1 There was a man named Nicodemus who was one of the Pharisees and an important Jewish leader. 2 One night Nicodemus came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know you are a teacher sent from God, because no one can do the miracles you do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
4 Nicodemus said, “But if a person is already old, how can he be born again? He cannot enter his mother’s womb again. So how can a person be born a second time?”
5 But Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born from water and the Spirit, you cannot enter God’s kingdom. 6 Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit. 7 Don’t be surprised when I tell you, ‘You must all be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wants to and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus asked, “How can this happen?”
10 Jesus said, “You are an important teacher in Israel, and you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we talk about what we know, and we tell about what we have seen, but you don’t accept what we tell you. 12 I have told you about things here on earth, and you do not believe me. So you will not believe me if I tell you about things of heaven. 13 The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.
14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. 15 So that everyone who believes can have eternal life in him.
16 “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son. 19 They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. 20 All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. 21 But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.”
22 After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea, where he stayed with his followers and baptized people.
Read John 3:1-22 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If the Bible had a theme verse or a theme statement, a statement Jesus makes during His conversation with Nicodemus would likely cover it. Near the beginning of this statement, we find one of the most well known verses in the entire Bible.
At the close of their conversation, Jesus takes an event that is coming up in His life, and He gives it eternal significance. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. So that everyone who believes can have eternal life in him.” (v. 14-15)
After framing the key to eternal life lies in Him, Jesus continues by saying, “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.” (v. 16-17)
These are two of the most famous verses in the Bible, and while we may be tempted to stop here, Jesus has more to help us understand on this idea. He continues by saying, “People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son. They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.” (v. 18-21)
These eight verses summarize God’s heart for us, Jesus’ mission to save us, and our possible responses to what God has done. Our response is either to love the light, which means believing in God’s one and only Son, or to love the darkness, which means rejecting Jesus in favor of doing evil things.
In a slightly disturbing way, Jesus actually quantifies what makes an action evil. The test for whether an action is evil is whether it wants to remain hidden from public view. Jesus says that evil actions want darkness because the light will reveal them. One easy way for us to tell if an action is evil or not is whether we would want it broadcast (in its entirety) for the world to see. We could also reframe this question on whether we would want it shared at our funeral.
Actions that are evil want the cover of darkness. Actions that are evil want to remain hidden and secret. In contrast, actions that are noble are okay being visible. They thrive in the light. Noble actions are done through God.
Even more important than the famous pair of verses (v. 16-17) is what comes next. While God gave Jesus and while Jesus did not come to judge or condemn, our response can either place us in the group that will not be judged or in the group that is already condemned as guilty. Everything comes down to one decision: Will you believe in, trust in, and place your hope in Jesus while continually moving towards the Light that comes from God; or will you reject Jesus and prefer the darkness? This is the most important decision of our lives.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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