Teen Life Application Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 6
1149
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 fortysix years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21But when Jesus said
“this temple,” he meant his own body. 22After
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 23Because of the
miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the
Passover celebration, many began to trust in
him. 24But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he
knew human nature. 25No one needed to tell
him what mankind is really like.
3
There was a man named Nicodemus, a
Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2After 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.* 6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives
birth to spiritual life.* 7So don’t be surprised
when I say, ‘You* must be born again.’ 8The
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? 11I assure you, we tell you what we
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.
JOHN 3
“FOR
“F
OR G OD L OV
OVED
ED T HE W OR
ORLD
LD
S O M U C H T H AT H E G AV E H I S
ONE AND ONLY SON, SO THAT
EVER
EV
ERYO
YONE
NE W HO B EL
ELIE
IEVE
VES
S IN
HIM WILL NOT PERISH BUT
HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.”
J O H N
3 : 1 6
know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12But 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? 13No 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, 15so that everyone who believes in him will
have eternal life.*
16
“For God loved the world so much that he
gave his one and only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him will not perish but have
eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world
ANGER
(2:15-16) Jesus obviously was angry with the merchants
who conducted business in the Temple. Although there
is a difference between uncontrolled rage and righteous
indignation, both are called anger. How we use the powerful emotion of anger makes all the difference. Jesus
used his anger for good instead of evil. Feeling angry?
How can you use your anger to bring about positive
changes?
GOD WITH US
(3:6) Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the Holy Spirit
is involved in the spiritual rebirth of each person. Who is
the Holy Spirit? God is three persons in one—the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God became a man in Jesus
(God the Son) so that Jesus could die for our sins. Jesus
rose from the dead to offer salvation to all who believe
in him. When Jesus ascended into heaven, his physical
presence left the earth, but he had promised to send the
Holy Spirit so that his spiritual presence would still be
among us and in us (see Luke 24:49). In Old Testament
days, the Holy Spirit empowered specific individuals for
specific purposes. Then came Pentecost (Acts 2), and now
all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit available
to them. For more on the Holy Spirit, read John 14:16-28;
Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; and 2 Corinthians 1:22.
If you’re a believer, you’re never alone. The Holy Spirit is
with you.
