Saturday, August 29, 2020

BORN FROM ABOVE

 

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a Teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.” 3 Jesus answered him (Nicodemus), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[1] he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him (Jesus), “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit[2] is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[3] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to Him (Jesus), “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him (Nicodemus), “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you We speak of what We know, and bear witness to what We have seen, but you do not receive Our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[4] 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.[5] John 3:1-15, English Standard Version


I.             Overview

The new birth is one of the key topics in John 3. The Gospel writer John pursued his aim of showing the surpassing excellence of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of God” and that through Him, we can have new birth that leads to abundant life.[1] In chapter 3, John discussed a secret meeting only found in his Gospel with Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. In this private meeting, John brings out the meaning of life from above through faith in Jesus.[2] Jesus challenged Nicodemus and everyone today with the need to be born again through Him if one wishes to receive real life and enter the Kingdom of God.

 

II.            Introduction

A.   Author and Title

The author of John’s Gospel is identified in the book only as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”[3] The title says that John wrote this Gospel. Other evidence identifies this John as the son of Zebedee.[4] The Gospel's internal evidence indicates the author was an eyewitness of Jesus’ public ministry and one of Jesus’ Twelve apostles.[5] The author was a personal eyewitness of Jesus’ miraculous deeds and glory in first-century Palestine.[6]

This Gospel reveals the author was a Palestinian Jew, for he wrote and interpreted Jewish customs, words, and rituals for his readers.[7] Moreover, the Gospel illustrates the author witnessed Jesus’ life, actions, and works as he saw and touched Jesus’ hands.[8] Even more, this author was part of Jesus’ “inner circle.”[9]

The external evidence from the early church fathers such as Irenaeus supports the Apostle John was the author of this Gospel.[10] Moreover, Clement of Alexandria stated, “Last of all, John perceiving that the eternal facts had been made plain … composed a spiritual gospel”.[11] Thus, most biblical scholars believe the Gospel of John was written by Apostle John, the son of Zebedee.[12]

 

B.   Date and Place of Writing

Many biblical scholars believe the most likely date of this Gospel's writing was AD 70 and AD 100.[13] A date after AD 70 is suggested, among other things, because of the reference in John 21:19 to Peter’s martyrdom (probably between AD 64 and AD 66) and the lack of references to the Sadducees (who ceased to be a Jewish religious party after AD 70 with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple).[14]

The most likely place of writing this Gospel was Ephesus in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).[15] There is a strong connection between John’s Gospel to Ephesus.[16] However, the events of John’s Gospel take place in Palestine. Palestine was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 BC.[17]

 

C.   Purpose, Occasion, and Background

 

The theme of John’s Gospel is that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Christ) and Son of God, and by believing in Jesus Christ, people can have eternal life.[18] John wrote his Gospel with an evangelist intent so everyone would come to Jesus, who is the Savior of the world.[19] The central claim of John’s Gospel was that by believing in Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah, one would receive the abundant life of the Kingdom of God now and for all eternity.[20]

Many biblical scholars believe that John’s original audience consisted of Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) living in the larger Greco-Roman world in Ephesus.[21] John’s Gospel frequently explained Jewish customs and Palestinian geography and translated Aramaic terms into Greek, thus showing non-Jewish readers' awareness.[22]

Significantly, the author also presented Jesus as the Word becoming flesh against the backdrop of Greek thought that included Stoicism and early Gnosticism.[23] John’s use of the word “Logos” had special meaning for Jewish and Greek (Gentile) readers of his Gospel message.[24] In Greek philosophy, the “word” or “logos” was a key term, often referring to the power of reason and logic that undergirds all creation. For Jewish readers, the “Word” had great meaning for God spoke His word to create the world and transformed His people such as Genesis 1:1-3. Nevertheless, John’s meaning passed beyond the Greek and Jewish ideas of Logos. Jesus, as the Word of God or Logos, means Jesus is all God wanted to say to all humankind.[25] The Word (Logos) is a title for Jesus as the Communicator and Revealer of the true and living LORD God of heaven and earth – Jesus’s Father.[26]

Moreover, John also shows his Jewish readers' awareness as he demonstrated Jesus as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah and fulfillment of many Old Testament themes.[27] Even more, John presents Jesus as the Son of God, who was sent from God the Father to reveal the only true God and to provide redemption for humanity.[28] To this end, John provided evidence of seven Messianic signs performed by Jesus and a series of witnesses to Jesus – including the Holy Scriptures, John the Baptist, and God the Father.[29] Finally, John sought to present Jesus as the new Temple of God and the center of worship for God’s people.[30] This concept would have been especially important to John’s Jewish readers if John’s Gospel was written after AD 70 (the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple).

John wanted to emphasize his Jewish and Greco-Roman readers that Jesus was God in human flesh (or incarnate).[31] Jesus has made God known and interpreted or exegeted God by revealing the meaning of God.[32] The clearest picture of God is not the Law of Moses, not the Temple, nor the created order of nature, but only in Jesus Christ.[33]

Furthermore, John wrote his Gospel to prove that Jesus is the Messianic King predicted by the Old Testament.[34] More than any other Gospel, John emphasized that Jesus is King.[35]

Finally, John wrote his Gospel to prove that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament.[36] John’s Gospel uses Old Testament allusions, imagery, or echoes, particularly in the Book of Signs, to prove Jesus fulfills the Old Testament.[37] The Gospel writer John presented Jesus as the Great “I AM” – Yahweh, who had come from His Heavenly Father.[38]

 

D.  Outline

This Gospel is divided or organized into four sections. The first section of John’s Gospel is the Prologue. John’s Prologue is found at John 1 verses 1 through 18. In the Prologue, John sets the background for Jesus and His public ministry. Next, John gives a long transitional section between the end of the Prologue at verse 18 and the Book of Signs that begins in chapter 2. This long transitional section includes verses 19 through 51. These transitional verses center around John the Baptist. John gives more details about John the Baptist that are not included in the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Next, chapter 2 of John’s Gospel officially starts the Book of Signs and Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. The Book of Signs goes from John 2:1 through John 12:50. This section is often called the Book of Signs because of the seven miraculous signs Jesus performed. [39] Jesus did more than seven miracles.[40] John’s Gospel does not build Jesus’ ministry around His teaching and parables like the other Gospels. However, John identified seven miraculous signs of Jesus to reveal Jesus’ identity and glory as the Christ and Son of God.[41] In the Book of Signs, John revealed through Jesus’ miraculous signs how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and the intent of Judaism. The seven miracles were as follows:

  • John 2:1-11 where Jesus turned water to wine
  • John 4:46-54 when Jesus healed the royal official’s son
  • John 5:1-15 when Jesus healed the diseased man at Bethesda       
  • John 6:1-15 where Jesus fed the 5,000
  • John 6:16-21 Jesus walked on the water
  • John 9:1-41 Jesus gave sight to the blind man
  • John 11:1-44 where Jesus raised Lazarus from complete death

 

Some biblical scholars include Jesus’ large catch of fish at John 21:1 through 14 as Jesus’ eighth and final miracle.

Starting in chapter 13 of John’s Gospel, John records Jesus’ Passion story with His trial, execution, and resurrection. Significantly, John’s Passion story from chapters 18 through 20 are mostly the same storyline given in the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke.[42] However, John begins Jesus’ Passion story in chapters 13 through 17 with Jesus’ Upper Room speech (discourse) to His disciples. In the Upper Room, Jesus taught His closest disciples, who have accepted and believed in Him as their Lord and Savior, and this discourse has no parallels in the Synoptic Gospels.[43]

The final section of John’s Gospel is the Epilogue found in chapter 21. In chapter 21, the Resurrected Jesus meets His disciples in Galilee, like the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. However, in chapter 21 of John’s Gospel, Jesus feeds His disciples and instructs Peter also to feed and care for His sheep and lambs.

A.      Prologue:  John 1:1-18

B.      Book of Signs:  John 1:19 through John 12:50

C.      Book of Passion: John 13 through 20

i.             John 13 through 17 is Jesus’ teaching His disciples in the Upper Room (Upper Room Discourse)

ii.           John 18 through 20 is Jesus’s trial, execution, and resurrection

D.      Epilogue

 

Some biblical scholars argue that the outline of John’s content is given in John’s Prologue at John 1:11-12.[44] John’s Prologue at verse 11 summarizes Jesus’ public ministry and the Book of Signs. At John 1:11, Jesus came to His people – the Jews; however, many Jews willfully rejected Jesus.[45] In the Book of Signs, Jesus repeatedly presented Himself to His own people as their Jewish Messiah that came from God that fulfilled the Old Testament.[46] Then at verse 12 of John’s Prologue, everyone who believed in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God from heaven became God's children.[47] Essentially, John 1:12 summarizes the Book of Passion found in chapters 13 through 20, particularly 13 through 17. In chapters 13 through 17, Jesus is teaching His disciples that accepted Him as the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah.[48]

 

III.          Jesus Teaching Nicodemus the Pharisee

In chapter 3, Jesus taught Nicodemus truths about life and entrance into His Father’s Kingdom. Jesus fulfilled three different roles in chapter 3:

·         Teacher (John 3:1-21)

·         Bridegroom (John 3:22-30)

·         Witness (John 3:31-36).[49]

Previously in chapter 2, Jesus performed many miracles in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration.[50] Because of these miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to follow Him and believe in His Name.[51] Possibly, Jesus’ miraculous deeds in Jerusalem caught the attention of Nicodemus and other Pharisees in Jerusalem, and they wanted to learn more about Him.[52]

In the opening verses of chapter 3, John introduces Nicodemus and his encounter with Jesus. Only John’s Gospel teaches about the story of Nicodemus.[53] The story of Nicodemus is not included in the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke.[54] The rabbinic writings refer to two different men by that name, one generation on either side of Jesus' life.[55] They were listed as part of the Gurion family and were wealthy, powerful, Pharisaic teachers — just like Nicodemus’s character described in chapter 3 of John’s Gospel.[56]

John described Nicodemus as a prominent leader among the Jews and a respected Jewish teacher.[57] Nicodemus was saturated in religious knowledge, and he was well educated in Jewish law.[58] Other than chapter 3, John mentioned Nicodemus two more times in his Gospel. Nicodemus is referenced in chapter 7 when he confronted some fellow Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus.[59] Later, Nicodemus is discussed in chapter 19 when he and Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body to give Jesus a proper Jewish burial after His death at Calvary.[60] From these verses, some scholars believe Nicodemus became a convert of Jesus.[61]

Nicodemus was a ruling member of the Pharisees, and the Pharisees often violently opposed Jesus.[62] Pharisees were a religious sect of Judaism that followed God’s written Law (also known as the Torah) and the oral traditions (also known as the elders’ traditions).[63] The phrase, “ruler of the Jews,” meant that Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish body called the Sanhedrin.[64] The Sanhedrin was the highest Jewish law court in the first-century. Nicodemus stands as the representative of the old religion.[65]

Nicodemus took the initiative and came to Jesus by night.[66] Some people have argued about Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night. Perhaps Nicodemus coming at night probably meant Nicodemus worked during the day as most Pharisees, and then he studied at night the Torah – the oral and written Law.[67] Thus, the night was the time most Pharisees and rabbis searched for the truth.[68] Possibly, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because of fear. As mentioned earlier, Nicodemus was a ruling member of the Pharisees, a group that often violently opposed Jesus.[69] He likely risked danger by meeting with Jesus during the daylight.[70] Possibly, Nicodemus simply wanted uninterrupted time with Jesus.[71] Unlike other many encounters with Pharisees in the Gospels, Nicodemus was a sincere seeker of the truth, and he sought out after Jesus.[72]

Other scholars have noted that Nicodemus was a secret follower of Jesus.[73] John’s Gospel revealed that many Jews, including Jewish leaders, secretly followed Jesus as His disciple during His time on earth.[74] These secret followers or undercover believers of Jesus were known as crypto-Christians.[75] However, these secret followers refused to publicly acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah for fear of ex-communication and rejection from the Jewish synagogue, their families, and fellow Jews.[76]

 

IV.          Power and Authority of Jesus

Upon meeting Jesus at night, Nicodemus greeted Jesus with respect and called Him “Rabbi,” which means Teacher.[77] Nicodemus said to Jesus that he and other Jews knew He was a Teacher sent straight from God.[78] Nicodemus confessed to Jesus that he and other Jews knew He came from God, for no one could do His miraculous signs unless God was with him.[79] During His public ministry, Jesus did many God-pointing and God-revealing acts that evidenced the living LORD God and His Kingdom were with Him.[80]

The fact that Nicodemus used the plural pronoun “we” at verse 2, and Jesus responded with the plural “you” at verse 7 may indicate that Nicodemus was representing the religious leaders when he secretly met Jesus at night.[81] In this verse, John revealed Nicodemus not as an enemy of Jesus but a seeker of Jesus.[82]

In first-century Palestine, Jesus was called Rabbi or Teacher by many people, including Nicodemus.[83] During His public ministry, Jesus taught with authority and power, unlike any other teacher, because Jesus spoke and taught God’s Words because He was God.[84] Moreover, Jesus acknowledged He was Lord and Teacher as called by His disciples.[85] Indeed, Jesus is Lord and Teacher of all.[86]

In his Gospel, John used the word “signs” to reveal Jesus’ identity and glory as the Messiah and Son of God incarnate – human flesh.[87] Jesus’ miraculous signs proclaimed His nature, character, and purpose in the world.[88] Even more important, Jesus’ miraculous signs revealed the nature of the Kingdom that Jesus had come to usher into the world.[89]

The Gospels use three words to describe Jesus’ miraculous deeds. In the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Greek word dunamis or “power” is used to describe Jesus’ miraculous deeds and works. These miraculous deeds led people in the first century to conclude that God must be at work in Jesus.[90] In the Gospel of John, this Gospel does not use the Greek term dunamis. Instead, John’s labels Jesus’ miraculous works as “signs.”[91] As mentioned earlier, John selectively recorded seven miraculous signs that occurred during Jesus’ public ministry on earth.[92] Jesus’ miraculous signs in John’s Gospel was usually matched to a long discourse from Jesus.[93] For example, Jesus fed the 5,000 not just to meet their physical needs, but so that the people would see Him as the Bread of Life given from heaven to have real and lasting spiritual life in Him.[94]

Truly, Jesus was anointed by His Father – the living LORD God of heaven and earth – with the Holy Spirit and power without measure.[95] Jesus went around doing good and healing everyone who was under the devil’s control because His Father and the Holy Spirit's power were with Him.[96] Jesus and His Father are One.[97] During His time on earth, Jesus did many miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through Him.[98]

 

V.           Born Again for the Kingdom

After Nicodemus’s introduction and courteous exchange, Jesus plunges immediately into the heart of the subject with all the intensity.[99] In one sentence, Jesus sweeps away Nicodemus’ old religion and demands that he be remade by the power of God – the Holy Spirit.[100] Jesus taught the Jewish teacher and ruler Nicodemus that no one could enter nor see the Kingdom of God unless one is born again.[101] In the Greek text, the phrase “born again” can also be translated “born from above.”[102] Some scholars have argued that Jesus could not have said, “You must be born again,” because this relied on a play on words between “born again” and “born from above” that works only in Greek, not in Aramaic, the language the Jesus spoke.[103] But whichever phrase Jesus used, He clearly was talking about a second birth after a person'’ first, biological birth.[104] Jesus challenged Nicodemus with the need to be born again if he wished to be in the Kingdom of God.[105] The new birth, or regeneration, is an act of God from above by the Holy Spirit that gives new spiritual life to the one who believes in His Son, Jesus.[106] Anyone who would enter God’s Kingdom must be born in a radically new fashion. This second birth is from heaven above through faith and obedience to Jesus.[107] To experience a spiritual rebirth, a person must be completely renewed through God’s power – His Holy Spirit.[108]

Nicodemus stated to Jesus how an older adult could go back into his mother’s womb and be born again.[109] Then, Jesus replied again to Nicodemus with an intensity that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, no one can enter the Kingdom of God.[110]

Jesus’ statement “born of water and the Spirit” has caused various interpretations of the meaning.[111] Some have argued Jesus is referring to baptism as a requirement for salvation.[112] However, this would contradict many other New Testament passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9 that says our salvation comes by faith alone in Jesus and not by works. The Holy Scriptures clearly state our sins are washed away by calling on the Name of the LORD.[113] Still, others have argued that Jesus’ statement stands for the act of repentance that John the Baptizer’s baptism signified or possible natural birth when the amniotic sac breaks before labor and the second time by the Spirit.[114] One truth is clear: the new birth is from God by His grace through the Spirit and not by human efforts nor merits.[115] The whole thrust of the passage places emphasis on the activity of the Holy Spirit.[116] No one can come to God and enter His Kingdom by one’s strength or righteous but only by faith in God’s Son Jesus.[117] Jesus, who is from heaven, is our stairway to heaven.[118]

Notably, Jesus informed Nicodemus that humans could only reproduce human life, but the Spirit gives new life from heaven.[119] The Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life from heaven.[120] Jesus assured Nicodemus that He and His teaching came from His Heavenly Father, and He and His teaching were filled with the Spirit and life.[121] Through faith in Him, Jesus proclaimed that one could receive life and baptism by the Holy Spirit.[122] Jesus is our life-giving Spirit, and He gives abundant life now and for all eternity to all who believe and obey Him.[123] Again, Jesus informed Nicodemus you must be born again or from above.[124] 

In the opening verses of his Gospel, John declared that everyone who accepts and believes in Jesus is reborn — not a physical rebirth resulting from human flesh or human passion — but a new life and birth from God alone – spiritual rebirth from heaven.[125] Through faith and obedience to Jesus, the living God gives everyone the privilege and power to become His children in His Kingdom and be made right in His sight.[126] Everyone who accepts Jesus and believes in His Name as Lord and Savior receive new life from above, spiritual power, and the right to become God’s eternal children.[127] Even more, everyone who believes and obeys Jesus receives a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.[128] By His Holy Spirit, the living LORD God renews a person’s heart, washes away their sins and impurities, and creates a new spirit inside a believer of Jesus to empower believers to obey God’s commands.[129]

Believing in Jesus occupies a central place in John’s Gospel.[130] For John, believing in Jesus meant a continual commitment and obedience to Jesus and His teaching from His Father – the living LORD God.[131] Some biblical scholars have noted that Jesus’ teaching in His Upper Room Discourse found in chapters 13 through 17 is similar to Moses’ teaching of obedience to God in the book of Deuteronomy.[132] For that and other reasons, including Jesus’ teaching at the Sermon on the Mount, some biblical scholars called Jesus the “new Moses.”[133]

John’s Gospel does not teach much about the Kingdom of God as the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke.[134] The Kingdom of God is the centerpiece of Jesus’ teaching in the Synoptic Gospels. John rarely uses the Kingdom of God in his Gospel.[135] The Kingdom of God means God’s rule and reign in the entire world and not just the church realm.[136] Jesus is the clearest expression of the rule and reign of God. John’s Gospel emphasized the present reality of God’s Kingdom by the activity of God’s Spirit through faith and obedience in Jesus.[137] The Spirit gives new life and empowers believers to live now in the present world and the coming age through continual faith and obedience to Jesus.[138]

Next, Jesus taught Nicodemus that just as one can hear the wind but cannot tell where the winds come from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit.[139] The Greek word pneuma means both wind and spirit.[140] Jesus explained to Nicodemus no one controls nor knows on who the Spirit will next give new spiritual life and become reborn from heaven.[141] Like the wind, no one can contain or control the Holy Spirit’s work because spiritual renewal and rebirth from heaven above are gifts from God through His Holy Spirit.[142] 

Jesus’ teaching confused Nicodemus. Although Nicodemus was a respected Jewish teacher and a Pharisee, he did not understand Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God and spiritual rebirth from heaven.[143] Nicodemus was schooled in the Old Testament Scriptures; however, he neglected God’s teaching from the Old Testament of a coming spiritual renewal and rebirth from heaven by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.[144]

Then, Jesus taught Nicodemus that He and His Father – the living LORD God of heaven and earth speak and bear witness to heavenly knowledge.[145] However, Jesus said that Nicodemus and others have rejected and do not believe Him and His Father’s testimony and teaching.[146] Jesus’ teaching and testimony came from His Father, the living LORD God of heaven and earth.[147] The living LORD God sent His Son Jesus from heaven to earth to dwell (tabernacle) and live amongst His creation – humans.[148] Jesus is God the Father’s gift to the world, and He gives everyone who believes in Him to be saved and find healing and life.[149]  

Moreover, Jesus proclaimed to Nicodemus that no one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man.[150] Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite title for Himself.[151] The Son of Man descended from heaven.[152] Jesus descended or came down from His Heavenly Father – the living LORD God – to bring life to everyone who look to Him.[153]

The author of Hebrews teaches that Jesus is our Great High Priest and the Son of the living God who not only descended but ascended into heaven.[154] Jesus returned to heaven and appeared for His disciples in His Father’s Presence.[155]  Through faith in Jesus, believers can approach the living LORD God’s throne of grace with confidence and receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.[156] Truly, Jesus is God’s grace.[157]

 

VI.          Son of Man’s Lifting Up

Most important, Jesus informed Nicodemus that as Moses in the wilderness lifted up the bronze image of a serpent on a pole, even so, He must be lifted up so that everyone who looks to and believes in Him will have a life now and for eternity.[158] The Gospel writer John makes clear: Everyone who believes and looks up to Jesus, trusting and expectant, will gain real life and peace now and for eternity.[159] However, everyone who rejects and does not trust and obey God’s Son Jesus shall not see life, but receive God’s wrath that will remains and abides on one’ life.[160] In other words, God’s wrath and condemnation remains on everyone that rejects God’s Son, Jesus!

In teaching Nicodemus, Jesus recalled Old Testament history where fiery serpents bit the ancient Israelites in the wilderness because of their grumbling and disobedience against God and his servant Moses at Numbers 21:5-9.[161] Jesus’ statement at John 3:14-15 referencing Numbers 21:5-9 illustrated His own person and work.[162] Through the uplifted snake by Moses and now through Jesus, the living LORD God provides a way of escape that requires faith alone from the people.[163] Just as the bronze snake was “lifted up” to save the people, Jesus declared that He would be lifted up upon the Cross at Calvary to provide God’s saving grace, spiritual rebirth, and healing to all people – Greeks (non-Jews) and Jews – through faith in Him.[164] During His public ministry, Jesus proclaimed that He would become the kernel of wheat that, when planted and died, would produce life, healing, and salvation to everyone who believes and accepts Him as Lord and Savior.[165]

During Jesus’ final week on earth, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the long-awaited Messiah-King of the Jews.[166] More than any other Gospel, John emphasized that Jesus is King.[167] Then, the crowd responded by pulling down palm branches because they saw Jesus as the Messiah and shouted Hosanna, which means “God saves us” in Hebrew.[168]

Significantly, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem as the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah-King was Jesus’ hour of glorification.[169] Jesus’ hour of glorification is paradoxical because His glorification meant His death and greatest humiliation on Calvary’s Cross for the sins of the world as the Passover Lamb of God.[170] To the outward eye, Jesus’ death on Calvary’s Cross was the uttermost humiliation and shame with criminals.[171] To the eye of faith, Jesus’ death on Calvary’s Cross was His supreme glory as Savior and King.[172]

Next, Jesus informed Nicodemus that His Heavenly Father – the living LORD God of heaven and earth – so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son into the world so that everyone can gain a real life – whole and lasting life now and for eternity – by believing in Him.[173] The living LORD God showed His great love for the world by sending His Son into the world as the Passover Lamb of God that we might live through Him by faith.[174] John explains that the living LORD God revealed His love for all people of the world by the gift of His Son Jesus.[175]

As stated earlier, the Gospel writer John makes clear that everyone who continually believes and obeys Jesus as God’s Son and Messiah have life, and no one can take that life away.[176] In fact, Jesus declared to His disciples that God's work is to believe and obey Him as the One sent from God.[177]

Jesus is the life, and He is the only way into God’s Kingdom.[178] The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world was His death as the Passover Lamb so we can receive a real, abundant, and whole life through Him.[179] For as God the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted His Son Jesus to have life in Himself.[180] Like His Father, Jesus gives life and healing because He is the Author and Savior of Life.[181] Through faith in Him, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon His disciples so they can have new spiritual life.[182]

Moreover, Jesus revealed Himself to Nicodemus as the Son of Man.[183] Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite title for Himself that only He used.[184] One reason Jesus preferred this title Son of Man because Son of Man was not an inflaming title such as “Christ” or “Messiah” in first-century Palestine. The background for Son of Man is found at Daniel 7:13-14, where an exalted Messianic Figure comes from the glory clouds of heaven and is given glory and power from Ancient of Days sitting on the Throne.[185] In all four Gospels, Jesus used “Son of Man” to connect the Warrior Figure in Jewish apocalyptic literature with the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53.[186]

Interestingly, in chapter 10, Jesus proclaimed to His disciples that He is the Good Shepherd who willingly laid down His life for the sheep.[187] Jesus purposely laid down His life for the sheep so that others can find life through continual faith and obedience to Him.[188] The evil one and his evil minions are hirelings that only come to kill, steal, and destroy.[189] Jesus declared He came to earth to give everyone through faith in Him abundant life.[190]

In John's Gospel, abundant life is equivalent to eternal life.[191] The Gospel of John describes eternal life not only as life beyond the grave but a qualitative and quantitative dimension to life that is present here and now and for all eternity through our faith and obedience to Jesus.[192] Faith in Jesus brings one whole and lasting life.[193] The living LORD God gave His Son Jesus to correct and remove evil created by the Great Fall of Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve.[194] Everyone who accepts and believes in Jesus no longer has God’s condemnation and wrath.[195]

Nevertheless, everyone who rejects God’s gift of grace, salvation, and life found only in His Son Jesus will receive death and condemnation.[196] In fact, everyone who rejects Jesus is already under the death sentence and lives in darkness, wrath, and condemnation.[197] Jesus came into the world to bring God’s salvation to all people through faith in Him.[198] But the very fact of salvation for all who believe in Jesus also means God’s condemnation and wrath for everyone who rejects His only begotten and unique Son Jesus.[199]


VII.        Best of Judaism and Worst of Judaism

The Gospel of John has often been called by biblical scholars a story of contrasts. John liked to use contrasts as his literary devices in his Gospel, such as life versus condemnation, light versus darkness, and good versus evil.[200]

In chapter 3, Jesus presented Himself to the best of Judaism as represented by Nicodemus, a Pharisee.[201] Then in chapter 4, John presented Himself to the worse of Judaism when Jesus met a Samaritan woman with severe relational problems. This Samaritan woman in chapter 4 had been married five times, and she was living in an adulterous relationship with another man.[202] Unlike Nicodemus, this Samaritan woman was a mixed-race Jewish female while Nicodemus was a ruling and prominent Pharisaic male.[203]  Thus, John presented two individuals with significant contrasts in Judaism.[204]

Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman probably had some of the same tension as His meeting with Nicodemus, although this meeting occurred during daylight.[205] In first-century Palestine, conversations between Jesus, who is a Jewish religious leader, and a Samaritan woman, who is a woman and an adulterer, were forbidden and taboo.[206] Moreover, Samaritans religion closely resembled Judaism, but on key issues, Samaritans had gone their own way. The Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament and insisted that Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, was the proper place to worship God.[207] Although Jews and Samaritans usually avoided each other, Jesus reached across these barriers of gender and religion.[208]

As a Pharisaic Jew, Nicodemus represented legalism and self-effort to enter the Kingdom. Nicodemus stands as a representative of the old religion.[209] Many Jewish people of the first-century believed they could be reconciled with God by doing good works and obeying the Law.[210] Nicodemus was like most Jews of Jesus’ day and professed that the way to enter heaven is by faith and trusting God’s goodness like Abraham.[211] Theoretically, Nicodemus and other Pharisees did not believe one gained God’s love by keeping the Law.[212] The discrepancy came with what Nicodemus and other Jews believed and what they did. Nicodemus and other Jews believed people must do good works and good deeds to enter God’s Kingdom.[213] In their daily living, Nicodemus believed that self-effort and obedience to the Law was the way to be acceptable to God and entrance into His Kingdom.[214] Nicodemus represented self-effort and legalism to enter God’s Kingdom. Like so many others then and today, Nicodemus believed one could stand before God because of one’s self-efforts and personal goodness like keeping the written Law, giving donations to the poor, ritual washing, fasting, and other good works.[215]

However, Jesus taught Nicodemus that being born is passive and required no self-effort on one’s part.[216] In His teaching with Nicodemus, Jesus said one must give up and be born again or born from above is the only way one can see God and enter God’s Kingdom.[217] John used Nicodemus’s private discussion with Jesus to show that devout regard for the Law nor a reviewed presentation of Judaism is required to enter God’s Kingdom, but a radical rebirth from above through faith in Jesus alone.[218] John stressed this demand from Jesus three times in verses 3, 5, and 7.[219] In chapter 3, John does away with the Law's works every bit as thoroughly as anything in the Pauline letters.[220]

However, Jesus’ statement was offensive. Like most church members today, the Pharisees of the first century talked about salvation by God’s grace but practiced salvation by their goodness. Even today, many Christians struggle with this passive nature to enter God’s Kingdom. Jesus repeatedly taught during His public ministry that one comes into God’s Kingdom because of their total dependence and trust in God and His grace and belief in Him and not our self-effort, goodness, and righteousness our goodness nor self-efforts.[221] The Kingdom of God is a pure gift from God, and the only appropriate response to God’s gift is thanksgiving and not self-effort.[222]

In contrast to Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman received Jesus’ perfect balance of grace, mercy, and forgiveness of her many sins, but she also accepted Jesus’s truth of her relational many divorces and adultery.[223] John revealed the Samaritan woman in chapter 4 bearing witness and telling others about Jesus.[224] Many accepted the Samaritan woman’s testimony and believed that Jesus is the Savior of the world.[225]

The Holy Scriptures are clear that no one can neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. The living LORD God created each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do and work we had better be doing.[226] The living LORD God’s free gift of life and salvation offered to everyone also requires us to turn away from ungodly living and sinful pleasures and turn to God, live good, God-fearing lives day after day and to do kind deeds for others.[227] We are called to live by the truth and shine the light for God’s glory in the world and depart from the evil deeds of darkness.[228]

 

 VIII.        Conclusion 

          In conclusion, Jesus’ nighttime meeting with Nicodemus provided not only Nicodemus and his Pharisaical associates teaching on the new birth and the Kingdom but also the church today. Our entrance into God’s Kingdom and receiving the Holy Spirit of God come by grace through faith in God’s only begotten Son Jesus. Through our faith and obedience to Jesus, we can enter the heavenly Kingdom of our King Jesus.

References

Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe (Nashville, TN: Holman

Bible Publishers, 2012).

ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles,

2008).

Life Application Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1971).

New Student Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992).

NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2008).

Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1995).

The Living Bible Paraphrase (Tyndale House, 1971).

Zondervan NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008).

Douglas, J.D. and Tenney, Merrill. NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible

(Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1989).

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI:

Eerdmans, 1995).

Dr. Loyd Melton, Ph.D., Senior Professor of the New Testament (Due West, SC:

Erskine Theological Seminary, Summer 2020).

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament

(Victor Books, 1989).

 

 

 



[1] E.g., see John 10:10; John 20:30-31.

[2] Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), p. 184.

[3] John 13:23-25; John 21:7, 20, 24.

[4] ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008).

[5] E.g., see John 1:14; John 13:23-24; John 18:15-16; John 19:26, 35; John 21:20, 24-25.

[6] E.g., see John 2:11; John 15:27; John 19:35; John 20:30-31; John 21:24-25; 1 John 1:1-3.

[7] E.g., see John 1:38, 41-42, 44, 46; John 5:1-2; John 7:37-39; John 9:7; John 18:28; John 19:13, 17; John 20:16.

[8] E.g., see John 2:6, 11, 23; John 13:26; John 21:8, 11; 1 John 1:1-3.

[9] E.g., see Matthew 17:1; Matthew 26:37; Mark 5:37; Mark 13:3; Luke 8:51; John 13:23-24; John 20:2-9.

[10] Morris, p. 16.

[12] Dr. Loyd Melton, Ph.D., Senior Professor of the New Testament (Due West, SC: Erskine Theological Seminary, Summer 2020).

[13] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Melton, Summer 2020.

[17] ESV Study Bible.

[18] John 20:30-31.

[19] ESV Study Bible.

[20] Melton, Summer 2020.

[21] Ibid.

[22] E.g., see John 1:38, 41-42, 44, 46; John 5:1-2; John 7:37-39; John 9:7; John 18:28; John 19:13, 17; John 20:16.

[23] John 1:14; see also ESV Study Bible.

[24] New Student Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992).

[25] Ibid.

[26] John 1:14, 18; see also Hebrews 1:1-3.

[27] E.g., see John 6:33, 35, 48, 51; John 7:1-2.

[28] ESV Study Bible.

[29] Melton, Summer 2020.

[30] See John 2:19-21; John 4:21-24.

[31] E.g., see John 1:1-5, 14, 18; John 5:17-18; John 8:58-59; John 10:30, 38; John 20:28.

[32] E.g., see John 1:18; John 14:9-10.

[34] E.g., see John 1:41, 49; John 4:25; John 6:15.

[35] E.g., see John 18:33, 36-37, 39; John 19:3, 14, 19, 21.

[36] E.g., see Matthew 5:17-20.

[37] E.g., see John 1:29, 36; John 2:21-22; John 4:23-24; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 19:14.

[38] E.g., see John 6:35; John 8:12, 24, 28, 58; John 9:5; John 10:7, 9, 11, 14; John 11:25; John 13:19; John 14:6, 9-12; John 15:1, 5.

[39] Significantly, “seven” is a good Jewish number that represents completion or perfection. Moreover, “seven” symbolizes God. John also uses “seven” in the book of Revelation, the other book he wrote.

[40] E.g., see John 2:23; John 21:25. Jesus performed many miraculous signs and healing the sick during His public ministry on earth (e.g., see Matthew 4:23-25; Luke 6:17-19: John 3:2; John 6:1-2, 14-15; John 21:25; John 20:30). Despite His many miraculous signs, not everyone believed and accepted Jesus as God (e.g., see 6:36, 64, 66; John 7:5).

[41] E.g., see John 2:11, 23; John 17:4; John 20:30-31.

[42] Biblical scholars refer to Matthew, Mark, and Luke as the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell essentially the same storyline of Jesus that begins with Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee and ends with Jesus’ Passion story in Jerusalem. However, John’s Gospel does not follow the same storyline as the Synoptic Gospels. Instead, John’s Gospel supplements Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee with Jesus’ many activities in Jerusalem and Jesus’ attendance of several Jewish festivals.

[43] Melton, Summer 2020.

[44] Melton, Summer 2020.

[45] E.g., see John 11:53.

[46] E.g., see John 6:36, 64, 66; John 7:5; John 12:37-38; see also Isaiah 53:3.

[47] John 1:12-13; see also John 1:1-5, 14, 18, 34, 41, 49, 51; John 20:30-31; Galatians 3:26-29; 1 John 5:1, 13.

[48] Melton, Summer 2020.

[49] Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament (Victor Books, 1989).

[50] John 2:23-25.

[51] John 2:23; e.g., see John 2:11; John 7:31; John 10:41; John 11:45; John 12:42.

[52] Morris, p. 186; Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament (Victor Books, 1989).

[53] Morris, p. 186.

[54] Melton, Summer 2020.

[55] Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2012).

[56] Ibid.

[57] John 3:1, 10.

[58] NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2008).

[59] John 7:47-52.

[60] John 19:38-42.

[61] NLT Study Bible.

[62] John 3:1; John 7:50-51; see also e.g., John 7:32, 45; John 11:53, 57.

[63] Mark 7:3, 5, 8-9, 13. Some people have taken the belief that all Pharisees hated and rejected Jesus and His public ministry. However, the New Testament reveals that many Jews, including Pharisees, accepted Jesus and followed His teaching (e.g., see John 1:6-8, 35-38, 40-45; John 7:30-31; John 9:28; John 11:45; John 12:11, 42; John 19:38; Acts 15:5). The most notably Pharisee of the New Testament that accepted Jesus was the Apostle Paul (see Acts 23:6; Acts 26:5; Philippians 3:5-6). The Apostle Paul never rejected his Pharisaical background (e.g., see Acts 21:26). Like many other Jews, the Apostle Paul believed and accepted Jesus as his promised Messiah and King (e.g., see Acts 15:5, 25-26; Acts 18:5; Acts 21:20; Acts 22:3; Acts 26:6-9; Philippians 3:7-11). In particular, the Apostle Paul had one message for Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) alike — the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God and having faith in the Lord Jesus (e.g., see Acts 20:21, 24; Acts 24:24; Acts 26:18-20).

[64] Melton, Summer 2020.

[65] Morris, p. 186.

[66] John 3:2.

[67] Melton, Summer 2020.

[68] Ibid.

[69] New Student Bible.  

[70] Ibid.

[71] Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1995).

[72] Melton, Summer 2020.

[73] Melton, Summer 2020.

[74] E.g., see John 12: 10-11, 42; John 19:38; see also Luke 8:40-41, 49.

[75] Melton, Summer 2020.

[76] E.g., see John 7:12-13; John 9:22; John 12:43; John 19:38; see also Matthew 10:32-33.

[77] John 3:2; see also John 1:38, 49.

[78] John 3:2.

[79] John 3:2; see also Acts 2:22.

[80] John 3:2; see also Matthew 4:23-25; John 2:11; John 5:36; John 10:38; John 14:10-11; Acts 10:38.

[81] John 3:2, 7; see also Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament.

[82] Melton, Summer 2020.

[83] E.g., see Mark 4:38; Mark 10:51; John 1:49; John 3:1-2; John 4:31; John 6:25; John 9:2; John 11:8; John 20:16.

[84] E.g., see Mark 1:21-22; Mark 6:1-2; Luke 4:22; Luke 5:1; John 1:1-3; John 7:15; 1 John 5:20.

[85] John 11:2, 28; John 13:13; see also Matthew 26:18; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11.

[86] E.g., see Matthew 28:18; Acts 10:36.

[87] John 2:11; e.g., see also John 1:14; John 11:4, 40; John 20:30-31; John 21:25.

[88] Melton, Summer 2020.

[89] Ibid.

[90] John 2:23; John 3:2; see also Mark 6:2.

[91] NLT Study Bible.

[92] (1) changing water to wine (John 2:1-11); (2) healing the royal official’s son (John 4:46-54); (3) healing a paralyzed man (John 5:1-15); (4) feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-15); (5) walking on water (John 6:16-21); (6) healing a blind man (John 9:1-41); and (7) raising Lazarus from complete death (John 11:1-44).

[93] NLT Study Bible.

[94] John 6:35, 51.

[95] E.g. see Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 12:18; John 1:32-34; John 3:34-36.

[96] John 7:29; John 8:29; e.g., see also Matthew 4:23-25; Luke 4:18-19; Luke 6:17-19; Acts 10:38.

[97] E.g., see John 10:30, 38; John 14:9-11, 20-21; John 17:21.

[98] E.g., see Luke 24:19; Acts 2:22.

[99] Morris, p. 188.

[100] Ibid.

[101] John 3:3; see also John 1:13; John 3:7, 31, 36.

[102] Melton, Summer 2020.

[103] The Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe.  However, our Lord Jesus habitually spoke Aramaic and occasionally Greek, and He could read and speak Hebrew. Douglas, J.D. and Tenney, Merrill. NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1989).

[104] The Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe.

[105] NLT Study Bible.

[106] E.g., see 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23.

[107] John 1:12-13; John 3:3, 7, 31; see also Morris, p. 189.

[108] NLT Study Bible.

[109] John 3:4.

[110] John 3:5. The Greek word pneuma can mean wind, spirit, breathe, or Spirit, each of which occurs in this context.

[111] Morris, pp. 190-192.

[112] E.g., see Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16.

[113] E.g., see Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:12-13.

[114] Ryrie Study Bible.

[115] Ibid.

[116] Morris, p. 193.

[117] E.g., see Acts 4:10-12; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:21-24; 1 Thessalonians 5:9.

[118] E.g., see John 1:51; John 3:13; John 14:6.

[119] John 3:6; see also 1 Corinthians 15:50.

[120] John 3:6, 8; see also Genesis 2:7; Psalm 104:29-30; Ezekiel 37:5-6, 14; John 6:63.

[121] John 3:12-13; see also John 1:1, 4, 14, 18; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 2 Corinthians 3:6.

[122] John 1:33; John 3:16-18; see also Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5; Acts 11:16-17; Acts 19:4-6.

[123] E.g., see John 1:4; John 5:21; John 6:33, 39-40, 54, 57; John 10:10; John 14:6; Romans 8:2, 10; 1 Corinthians 15:45.

[124] John 3:7. The Greek for “you” in John 3:7 is plural.

[125] John 1:13; see also John 3:3-8, 15, 36; Acts 22:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 5:1, 5, 10.

[126] E.g., see John 1:12-13; Romans 1:16-17; James 1:18; 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 4:7.

[127] John 1:7, 12; see also Luke 8:21; John 3:15; Ephesians 1:5; Colossians 2:6-7; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 3:23-24; 1 John 5:11-13.

[128] E.g., see John 1:12-13; John 3:3-8; John 14:15-16, 21-23; Acts 5:32; Titus 3:5; 1 John 4:15-16.

[129] E.g., see Psalm 51:1-2, 7, 10-11; Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 4:22-24.

[130] NLT Study Bible.

[131] E.g., see John 8:31-32; John 14:15, 21, 23; John 15:1-17; Colossians 2:6-7; 1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 5:3, 10.

[132] Melton, Summer 2020.

[133] Ibid.

[134] E.g., see Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 17:20-21.

[135] Melton, Summer 2020.

[136] E.g., see Ezra 1:1-4.

[137] E.g., see John 7:37-39; John 14:15-16, 21-22; 26; John 15:10, 26; John 16:7; Acts 1:4-5; Acts 2:32-33; Acts 10:45; Galatians 3:14.

[138] Colossians 3:1-4. Such biblical scholars as George Eldon Ladd taught that the Kingdom of God is present here now, but the fullness of the Kingdom of God will be realized at the end of the age. To learn more about the Kingdom of God’s present and future reality, read The Presence of the Future by George Eldon Ladd.

[139] John 3:8; see also Ecclesiastes 11:5; Ezekiel 37:5, 9-10.

[140] E.g., see Daniel 7:2; Ryrie Study Bible.

[141] John 3:8; see also 1 Corinthians 12:11.

[142] For more on the Holy Spirit and His works, read John chapters 14 through 16; Romans 8.

[143] John 3:1, 9-10.

[144] E.g., see Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27. At Pentecost, God poured out His Spirit on all believers of His Son Jesus as Jesus promised (Acts 1:4-5; Acts 2:1-4, 17-21, 33; Acts 1:4-5; Acts 10:45; see also John 14:16, 26; John 15:26; John 16:7; Galatians 3:14).

[145] See John 3:11-12, 32.

[146] John 3:11.

[147] E.g., see John 1:18, 51; John 7:16; John 8:28; John 12:49; John 14:24

[148] John 3:13, 31; see also John 1:14; John 8:23; John 6:38, 42, 62; 1 Corinthians 15:47.

[149] John 3:14-18.

[150] John 3:13, 31; John 20:17; see also Deuteronomy 30:12; Ephesians 4:8-10.

[151] Melton, Summer 2020.

[152] John 3:13; see also John 8:23.

[153] John 6:38, 42, 62; see also 1 Corinthians 15:47.

[154] Hebrews 4:14-15.

[155] Hebrews 9:24.

[156] Hebrews 4:16; see also Ephesians 3:12.

[157] John 1:14, 16-17.

[158] John 3:14-15; see also Numbers 21:5-9; John 10:10; John 12:32.

[159] John 3:15-16, 36; John 5:24; John 6:40, 47, 54; John 11:25-26; John 15:4-5; John 16:33; John 20:31; 1 John 5:12-13, 20; see also Acts 16:31.

[160] John 3:18, 36; see also Mark 16:16.

[161] Morris, p. 199.

[162] In typical Israelite fashion, the people corrupted the uplifted bronze snake's meaning from Numbers 21:8-9 by keeping the bronze snake as an idol to worship. Centuries later, King Hezekiah destroyed this worship image (see 2 Kings 18:4). New Student Bible.  

[163] Ibid.

[164] John 12:20, 32-33; see also Acts 2:33.

[165] John 12:23-24; see also John 6:57; Romans 14:9.

[166] John 12:12-18; see also Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-44.

[167] E.g., see John 18:33, 36-37, 39; John 19:3, 14, 19, 21.

[168] John 12:13,

[169] John 12:23.

[170] John 12:32; see also John 1:29, 36.

[171] Morris, p. 200.

[172] John 19:19.

[173] John 1:18; John 3:16-17; John 10:10; see also Romans 5:8.

[174] John 1:29; 1 John 4:9-10; 1 John 5:11.

[175] Morris, p. 203; see also Matthew 5:45.

[176] John 3:15, 36; John 6:25, 40; John 10:10, 28; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 19:35; John 20:30-31; see also Colossians 3:3.

[177] John 6:29.

[178] E.g., see John 1:4, 51; John 11:25; John 14:6; 1 John 1:1-2; 1 John 5:11, 20.

[179] John 1:12-13, 29, 36.

[180] E.g., see John 5:26; Acts 17:25.

[181] E.g., see John 1:4; John 5:36-40; John 10:9-10; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 20:30-31; Acts 3:15; Acts 4:12; Acts 5:31

[182] John 1:33; John 7:39; John 20:21-22.

[183] See John 3:13-14.

[185] Daniel 7:9-14; see also Mark 8:38; Mark 13:26; Mark 14:61-62.

[186] Ibid.

[187] John 10:11, 15, 17; see also Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16.

[188] E.g., see Romans 4:25.

[189] John 10:10; see also Jeremiah 23:1; Ezekiel 34:1-10.

[190] John 1:4; John 3:15-16; John 5:40; John 6:35, 47-48; John 10:10; John 11:25; John 20:31; see also Romans 5:17. 

[191] Melton, Summer 2020.

[192] Morris, p. 201.

[193] Melton, Summer 2020.

[194] John 3:17; John 12:47; see also 1 Corinthians 15:45.

[195] John 3:18.

[196] John 3:18, 36; see also Matthew 25:31-46. 

[197] Melton, Summer 2020.

[198] Morris, p. 205.

[199] Some religions do not believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God. However, the Holy Scriptures declare that Jesus is the only begotten and unique Son of the true and living LORD God of heaven and earth. Not only did God proclaim Jesus to be His Son at His baptism (e.g., see Matthew 17:5; Luke 3:23), but also God proved Jesus’ unique Sonship by raising Jesus from the dead (see Romans 1:4).

[200] Melton, Summer 2020.

[201] Melton, Summer 2020.

[202] John 4:16-18.

[203] John 3:1, 10.

[205] John 4:4-6; see also New Student Bible.  

[206] John 4:9; see also New Student Bible.  

[207] John 4:19-20; see also New Student Bible.  

[208] Ephesians 2:14; Galatians 3:28; see also New Student Bible.  

[209] Morris, p. 186.

[210] Melton, Summer 2020.

[211] Genesis 15:6; see also Romans 4:3, 9, 22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23.

[212] Melton, Summer 2020.

[213] Ibid.

[214] Morris, p. 185.

[215] Ibid.

[216] Ibid.

[217] Morris, pp. 188-189.

[218] Ibid.

[219] Ibid.

[220] Morris, p. 186.

[221] Matthew 18:1-6; Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17; see also Ephesians 2:5, 8-9.

[222] Melton, Summer 2020.

[223] John 4:16; see also John 1:14, 16-17.

[224] John 4:39.

[225] John 4:28-29, 40-42.

[226] Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:1-6.

[227] Titus 2:11-14; Titus 3:1, 8, 14; 1 Peter 2:12, 15.

[228] Matthew 5:16; John 3:19-21; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Philippians 2:15. 


[1] Or born from above; also, in verse 7.

[2] Or but spirit.

[3] The Greek is plural.

[4] Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven.

[5] Believes may have eternal life in Him.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

JESUS’ GLORY

1 The next (third) day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee…. 2 and Jesus and His disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, … 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 He said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” … 9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, … he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” 11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed His glory. And His disciples believed (placed their faith) in Him. John 2:1-3, 7-11, New Living Translation 2nd Edition

 

I.             Introduction

 

Chapter 2 of John’s Gospel begins the Book of Signs. The Book of Signs begins the public ministry of Jesus that starts at Cana, located in Galilee. By way of background, John’s Gospel is divided or organized into four sections. The first section of John’s Gospel is the Prologue, and the Prologue is found at John 1 verses 1 through 18. In the Prologue, John sets the background for Jesus and His public ministry. Next, John gives a long transitional section between the end of the Prologue of verse 18 and the Book of Signs. This long transitional section includes verses 19 through 51. These transitional verses center around John the Baptist. John gives more details about John the Baptist that are not included in the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

 

Chapter 2 of John’s Gospel officially starts the Book of Signs and Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. The Book of Signs goes from John 2:1 through John 12:50. This section is often called the Book of Signs because of the seven miracles Jesus performed. Jesus did more than seven miracles (e.g., see John 20:30; John 21:25). However, John identified seven miraculous signs of Jesus to reveal Jesus’ identity and glory (e.g., see John 17:4). In this section, John revealed through Jesus’ signs how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and the intent of Judaism.

 

Starting at chapter 13 of John’s Gospel, John records Jesus’ Passion story with His trial, execution, and resurrection. Significantly, John’s Passion story from chapters 18 through 20 are mostly the same storyline given in the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke.[1] However, John begins Jesus’ Passion story in chapters 13 through 17 with Jesus’ Upper Room speech (discourse) to His disciples. In the Upper Room, Jesus taught His closest disciples, who have accepted and believed in Him.

 

The final section of John’s Gospel is the Epilogue found at chapter 21. In chapter 21, the Resurrected Jesus meets His disciples in Galilee, like the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. However, in chapter 21 of John’s Gospel, Jesus feeds His disciples and instructs Peter also to feed and care for His sheep and lambs.

 

I.        Prologue:  John 1:1-18

II.       Book of Signs:  John 1:19 through John 12:50

III.      Book of Passion: John 13 through 20

a.            John 13 through 17 is Jesus’ teaching His disciples in the Upper Room (Upper Room Discourse)

b.           John 18 through 20 is Jesus’s trial, execution, and resurrection

IV.     Epilogue

 

Chapter 2 of John’s Gospel records the first of Jesus’ seven miraculous signs. John’s Gospel builds Jesus’ public ministry around His seven miraculous signs.[2] The seven miracles were as follows:

 

·         John 2:1-11 where Jesus turned water to wine

·         John 4:46-54 when Jesus healed the royal official’s son

·         John 5:1-15 when Jesus healed the diseased man at Bethesda       

·         John 6:1-15 where Jesus fed the 5,000

·         John 6:16-21 Jesus walked on the water

·         John 9:1-41 Jesus gave sight to the blindman

·         John 11:1-44 where Jesus raised Lazarus from complete death

 

Some biblical scholars include Jesus’ large catch of fish at John 21:1 through 14 as Jesus’ eighth and final miracle.

 

II.           The Uniqueness of John’s Gospel

 

Most of John’s miraculous signs are unique to his Gospel and not found in the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John used Jesus’ miraculous signs to reveal Jesus’ nature, character, and identity as the glorious Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah (Christ) (e.g., see John 1:1-5, 14, 18; John 20:30-31). Apart from John the Baptist in chapter 1, nothing in the first five chapters of John’s Gospel is found in the Synoptics. Moreover, John used Jesus’ miraculous signs to reveal the nature of the Kingdom that Jesus ushered into the world (see also Mark 1:14-15).[3]

 

The structure and style of John’s Gospel are different from the Synoptic Gospels. John’s Gospel contains no parables and only seven miracles (five of which are not recorded elsewhere in the New Testament). Moreover, John’s Gospel includes Jesus’ long discourses or speeches such as the Upper Room discourse found at John chapters 13 through 17 that are not included in the Synoptic Gospels. Furthermore, John’s Gospel emphasized Jesus’ hunger, thirst, weariness, pain, and death to reveal Jesus as not only the Son of God but also Jesus’ true human nature (e.g., see John 4:6; John 17:35; John 19:28). Additionally, John’s Gospel includes other important themes such as the Holy Spirit (e.g., see John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7-14), Satan and the world (e.g., see John 8:44; John 12:31; John 17:15), Jesus as the Word (see John 1:1-14), and the new birth (see John 3:1-12).

 

III.         Book of Signs

 

As discussed earlier, the Book of Signs begins at chapter 2 of John’s Gospel. The Book of Signs begins the public ministry of Jesus that starts at Cana, located in Galilee. The Book of Signs covers chapters 2 through 12. However, this section naturally subdivides into two sections: chapters 2 through 4 and chapters 5 through 12.

 

Chapters 2 through 4 of John’s Gospel start with Jesus’ miracle in Cana of Galilee, and this section ends in Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performs another miracle with Jesus’ healing of an official’s son. Chapters 2 through 4 of John’s Gospel is often called the Cana to Cana cycle (see John 2:1-11; John 4:46-54). John identifies Jesus’ two miracles with changing the water to wine at chapter 2 and the healing of an official’s son at chapter 4 as the first and second signs (see John 2:11; John 4:54).

 

In chapters 5 through 12 of the Book of Signs, John revealed the increasing Jewish resistance and hostility to Jesus’ ministry. Jesus had some resistance in chapters 2 through 4 of John’s Gospel. However, chapters 5 through 12 reveal open and growing hostility against Jesus from the Jewish religious leaders (e.g., see John 11:47). This Jewish resistance against Jesus intensified and climaxed with the resurrection of Lazarus, which was Jesus’s seventh sign (see John 11:38-44). With this seventh sign, the Jews leadership established a plot to kill Jesus (see John 11:47-53).

 

IV.         Jesus’s First Miracle

 

a.    Background

 

Chapter 2 of John’s Gospel opens with a wedding celebration in Cana's village in the Galilee region (see John 2:1). John records this as the third day of Jesus’s public ministry (John 2:1; see also John 1:29, 35, 43). Some scholars see chapter 2 of John’s Gospel as a tale of two cities: Cana and Jerusalem with an interlude in the middle at verse 12. These two cities react to Jesus in different ways. At Cana, the people rejoiced with Jesus’ first miracle, changing water into wine (see John 2:1-11). Afterward, the people of Jerusalem become angry with Jesus as He cleansed and rejected the Temple with the Temple’s moneychangers and business activities (see John 2:13-22).

 

Interestingly, John begins and ends Jesus’ public ministry in the Galilee region like the Synoptic Gospels (John 2:1; John 21:2; e.g., see Matthew 4:12-16; Matthew 28:16). In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ public ministry centered in Galilee, and Jesus entered Judea at the end of His ministry. Significantly, John’s account of Jesus’ public ministry centers in Jerusalem, and John recorded Jesus ministering back and forth from Galilee to Judea.

 

The Synoptic Gospels do not record the Cana miracle. However, the geographic location of Galilee is significant. Galilee is in northern Israel, and this region is often called “Galilee of Gentiles” (e.g., see Matthew 4:15). In the first century, many devout Jews saw the Galilean region as unclean because many Gentiles lived in Galilee (see Matthew 4:15). Yet, Jesus devoted most of His earthly ministry to Galilee, and therefore He became known as a Galilean (e.g., see Matthew 26:69). Jesus’ ministry fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2, which states that the Messiah (Christ) would be a light to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, which are located in the northern Israel region of Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2; see also Matthew 4:12-17; John 1:4-5, 9). After the fall of Jerusalem, located in southern Israel in AD 70, Galilee became the major center of Pharisaic Judaism.

 

b.   The Wedding Miracle

 

In Cana of Galilee, Jesus was attending a wedding feast with this mother and His disciples (John 2:1-2; see also John 1:37-49). In first-century Judaism, the wedding feast was a weeklong celebration spent celebrating the married couple's new life. A wedding feast was a joyous occasion with abundant eating, drinking, dancing, and playing music for a week. Often the whole town was invited Significantly, Jesus was on a mission to save the world (e.g., see John 1:29). Yet, Jesus and His disciples took time to attend a wedding and take part in its festivities. Jesus loves people, and He was never too busy to come when invited (see John 2:2).

 

Next, John says that the wine supply suddenly ran out during the marriage feast (see John 2:3). To run out of wine during the weeklong celebration broke hospitality in the first century, and the host family faced embarrassment. So, Jesus’s mother, who is Mary, came to Jesus and told Him that the marriage feast had no more wine (John 2:3, see also Matthew 1:16; Luke 1:27). At first, Jesus refused to respond to His mother’s demand because His mission from His Heavenly Father had not yet come (John 2:4; see also Matthew 26:18; John 12:23, 27; John 13:1; John 17:1). Jesus knew He had come into the world to redeem and save the world of their sins through His sacrificial death as the Passover Lamb of God (e.g., see Matthew 17:22-23; John 1:29, 36; John 3:16-17; 1 John 3:5; 1 John 4:14). Notably, Jesus’s mother informed the wedding’s servants to do whatever Jesus said to them (see John 2:5). Although Mary did not fully understand Jesus’s mission, Mary trusted and submitted to her Son Jesus, and Jesus responds to our heartfelt needs. Jesus helps others!

 

At the marriage celebration, there were six stone water jars that the Jews used for their ritual washing and purification ceremony (John 2:6; e.g., see Mark 7:1-4; Luke 11:37-38; John 3:25).[4] When full, each jar held about 20 to 30 gallons of water (or 75 to 113 liters) (see John 2:6). For Jews, they wanted to stay in a state of ritual cleansing, and the most important part of one’s body was their hands. According to the Jewish ceremonial laws, people became symbolically unclean by touching objects of everyday life. Before eating, the Jews would pour water over their hands to cleanse themselves of any bad influences associated with what they had touched.

 

Jesus instructed the wedding’s servants to fill the six stone jars with water (see John 2:7). The servants filled the stone jars with water up to the brim up to the very top (see John 2:7). Then, Jesus instructed the wedding’s servants to take some of the water from the jars to the master of ceremonies (also known as the headwaiter, governor, or ruler of the feast) (see John 2:8). When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom (see John 2:9). The ruler of the feast said to the bridegroom that he had saved the BEST wine for last (see John 2:10). Usually, the bridegroom always served the best wine first, and then when everyone had a lot to drink, he would bring out the less expensive or inferior wine (see John 2:10). Unbeknown to the master of ceremonies and the bridegroom, Jesus gave everyone the good new wine (see John 2:10).[5]

 

Changing water into wine was the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs (John 2:11; see also John 4:46). This first miracle of Jesus displayed His glory (John 2:11; e.g., see also John 1:14; John 11:4, 40). Jesus is the very radiance of God’s glory that He received from His Father, the living LORD God of heaven and earth, at the creation of the world (e.g., see John 17:24; Hebrews 1:3). Sadly, the lawless one – Satan also uses all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve his evil deception and lies to lead people away from the truth and faith in the living LORD God and His Son Jesus (e.g., see 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). Always love TRUTH and FAITH in God the Father and His Son, Jesus (e.g., see 1 John 3:23).

 

Jesus’s disciples believed on Him (see John 2:11). Many people saw Jesus’ miraculous signs He performed and believed in His Name (e.g., see John 2:23; John 4:53; John 6:1-2, 14; John 7:31; John 9{31; John 12:18). For some like Nicodemus, Jesus’ miraculous signs proved that the living LORD God was with Him (John 3:2; see also John 10:30, 38; John 14:10-11; Acts 2:22; Acts 10:38). Jesus’ miracles revealed there was transforming power associated with Him. Nevertheless, even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, some people, including some Jewish religious leaders, refused to believe in Him (e.g., see John 11:45-48; John 12:37). Remarkedly, Jesus’ first miracle was a quiet event at a wedding celebration (see John 2:1-11). However, Jesus’ last miracle recorded by John was a public event with Lazarus’s resurrection from complete death (see John 11:1-44).

 

c.    Revealing God’s Kingdom

 

Importantly, Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast symbolized the Kingdom and that the Messianic times had arrived in Jesus (e.g., see Amos 9:13-15; Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:33-24; John 3:27-29). The dominant symbol for the coming Kingdom in the Gospels and Jewish apocalyptic literature is a great feast or banquet with food, drink, and joy (e.g., see Matthew 8:11; Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 25:1-13; Luke 12:35-36; Luke 13:29; Luke 14:16-24). One of the key features of the Messianic times is an abundance of food, drink, and joy (e.g., see John 10:10)! Joy is different from happiness. Joy is what one receives from God and almost always comes by God’s grace and mercy (e.g., see John 17:13). At the Kingdom feast or banquet, the living LORD God will give abundant food and drink and the Kingdom will be filled with joy. HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS: Jesus promised that we can receive that Kingdom joy NOW through faith and obedience to Him (e.g., see John 15:10-12; John 16:24).

 

Thus, John uses Jesus’ first miraculous sign to prove that Jesus brings God’s Kingdom NOW and in the FUTURE as a gift of His grace to those who believe and accept Him (e.g., see John 1:12-14). Jesus gives to EVERYONE that obeys and believes in Him an abundant life, peace, joy, and God’s grace (e.g., see John 1:4, 16-18; John 10:9-11; John 15:5, 11; John 16:24, 33; John 17:13). Jesus is God’s grace. NO ONE can receive the living LORD God’s goodness, healing, and grace without accepting and obeying His only begotten Son Jesus (e.g., see John 1:14, 16-18). Jesus is the stairway and only connection to the living LORD God of heaven and earth (e.g., see John 1:51; John 14:6; John 15:1-5; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12). Through faith in Jesus, WE FIND TRUE, ABUNDANT, and a RESTORED LIFE both NOW and for all ETERNITY because Jesus is the Author and Savior of Life (e.g., see John 1:4; John 10:9-10; John 11:25; John 14:6; John 20:30-31; Acts 3:15; Acts 4:12; Acts 5:31).

 

Significantly, Jesus’s first miracle was performed in Cana, located in the region Galilee where many Gentiles (non-Jews) lived (see Matthew 4:15). With this miracle, John revealed that God’s Kingdom is for ALL PEOPLE and not just the Jews, who believe and accept God’s only Son, Jesus (e.g., see John 1:17-18; John 3:3-8; John 12:20-26). Jesus and His public ministry revealed and made known God and His Kingdom because Jesus is the stairway to heaven (e.g., see John 1:18, 51; John 14:6). The clearest picture of God is not the Law of Moses, not the Jerusalem Temple, not the created order of nature, but only in Jesus of Nazareth! The Gospel message gives Jesus’ life, and Jesus’ life gives the clearest picture of God. Jesus made God known and explained God and His Kingdom for all humankind (e.g., see Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 17:6, 26).

 

d.   Interlude

 

After Jesus’s first recorded miracle at Cana, Jesus went down to Capernaum with His mother Mary, His brothers and sisters, and His disciples, and they stayed there in Capernaum for a few days (John 2:12; see also Matthew 12:46; Mark 6:3; Acts 1:14). During His public ministry, Jesus moved from Nazareth, his hometown, and lived in Capernaum, which was in the Galilee region of northern Israel (see Matthew 4:12-13; Mark 1:21; Luke 4:31). Capernaum became Jesus’ home base during His public ministry in the Galilee region (e.g., see Matthew 9:1; Mark 2:1).

 

V.           Jesus and the Temple

 

a.    Passover

 

Next, John explains that Jesus left Capernaum located in northern Israel and traveled to Jerusalem to attend the Jewish Passover celebration (see John 2:13, 23).[6] Notably, John’s Gospel refers to three Passover celebrations Jesus attended (see John 2:13; John 6:4; John 11:55). Because John refers to three Passover festivals, many experts conclude that Jesus had a three-year public ministry.

 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus traveled routinely from the Galilee region in northern Israel to Jerusalem, located in southern Israel, to celebrate the Jewish Passover celebration and other Jewish festivals and holidays (e.g., see John 2:13; John 5:1; John 6:4; John 7:2; John 10:22; John 11:55; John 12:1; John 13:1).[7] In fact, John builds his Gospel message about Jesus around the Jewish feast days and other Jewish traditions. John wanted his readers to know that Jesus not only recognized Judaism, but Jesus fulfilled the intent of Judaism. Jesus upholds the essentials of Judaism, and He never devalued Judaism. John’s Gospel presents Jesus as the heart and the very fulfillment of Judaism by presenting Jesus not as Moses but as the Word of God, and then Jesus the Word became flesh (see John 1:1-5, 14, 17). THERE IS MORE GOOD NEWS:  Jesus brings the new teaching of God’s grace and truth that cannot be contained within the old forms of the Law (e.g., see Luke 5:36-39; John 1:14, 16-17).

 

b.   Jesus Rejects and Cleanses the Temple

 

John records that when Jesus arrived to the Jerusalem Temple, He saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices (John 2:14; see also Malachi 3:1-3).[8] Instead of people coming to worship His Father, the living LORD God of heaven and earth, the Sadducees, along with their high priests that operated the Temple, had turned the Temple into a marketplace with business and money-making activities. The Temple was the most powerful symbolism in Judaism, and the Temple was controlled by the Sadducees. Sadly, in Jesus’ day, the primary purpose of the Temple was economics and business. The Jewish priests had established a lucrative commercial enterprise of exchanging foreign money for Jewish currency, and selling the animals needed for the sacrifices. Furthermore, Jews brought to the Temple their Temple tax. The many pilgrims that came to Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover celebration brought a variety of currency and no animals for sacrifice. Thus, the Temple’s outer courts became a noisy market for changing money and selling animals like a flea market, and not a wholehearted and sincere place where the nations of the world could worship Jesus’ Father, the living LORD God of heaven and earth (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46; see also Isaiah 56:7).[9] This “religious market” with greedy business dealings made a mockery of God’s house of worship where ALL NATIONS were to worship the living LORD God. Worship was the main purpose for the Temple. The Temple was to be a place of worship along with prayer, instruction, and sacrifice to the living LORD God. These greedy business dealings revealed the poor spiritual condition of the religious leaders and the people (see also Jeremiah 7:8-15; Ezekiel 8:7-18). No wonder Jesus was angry!

 

When entering His Father’s Temple, Jesus saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money in the Temple area and found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves (John 2:14; see also Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46). Seeing the Temple’s money-making marketplace, Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased the wicked merchants out of the Temple (see John 2:15). Jesus drove out the sheep and cattle, poured out the changers’ money onto the floor, and turned over their tables (see John 2:15). Then, going over to the merchants who sold doves, Jesus told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning My Father’s house into a marketplace of merchandise, business, and trade” (John 2:16; see also Luke 2:49).

 

In this scene, John revealed Jesus’ anger, rage, and frustration! Jesus had a wholehearted passion and zeal for the holiness and worship of His Father’s house, and He saw these money-making business dealings as an insult against His Father, the living LORD God of heaven and earth, and His Temple (John 2:17; see also Psalm 69:9; Luke 2:49). Jesus would not allow this “religious market” to misuse and pollute God’s house with money-making, self-indulgent, and greedy business enterprises (e.g., see also Luke 11:39-40; Luke 16:14). When Jesus cleansed the Temple, He “declared war” on the phony, hedonistic, and profit-seeking religious leaders that exploited the people and turn them away from worship (Matthew 23:1-7, 25-26; see also Ezekiel 34:1-4).

 

Notably, the prophet Jeremiah made a similar statement about Jerusalem before the Babylonian’s attack and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC. Before 586 BC, the Jews had turned the Temple – God’s House – into a den of robbers and thieves and not a place of holiness and worship (Jeremiah 7:11; see also Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46). The people followed a worship ritual but maintained a sinful lifestyle against God and His covenant (see Jeremiah 7:2-3). Jerusalem and the Temple had become corrupted and filled with theft, murder, adultery, hypocrisy, lies, idolatry, and rebellion (Jeremiah 7:1-11; see also Matthew 23:37). The people did not love one another, and they oppressed and exploited the foreigners, the fatherless, the widows, and the innocent (Jeremiah 5:26-28; Jeremiah 7:5-6; see also Exodus 22:21-22; Leviticus 25:17; Deuteronomy 24:14-15; Isaiah 1:15-17). Idolatry filled Jerusalem, and the people did not wholeheartedly love the living LORD God and obey His commands (Jeremiah 7:6; Jeremiah 13:10; Jeremiah 25:6; see also Deuteronomy 6:4-6, 14). In chapter 2, John revealed Jesus’ cleansing and rejection of the Temple and the Temple’s religious corruption (see John 2:13-17). Significantly, the prophet Zechariah predicted that the living LORD would again seek the holiness of God’s House at His second coming (e.g., see Zechariah 14:5-7, 9, 17, 20-21).

 

c.    Jesus Is God’s Temple

 

After the Jewish leadership saw Jesus’ cleansing and rejection of the Temple, they demanded Jesus give the reason and the authority for cleansing the Temple (see John 2:18). Jesus had God’s authority because Jesus is ONE and EQUAL with His Father, the living LORD God (e.g., see John 5:18; John 10:30; John 12:45; John 14:9-10). Also, the Jewish leaders requested Jesus to show them a miraculous sign to prove His authority (John 2:18; see also 1 Corinthians 1:22). Oftentimes during Jesus’ ministry, the Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus to give them a sign (e.g., see Matthew 12:38; John 4:48; John 6:30). Great crowds of people followed Jesus because they saw the signs Jesus had performed, yet some people still did not believe in Him as the Son of God and the Messiah (e.g., see John 3:2; John 6:2, 14; John 12:37; John 20:30-31).

 

Jesus said to the Jewish leaders that if they destroyed this Temple, in three days, He would raise the Temple up from destruction (John 2:19; see also Matthew 12:38-40; Matthew 16:21; Luke 9:22).[10] In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus gave the Jewish religious leaders the sign of John (see Matthew 12:38-40; Luke 11:29-30). The “sign of Jonah” was Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The Jewish leadership scoffed at Jesus and said to Jesus that it had taken forty-six years to build the Temple (see John 2:20).[11] In this cryptic expression, Jesus informed the Jewish leaders that He is now the Temple of God, and He would raise again in three days if His body were destroyed (John 2:19-22; see also Psalm 16:10; Luke 24:5-8). Remarkedly, Jesus’ statement would be used against Him at His trial during Passion week (e.g., see Matthew 26:60-61; Matthew 27:39-40; Mark 14:57-59; Mark 15:29; John 10:18).

 

John wrote his Gospel so that everyone would know that God’s grace and truth have now come through Jesus (e.g., see John 1:14, 16-17). Jesus is the new sacrifice that takes away our sins (e.g., see John 1:29, 36). Even more, Jesus is God’s new Temple that gives everyone access to God through Him (e.g., see John 2:19; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12). Even more, John’s Gospel teaches that the new worship will depend on inward truthfulness and not outward geography (see John 4:19-24).

 

At first glance, John 2:13-22 passage seems out of place. John’s Gospel placed the cleansing of the Temple near the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry after the Cana wedding feast. In a sense, John 2:13-22 reveals Jesus experienced hostility throughout His public ministry on earth and not just at the end of His life (see also John 1:10-11). However, the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – record Jesus’ cleansing the Temple during the last week of Jesus’ life before His death at Calvary (see Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47). There have been many attempts to reconcile these two accounts as possibly two different cleansings by Jesus. Many biblical scholars believe it was unlikely there were two cleansings. Many scholars believe it was highly unlikely Jesus would have survived two cleansings, so this cleansing probably occurred during the last week of Jesus’ life, but John placed Jesus’ cleansing at the beginning of his Gospel. John simply placed Jesus’ cleansing out of chronological order. In John’s Gospel, the chronology was not as important as John’s theology about Jesus as God (e.g., see John 10:30). In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ direct assault and rejection of the Temple and their money-making schemes ultimately led to His death (see Matthew 21:46; Mark 11:18; Mark 12:12; Luke 20:19).

 

Importantly, chapter 2 of John’s Gospel contrasts the Kingdom of God in Cana of Galilee of the Gentiles versus the Jerusalem Temple. In this chapter, John reveals no resistance to the Kingdom of God in Galilee of the Gentiles in northern Israel, because the Galileans welcomed God’s Kingdom found in Jesus (see John 2:1-11). However supposedly the most holiness place on earth – the Jerusalem Temple – rejected God’s Kingdom found in Jesus (see also John 1:10-11). In southern Israel, Jerusalem has become filled with religious evil! The Temple was supposed to be where the nations of the world come and worship God. However, Jerusalem had become a marketplace and rejected God’s Kingdom found in God’s Son, Jesus. Therefore, Jesus rejected the Jerusalem Temple and their wicked actions of trade and money (see Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-22).

 

All four Gospels reveal that the Temple has become a barrier to God. At Jesus’ death on Calvary, the massive, thick curtain (or veil) in the Temple in Jerusalem was split and ripped in two (see Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).[12] The Temple’s veil was split, symbolizing the Temple had NO MORE importance in God’s eye with Jesus’ sacrificial death at Calvary (see Hebrews 10:19-20). The Temple's essence was to be holy, but the veil was split because the Temple had become defiled and corrupted with evil. Thus, Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple was Jesus’ rejection of the Temple since the Temple no longer provided access to God for worship. Now, the Temple has become Jesus’ Himself, and Jesus gives everyone access to God through faith in Him (John 2:21; see also 1:51; John 14:6; Romans 5:1-2; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12). As the Temple, Jesus is where the living LORD God is present!

 

VI.         Conclusion

 

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to follow Him and believe in His Name (John 2:23; e.g., see John 2:11; John 7:31; John 10:41; John 11:45; John 12:42). Jesus performed many miraculous signs and healing the sick during His public ministry on earth (e.g., see Matthew 4:23-25; Luke 6:17-19: John 3:2; John 6:1-2, 14-15; John 21:25; John 20:30). Despite His many miraculous signs, not everyone believed and accepted Jesus as from God (e.g., see 6:36, 64, 66; John 7:5).

 

Nevertheless, Jesus did not trust people’s belief in Him (see John 2:24). Sadly, three years later, many of these same people would reject Jesus as their King and Messiah and shout “crucify Him!” (e.g., see Matthew 27:22-23, 31; Mark 15:13-14, 20; Luke 23:21; John 19:6, 15). Besides, Jesus knows EVERYONE’S hearts and thoughts (John 2:24-25; see also e.g., Jeremiah 17:9-10; Matthew 9:4; John 1:48-49; John 5:41-42; John 6:61, 64; John 13:11; John 16:30). No one needed to tell Jesus what humankind was really like inside their hearts because He was the Author of life (John 2:25; see also Acts 1:24; Acts 3:17; Acts 5:31).

 

References

Apologetics Study Bible: Understanding Why You Believe (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2012).

ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008).

Life Application Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1971).

New Student Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992).

Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1995).

The Living Bible Paraphrase (Tyndale House, 1971).

Zondervan NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008).

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).

Dr. Loyd Melton, Ph.D., Senior Professor of the New Testament (Due West, SC: Erskine Theological Seminary, Summer 2020).

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament (Victor Books, 1989).



[1] Biblical scholars refer to Matthew, Mark, and Luke as the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell essentially the same storyline of Jesus that begins with Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee and ends with Jesus’ Passion story in Jerusalem. However, John’s Gospel does not follow the same storyline as the Synoptic Gospels. Instead, John’s Gospel supplements Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee with Jesus’ many activities in Jerusalem and Jesus’ attendance of several Jewish festivals.

[2] Significantly, “seven” is a good Jewish number that represents completion or perfection. Moreover, “seven” symbolizes God. John also uses “seven” in the book of Revelation, the other book he wrote.

[3] The Kingdom of God means the rule and reign of God is already present throughout the world and the future Kingdom at Jesus’ Second Coming (e.g., see Psalm 10:16-18; Matthew 24:1-51). Jesus is the clearest expression of the rule of God. In Jesus, the reign and rule of God was a Person (e.g., see Mark 1:14-15). Jesus revealed the reign and rule of God over sickness, disease, and evil. Jesus always gave salvation, healing, goodness, and deliverance through faith in Him (e.g., see Matthew 4:23-25; Luke 4:18-19; John 2:10; John 10:9-11).

[4] Jesus never condemned the Jews’ ritual washing before eating. However, Jesus wanted His fellow Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles or pagans) to wash the inside and outside of their hands and bodies with good deeds and actions (e.g., see Luke 11:37-44). Remarkedly, the four Gospel writers never discounted Judaism. In fact, the Gospels show Jesus’s continuity with Judaism (e.g., see Matthew 5:17-20). Therefore, Christians have continuity with Judaism. The only significant difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Christians believe the Messiah has come with Jesus, and Jesus will come again at the end of the age (e.g., see Matthew 1:1, 16-17; Matthew 24:30-31; John 1:41; John 4:25; Acts 1:11).

[5] In first-century Palestine, wine was the normal drink of the people. Therefore, NO ONE must use Jesus’s miracle as an argument for the abuse of alcoholic beverages and other illegal drugs.

[6] The Passover festival is one of Israel’s three great yearly festivals, the other two were Pentecost, and Tabernacles (see Deuteronomy 16:16). Passover celebrated the Jews’ deliverance and redemption from Egyptian slavery by God. At Passover, God “passed over” the Jews’ homes during God’s tenth and final plague against the Egyptians, and He brought death to the Egyptians’ firstborn. The Passover celebration took place yearly at the Temple in Jerusalem. This was a weeklong festival — the Passover was one day, and the Festival of Unleavened Bread lasted the rest of the week. To learn more about the annual Jewish Passover celebration, read Exodus 12:14-40; Exodus 23:15; Leviticus 23:4-8; Numbers 28:16-25; and Deuteronomy 16:1-8.

[7] As mentioned earlier, Jesus was a devout Jew, and He did not condemn the Jewish cultural (e.g., see Matthew 27:11, 37; John 4:22; John 19:19-20, 40). The Gospels reveal that Jesus deliberately violated the man-made religious traditions of the Pharisees. However, Jesus ALWAYS obeyed the written statutes of the Law and was faithful to uphold the Law. The Law of Moses came from His Father, the living LORD God, and not from humans. However, EVERYONE – Jews and non-Jews – are saved not by obeying the Law but by God’s grace when we humbly, wholeheartedly, and dependently in trust Him (e.g., see Acts 15:10-11, 19-21; Ephesians 2:8-9).

[8] In the Jerusalem Temple, the complex included the sanctuary (the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies), at least four courtyards (for the priest, Jews, women, and Gentiles), numerous gates, and several covered walkways.

[9] The Temple in Jerusalem was majestic and overlooked the city. King Solomon built the first Temple in approximately 959 BC, but Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC (see 2 Kings 25). The Jerusalem Temple was rebuilt in 515 BC led by Zerubbabel and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and Herod had enlarged and remodeled the Temple during Jesus’ public time on earth. Sadly, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed in AD 70 by the Roman army, and the Temple’s destruction officially ended the Jewish sacrificial system.

[10] Some biblical translations use “sanctuary” instead of Temple.

[11] This Temple had been built by Zerubbabel over 500 years earlier and completed in approximately 515 BC. The first Temple built by Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Then, the living LORD God instructed Zerubbabel to rebuild the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians. Zerubbabel’s Temple is often called the Second Temple. Herod remodeled Zerubbabel’s Temple to expand the Temple beginning in 20 BC, and this Temple was present during Jesus’ times.

[12] This thick curtain or veil sealed off the Most Holy Place. No one except the high priest was allowed into the presence of God in that Most Holy Place. The high priest was permitted into the Most Holy Place only once a year, on a special day called the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.