What Jesus Did

[Continuing his talk with Nicodemus, Jesus said,] "And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life."

—John 3:14-15 NLT

Key Thought​

The Greek word for "lifted up" usually means "exalted" in the rest of the New Testament. In a way, it also means that in the Gospel of John. However, when Jesus refers to his sacrifice, "lifted up" refers to his...

 

[Continuing his talk with Nicodemus, Jesus said,]
"No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven."
—John 3:13 NLT

Key Thought​

What is something that only you can do? Now think for a moment; is it really something only you can do? No one else in the world can do it? No one else but you has ever done it? There are things that only Jesus could do. Only Jesus was part of heaven and came to earth as a human. Jesus is the only person...

 

[Continuing his talk with ###, Jesus said,] "The wind blows wherever it wants. 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."
"How are these things possible?" ### asked.

Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony. But if you don't believe me when I...

 

[Jesus said to Nicodemus,] "Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.'"

—John 3:6-7 NLT

Key Thought​

Not religious practice. Not religious accomplishment. Not religious titles. Not religious pedigree. Not the faith of parents. Not the recognition of community. There are no human means that can accomplish our new birth, our God-birth, our birth from above, our spiritual...

 

"What do you mean?" exclaimed ### [when Jesus told him he must be born again to see the Kingdom]. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"
Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit."

—John 3:4-5 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus tries to move ### from a philosophical discussion to a personal one: "Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God," Jesus told him. [1] ###...

 

Jesus replied [to Nicodemus], "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."

—John 3:3 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus basically tells Nicodemus, a religious ruler and a righteous man, that he must start over. Not only that, he tells him he must have a fresh start that only God can bring about. He must be reborn. That is no longer a theological discussion, but a personal one: "... unless YOU are born again, ..." But more than just being born...

 

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you."

—John 3:1-2 NLT

Key Thought​

Some people give Nicodemus a hard time for coming to Jesus at night. However, John doesn't. In fact, if we listen carefully to this story, Nicodemus does exactly what Jesus says people "who do...

 

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person's heart.

—John 2:23-25 NLT

Key Thought​

We often yearn for the acceptance of the crowd. We want others to notice us as significant. Many of us want our moment of fame. Jesus didn't operate in that fashion. He knew that those...

 

After [Jesus] was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said ["Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"], and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.

—John 2:22 NLT

Key Thought​

We often feel that our faith would be greatly bolstered if we could have seen Jesus personally. However, John and other New Testament witnesses remind us that while many of the truths about Jesus are hard to accept, understand, perceive, discern, and...

 

But the Jewish leaders demanded [of Jesus], "What are you doing? If God gave you authority to [clear the Temple of the money changers and animals], show us a miraculous sign to prove it."
"All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

"What!" they exclaimed. "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?"

But when Jesus said "this temple," he meant his own body.


—John 2:18-21 NLT

Key...​