A New Beginning
John 3:1-4 There was a man named Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader. One night he came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless they have God’s help.” Jesus answered, “I assure you, everyone must be born again. Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
As we begin to turn our minds towards Christmas, perhaps it’d be timely for us this week to think about why God sent His Son into this world, in that stable in Bethlehem.
And who better to explain why He came, than Jesus Himself.
John 3:1-4 There was a man named Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader. One night he came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless they have God’s help.” Jesus answered, “I assure you, everyone must be born again. Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
So, intrigued by this miracle-man, Nicodemus comes to check Him out under the cover of darkness, lest anyone should see, because Jesus was already a controversial figure. He begins by asking about these amazing miracles and their connection to God. But immediately, Jesus hijacks the conversation with a truly odd response:
I assure you, everyone must be born again. Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.
What does that have to do with anything? Nicodemus is a respected leader, a truly earnest man who wants to find out more about the Man whom God sent, and yet Jesus comes out with that?
Apparently, in answering Nicodemus, Jesus felt that this was the most important thing. And indeed it is because here, He begins to explain why He came; to usher us into the Kingdom of God.
But there’s a strict condition of entry: you must have had a second birth, a rebirth if you will, before you can enter. So, are you ‘born again’? Because …
Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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