As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
This week, the Western world pauses to remember the birth of the One who divided time, and all of history, by His first coming—our Savior and the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ.
As we stop and worship this baby in Bethlehem’s manger once again, let us remember that He, eternal God, came to Earth to become a man, to die for our sins and to rise again. The events of Christmas were an essential step in that process but, of course, they do not tell the full story.
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(Numbers 28:11, Isaiah 12:3-4, and John 4:1-42)
Jesus’ meeting with the Woman at the Well is a popular text for preaching and teaching, rich with application. Space forbids me from addressing the many details about this meeting; I have chosen instead to focus upon a few questions rarely raised. I have already answered the question: “Why was Yeshua so forthright about His Messiahship with the Woman at the Well, but not others?”
Today we will ponder two more questions.
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(Ezekiel 18:3, 37:9-10; 1 Samuel 10:6, John 3:1-11)
As we continue on the subject of the New Birth (aka, regeneration), we can note that Jesus’ teaching about this miraculous work of the Spirit is based upon midrash from Old Testament texts. He expected Nicodemus, as a rabbi himself, to understand the concept—even before his encounter with Yeshua. Thus the concept of regeneration is not unique to the New Testament. However, Jesus’ terminology—“You must be born again”—is unique.
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(John 3:1-11 with Ezekiel 36:25-27)
The concept of the New Birth—aka, “regeneration” (Titus 3:5) or “circumcision of the heart” (Deuteronomy 30:6, 5:28-29 and 10:16)—is found throughout Scripture, but Jesus’ words to Nicodemus are perhaps the Bible’s definitive text on this subject.
The (ESV) text of John 3:1-11 is a good place to start our investigation:
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Jesus’ childhood narrative in Luke 3:41-51 records the only words spoken by Jesus while a youth. His family joined the caravan for an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When they could not find Jesus in the caravan, they searched, finally returning to the temple courts in Jerusalem, where Yeshua was in dialog with the learned rabbis.
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(Matthew 2:23, Genesis 28:10-17 with John 1:43-51)
Jesus was just beginning to assemble His band of key disciples. The first chapter of John’s Gospel introduces us to Nathaniel (probably also known as Bartholomew). During their initial meeting, Yeshua dazzles Nathaniel and then shares a midrash to describe the nature of His ministry.
“Did Jesus’ family think He was crazy? Probably. But not quite in the way we might make this accusation today. They thought He was placing Himself outside the bounds of normal society.” - C.Leaders
“Jesus predicted in Matthew 12:39–40 that he would be in the grave for three days and three nights….Culturally, for Jews, it means part of one day, a full day, and part of the third day.” - Word by Word
Discussion