1. What can you find out about Nicodemus in verses 1-2?

What is significant
about his coming to Jesus? Why at night (see verses 19-20)? Why was Jesus so
direct with him?
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin that was mentioned in
three places in the Gospel of John. Nicodemus was risking his reputation to go see
Jesus because he knew there was something more about Him than just a person
dressed in swaddling clothes teaching people. I think that his curiosity about Jesus,
His teachings and how He can make everybody listen to him was why he went to see
Jesus.
Although the Scripture doesn’t explicitly explain why Nicodemus went at night,
based on Nicodemus’ status in society, it could be because he was afraid of losing his
high position and being embarrassed because he sought counsel from a person like
Jesus. The reason why Jesus was so direct with him was because He knew the latter
had no clear understanding of what he needed to do to have a place in heaven.

2. What do these images mean, suggest or imply?

a. Maternal Image
In the scripture, Jesus talked about how you have to be born again to see the
kingdom of God. One may immediately think about your biological mother since the
topic is about being born. But instead, the Maternal Image is actually talking about
God, and although mother usually connotes a feminine gender - God is beyond and
transcends gender. The reference here is the description of medieval mystic Meister
Eckhart about God’s activity, “What does God do all day long? God gives birth. From
all eternity God lies on a maternity bed giving birth.” (Feminism and Christianity: An
Essential Gude, Abingon:1999, p.65

b. Birth Image
More often than not when people hear about the word birth, they immediately
think of the process of bearing forth an offspring. However in the context of the
scripture, the literal meaning of the word birth is not used. Instead, it is used as
symbolism of ridding yourself of sins, accepting God, start anew and be born again in
a different and positively to see the kingdom of heaven.

c. Born of Water
There are several schools of thought about what exactly Born of Water means.
Basically, it refers to physical birth or what we immediately think of when we heart
the word birth. Unborn children float around in a sack of fluid inside their mother’s
wombs and when they arrive, that sack of water bursts out and the baby is delivered
through the rush of that water.Others also refer to born of water as a newborn child
undergoing baptism which often connotes ‘water’.

d. Born of the Spirit

This suggests or implies salvation - being born out of a new life which only the
Holy Spirit can produce. People believe that being born of the spirit refers to the
spiritual re-birth from above. Though, it is not meant to be understood as undergoing
two births once again because being born of the water and of the spirit go
hand-in-hand where the new birth is bound with baptism (water) and the Spirit.

3. How does Jesus account for Nicodemus lack of understanding?

 When Nicodemus went to Him, Jesus knew that the Pharisee had his inhibitions -
meaning that there was something holding him back from truly and fully believe. So
He became direct with Nicodemus on what he should do which is by revealing a
simple formula that can relieve anyone from the wages of their sin. He reiterated
challenged Nicodemus to go beyond his own understanding, and seek for the kingdom
of heaven through his own faith rather than just works or laws.

4. What point is Jesus making by comparing spiritual birth to the Wind?

There is a saying of Saint Augustine which is, “Faith is to believe what you do
not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” For me I think this is
similar to Jesus comparing spiritual birth to the wind. The point He is making is that
we can have faith and believe in something when we cannot even see it - like how we
believe the wind is there when we cant see it. The reason he made this comparison is
to make Nicodemus realize that people only say they don’t’ believe because they
simply don’t want to believe.

5. What does Jesus claim about himself in verses 13-15?

In John 3:13-15, Jesus claims about himself that He is the One - the Son of Man -
who Agur in Proverbs 30:3-4 ‘hypothetically’ has been waiting for - the One who had
ascended to heaven and has dwelt in the bosom of the Father, and descended down to
earth to make the Holy One known by everyone. What Jesus claimed about himself is
that He is part of God’s plan to glorify Him and save the world - that’s why He must
be looked upon in crucifixion just as Israelites were asked to look upon the brass
serpent that brought death to receive life.

6. From verses 16-18, what stands out to you about GOD? About what he wants
to do? About HOW a person is CONDEMNED? How will belief show itself
(verses 15-21)?
What stood out to me was God’s love which was eternal and undying which can
be seen through Him sending His own son to become our divine Redeemer through
being crucified on the cross. And it occurred to me that what He wanted to do was
save us and give us life, rather than just be judged.
On verse 18, it stood out to me that God kind of gave us an ultimatum - believe
and be saved, and do not believe and suffer through death. Because it was said on the
verse that as we currently do not believe in Him, we have already judged our own self
and we can even condemn our own selves to eternity by rejecting the Spirit. For me
and based on the verses, belief will only show itself as we have faith and embody it -
to believe in what we cannot see and trust in it.

7. How is Jesus’ use of words ‘born again’ similar and different from the way it
is used today? How wold you define ‘born again’ in your own words?
Jesus uttering the words born again in the past refers to the phenomenon of
obtaining faith in Jesus Christ to have a personal relationship with God. In today’s
time, it still has somewhat a similar meaning when priests use the words born again
during their mass to tell the people that their sins can still be forgiven through
spiritual rebirth.
Although not a drastic difference in meaning, there is a religion called Born
Again Christian which was used by Protestants to identify the moment people chose
to receive God’s gift through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and become born again (John
3:1-8). So whoever has accepted life given by Jesus can be called Christian and thus
the journey of rebirth begins.

IB.

1. What first aroused your interest in Jesus? Why?

I remember when I was young, we’d only go to church on special occasions. But
when I was in elementary school, I studied at a private Methodist school called The
Great Shepherdess Montessori Inc. (TGSMCI). There, they had Christian Education
subjects which made me a little more curious about Jesus.
What peaked my interest was all of the stories our teachers told us about Jesus’
wondrous adventures that were written in the Bible like: the Story of Creation, the
Tower of Babel, and David and Goliath.

2. Where are you right now in the birthing process of spiritual life: not yet
convinced? Developing, but not so anyone could tell? Heavy with a child and
waiting? Kicking and screaming like an infant? Growing daily? Explain.
If I evaluate myself, I think that I’m in the stage of development but not enough that
someone could tell immediately. I guess the reasons why I’m still hesitant to accept
God’s call to me to serve Him even though I’m already introduced to Him and his
wonders are:
(1) I get overwhelmed by thinking too far ahead that I don’t take the first steps, (2)
When I do try to do something, I get washed over by fear of doing the wrong thing, (3)
I’m too conscious of what others might think of me and (4) I lack the proper support
system. But I’ve already started taking the first steps of fully accepting God in me and
I will continue to grow daily.

3. When did you begin to see GOD as saving you rather than condemning you?
When I read Hebrews 10:14, “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those
who are being made holy”, I knew that rather than being judged and condemned -
Jesus Christ came to save me and give me life.
The reason I believe I’m being saved rather than being condemned by God is because
I started to have faith due to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I started believing without
having to actually see Him and His Spirit in person.

KEYWORDS: Born again, Pharisee, Teacher of Israel, Sanhedrin, Wind, Spirit