John 2:18-3:4

[0:00] Gospel of John, and we'll continue where we left off last Sunday, where Christ had gone up to the temple.

[0:14] He'd gone up to Jerusalem for the Jews' Passover, and as he went into that temple, found some things going on there that were displeasing, and he disapproved, and he accused them of making his father's house a house of merchandise, and so he did something about it, and righteously so.

[0:36] He made a scourge of small cords and drove them all out of there. And I can only picture in my mind the scene. It had to be chaotic. Tensions and tempers had to be flaring, and he's a man that doesn't seem like his disciples did much of anything in the passage.

[0:54] It says that he did it. He drove them out. And there's a side of Jesus Christ that you want to be familiar with, because there's a manly, masculine, I don't know if you want to call it tough guy, but there's a side of him that is not ever portrayed, and it's one that you ought to understand, and it's in the Bible.

[1:15] And his disciples saw it, and the interesting thing to me in verse 17, when they saw it, they remembered the Scriptures. And I think that's phenomenal. And I believe the Lord will do that to you too, as you stay in the Bible and read the Bible and get familiar with it, when it's needed and when things come to pass, that Scripture will be there.

[1:33] And if you're not in the Bible, you're intimidated by doing anything for God, because you don't know the Scriptures. But I know that the Lord, He'll bless His Word and He'll use His Word, and He'll bring to remembrance, as He promised later here in this Gospel of John, some things.

[1:54] So let's pick it up in verse number 18. Before we do that, let's pray together. Father, we ask Your blessing on this time. We ask for strength. We ask for discernment and wisdom as we handle these holy, precious words.

[2:08] God, there's men all over this planet standing before people, proclaiming and handling the Word of God this morning. And many have taught through this Gospel and have handled all of these verses and probably do a better job, have better wisdom and understanding.

[2:25] But I'll just ask you that you'll give me the words to say this morning that can be a help and benefit to these people here today in this place in which we live. And just minister to us on the inside, we ask in Jesus' name.

[2:40] Amen. All right, verse 19, Jesus answered. No, verse 18, Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

[2:52] That's a reference to Him coming in with all authority and running them out of there. And so they're going to say, Who do you think you are?

[3:04] And it would only be fitting that He's a prophet, that He's some man sent from God, if He's truly going to be coming into the, calling this my Father's house and making such a public display.

[3:18] It's only fitting that He is somebody, so therefore, what sign? They didn't say, Can you do a sign? They said, What sign showest thou? They're expecting Him to be somebody, the way He's acting.

[3:29] And the reply is in verse 19, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple and building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

[3:46] But He spake of the temple of His body. Now John adds that, verse 21, in. Years after the fact, He didn't get that at the moment. None of them got that at the moment.

[3:58] As a matter of fact, His disciples, and I'll show you just in a second, His disciples, when He said, Destroy this temple, they did just like everybody else, and turned and looked at the temple buildings, and thought, You're going to raise this up in three days, are you?

[4:12] Look a little later as He continues, in verse 22, When therefore He was risen from the dead. See, all of this is years ahead, kind of looking back. When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered, that He had said this unto them, and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus said.

[4:30] But they didn't believe the scripture, and they didn't believe the word that Jesus said, until He had resurrected from the dead. And then it came to pass, or it came to mind, what He had said back then, when He said, Destroy this temple.

[4:43] And they understood, Oh, while we stood right there beside Him, when He said this temple, He wasn't talking about the buildings. He was talking about His body. He was talking about being killed.

[4:56] That He was going to be lifted up and killed. And of course, at the time, it was hidden from them. But nevertheless, He said it, and He proclaimed to them the sign. But it was in a veiled way.

[5:08] All right, now verse 19, Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up. The gospel message that we preach, is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for our sins.

[5:22] That that was the payment, for our sins. It was accepted by God. He was raised for our justification, Romans says. Christ mentions this to them, in a way that they won't even pick it up.

[5:35] He puts it out there, and He does this another time. Look back at it. Was it Matthew 12? I think it's Matthew 12.

[5:46] Let's take a peek there. Yeah, Matthew 12, and a different time, and a different audience, looking for a sign.

[5:58] Matthew 12, I'll start in verse 38. Then certain of the scribes, and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

[6:21] But He answered, and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation, seeketh after a sign. And there shall no sign, be given to it, but the singular one sign, of the prophet Jonas.

[6:33] And now He expounds. For as Jonas was three days, and three nights, in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man, be three days, and three nights, in the heart of the earth. And that's all He says to them. He doesn't tell them, that He's going to be lifted up, on a cross, and that He's going to pay, for the sins of the world.

[6:50] Not even in the conversation. Not even in His breath. Just says, I'm going to be in the heart of the earth, and I'm coming back. Now why would they make any sense of that? Why would they understand what that means?

[7:02] The truth is they don't. But there He is, pointing to the sign. Now if you recall, if you were here back on Easter Sunday, we took the Sunday school hour, and did a little study on that, the significance of the resurrection.

[7:17] And I showed you that, that was the sign. It was so important, because it was the sign, that God was giving, to the God rejecting nation, of Israel. The one singular sign, He was going to give them, was He was going to raise, from the dead.

[7:33] He was going to be alive again, after they murdered Him. Three days, and three nights later. And then, the other part of that, was the significance of that sign, was that was the thing, those disciples were witnesses of.

[7:46] From Acts chapter 1, ye shall be witnesses unto me, and He goes in to say where. But as that thing progresses through Acts, I showed you verse after verse, that they were witnesses, of the resurrection.

[7:58] Whereof we are all witnesses, they describe. And so that is the sign. They're asking for a sign, Christ's answer is, the sign you want, well it's this, destroy this temple, in three days I'll raise it up.

[8:10] And it's not about, healing the sick, and raising, or raising other dead, or of giving sight to the blind. The sign that they're getting, the God rejecting Jews, are going to get the sign, of a resurrection.

[8:25] Now He did other signs, He did other wonders, and people believed on Him, because of that. As a matter of fact, we read His disciples believed on Him, because of the beginning of miracles, back in chapter 2, with the water to wine.

[8:37] When He manifest forth His glory, people believed on Him. But there was an entire nation of people, specifically the higher ups, and the, if you want to call them, the governing factor of the nation, that did not, and would not believe on Him, and rejected Him.

[8:52] And their sign is one sign, and one sign only. And it's going to be the resurrection. The rest of that stuff, you know what they said, I'd skipped it, but it was back there in Matthew 12, what they said to Him, when they saw Him doing miracles, and signs?

[9:07] By Beelzebub. That's how you're doing these things. The devil is doing his things. You have an unclean spirit, is what they accused Him of. So those signs were not hitting them at all.

[9:20] Alright, moving on, in verse 22 again, when therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered. That's important to get the understanding, and get the, get the, the way things are developing, in the ministry of Jesus Christ, the one thing that's so important, is that you don't read back into it, things that you understand, and know today.

[9:44] They did not understand, that He was going to be killed. They did not understand at all, that He was going to be raised again. And it wasn't always veiled. Let me show you this one more time.

[9:55] Look at Luke chapter 18. If you need to have this, this doctrine and thought down, this is the passage you need to go to. A man, a few months ago, wanted to talk about some things, and he wanted to tell me that, that everybody was believing on the Messiah, that He was going to pay for their sins, and that He was, that it was His gospel, that they were looking forward to.

[10:19] And I showed him this verse, and I said, so then, what, he was telling me that the disciples, were preaching the gospel. And I said, the gospel of the kingdom. And he said, oh no, no, they're preaching the gospel, that we preach.

[10:30] And I said, well then, answer, explain this. And after we read these verses, he said, huh, that's a good one. Verse 31, then He said unto the twelve, then He took unto Him the twelve, the twelve, the ones that were preaching the gospel, earlier in Luke.

[10:49] Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets, concerning the Son of Man, shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on.

[11:00] And they shall scourge Him, and they shall, and put Him to death. And the third day, He shall rise again. And they said, all glory be to God, for the Lamb, that will be slain for our sins.

[11:16] No. Verse 34 says, And they, the twelve, understood none of these things. What things? The gospel message that we preach.

[11:28] They understood none of these things, and this saying was hid from them. Now, somebody will try to, some fool will try to take the Bible and say, oh, well, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.

[11:43] And they'll take a Pauline doctrine, and try to plug it into the gospels, with the disciples, and that's foolish. All we need to understand, is rightly dividing the Bible.

[11:54] And once we get that down, once we know the transitions, and the changes, and, it's not that complicated. Some little portions of it can be, but this part is not at all.

[12:07] This thing was hid from them, and the final, closing the verse says, Neither knew they the things which were spoken. So, my question to that man, that pretended that these disciples were preaching, that Jesus was going to die for the sins of Israel, and for the sins of the world, and everybody needs to believe on him.

[12:23] I said, well, if they didn't even understand, that he was going to be put to death, and resurrected, what were they preaching? And he couldn't answer it. So, we ended, it just kind of flopped.

[12:35] All right, but getting back to John 2, it's important to know this, I say, while, this is six months, into the ministry of Christ, he's already done a sign in chapter 2, that had to do with blood, water to wine, one that would have never been picked up, one that, in my opinion, I didn't mention this last week, I don't believe, but those water pots, that they used for the water, for purifying, after the manner of the Jews, they would have never served, grape juice, or served anything, out of those, those were set aside, as sanctified vessels, for cleansing, Jews put such a high priority, on the cleansing, and the washing of hands, and things like that, they would have never done that, Christ did, he just said, enough with your, water pots, of stone, for washing, I'm going to turn it, into something that's, better, water, and there's a sign there, a picture, of the blood of Christ, and doing away with the law, and all the washings, and purifying of the flesh, now John chapter 2, coming down to verse 23, when therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered, that he had said unto, he had said this unto them, and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said, so did they believe the word, that he said, when he said it,

[14:00] I think they were just confused, or I think it just went over their heads, more than likely, it just went right over their heads, but it didn't disappear, did it, he said the words, three years later, they remember the words, and then they believe the words, how about that, it kind of reminds me, of a verse in Isaiah, where the Lord says, that his word will not return, unto him void, and I know that gets abused, by some, and all of that, but nevertheless, when the Lord sends out his word, if he puts it in somebody, it's still there, and it's a blessing to know, that three years later, it's still there, and it's still effective, and it's still able to be believed, and they believe the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said, verse 23, now, when he was in Jerusalem, at the Passover, and the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles, which he did, there John again, is pointing out, they're believing on him, many are believing on him, when they saw the miracles, which he did, but Jesus did not commit himself, unto them, because he knew, all men, now what does that mean, take a look over at chapter 6, and I'll give you a little, more insight, this happens more than once, and in chapter 6, gives you,

[15:20] I think, a little better idea, of what he's referring to, when people are seeing him, come to the feast, come to Jerusalem, the central, capital city, of Israel, and that's where the kings, ruled and reigned from, when they see this man, come and do miracles, and run people out, of that tabernacle, well that's got to, make, the people are believing on him, look at verse 15, this is after doing, a phenomenal miracle, of feeding 5,000, in verse 15, when Jesus therefore, perceived, that they would come, and take him, by force, to make him a king, he departed again, into a mountain himself alone, so there I believe, is the same concept here, while he's, this time in Jerusalem, at their Passover feast, people are believing on him, but he did not, commit himself unto them, it wasn't time, and he knew, that this same people, that three years later, are going to laud him, and cry out,

[16:24] Hosanna, and lay down their robes, and lay down these palm fronds, all across the path, and cry, that he's the king, and blessed is he, that cometh in the name, of the Lord, and then a week later, they're going to be saying, out of their same mouth, crucify him, we have no king, but Caesar, that's the same people, he knew what was in men, the Bible says, in verse 25, he needed not, that any should testify of man, for he knew, what was in man, now, in case you don't know, what's in man, let's just take, a little peek here, look back at, look back at, Matthew 23, Christ knew, what was in man, and he knew, what was in the very men, that were believing on him, how about that, it wasn't just always, the Pharisees, and those hypocrites, and those, the generation of vipers, that's what we're going to look at, here in Matthew 23, but even the people, that were believing on him, he wouldn't commit himself, to them either, the timing wasn't right, you might also say, that they were young, and weak, and the first show, of any kind of resistance, they'd probably crumble, and cave quickly, now Matthew 20, that tells you, there's a coward, inside of men, that's one thing, look at Matthew 23, and verse number 28, he's referring, specifically to the scribes, and Pharisees,

[17:54] I'll back up to, 27, woe unto you, scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like, unto whited sepulchers, which indeed, appear beautiful outward, but are within, that's it, within, full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness, even so, ye also appear, or outwardly appear, righteous unto men, but within, ye are full of hypocrisy, and iniquity, so, the outward appearance, means, very, very little, the outward appearance, can be a reflection, on the inside heart, but not always, and in this case, these hypocrites, outwardly appear righteous, so they showed up, for church, and they held their Bibles, and they, they showed great devotion, to the Old Testament scriptures, that they had, they studied them, and memorized them, they even preached them, they even condemned people, for not keeping the law, and the commandments, and it was all outward, they appeared righteous, but on the inside, they're hypocrites, you know who's a hypocrite, besides just me and you, well, me and you, you know who, everybody else too, you know how you know, you're a hypocrite, it's because, when you behave a certain way, around people, and when you're by yourself,

[19:22] I mean all by yourself, there's nobody to see you, your husband, your wife's not there, your kids can't see, what you're up to, your co-workers, that you've told, that you go to church, they don't see you, your pastor, and your church people, aren't there, and when you're all by yourself, what starts coming out, or what do you start, wanting to be, participate in, but you wouldn't do, in front of other people, why, well you just say, well I'm overcome by the flesh, I mean, yeah, you probably are, because inside of you, is a hypocrite, and you're full of hypocrisy, and iniquity, full of iniquity, on the inside, you and me, and we won't show up to church, we'll put on the, the outward appearance, of righteousness, righteousness, and I want you to, appear righteous, when you come to church, for the right reasons, because you put a, a high prize, on attending church, where the Lord God, would have you be, on Sunday morning, and to sit around, and open up this, holy, holy, holy book, and to give our attention, to it, but don't forget, that inside of you,

[20:32] I know you don't forget it, you're reminded probably daily, that inside of you, is a, full of iniquity, and full of hypocrisy, come back to Matthew chapter 6, and look what the, the Lord says about these, these men on the inside, make it chapter 7, Matthew chapter 7, here he speaks explicitly, on false prophets, in verse 15, and the application, will land on your flesh, pretty easily, Matthew 7, 15, beware of false prophets, which come to you, in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, inwardly, that's what we're looking at, they are ravening wolves, they're wicked, full of, iniquity, and hypocrisy, one more, look at Matthew 15, more words of the Lord, because the Bible says, he knew what was in men, Matthew 15,

[21:39] Matthew 15, now aren't you glad, you came to church this morning, and you get to hear, what's inside of you, you get to hear, the wickedness of your heart, and the, you see, the Bible is such a book, it's such a holy book, somebody said, that it's a book, that man would not write, if he could, and he could not write, if he would, it's just, it's out of the parameters, of the ability, and the thought, of mankind, about himself, it puts you and me, as low as we can possibly be, in this Bible, we're nothing but a worm, a worm, and we're full of iniquity, alright, what comes out of us, look at Matthew 15, what comes out, what is already on the inside, and I'll just start, in verse 18, but those things, which proceed out of the mouth, come forth, from the heart, and they defile the man, for out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, these are the things, which defile a man, and where they come from, your heart, now I didn't take you, back to Jeremiah, but if you, if you're not familiar with it, then write down,

[23:08] Jeremiah 17, verses 9 and 10, the Bible says, that the heart is deceitful, above all things, and desperately, wicked, and you know what, that heart pumps out, it pumps out, the murders, and the adulteries, it pumps out, the blasphemies, because it resides, inside the man, now what Jesus Christ said, was he didn't need anybody, to testify of man, he doesn't need to hear, what you have to say, about this man, or tell me how good this man is, or how good you are, because he knows, what's inside of you, and that's a, it's a wonderful thing, to know, that God knows that, it should help keep you in check, and it should help you fear him, but on the other hand, it's a scary thing, that God knows, all those things, that I don't let anybody else know, because I don't want them to think, I'm a dirty, rotten, vile scoundrel, and so I try to put my best foot forward, and I try not to say, what I'm thinking, or I try not to let out, the words that come to mind, or I try not to let them know, what I really think, and no,

[24:20] God knows though, the thoughts of my heart, the Bible says, he knows the thoughts of your heart, every one of them, so, it's a scary thing, it's a blessed thing, to know that he knows, because it should cause you to fear, it should cause you to seek the change, or to get washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, but it's also a fearful thing, to realize that, you're going to give account, to somebody who knows you from the inside out, and there's Jesus Christ, revealing or exercising his deity, at least as John would, remember John's gospel, puts Jesus Christ the word, and he takes them all the way to the top, and so by the close of chapter two, he's telling us that, he knows what's in man, now we'll start into chapter three here, a little ways, it says there was a man, there was a man, he knows what's in man, and then we are introduced, to a pretty good man, now isn't this interesting, how this Bible is just pieced together, whether John tried it or not, at the close of chapter two, he's alluding to, his death, burial, resurrection, he's referencing, he doesn't need to hear, anybody testify of man, he knows what's in man, and then there's a man, of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, so if there was ever a man, that was a good man, or honored and revered, it was Nicodemus, and Jesus Christ, didn't need anybody, to testify of Nicodemus, because he knows, what's in Nicodemus, it doesn't matter, how good Nicodemus is, he's going to deal, with something, point blank, face to face, first things first, right here in chapter three, verse two says, the same came to Jesus, by night and said unto him,

[26:12] Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher, come from God, for no man, can do these miracles, that thou doest, except God be with him, well that's, that's incredible, it really is, considering the time and place, considering, it was just, you know, we would see a sign from thee, and now this man, comes to him and says, look I, there's no, beating around the bush here, there's, I can't deny it, the works that you do, you are from God, he believes, he's sent from God, to this nation, but Jesus Christ, doesn't even want to hear about it, he's going to go right, because he knows what's in man, and he goes to Nicodemus, and he says in verse three, Jesus answered, said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, accept a man, there it is again, a man, be born again, he cannot see, the kingdom of God, he cannot see it, it'll never, be a realization to him, he needs a new birth, now we've already been introduced, by John, to the new birth, look back at chapter one again, quickly, and verse number, 12 and 13, verses 12 and 13, but as many as received him, to them gave he power, to become the sons of God, even to them that, believe on his name, and here it is, verse 13, which were born, which were born, well not after the flesh, they were born spiritually, of God, as the verse ends, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, a birth that God gives, to one that will believe on Christ, now the Lord Jesus Christ says, you must be born again, except a man be born again, he cannot see, the kingdom of God,

[28:05] I know that this is, this is doctrinally tricky, for a lot of religions, this whole passage, there's a lot of things, they do wrong with this passage, number one, they see the word water, as we'll read, and they automatically think, that means baptism, that means get sprinkled, or that means, get dunked in a tank, or out in the river, or in the ocean, or the Jordan River, and as long as you're baptized, they read it that way, and there's, the word baptism, is not in the chapter, and no reference to, it's in the chapter at all, so that's one problem, another problem, is when they see, the word kingdom of God, they don't understand, there's a difference, in the kingdoms, that are taught, in the scriptures, one being the kingdom of heaven, another being the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God, is a spiritual kingdom, Nicodemus's problem, was probably all of the above, but on top of that, he just didn't understand, what he meant, by being born again, and this is something, that we'll talk about here, just for a quick minute, so Christ said that, this is him bringing this up, except a man be born again, so quickly,

[29:15] Nicodemus responds, in verse four, Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born, when he is old, that's a great question, can he enter the second time, into his mother's womb, and be born, that sounds like, an impossibility, but you're a teacher, sent from God, and you've worked miracles, so what else, don't I understand, or don't I know about, can you do that one, that's the only thing, that makes sense to him, is being born of a woman, entering a mother's womb, a second time, because that's the only, way someone's born, and he doesn't conceive, he can't get this concept, of spiritual things, so, we'll have to break, this passage down next week, but for now, what I want to point out, is, when Christ dealt with him, about the new birth, look what he said later, in, look at verse nine, Nicodemus answered, and said unto him, how can these things be, now Christ tried, to explain it to him, or at least give him, this idea, and we'll go through, this later, but there's a carnal, or fleshly, physical birth, and there's a spiritual birth, the one is being born, of water, or born of the flesh, as he says in verse six, that which is born, of flesh is flesh, but there's a spiritual birth, and this is the one, that Nicodemus just says, how can these things be, now Christ response, is interesting, in verse 10, art thou a master, of Israel, and knowest not, these things, did Jesus Christ, expect him, to know these things, he's a master, a teacher, in Israel, he's a ruler, of the Jews, one of the Pharisees, he's a good guy, he's revered, and honored, but he doesn't know this, he doesn't have this, second time thing, this second birth, why not, well, does Jesus Christ, expect him to, and here's where, this Bible, has already, laid all the ground work, and has already, voiced, the need, for a new birth, death, and Christ, doesn't have any trouble, telling that this man, that you're a master, of Israel, therefore you're a student, and a teacher, a scholar, of the holy words, of God, you ought to know this, by now, why would he be able, to say that, well in their holy scriptures, in the very first book, the very first man,

[31:46] Adam, had two sons, Cain, and Abel, and Cain, rose up, and slew, his brother Abel, Abel, offered a perfect sacrifice, a sacrifice of blood, and Cain, offered the works, of his hands, and God accepted, Abel's, did not accept Cain's, and so the first born, slew the second born, and, that guy, kind of just, dead ended, in the scripture, and so, Adam and Eve, had another son, Seth, and from that one, came the line, and all of the races, we find it here, in the scripture, because the first birth, the first born, wasn't the one, or messed up, and the second one, was the right one, but he was murdered, well let's fast forward, to Abraham, the father of this people, the father of faith, Abraham was told, that he would have a seed, he was told by God, that he would give him a son, and well that wasn't, happening in time, for him, so he went in, unto Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid, of his wife Sarah, and she gave him a son,

[32:57] Ishmael, but God wasn't interested, in Ishmael, but God, here's my first born, here's the seed, no it's not the one, I don't want the first born, I want the one, that I promised you, he's going to be, the second born, and his name was Isaac, Isaac, and Isaac, was the second born, and the one that was blessed, and as you know, the fathers, are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, well Isaac has two sons as well, Esau the first born, how did that go, Esau didn't work, he didn't get the blessing, did he, and I know how the story went, but if you follow the line, it's always the second, it's the second, it's the second, there's a problem, with the first, and, when we get into, the sons of Jacob, he has 12 sons, and it kind of, it turns into something else, because they go down into Egypt, and come out a nation, and that nation now, is given the laws of God, and they have now, a priestly set up, with the Levitical priesthood, and the high priest, and now there's, it's a different set up, between them and God, but what do you have as a nation, we've studied this in Exodus, already,

[34:10] God said, Israel, is my first born, Israel is my son, even my first born, well Israel, then you're no good, so what do you need Israel, John chapter 3, he said it to Nicodemus, look at verse number, verse number 7, now let me back it up, well, that's where he says it, verse number 7, marvel not, that I said unto thee, and look at the next word, ye, must be born again, now what did he say unto them, he said, in verse number 3, except a man, be born again, a man, except a man, be born again, where did he say ye, where did he say anything, about more than a man, it turns out, what Jesus Christ, is implying, and is even teaching,

[35:16] Nicodemus, is that the nation, needs to be reborn, now there's some, there's some interesting, application to this, because, the immediate application, is to the nation of Israel, and it's to the rebirth, of that nation, they're the first born of God, and they're no good, and they need the second birth, they need to be born, of the spirit, the types have been, preached for thousands of years, from the scriptures, the information has been laid down, in their law even, the nation will be reborn, it hasn't happened yet, the nation will be born, as the prophets talk about, a woman with pangs, to be delivered, and it's a reference, to her pangs, in the tribulation time, and then, there's this rebirth, of the nation of Israel, so the direct application, to John chapter 3, is that future, Israel as a nation, taking on that second birth, but the individual, or the picture, that he speaks, in John's writing, because John now,

[36:21] John has Pauline doctrine already, as he writes years later, he can write back, and lay some things down, about believing on Christ, and entering the kingdom of God, and doing it by the new birth, and so the doctrine, in John 3, can match us today, but when it was spoken, in the ears of Nicodemus, it was spoken about a nation, and I hope that makes sense to you, but Nicodemus, did not get it, did he, it was over his head, and right past him, and so next week, we'll pick it up, and we'll run a few references, on understanding, what he means, by the kingdom of God, and the spiritual birth, and just to, to nail some of that down, in this passage, and we'll be very clear, that has nothing to do with, water, has everything to do, with the spirit, so we'll stop there, and pick that up next Sunday, Lord willing, God bless you.

[37:19] Don't. Dang. Thank you.