TThe Gospel of John: John 3.11-21

Read and meditate on John 3.14, 15.
Put yourself in Nicodemus’ shoes: This just gets more and more confusing. Yet Jesus is insistent, confident, self-assured, gracious – and all those signs! We can only wonder what sparks of insight may have been ignited in Nicodemus’ brain at the mention of the incident of the brazen serpent.

                                            ¹⁴And
as Moses in that barren desert land
the brazen serpent on a pole held high,
so must the Son of Man be lifted high
for all the world to look upon, ¹⁵that all
who trust in Him, and on His mercy call,
shall have eternal life, and never die.

- John 3.14, 15

Reflect
1.  Meditate on Numbers 21.6-9. What’s the relevance of this incident to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus?  Complete this prayer: Lord, thank You for healing me of…

2.  Jesus has steadily moved the conversation from being born again (or from above), through seeing and entering the Kingdom of God, the work of the Spirit, and now to having eternal life (the Greek text does not include “not perish”). See if you can string these ideas together into a single sentence. Lord, I see this as applying to me. I can see how in my life You…

3.  How would you explain “eternal life” to an unbelieving friend? How does your explanation compare with what Jesus says in John 17.3? Improve your explanation by incorporating what Jesus says in John 17.3. You have given me eternal life, O Lord, and now I…

4.  Read Daniel 7.13-18. You’ve perhaps noticed that Jesus is keeping this conversation objective, speaking only about the “Son of Man” and not Himself, not directly at least. Given that Nicodemus was a student of the Old Testament (the teacher of Israel!), why would Jesus want to keep referring to this and other Old Testament ideas? Lord Jesus, Son of Man, You have given us Your Kingdom so that…

5. Jesus is carefully anchoring His conversation with Nicodemus in a framework and concepts that would have been very familiar to Nicodemus. How can you see that? Meditate on 1 Corinthians 9.19-23. Is Paul simply describing Jesus’ practice here? Explain. Bring together into one prayer the prayers you wrote for questions 1-4.

Summary
“With the wonderful skill of heavenly teaching, the Lord directs our attention to the teacher of the Mosaic law and to the spiritual meaning of his law, by recalling some of the ancient history and explaining that it happened as a figure of his own passion and of human salvation.” The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD)

We will be more effective as witnesses if we understand the people we’re talking with – their background, framework of thinking, interests, concerns, and the like. As we will see again, Jesus met people where they lived, and addressed them within their worldview. We need to do the same. Suggest some ways you might learn more about the people to whom God sends you each week.

Closing Prayer
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORDfor His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107.1-8

Psalm 107.1-3 (Faithfulness: Great is Thy Faithfulness)
Lord, You are good, we give thanks and we praise You!
Your steadfast love will forever endure.
Let the redeemed, who from trouble You rescue,
Gather and say that Your mercy is sure!
    Lord, for Your wondrous works, and for Your steadfast love,
    We give You thanks, we exalt Your great Name!
    We who from east and west, north and south gather,
    Boldly redemption in Christ we proclaim!

T. M. Moore

To learn more about working your Personal Mission Field, sign up for Mission Partners Outreach, a six-month online training program to help you identify and begin preparing the way to Jesus for the people to whom God sends you each day. The training is free, and you can go through it with a friend, right where you are. Click here to watch a brief video introducing this opportunity.

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview, can show you how Jesus is central to all aspects of life in the world – and beyond! Our course is free, and you can study at your own pace, watching videos and using the free materials provided.

We are happy to offer each week’s Scriptorium studies in a free weekly PDF, suitable for personal or group use. You can download all the studies in our series on the Gospel of John by clicking here. Please prayerfully consider sharing with The Fellowship of Ailbe through your giving. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.