# John 03 đ: Born from Above
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Observations / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Conversation with Nicodemus
**Principle**: The plan of salvation explained to the religious. (Chapter four is to the 'every man.')
[[#Verse 01.]] Now a certain man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council,Â
[[#Verse 02.]] came to Jesus at night and said to him, âRabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.âÂ
[[#Verse 03.]] Jesus replied, âI tell you the solemn truth,unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.âÂ
[[#Verse 04.]]Â Nicodemus said to him, âHow can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his motherâs womb and be born a second time, can he?â
[[#Verse 05.]] Jesus answered, âI tell you the solemn truth,unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
[[#Verse 06.]] What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] Do not be amazed that I said to you, âYou must all be born from above.âÂ
[[#Verse 08.]] The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.â
[[#Verse 09.]] Nicodemus replied, âHow can these things be?â
[[#Verse 10.]] Jesus answered, âAre you the teacher of Israel and yet you donât understand these things?Â
[[#Verse 11.]] I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you peopledo not accept our testimony.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] If I have told you people about earthly things and you donât believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?Â
[[#Verse 13.]] No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heavenâthe Son of Man.Â
[[#Verse 14.]] Just as Moses _lifted up the serpent_ _in_ _the wilderness_, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
[[#Verse 15.]] so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.â
[[#Verse 16.]] For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.Â
[[#Verse 18.]] The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.Â
[[#Verse 20.]]Â For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.Â
[[#Verse 21.]]Â But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.
### Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist
**Principle**: Jesus is first.
[[#Verse 22.]] After this, Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing.Â
[[#Verse 23.]] John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming to him and being baptized.
[[#Verse 24.]]Â (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)
[[#Verse 25.]] Now a dispute came about between some of Johnâs disciples and a certain Jew concerning ceremonial washing.Â
[[#Verse 26.]] So they came to John and said to him, âRabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, about whom you testifiedâsee, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!â
[[#Verse 27.]] John replied, âNo one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven.Â
[[#Verse 28.]] You yourselves can testify that I said, âI am not the Christ,â but rather, âI have been sent before him.âÂ
[[#Verse 29.]] The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly when he hears the bridegroomâs voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete.Â
[[#Verse 30.]]Â He must become more important while I become less important.â
[[#Verse 31.]] The one who comes from above is superior to all.The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is superior to all.Â
[[#Verse 32.]]Â He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
[[#Verse 33.]]Â The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful.Â
[[#Verse 34.]] For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.Â
[[#Verse 35.]]Â The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority.
[[#Verse 36.]] The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but Godâs wrath remains on him.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
###### Verse 34.
###### Verse 35.
###### Verse 36.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council (3:1), likely the Sanhedrin.
2. The Greek word *anothen* (3:3) can mean both "again" and "from above." Nicodemus heard "again," but Jesus meant a birth from God.
3. Jesus calls Nicodemus "the teacher of Israel" (3:10), which suggests he was a well-known teacher.
4. In both Greek (*pneuma*) and Hebrew (*ruach*), the same word can mean "wind" and "spirit," which is the wordplay in 3:8.
5. Jesus points to the bronze serpent of Numbers 21. Centuries later King Hezekiah destroyed it because Israel had begun burning incense to it (2 Kings 18:4).
6. Ancient Greek manuscripts had no quotation marks, so scholars debate whether Jesus' words end at 3:15 or continue through 3:21.
7. Nicodemus appears again in 7:50-51 and 19:39, where he brings about seventy-five pounds of spices for Jesus' burial.
8. John was baptizing at Aenon near Salim "because there was plenty of water there" (3:23). The name Aenon likely means "springs."
9. John notes that John the Baptist had not yet been thrown into prison (3:24), showing this ministry overlapped with Jesus' early ministry before the Galilean accounts in the other Gospels.
10. In Jewish weddings, the friend of the bridegroom (3:29) helped with the arrangements and rejoiced in the groom's joy, not his own.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Son lifted up like the bronze serpent so that all who look to Him in faith may live (3:14-15; Numbers 21:8-9). God gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life (3:16; Romans 5:8).
## đ Key Observations / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Nicodemus was a respected religious teacher, yet Jesus told him he must be born from above (3:3, 10). Why do religious people sometimes struggle to see their need for new birth?
2. Jesus says God sent His Son not to condemn the world but to save it (3:17). How should that shape the way we talk with people far from God?
3. John the Baptist said, "He must become more important while I become less important" (3:30). Where do you need to make more room for Jesus?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 3: No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above.
- đ verse 16: God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes will have eternal life.
- đ verse 17: God sent His Son to save the world, not to condemn it.
- đ verse 30: Jesus must become more important while John becomes less important.
## đ Related Passages
- đ [[Numbers 21#Verse 08.|Numbers 21:8-9]] - The bronze serpent lifted up so the people could live.
- đ [[Ezekiel 36#Verse 25.|Ezekiel 36:25-27]] - God promises clean water, a new heart, and His Spirit.
- đ [[Titus 03#Verse 05.|Titus 3:5]] - The washing of new birth and renewal by the Spirit.
- đ [[Romans 05#Verse 08.|Romans 5:8]] - God shows His love: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
- đ [[1 John 05#Verse 12.|1 John 5:12]] - The one who has the Son has life.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[John 03 - SOAP|Savior of the World]]
## đ Internal Notes