John 3
John 3:1
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Judeans.
The Jewish Encyclopedia says,
“Prominent member of the Sanhedrin, and a man of wealth; lived in Jerusalem in the first century C.E. . .That the man brought into such prominence in the fourth Gospel must have been a well-known figure of Jewish society at the time is evident. In all probability he is identical with the Talmudical Nicodemus ben Gorion, a popular saint noted for his miraculous powers; and this would explain also the reference to “heavenly things” in Jesus’ arguments with him (John iii. 12).”
Jewish Encyclopedia, Nicodemus
John 3:2
The same came to him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.
John 3:3
Yeshua answered him, Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
John 3:4
Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
“They asked the Rabbi of Lublin: “Why is it that in the holy Book of Splendor, the turning to God which corresponds to the emanation ‘understanding’ is called ‘Mother’? He explained: “when a man confesses and repents, when his heart accepts Understanding and is converted to it, he becomes like a new-born child, and his own turning to God is his mother.”
Tales of the Hasidim, Early Masters, Martin Buber, Schocken Books, pg. 314
John 3:5
Yeshua answered, Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cant enter into the Kingdom of God!
John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7
Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born anew.
“In reality there is no such thing as time. Time is only an illusion…Our notions of time are pure illusion. Someone who thinks about this carefully will certainly put all his strength into abandoning the vanities of this time-bound existence and putting all his hope in that which is beyond time. You should have faith in the One who is beyond time. Then nothing in this world can throw you down. Wherever you are, you will always be able to remind yourself, “This day have I given birth to you” (Ps. 2:7). These words refer to Mashiach who is in a realm beyond time. There everything finds healing. Time past is annulled completely.. . There is only today. Today you were born. Literally! All that is wrong with the world is a part of the “Evil work that is done beneath the sun” in the time-bound world. . . what remedy is there for all the days and years, all the time that [one] wasted in wrongdoing? His only hope is in the realm beyond time. From there comes all healing. It will be as if he were born again today. So long as you have faith – in God, in the World to Come, and in the Messiah who is beyond time – you have eternal hope.”
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Meshivat Nefesh, Restore My Soul, Translated by Avraham Greenbaum, Breslov Research Institute, pg. 88-89
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but dont know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:9
Nicodemus answered him, How can these things be?
John 3:10
Yeshua answered him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things?
John 3:11
Amein I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you do not receive our witness.
John 3:12
If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
John 3:13
No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
John 3:14
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
John 3:15
that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
“He said, Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.”
Genesis 22:2
