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3:1-21
Now there was a man amongst the Pharisees whose name was
Nicodemus. He was a Jewish
ruler. This man came (to Jesus) at night time and said to him "Rabbi, we know that you have come as
a teacher from God. There is no
one who can do the signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him
"Truly truly I tell you, unless someone is born from above he cannot
see the kingdom
of God." Nicodemus says to him "How can
a man be born when he is already old?
He cannot re-enter the womb of his mother to be born a second
time." Jesus answered
"Truly truly I tell you unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot
enter into the kingdom
of God. Whatever has been born of the flesh,
is flesh. What has been born of
the Spirit is spirit. Do not
wonder because I told you it behooves you to be born from above. The spirit, like the wind, blows
where it wants to. You hear its
sound but you do not know from where it comes from or where it is
going. So it is with everyone
who has been born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to
him " How can these
things come about?" Jesus
answered and said to him
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not know
these things? Truly truly I tell you. We speak about what we know and we
give witness to what we have seen.
But you have not received our witness. (that of Jesus and disciples?) If I told you about earthly things
and you did not believe are you likely to believe if I tell you about the
things of heaven? No man has
gone up into heaven except the
one who has come down from heaven, that is the son of man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (when told by God to
make a bronze serpent on
standard so people looking on it could be saved from the bites of a
plague of snakes), so it behooves the Son of man to be lifted up. This is so that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life. For God
Continued
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5:25-47
"Truly, truly I tell you
an hour is coming and if
fact is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and
those who hear it will live.
Just as the Father has life in himself so he has given life to the
Son so that he has this within himself. He has given him authority to judge
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this because an hour is coming when all those in
the tombs will hear his voice and those who have done good things will come
forth into a resurrection of life.
Those who have done evil things (on the other hand) will go to a
resurrection of judgment
(instead). I cannot do
anything from myself. I judge
according to what I hear and my judgment is just because I do not seek to
do to what I want but rather (I seek to do) the will of the One who has
sent me. If I give witness
about myself, my witness is not true.
(But) there is another who witnesses concerning me (that is, God)
and I know that the witnesses that he gives concerning me is true. You have sent (people to observe)
John and he has given witness to the truth. But I do not receive the witness
given about me from people.
(Rather) I tell you these things so that you can be saved. That man (John the Baptist) was a
burning and shining lamp and you were willing to bask for an hour in his
light. But I have a witness who
is greater than John. It is the
works which the Father has given me to do and to finish, that give witness
concerning me and the fact that the Father has sent me. It is the One who has sent me, the
Father, who has given witness about me. (But) you have never heard his voice
and you have never seen his form.
His word no longer remains in you because you do not believe in the
one that he has sent. You
search the Scriptures because you think them to have eternal life within
them. Yet they (the Scriptures)
are what give witness concerning me.
And, you do not
Continued
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Continued
so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son so that
everyone believing in him may not perish but may have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into
the world to judge it but (rather) that the world may be saved through
him. The one who believes in
him is not judged. But the
one who does not believe has already been judged because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment (upon such a
one). The light has come into
the world (but such a one) has
loved men and the darkness rather than the light. Thus their works have been evil. Everyone who does evil things
hates the light and does not come into the light lest his works are
reproved. But the one who does deeds according to the
truth comes to the light so that it may be shown that their works have
been done in God (that is, in terms of the eternal plan)."
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Continued
want to come to me in order to have eternal life. I do not receive glory from
men. But I have known you
(well enough to know) you do not have the love of God within yourselves. I have come in the name of my
Father and you do not receive me.
If someone else comes in his own name you will receive that
one. How is it you believe
you can receive glory from somebody else and yet (true) glory, which only
comes from the only God, you do not seek? Do not think that I will accuse
you to the Father (Rather) the one who is accusing you is Moses in whom
you have hoped. If you did
believe Moses you would have
believed me for it is about myself that (Moses) wrote. But, if you do not believe the
writings of that one (Moses) how are you going to believe my words?"
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Throughout this Section B there are 'echoes' of people coming in
from outside Judaic circles. Whether they 'come in' through baptism
rather than through circumcision or in some other way are included in
the 'circle' of Jesus.
There is the Samaritan
woman, a courtier from a secular court who as with Gentile custom owns
a slave. There are some
with a sinful past or who apparently ignore the Jewish Sabbath. Finally
there are those who have passed beyond this world altogether. Such people, who represent
within Christianity those of a Gentile background are challenged to
believe in the authority of Jesus. Note how each of the second
paragraphs here end with a challenge to believe.
The overall structure of this Section B (c/f analysis of Reality Search) puts a focus on
the authority of Jesus as the "Living Authority". In terms of a follow-on from the
theology of Luke in Acts of the
Apostles and as this
gospel develops, people are also encouraged to believe in the existence of authority that lies
within themselves.
Regarding the first paragraph in the last pair of Section
B. In the C21st one
knows now from many stories of after-death experiences that people are
drawn towards 'the light' as the soul leaves the body. On the other hand there is an
occasional story of someone who finds themselves in a terrible place
instead. In the second
paragraph of this final pair there is the suggestion that people who
have died before Jesus was born can now move towards the life and light
that is centred upon him.
In this way they will find on-going harmony with the universe.
Until the last pair, the paragraphs of Section B have been 'matched'
according to a specific location.
But in last case the two paragraphs are connected by a specific
mention of time. John the
writer may have used this 'match' to show that there are links between
time and place. Or, he
avoids talking about "place" in both paragraphs of the last
pair because he is discussing the after-life here where neither of
these seem to exist.
In the second paragraph of the pair one is conscious of a
'battle' which has gone on within the community of the church and which
continues on amongst John's readers. The Jewish Christians have
tended to think of themselves as a sect within Judaism rather than
belonging to a basically different community. By now, at about the turn
of the first century, they have been banned from the synagogue through
a prayer putting a curse on Christians. But they still think of the law
as their first priority and are unsure about the centrality of Jesus
the Christ. John, through
his presentation of the teaching of Jesus, is indirectly taking them to
task about this. He increases the pressure upon them in the Section C to follow.
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