John 3:1-21
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 – From Mimi and Granddaddy
This may be the scripture above all scriptures. It is written on t-shirts and faces of sports figures. It is waved on flags and placed on church signs. It is the most wonderful message in the entire world – ever. And it is the message given to a Pharisee who came under cover of night to find out who Jesus really is.
The Pharisees, collectively, did not believe Jesus was the Son of God, so Nicodemus had to sneak over to see Him, to ask Him his questions. Jesus tried to explain to him about being born again but he couldn’t understand it. Jesus wondered how he could understand Him, when Jesus first tried to teach the Pharisees with parables – which they had used for many, many years to teach others about God – and they couldn’t even understand those. So an earthly story with a heavenly meaning was going to be out of his range of comprehension.
So Jesus broke it down in verses 16 and 17. “God loves you, He sent Me to save you.”
Then He pointed the finger at Nicodemus. He told him that Light has come but people love darkness because what they do is evil and don’t want their deeds to be seen. He said this to a man who professed to believe in God and ruled on the Jewish council, yet came in the dark to seek out Jesus. He didn’t want his deeds to be seen by his fellow cohorts.
Jesus found a way to get him to understand. He does the same for me. He knows me and how to get me to listen. So when He is teaching me, I need to pay attention. Because He loves me and has saved me, I can put all my hope and understanding in Him.
Fighting Fire with Light 