Crossing Over to New Ground

John 3:1-17

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3:3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

“Born from above”

“Born”

gennao (gen-nä’-ō) = in a Jewish sense, to be brought over to another way of life [also to be born, begotten, engendered, caused, sense of newness]

peculiarly, in the Gospel and First Epistle of John, of God conferring upon people the nature and disposition of God's sons, imparting to them spiritual life

“from above” = anōthen

i. from above, from a higher place 

a. of things which come from heaven or God 

ii. from the first, from the beginning, from the very first 

iii. anew, over again

“Jesus answered him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

— or —

“Jesus answered him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you are brought over to a new way of life, one that comes from God, you cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Genesis 12:1-4a

12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your fathers house to the land which I will show you."

“your country"

erets = literally “ground”

“go forth from your ground to the ground I will show you”

“go forth”

Halak, here translated “go” also has a possible translation in a more figurative sense, meaning: “to die”

the primitive root of the word halak is yalak, which also carries this possible figurative meaning

“die to your ground and go to the ground I will show you”

ultimately, we might loosely hear Jesus say this to Nicodemus.

“Jesus answered him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you die to your ground and cross over to a new ground you cannot see the Kingdom of God.

Stuck

John 5:1-9

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in HebrewBeth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath.