Monday, March 3, 2014

John 3 - Bible Study Reflections

John 3
Nicodemus

We continue to see light and dark in John 3.  Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, hiding from his co-workers, the other Pharisees.  Nicodemus is a teacher of the law, has heard about this Jesus guy, and as a good teacher investigates him.  Nicodemus still hungers after truth, so he sneaks in a visit with this dangerous fellow, Jesus.

Poor Nicodemus cannot understand what Jesus is talking about.  "How can a man be born again when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus continues to answer Nicodemus with truth, even though Nicodemus is confused.  Jesus answers him that baptism saves, spirit and water.  Not John's baptism, but the baptism Jesus sent with the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters of new birth, new creation.

Do you see how our Savior takes away Nicodemus' presuppositions?  He reminds Nicodemus that he is a teacher of the law yet doesn't know spiritual things.  This forces Nicodemus to cling to Christ's words, not what he thinks he already knows about God.  He must rely on what Jesus is telling Him.

Jesus calls us to not cling to our own presuppositions.  He calls us to trust Him alone, not our past experiences or knowledge.  How has Jesus challenged what you thought you knew?  What rugs has He taken away from you so that you can trust Him more?

There is more we can learn from Nicodemus here.  When you come to difficult bible passages, how do you react?  Like Nicodemus, cling to God's word even if you don't understand it.  Jesus never lies to us.  We may gain understanding later.

Thank God for removing presuppositions from you.  It's a good thing from the giver of all good gifts.