accuser, and only shows us how much we sin. So the only way to be saved is if God forgives us. The only way He forgives us is stated here, through believing in Jesus, who lived a perfect sinless life and was murdered as a sinner. In doing this, He paid for our sins. So the only way to be saved is through this belief. And if someone truly believes this, their life will show it. They will be grateful to God, and dedicate their lives to Him. Buy those who don’t believe are condemned, because they have no forgiveness and will die in their sins. So their condemnation is not their sins, but that they chose not to be forgiven, because they did not believe in Jesus. Jesus says that he is the light. Darkness refers to sin, ungodliness.

John 3:18-21 And this is their condemnation, that light (Jesus) came into the world, but they loved darkness (sin) rather than light. Jesus is also Truth. So they loved lies rather than truth. What do most people do when they do something wrong? They try to hide it. That’s why sinners try to hide themselves. They live a lie. They try to tell others that they are good people and don’t do bad things. They may even believe the lies they tell. But Jesus says that their darkness will be exposed. Nothing is hiden from God, even our inner thoughts are seen by Him. But those that are in the light (truth) have nothing to hide. Even when they make mistakes they will tell others and apologize. They make known their sins so nothing is hidden, by this they live in the light. By doing this they show others that God is in their life. So those that do evil hide everything, but those who are from God hide nothing. They are not ashamed of their love toward God. The love not their lives, even unto death, that only God is made manifest in their lives, to be a witness to others that God is real, and that Jesus truly saves.

The Gospel This is the gospel in its most basic form. That God came to Earth as Jesus, lived a sinless life, was crucified and died as a sinner, and by this our sins are forgiven, if we believe in this. By believing in this, God, through the Holy Spirit, will convict us when we do wrong, so that we can repent of our sins. God will then lead us through life and we will produce fruit, which will be a witness to others that we are saved by God. Through our witness, others will be convicted by God so that they may be saved as well. It is our greatest duty toward God, to share the gospel with others so they may be saved. By doing this we are rewarded in heaven, even though it was not us but God who does it. God is good toward those He loves. That’s a promise from God himself, and He always keeps His promises.

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