Good morning. The chief priests and the Pharisees convened a
council and were worried because Jesus was performing many signs. If we let Him
go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take
away both our place and our nation. They weren’t concerned for the truth about
who Jesus was; they were only concerned about themselves. One of them,
Caiaphas, who was high priest that year (my Bible says that he was the
son-in law of Annas, who had been deposed from the high priesthood by the
Romans. The high priest was supposed to be for life - he couldn’t be deposed.)
You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for
you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish. Now
he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation
only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of
God who are scattered abroad. It just shows that sometimes people who are in
authority think they are doing things because of their own will, when in fact
it is accomplishing exactly what God wants. In the past leaders have done
things that they thought would keep them in control, when in fact it was God
allowing them to do things that He knew in the end would be beneficial to His
plans. From that day on they planned together to kill Jesus. Because of this,
Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away to a
place near the wilderness. It wasn’t because Jesus was afraid – it’s that it
wasn’t quite time for Him to go to the cross. Father thank You that no matter
what people in authority over us try to do that would be harmful to us, You
make it turn out for our good.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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