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John 3:1-21 – Nicodemus doesn’t seem to be like at least some of the other Pharisees. Nicodemus was a man in darkness and he was seeking the light. It is entirely possible that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night just to try to get some answers and he knew that fewer people would be around Jesus to “get in the way” of him asking his questions.
Some of the Pharisees were talking about the miracles and saying that these things could only be done by someone who comes from God, that He wasn’t trying to lead people astray.
Up till this point people who experience salvation did so by being Jewish or by connecting themselves with the Jewish people.
Jesus talks about “that which is born of the flesh is flesh.” We have the same sin nature that was in Adam and Eve. We look like our parents, at least to a certain extent.
Things that are similar between before we are born and the new birth process
Genesis 1:1-3, Romans 8 – It begins in darkness. The full creation has been groaning together, longing for the light. Jesus life was the “something” that the entire universe was waiting for.
Birth requires suffering. Romans 5:7-8 – What drove Jesus to come to earth and suffer and die for us? Jesus look down and saw humans, the best of which isn’t that great… and he loved us.
2 Corinthians 5:17-8 – Birth is a complete change. In some ways babies are very similar to what they were like just before being born, but there is a huge change that occurs, not unlike the metamorphosis of the butterfly. The external body of a believer is largely the same as it was before being born again, but the inside is completely different! Jesus is good at changing “the inside.” We cannot go through being born again and be the same.
John 16:21-22 – There is joy at birth. Not that the suffering is over, but that the child has arrived. Jesus says that there is great rejoicing in heaven when anyone comes to Christ.
Luke 15:11-32 – The prodigal son was “so far down.” When he came to his senses he realized how much better off all of his fathers servants where. This is a story of new birth. The father showed great love for both of his sons. The father always forgives, it is always deserving of great rejoicing.
The conclusion on this section about new birth… John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”