Face to Face - Part 3 [Notes]

Lives were changed after an encounter with Jesus... lives of people just like you and me.

Today's Takeaway // We must be born again.

He was a man of high moral character, deep religious hunger, and yet profound spiritual blindness.¹
- Wiersbe
_{1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 295). Victor Books}

There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of theJews.2This man came to Him at night and said, “•Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him.”
– John 3:1-2 (HCSB)
^{• The Hebrew word means my great one; it is used for a recognized teacher of the Scriptures.}

John’s description of him marks him not merely as a community leader but as one of the revered seventy, who along with the high priest composed the Sanhedrin, the equivalent of the Jewish Supreme Court.²
- G.L. Borchert
_{2 Borchert, G. L. (1996). John 1–11 (Vol. 25A, p. 169). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.}

Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
– John 3:3 (HCSB)

There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.³
- Romans 3:10b-12 (HCSB)
_{3 The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (Ro 3:10–12). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.}

“But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus askedHim. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you^m must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.1“Are you a teacher^r of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied.
– John 3:4-10 (HCSB)
_{^m 3:7 The pronoun is pl in Gk.
^r 3:10 Or the teacher}

Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.
– John 3:6 (HCSB)

No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the•Son of Man.^y
– John 3:13 (HCSB)
_{•Most frequent title Jesus used for Himself (Dn 7:13; Mt 8:20)
^y 3:13 Other mss add who is in heaven}

...I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him.He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away....
- Daniel 7:13b-14a (HCSB)

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,^b so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
– John 3:14-15 (HCSB)
_{^b 3:14 Nm 21:4–9}

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
- Numbers 21:8-9 (HCSB)

“For God loved the world•in this way: He gave His•One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
- John 3:16-18 (HCSB)
_{•The Greek word houtos, commonly translated in Jn 3:16 as “so” or “so much,” occurs over 200 times in the NT. Almost without exception it is an adverb of manner, not degree (for example, see Mt 1:18). It only means “so much” when modifying an adjective (see Gal 3:3; Rev 16:18). Manner seems primarily in view in Jn 3:16, which explains the HCSB’s rendering.
• Or one of a kind, or incomparable, or only begotten; the Greek word can refer to someone’s only child as in Lk 7:12; 8:42; 9:38. It can also refer to someone’s special child as in Heb 11:17.}

1. Why do you think people tend to want to project an image that they are perfect or that they have it all together? Why is it important we acknowledge our brokenness?
2. Read John 3:1-18. How would you summarize Nicodemus’s problem? Why was it important for Jesus to point out his spiritual need?
3. What are some things we learn about Jesus from these verses? How would you use these verses to explain to someone what they needed to do in order to get right with God?
4. Have you ever shared your faith with another person? How did that person respond? How did the experience impact your life? What approach did you take?
5. From John 3:1-18, Romans 10:9;1 Corinthians 15:1-5 and Ephesians 2:8-9, what are the essential elements of the gospel message?
6. How might you apply today's lesson to your life?

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