Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ^(2) He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

^(3) Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^([)^(a)^(])”

^(4) “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

^(5) Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ^(6) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^([)^(b)^(]) gives birth to spirit. ^(7) You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^([)^(c)^(]) must be born again.’ ^(8) The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^([)^(d)^(])

^(9) “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

^(10) “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ^(11) Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ^(12) I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ^(13) No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.^([)^(e)^(]) ^(14) Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^([)^(f)^(]) ^(15) that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”^([)^(g)^(])

^(16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ^(17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ^(18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ^(19) This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ^(20) Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ^(21) But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Questions for discussion

Question 5 was the main question I had in mind for this passage, but feel free to answer any, all, or even none of these questions as you wish.

1. Anything we need to know about Nicodemus outside of this chapter (or gospel)? And why does he visit Jesus at night?

2. Why does Jesus make these comments in verses 7 and 10? Should Nicodemus have been able to understand what Jesus was saying?

3. Who is the "we" and "our" Jesus is referring to in verse 11?

4. Is verse 13 a reference to something in the Old Testament? Also, we just read about King Hezekiah destroying the bronze snake in 2 Kings 18:4, so what's Jesus' purpose in bringing it up again in verses 14-15?

4b) Verse 16 to the end are the most familiar parts of this passage, I believe. Anything about verses 1-15 you're unsure about?

5. Have any of you ever a phrase that goes something like "Familiarity breeds contempt"? What does it mean, in case someone hasn't heard of it or might need a reminder? And is it applicable or relevant to the Bible?

The reason why I ask is because verse 16 is probably one of the (if not the) most well-known verses in the entire Bible. Is it too easy for us to undervalue it or for us to know it, but not really know it intimately, if that makes sense? Like it's not just something we can memorize, but something that's in our hearts and lives. Are there any other popular Bible verses that we might have this problem?

So all that aside, what do you think it means when it says, "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." (John 3:16 KJV)? Speaking of the familiarity, put the KJV version here, but feel free to read this verse in whatever translation you want.

How does this affect how we see God and what He has done for us? How does it affect how we view ourselves? How about how we see other people in the world?

6. What do you make of verses 17-18 in the context of verse 16?

7. Anything stand out to you about the verdict in verses 19-21?

8. Anything else you want to ask/bring up about this passage?