Untitled Sermon (14)
Chapter 3
The Pharisees separated themselves from anything non-Jewish and carefully followed both the Old Testament laws and the oral traditions handed down through the centuries
Nicodemus was also a member of the Jewish ruling council. Although the Romans controlled Israel politically, the Jews were given some authority over religious and minor civil disputes. The Jewish ruling body was the council (sometimes called the Sanhedrin) made up of seventy-one of Israel’s religious leaders. They functioned in a way similar to the Supreme Court in the United States, handling civil and religious issues. Thus Nicodemus was a very prominent figure in Israel, representing the “cream” of the nation; in fact, Jesus called him “a teacher of Israel
Nicodemus was searching, and he believed that Jesus had some answers. A learned teacher himself, he came to Jesus to be taught
Nicodemus was searching, and he believed that Jesus had some answers. A learned teacher himself, he came to Jesus to be taught
The spiritual life He infuses leads to moral transformation (1 John 2:29
If we have not been born again into God’s kingdom and submitted to his rule in our lives, we cannot assume that we are citizens
All people are helpless before the deadly curse of sin. In lifting Christ up on the cross, also a symbol of judgment, God makes Him the object of faith
“Condemned” (3:18). Lost sinners stand condemned already. People aren’t lost because they don’t believe in Jesus. They simply remain lost unless they put their trust in Him.
Chapter 4
Jews who remained began to intermarry with the non-Jewish people who had been brought in. Consequently, this produced a mixed people who came to be known as Samaritan.
The Samaritans attempted to worship God and, at the same time, to reverence the gods of the new people the Assyrians had brought in. Since one cannot worship God and serve idols at the same time, the Samaritans were neither good Jews nor good Gentiles
Chapter summary. When Jesus is traveling through Samaria He engages a woman at a well in conversation (4:1–8). When Jesus speaks of the “water” He can provide that will quench her deepest thirst, and shows that He knows her sins, she turns the conversation to theological controversy (vv. 9–26). Convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the woman hurries to call her fellow villagers out to see Him (vv. 27–30). The salvation of the woman at the well is deeply satisfying to Jesus (vv. 31–38). And when the Samaritans come to see Jesus for themselves, He stays two more days and many more believe (vv. 39–42). Arriving back in Galilee, Jesus is approached by a royal official desperate over the illness of his son. Jesus promises the boy will live, and the official takes Jesus at His word. His trust is vindicated when the child is found well, his recovery dating from the moment Jesus had made His promise (vv. 43–54).
Key verse. 4:23: What God is still looking for.
Personal application. Cut through all the theology and one issue remains: Do we take Jesus at His word?
Key concepts. Samaritan » 2 Kings 17. Water » John 7. Messiah » Isaiah 42–43.
INSIGHT