Bible Study John 3:1-21 Night Visit & Greatest Truth - Love & Rebirth

Q1. Describe the visit of Nicodemus and its significance or contribution?

• Nicodemus is a Pharisee (Religious elite) and high standing, a ruler of the Jews.
• He came to Jesus at night, under the cover of darkness, so that people may not know about his visit to Jesus.
• While some may criticize his lack of courage, I want to commend his true courage and wisdom. 
• He has a thirst for the truth. He recognized the the authority of Jesus from the signs he did. (Other Pharisees said Jesus was doing under the influence of the devils). He said Jesus was a a teacher from God. He want to know more this man of God.
• He had the courage to go and visit Jesus even though he knew that if his friends found out he would be in trouble. 
• He took the wise step of doing it secretly instead of being found out and spoil his mission of knowing Jesus more. Bravery is not rashness. Bravery is control risks taking and management. We want to achieve the mission and come back alive. People think entrepreneurs are risks takers. Yes they are, they choose the path that minimize the total risks. They take small steps to find out more information and access the risks instead of one giant step into the unknown and depend on 'luck'. That is not faith but blind foolishness. People who come to Jesus, the woman with the issue blood, the centurion, first found out about Jesus and then took the courage, the step of faith, to approach Jesus. God does not condemn our sincere desire to find out more before believing. Zechariah asked for sign and he got to be mute until his son John was born. Mary asked how could it be since she was not married. She got an explanation that she was satisfied. God gave her further assurance when she visited her cousin Elizabeth.
• From this visit, we have the most famous verse of the Bible of John 3:16 and the most important concept of Salvation - The Rebirth. We could say that the purpose of entire Bible is summarized in God so love the world that He gave His Son Jesus to us to believe so that we may be rebirth to become His children.
• We have to say "Thank you Nicodemus for your courage to visit Jesus and got this great truth of Love and Rebirth out for all to benefit".

Q2. How to be saved? What is 'born again' and how do we get it?
The criterion to tell whether one is saved or not is very simply whether one is born again in the spirit John 3:5-8. Paul called it a New Creation 2 Cor 5:17.

Nicodemus thought in usual human sense of physical. Jesus introduced him to another dimension of the spiritual. While we cannot understand the spiritual fully like the wind, yet we can see its effects. We can't control the Spirit but we can surely enjoy its working. John 3:8.

Jesus clearly told Nicodemus His identity in John 3:11-15, in particular 14-15, that He is the Son of Man descended from Heaven and to give eternal life to all who believes in Him. He also foretold how He was to die - as on the cross for all the world to see.

The only criterion to be saved, born again, is to believe in Jesus. What constitutes believe in Jesus? Simply said, it is believe and accepting what Jesus said and follow what He said. It is believe in the heart and not in the head. Believing in the heart, a commitment, will have evidence in its behavior. A very summarized list is Rom 10:9-10.

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

There are more details in The Gospel According to Jesus.

Q3 Why the world does not receive Jesus easily?
The world without God, cast out of Eden, is in darkness. 3:18 whoever does not believe is condemned already. Adam started with the Light but choose to leave it into darkness. We started in darkness, condemned state, and is given a path, through Jesus, to go back to the light. Paul described it as 2 Cor 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. We who are in the light, should let the light shine in the darkness that men may see the light and believe in Jesus.