Swindoll Study Bible - Book of John - Flipbook - Page 19
J ohn 2 : 9
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water
that was now wine, not knowing where it had come
from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called
the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best
wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a
lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But
you have kept the best until now!”
11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the
first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples
believed in him.
12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few
days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.
Jesus Clears the Temple
13 It was
nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area
he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for
sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging
foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes
and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out
the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’
coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.
16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he
told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning
my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy
from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will
consume me.”*
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you
doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a
miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six
years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in
three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,”
he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from
the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this,
and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus
had said.
Jesus and Nicodemus
23 Because
of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Je
rusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to
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trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he
knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him
about human nature, for he knew what was in each
person’s heart.
3
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish
religious leader who was a Pharis ee. 2 After dark
one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,”
he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach
us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is
with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are
born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus.
“How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb
and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the
Kingdom of God without being born of water and the
Spirit.* 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but
the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.* 7 So don’t
be surprised when I say, ‘You* must be born again.’
8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can
hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or
where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are
born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus
asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish
teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?
11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have
seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But
if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly
things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about
heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven
and returned. But the Son of Man* has come down
from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze
snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man
must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in
him will have eternal life.*
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave*
his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent
his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to
save the world through him.
LIVING INSIGHTS
2:17 Or “Concern for God’s house will be my undoing.” Ps 69:9. 3:3 Or born from above; also in 3:7. 3:5 Or and spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be translated wind;
see 3:8. 3:6 Greek what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3:7 The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12. 3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. “Son of Man” is a
title Jesus used for himself. 3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him. 3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave.
SIMPLE FAITH John 3:4 Nicodemus wasn’t trying to
be clever or make a joke. He was totally confused. “Jesus,
I am a rabbi. My world is the Torah. I know it by heart. I teach
it regularly. You’re telling me about something completely
foreign. How can I curl up in my mother’s womb and be born
again? What do You mean by that?” Fortunately, Nicodemus
didn’t let all of his learning get in the way of eventually finding simple faith (see John 7:5051; 19:38-42).
THIS IS HOW GOD LOVED John 3:16 I think I love
people d eeply—until I read about the way God loves people.
Chances are good I wouldn’t sacrifice my son or daughter
for anyone. But God did—and He did it for all of us. He so
loved you and me that He gave His Son to die for us.
Why did He do it? “So that everyone who believes in him
will not perish but have eternal life.” You don’t have to clean
up your life. You couldn’t if you tried. You just have to believe
in Jesus Christ. That’s the Good News. He died for you on a
cross. And if you believe in Him, you will have eternal life with
God and a whole new beginning that starts from the inside
out. Goodness knows we need help from the inside out.
