Born Again

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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.”
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 gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You 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.”
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. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
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.    John 3:1-21
To me this passage sums up what Jesus’ ministry was all about.  Nicodemus was a member on the ruling class, a Pharisee.  These are the same people who wanted Jesus put to death.  It’s kind of like if J. Edgar Hoover had a secret meeting with Al Capone.  If the rest of the Pharisees had found out about it they would have at the very least had him thrown in prison.
Why did Nicodemus meet with Jesus?  What did he want to talk with him about?  He wanted to find out about the Kingdom of God.  Notice that Jesus didn’t have to wait for Nicodemus to ask a question.  He knows the hearts of men.  He knew what the real question was before it was even asked.  Jesus answered him by saying that NO ONE can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again.  Nicodemus was confused.  Being reborn was not a new concept to Nicodemus.  Gentiles who converted to Judaism had to go through a process of rebirth.  What confused Nicodemus was that Christ had said, “no one,” meaning both Jew and Gentile had to be reborn.  Christ basically replied, “Man gives birth to man, but spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should know this!  The effect of the spirit on a man is like the wind.  You can hear it, but you can’t see it.  You can feel it, but you don’t know where it came from.”  Nic was still confused.  Jesus said, “Look man, you’re a teacher of the law and you don’t know this?! John the Baptist and I tell you what we know, everything we have seen and you don’t believe us.  If you can’t believe those things, how are you ever gonna believe me about heaven?  Look, Moses raised up that snake in the desert to save the people of Israel. Right?  Well, the Son of Man is gonna have to be lifted up too so that anybody who believes will have life everlasting.”
Next we come to the most famous verse in all the bible, John 3:16.  16-18 is kind of like Christ mission statement.  It pretty cut and dry.  It is one of the few times in the gospel that Jesus talks plainly.  He is very matter of fact about why He has come into the world.  He came to save us.
Verses 19-21 are an indictment of mankind.  We are evil.  We hate the light because it will expose the evil that we do. But if we live by the truth, everything we have done will be brought into the light.
Have you been reborn?  Would you like to be?  
If this is your first time hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, and you want to follow Him, you too can know his joy. The peace that passes all understanding. All you have to do is ask Christ into your heart and ask him to forgive your sins. He stands at the door, ready to come in. If you would like to know Jesus and God the father, please pray the following prayer or one like it. Or, you can contact me at jeremylail@gmail.com and I will be more than happy to pray with/for you.
Heavenly Father, have mercy on me, a sinner. I believe in you and that your word is true. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he died on the cross so that I may now have forgiveness for my sins and eternal life. I know that without you in my heart my life is meaningless. I believe in my heart that you, Lord God, raised Him from the dead. Please Jesus forgive me, for every sin I have ever committed or done in my heart, please Lord Jesus for give me and come into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior today. I need you to be my Father and my friend. I give you my life and ask you to take full control from this moment on; I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.