The Study of the John

The Story of Nicodemus

3:1 – Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus… “Pharisee” means “separated one.” They were an organized religious body of the Jews. Nicodemus’ name means “victor over the people” (Young’s Bible Dictionary)). He was a notable leader of the Sanhedrin (which was the Jewish Supreme Court). Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they emphasized rules and regulations instead of spiritual transformation (read John 2:1-2).

3:2 – The same came to him by night… the text does not explain why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God… When Nicodemus met Jesus, he addressed Him as Rabbi (which means “teacher”). It was a term of respect.

3:3 – …unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom. To see the kingdom of God is the same as to enter the kingdom of God “(The Interpreter’s Bible). Jesus could see into Nicodemus’s heart, and He knew Nicodemus needed a spiritual transformation. To be born

“anew” can mean either “again” or “from above.” (Read 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5;

1 John 2:29; 5:4).

3:5 – …unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter God’s Kingdom. “Jesus referred not to literal water here but to the need for cleansing (read Ezekiel 36:24-27).  Water is used figuratively in the Old Testament. It refers to renewal or spiritual cleansing. It is especially true when used in conjunction with ‘spirit’ (John MacArthur). Read Psalms 51:10 and Isaiah 44:3.

3:6-7 – That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. We are born into an earthly family. To be admitted into the Kingdom of God we must be born “from above.” We must receive a “spiritual nature” that only God can give.

3:8 – We cannot control the wind, but we can feel it. We can see the damage that is caused by it. We cannot see the Holy Spirit. Through the life of a spirit-filled person, we can see one who is living a godly life.

3:9-10 – Nicodemus didn’t understand Jesus’ words. He would have understood the importance of teaching the commandments. I think Nicodemus was sincere in trying to do God’s will. But being “born-again” or “born from above” is required to become a member of the family of God. 

-The Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB).

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net 

3:15 Eternal life is not only the quantity of life but the divine quality of life. Eternal life, the life of God, whose Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the believer (read Philippians 3:20-21).   

 3:16 For God so loved the world (mankind) that he gave his only begotten son.   Jesus died on a cross. “The crucifixion was a painful death, which ended in heart failure accompanied by suffocation. Death on a cross was considered a curse and something to be despised” (Young’s Bible Dictionary). Jesus’ death on the Cross was not something to be ashamed of because the One who died there was the Son of God. The apostle John says, “No one has greater love than this, that someone should lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Jesus did that for us. The Good News is that Jesus did not stay dead. Three days later, he rose from the grave and confirmed that he had power over death and sin.   

 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world.  Jesus came into the world for the purpose of saving the world (humanity).  “If he (Jesus) came so that those who believe in him would not perish, how can those who reject this gift of life do anything other than perish? Nowhere in Scripture does it suggest that everyone should be saved, whether they want to or not; It is implicit that only those who persistently turn their backs on God’s salvation will be deprived of it” (F. F. Bruce).

 3:18 He who believes in him is not judged. The judgment in 3:17 is that working in a contrary direction (which) is characteristic of a person who is turning away from the truth. We find truth in Christ. “To believe in (his name)” is to be spiritually transformed.  It produces a new nature. It’s being born again.

                                -All the passages of Scripture are taken from the World Bible in English (WEB) –     

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3:22 – Jesus went out into the rural area of Judea. He stayed there with them and baptized them. It can be easily assumed that Jesus was the One who baptized them.ButJohn 4:2 says, (although Jesus himself didn’t baptize, but his disciples). There is no mention of Jesus baptizing in the Synoptic Gospels which are Matthew, Mark, and Luke.   

3:24 – For John was not yet thrown into prison. The Apostle John “fills in the gap between Jesus’s baptism and temptation and the Baptist’s imprisonment” (John MacArthur). A unique characteristic in the Gospel of John is that there is additional information than there is in the Synoptic Gospels (“synoptic” meaning “to explain something from the same point of view”).  The Gospel of John gives information that helps us have a better understanding of the events that are recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John is more theological (for instance, the study of God and the relations between God, mankind, and the universe).

3:25-26 – Purification… ceremonial washing, and ritual washing was considered important. “The New Testament also emphasized the need for purity but gives a greater emphasis upon inner purity, purity of thought and motive” (Young’s Bible Dictionary) For example, read 1 Corinthians 6:17-20).  …Rabbi(John the Baptist), he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you testified… the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him. His disciples resented Jesus because thought Jesus was baptizing more people than the Baptist.       

3:27 – …A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. The Lord has a purpose and plan for your life.  His plan for your life may not be the same as yours. For example, when I was a young teenager, I had already decided what I was going to do with my life. I was determined that I would become a concert pianist. However, on a given day, the Lord made it known He had other plans for my life. Suddenly, I felt like my world had fallen apart. I told the Lord, “I am a musician, not a preacher.” It wasn’t until I submitted to God’s will that I had the peace which passes all human understanding. When God calls you to do something you may feel like you can’t do it, but with His help, you can.

3:29 …the friend of the bridegroom …  John the Baptist was the friend. Without any bitterness, he reminded his friends He (Jesus) must increase, but I (John the Baptist) must decrease. It was time for Jesus to be in the limelight and time for John the Baptist to fade into the background.   

-All the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net  

THERE ARE FIVE REASONS WHY JESUS WAS SUPERIOR TO JOHN THE BAPTIST.

1. Jesus comes “from above” (heaven). 2. In heaven, Jesus had first-hand experience learning from His Father. 3. Jesus’ testimony is always in harmony with God the Father. 4. God the Father gives His Son the Spirit without measure. 5. Jesus is superior because God the Father “has given all things into his hand”.

3:31 – He who comes from above is above all. The Greek term ‘above all’ suggests what is written in John 3:3. To be “born from above” is to have faith in Jesus.” He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth… “The man whose insights are conditioned merely by his nature ‘in the flesh’ cannot (understand) the meaning of that which originates in the realm of the Spirit” (The Interpreter’s Bible). [Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 & 1 John 5:10].

3:32 – What he has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His witness. It’s likely the author was thinking of the Jewish nation. Many of the Jews rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah.  

3:33 – He who has received His witness has set his seal to this… His seal that God is true- “feeling that he (Jesus) whose word is the truth is absolutely dependable, and will stand to his promises, however impossible they sound; and testifying… that God means what he says and does it” (The Interpreter’s Bible).  

3:34 – For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure (without limit). “The fullness of the Spirit marked the Lord’s ministry on earth, whereas the prophets of the Old Testament we’re given the Spirit by measure.

3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand (Jesus). This is about the delivery of authority by the Father toward the Son (Read John 5:26-27; 17:2).   

3:36 – (he) who believes in the Son has eternal life… (he) who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him… We have two alternatives: genuine faith or defiant disobedience. The ultimate consequence of failure to believe is “the wrath of God” (John MacArthur).

-All of the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net  

The background for the story of the Samaritan woman. 

In about 722 B.C. the Assyrians invaded and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. Many of the Israelites were deported, but some of the Israelites remained in the land. The northern kingdom of Israel became known as Samaria. Gradually the king of Assyria brought foreigners into the land. In time, some of the Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) intermarried. Samaria became a mixed race. The Jews thought they had committed an unforgivable crime. A hatred developed between them. The Jews and the Samaritans tried to avoid each other as much as possible.

For example, from Judea, some Jews crossed over the Jordan River on the east side of Samaria to travel to Galilee. When they traveled north far enough, they crossed the Jordan River again to enter Galilee. Under normal circumstances, it would have made better sense to travel to Galilee through Samaria. It was the shortest route.

He (Jesus) left Judea and departed into Galilee. He needed to pass through Samaria

(John 4:3-4). Because of the tension that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, why did Jesus feel like He needed to go through Samaria? The text doesn’t give us an answer. Could it be He felt like He had a mission to fulfill? Why did Jesus ask the Samaritan woman to Give me a drink (John 4:7)?“For a Jewish man to speak to a woman in public, let alone to ask from her, a Samaritan, a drink, was a definite breach of rigid social custom… (John Mac Arthur).

The story of the Samaritan woman will continue next week.

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The Story of the Samaritan Woman 

4:6 – Jacob’s well was there. It was located on land Jacob had given to Joseph. The word “well” here means “a running spring.” In John 4:11-12 the word for “well” suggests “it was dug out and fed by an underground spring.

 Jesus, therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. These words remind us that Jesus was also a human being. He got tired like we get tired. When He lived on the face of this earth, He had some physical limitations.

 4:6-7 – It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. The Jewish day began at 6:00 A.M., so she came to the well at noon. Why did she come to the well to draw water in the hotter part of the day? The other women came to the well to draw water in the evening when the weather was not as hot.    

 4:9 – … How is it that you, (Jesus) being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? She was shocked when Jesus asked her for a drink. She knew the Jews despised the Samaritans. The Jews who had intermarried with Gentiles (non-Jews) formed a mixed-race. They were known as Samaritans. Devout Jews believed the Jews who had intermarried non-Jews had committed an unforgivable crime. They had lost their racial purity. The Samaritan woman knew … if “a Jewish man spoke to a woman in public,” (and especially if he asked a Samaritan woman for a drink it) “was a definite breach (violation) of rigid (unbreakable) social custom…” (John MacArthur)   

4:10 – … Jesus answered her, If you knew… who it is who says to you ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The words living waterhave an important symbolical significance in the Old Testament. For example, the prophet said my people have… forsaken me (God), the spring of living waters… (Jeremiah 2:13). Zechariah said, it will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem… (Zechariah 14:8).John takes themes like these and relates them “to Jesus Christ as the living water which is symbolic of the eternal life (which is) mediated by the Holy Spirit from Him” (John MacArthur). 

The Samaritan woman’s misunderstanding of Jesus’ words about living water is similar to Nicodemus’misunderstanding of Jesus’ words about the new birth (read John 3:4). It’s important that we remember the best the world can offer us is temporary. It is wonderful to live a life in Christ. A life that is supreme in quality and is eternal.

                            -All Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)- 

                            Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net  

The Story of the Samaritan Woman 

In the Old Testament, the word “water” is a symbol that represents the satisfaction of mankind’s greatest need. The Psalmist says He (God) leads me beside still waters (Psalm 23:2b). The emphasis is on the      peacefulness of these waters. Isaiah says, “Therefore, with joy, you will draw water out of the wells of    salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).                                                                                                                               

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, He talked to her about the “living water.”             However, she thought only of her physical thirst and the water which was in Jacob’s well.                     

4:14 – (Jesus said) …whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Jesus said, …He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water…  he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive… (John 7:38-39). 

4:15 – The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw (John 4:15). It is obvious the Samaritan woman didn’t understand the hidden meaning of Jesus’s words. 

In the Bible, “living water” is comparable to “living bread.” Jesus says I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh (John 6:51). 

The gift of God is Jesus Christ. This spiritual gift, like real bread (John 6:32), brings eternal satisfaction. Merrill F. Unger says, “the believer may claim rest and refreshment” (Merrill F. Unger). The Holy Spirit is the other “counselor” who dwells within the life of the believer (read John 14:16-17).

-All the Scripture passages are taken from the World English Version (WEB)-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net  

4: 16 – Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband…”  4:17 –The Samaritan woman answered, “I have no husband…” 4:18 – Jesus said, “… you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband …” Once again, the Bible reminds us of Jesus’ supernatural ability. Even though the Samaritan woman didn’t realize it, Jesus already knew the kind of life she was living. He focused on her spiritual condition.

4:20 – Our fathers worshiped in this mountain (Mt. Gerizim), and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship When Jesus confronted her with the facts of her life, she tried to change the subject by having a discussion about religion. There was a long-standing quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans about the divinely appointed place to worship and to offer sacrifices to God. Newman maintains that it is quite a common thing for people to use their religion as a shield between them and God. 

4:21 –Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour (His death) comes, when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. “There was no reason to debate locations since both places would be obsolete soon and neither would have any role to play in the lives of those who genuinely worship God” (John Mac Arthur).

4:22 – You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. The Samaritans only accepted the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The Jews accepted all of the Old Testament. From them, God’s good news was to be shared with all the world.

4:24 – God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.  The words, God is Spirit is a testimony of His divine nature.  We would not be able to understand the invisible God unless God had revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. We must worship Him in spirit and truth. The word “spirit” refers to the human spirit. We must worship God with a proper attitude. The word “truth” is a reference to worship. The kind of worship   that is consistent with the message of the Bible, God’s Holy Word

-All Scripture passages are taken from the World English Bible (WEB)-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net     

v.25 – “I know that Messiah comes; he is called Christ. When he has come, he will declare to us all things. The Jews, as well as the Samaritans, looked forward to the Messiah’s coming.

v. 26 – “I am he, the one who speaks to you.” Jesus was careful about declaring Himself as the Messiah to the Jewish people. Regarding the Messiah, they had a grossly ignorant political and militaristic view. The Jews had this view in mind when they came around him and said to him (Jesus), “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly (John 10:24).

v. 29 – “Come, see a man who told me everything I did. Can this be the Christ?”  

The impact Jesus had on the Samaritan woman was astounding. She was excited about her life-changing experience with Christ. The Samaritan woman was so eager to return home that she forgot her waterpot. She could hardly wait to tell the very people she had avoided because of her reputation. The Samaritan woman could not keep the Good News to herself.  

F. F. Bruce says, “the waterpot is a parable (moral story) of the renunciation (rejection) of the old ceremonial, practiced by Jews and Samaritans alike, on the part of those who through faith in Christ has received the divine gift of eternal life.”

v. 30 – They went out of the city and came to him. The Samaritan woman’s testimony greatly impacted the townspeople. They wanted to see Jesus.

I remember a woman who wanted me to pray for her husband because he was not a Christian. She told me that for twenty-one years, she had prayed for him. It seemed unlikely her husband would ever become a Christian. On my first visit to their home, I sensed he was not comfortable with me present. We became good friends. Eventually, the time came when I could talk to him about spiritual things. In a revival meeting, he accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. He became born again.

My friend’s born-again experience and the Samaritan woman’s born-again experience are a reminder that no one is beyond the hope of salvation. 

-All of the Scripture passages are based on the World English Bible (WEB)-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net

When she was two years old our daughter had a high fever, and her back was arched backward. I was afraid she might have spinal meningitis and her life could have been in danger. We rushed her to the local hospital. My wife and I prayed that our daughter would be made well. We desperately hoped the doctor could make her well.

The nobleman had a son who was deathly sick. When he heard Jesus was in Cana in Galilee, he went to Cana to seek Jesus’s help. It was unlikely a high-ranking official in Herod’s court would go to a village carpenter to beg for his son’s life. To do that the nobleman had to swallow his pride. He was so desperate he didn’t care what others thought. The nobleman was more concerned about his son’s health.

When the nobleman saw Jesus, he begged Him that He would come down and heal his son(4:47). The Lord’s first response was harsh. He said, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe” (4:48). That did not deter the nobleman.He said, … Sir, come down before my son dies (4:49).He refused to be discouraged and hoped Jesus would heal his son.

4:50 – Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. It must have been difficult for him to go back home and feel confident that his son would be healed. As he was now going down, his servants met him and reported, saying “Your child lives” (4:51). Then the nobleman asked his servants the hour when his son began to get better. It was at the same hour Jesus told him, “Your son lives.”

Jesus has a way of testing us to find out if we are sincere in our requests. Do you remember the story of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15:21-28? Behold, a Canaanite woman … cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord. … My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!” The Lord didn’t answer her. But she came and worshiped him, saying,” Lord, help me.” After a brief conversation, Jesus said to her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

We can learn a lesson from the story of the nobleman and the Canaanite woman. If we want Christ to help us, we must be humble enough to swallow our pride. To ask Him for the things He knows we need, and to believe Jesus Christ will help us.   

What is real, genuine faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us what real, genuine faith is. It is the assurance(or substance) of things hoped for, (the) proof(or the evidence) of things not seen.

-All Scripture passages are based on the World English Bible (WEB)-

Email address: walnutave1234@comcast.net