Author: Calleen Hough

The family of God

Jesus was rarely alone during the three years he was involved in his ministry on earth. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus called certain men to join him in his work. Some of his encounters with these men are recorded (John 1:35-51) and some are not. Jesus acumulated a total of twelve disciples or apostles, as they were later known. Mark 3:13-19 contains a complete list of their names. It says:

And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came to him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: and Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; (and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:) and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him.

From this passage of scripture, we know three things about the men Jesus chose as his Apostles. First, they were all called. The Greek word translated called, proskaleomai means to summon or invite (4341). Each of the twelve men that served with Jesus during his ministry on earth came to be with him of their own volition. It was a voluntary choice they made to give up thier former ways of life and to devote themselves to doing God’s will. Second, the twelve men Jesus chose were ordained. Today, we might think of someone that is ordained as someone in the ministry. That is not at all what the Greek word that is translated ordained meant in Jesus’ time. Poieo (poy – eh’ – o) means to make or do “and is used of the bringing forth of fruit” (4160). What was happening when Jesus ordained the twelve “that they should be with him” (Mark 3:14) was forming of an organization. Jesus chose these particular twelve men in order to optimize the harvesting of souls that would take place as a result of their election. The special privilege each of these men received as a result of their membership in Jesus’ organization was the “power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils” (Mark 3:15).

Jesus identified his spiritual organization with a family by likening his followers to family members and started distancing himself from those that were opposed to God’s kingdom because of the negative impact they were having on his work. Jesus’ relatives thought he must be insane and the scribes suggested he was possessed by the prince of devils, Beelzebub (Mark 3:21-22). In order to make it clear that his allegiance belonged to God’s family, rather than his own, Jesus denied his own mother access to his camp. It says in Mark 3:31-35:

There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Mercy

One of God’s primary objectives in sending his son Jesus to live on earth was to give his people a chance to see him face to face and understand what he was really like. For hundreds of years the Jews had been performing rituals to try and make themselves more like God, but they had completely missed the point of why they were doing it: so they could have a personal relationship with the God who created them. In addition to performing many miracles, Jesus did other things that provided evidence to the Jews that he was equal with God. In particular, Jesus showed them that he was Lord over everything in creation, including the demons that possessed his people (Luke 4:35). The religious leaders known as the Pharisees often criticized Jesus because he didn’t follow their rules and were offended because Jesus refused to stop performing miracles on the sabbath, a day in which they claimed no activity that could be considered work, including carrying your bed across town (Mark 2:11), could take place.

In order to demonstrate that he was Lord even of the sabbath, it says in Matthew 12:1, “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were a hungred and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.” The Greek word translated hungred, peinao (pi – nah’ – o) is derived from the root word peno, which means to toil or work for daily subsistence (3993). Jesus’ disciples were starving and literally had no food available to them besides the corn in the field they were walking through. Rather than seeing that Jesus was taking care of the needs of his disciples, when the Pharisees saw what he was doing, “they said unto him, “Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day” (Matthew 12:2). Jesus explained to the Pharisees that his disciples were not breaking the sabbath because they were doing what was necessary to sustain their lives. As an example, Jesus asked them, “What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?” (Matthew 12:11).

Jesus’ rhetorical question was intended to show the Pharisees the absurdity of their remark that Jesus’ disciples were breaking the law by pulling ears of corn from the stalks as they walked through the corn field. In order to convict them of their own sin, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7). In other words, Jesus was stating that the Pharisees were misrepresenting God by condemning the innocent according to his laws. Jesus’ quoted the prophet Hosea who was told by God to, “Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2). The central theme of Hosea’s prophecy was God’s mercy and his enduring love for his people in spite of their infidelity to him. After drawing the Pharisees attention to God’s mercy, Jesus went into their synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand (Matthew 12:13). As a result, it says in Matthew 12:14, “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.”

Witnesses

Jesus responded to the Jews rejection of him as their Messiah by first letting them know that they would be jusged for their choice (John 5:22) and then, explained to them that there would come a day when everyone would be resurrected from the dead, but rather than entering into the presence of God and living with him for eternity, those who rejected Jesus would spend eternity in hell (John 5:29). Jesus intentionally made a point of declaring the truth about God’s judgment early in his ministry, and also talked about it often, so that no one could say, I didn’t know about that. Comparing God’s judgment to a legal case in which each person would be charged with some offence, Jesus said, “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom you trust” (John 5:45). Jesus said this because his “listeners prided themselves on their attachment to Moses, the great lawgiver. So it was an unexpected thrust for Jesus to say Moses himself would accuse them before God” (note on John 5:45).

Thinking about the evidence required to convict someone of a crime in a court of law, Jesus identified four witnesses that could testify that he was in fact the Jews’ Messiah. The first witness Jesus called to their minds was John the Baptist (John 5:33). The Jews were familiar with John’s message and many saw him baptize Jesus in the Jordan river (Matthew 3:16). During his first encounter with Jesus, John stated, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus told the Jews, “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (John 5:36). Jesus was referring to his works of salvation. The Messiah’s mission was to save God’s people and Jesus intended to finish that assignment through his death and resurrection. Ultimately, there was no better way for Jesus to prove he was who he said was than to resurrect himself from the dead. If that wasn’t enough, Jesus added that God himself had testified to his identity (Matthew 3:17) and the Scriptures also testified of him (John 5:39).

Life after death

Jesus’ special relationship with God infuriated the Jews because they didn’t understand how he could be equal with God when he was a human like them. Jesus referred to God as his Father (John 5:17). The idea that God could have conceived a child seemed ludicrous to the Jews who thought that God’s primary purpose was to regulate the behavior of men, not become one of them in order to deliver them from sin and death.

Jesus said, “My father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). At the time when Jesus lived, fathers and sons usually had the same occupation. While they were living at home, young men learned their father’s trade and were expected to contribute to the family’s income. Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55) and it is assumed that Jesus worked in that trade until he began his ministry at about the age of 30.

Rather than associating himself with his carpentry job, Jesus focused everyone’s attention on the joint spiritual activity that was going on between him and his heavenly Father. Jesus said, “For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and will shew him greater works than these that ye may marvel” (John 5:20). The greater works Jesus was referring to was resurrecting the dead.

In order to set the stage for an unprecedented revelation about his establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, Jesus talked about eternal life in the context of faith in God. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Jesus wanted everyone to know that eternal life was a gift that could only be obtained through belief.

Following this statement, Jesus declared that the resurrection of the dead would take place at his command (John 5:25). It was only because he had been given authority to execute judgment on behalf of his father that Jesus could command the dead to come back to life. The shocking news was that everyone would be brought back to life, even those that didn’t believe in Jesus. He told the Jews:

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and those that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28-29)

Spiritual health

Some of the people Jesus healed were suffering from spiritual afflictions. During one of his visits to Jerusalem, Jesus went by a pool of water where miraculous healings were taking place. The Apostle John said of this incident:

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt Thou be made whole?

The Greek word Jesus used that is translated whole, hugies (hoog – ee – ace’) means healthy (5199). The base of this word indicates growth or enlargement (837). The way that we know that Jesus was dealing with this man’s spiritual condition rather than his physical condition is the command he gave him after he was healed. Jesus said to the man, “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

The Hebrew term for whole, raphah (raw – faw’) means to mend(7495). Raphah is used figuratively to refer to someone being cured and is also translated as heal and physician in association with spiritual sicknesses identified in the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 13 -14). Raphah as a primitive root word means to slacken and is translated in various passages in the Old Testament as feeble, fail, weaken, and faint (7503). In Job 5:17-18 it says, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.” Psalm 119 uses the phrase “whole heart” several times in reference to a believers relationship with God and a healthy desire for his word. This might suggest that the healing that took place when Jesus made the man at the pool of Bethesda whole was a healing of his heart. Jesus made the man’s heart whole again.

One of the illustration’s the prophet Jeremiah used to convey the unrepentant attitude of God’s people was an earthen bottle or jar made of clay that was broken because of it’s hardened state. God told Jeremiah, “Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee. And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again” (Jeremiah 19:10-11). It is possible that the man Jesus found lying by the pool called Bethesda was suffering from a broken heart that had caused him to become so weak that he was no longer able to get out of bed. Today we might say the man was suffering from depression or some other type of mental and/or emotional illness. When Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be made whole (John 5:6), he was essentially saying, Are you ready to let go and begin to live your life again? Perhaps, what this man really needed to do was forgive himself for some mistake he had made that had brought about the tragedy that happened to him 38 years earlier. When Jesus commanded the man, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk” (John 5:7). It says in John 5:9, “immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.”

Paradigm shift

An important change that happened in the way Jesus’ disciples thought about their relationship with God compared to the rest of the Jews was their freedom from religious regulations. After sharing a meal with some of the outcasts of Jewish society, Jesus was asked, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?” (Mark 2:18). This question was intended as a criticism of Jesus’ leadership and showed that the freedom his disciples experienced was perceived to be sinful behavior. Taking it a step further, Mark said about Jesus, “And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?” (Mark 2:23-24). These two incidents captured the paradigm shift that began to take place almost immediately after Jesus’ ministry started. Jesus’ response to the criticism he received was his first attempt at explaining a key aspect of Christianity; the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the action by which God takes up permanent residence in the body of a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus used two common staples of Jewish life to illustrate this concept. He said, “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles” (Mark 2:21-22). The old garment and old bottles could have represented the nation of Israel; and the new cloth and new wine, the gospel message Jesus brought to God’s people. Likewise, the old garment and old bottles could have represented individuals such as the scribes and Pharisees that were unable to receive salvation because they weren’t able to let go of their religious traditions. But, more than likely, Jesus was referring to the sinful human heart as the old garment and old bottles that would tear or burst if God were to try and take up residence there.

The prophet Jeremiah said of the sinful human heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). In the discourse in which he stated, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), the LORD directed his people to “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed: and make you a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:31). Later, in a prophecy to Israel, God said through the prophet Ezekiel, “A new heart also will I give you: and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Jesus’ presence on earth and constant fellowship with his disciples was only a foretaste of what would be possible after his death. Although it wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven that his followers were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), all those who believed and were baptized were “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6); meaning they were given a new heart that enabled them to discern spiritual truth.

Bad company

Shortly after his ministry got started, Jesus developed a reputation for spending time with the wrong kind of people. Two religious groups known as the Pharisees and the scribes made a point of criticizing Jesus for his lack of discretion in choosing his companions. In what may have seemed like a deliberate attempt to antagonize these two religious groups, Jesus chose as one of his disciples a man by the name of Levi, aka Matthew, who was a tax collector. Some of the local Jewish men were employed by Roman tax contractors to collect taxes for them. “Because they worked for Rome and often demanded unreasonable payments, the tax collectors gained a bad reputation and were generally hated and considered traitors” (note on Matthew 5:45). Matthew’s status as an outcast of society made him an unlikely candidate for Jesus’ close knit team of evangelists, but his friends were the target audience of Jesus’ teaching, and therefore, Matthew’s conversion clearly demonstrated to them that all were welcome in Jesus’ community of believers.

On one occasion, when Jesus and his disciples were eating at Matthew’s home, “many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples” (Mark 2:15). At that time, sharing a meal with someone was a sign of friendship, and it also suggested that a union or association existed between all those who were invited into the home. As a sign of their disapproval of what Jesus was doing, it says in Mark 2:16, “when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?” Jesus’ response was a rebuke to the scribes and Pharisees hypocrisy, but it also identified an important difference between those who claimed to be God’s chosen people, and those who actually were. “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

Jesus’ use of the contrasting terms whole and sick, and reference to himself as a physician emphasized his ability to diagnose and heal the ailments of the human heart. The Greek word translated sick, kakos (kak – oce´) means badly (2560). Kakos is derived from the word kakos (kak – os´) which means worthless (2556). “Kakos indicates the lack in a person or thing of those qualities which should be possessed and means bad in character morally, by way of thinking, feeling or acting.” Jesus’ claim to be able to heal or cure someone of his bad behavior was corroborated by the change that was evident in Matthew and his fellow tax collectors. It says in Mark 2:15 that these men “followed” Jesus. The Greek term translated followed, akoloutheo means to be in the same way with, suggesting a likeness or similarity in lifestyle and/or behavior (190). Repentance is not just a change of heart, but a reversal of the effects of a previous state of mind. In other words, when Matthew and his friends repented and became followers of Jesus, they not only walked away from their jobs as tax collectors, but also gave up the money and power their previous jobs afforded them.

Forgiveness of sins

The link between sin and disease in the minds of the Jews made it necessary for Jesus to deal with the topic of sin while he was in the process of healing those that came to him for restoration of their health and well-being. One of these instances was when a man described as “sick of the palsy” (Mark 2:3) was brought to Jesus as he was teaching in a home in Capernaum. Mark said of this event, “And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:4-5).

Nothing is know about the condition of the man with the palsy except that he was unable to walk. The Greek word translated palsy, paralutikos means to loosen beside that is relax and is a term associated with being paralyzed or enfeebled (3885). Mark’s reference to the man being sick suggests that this man had an illness that caused his paralysis, perhaps something like what we know today as Lou Gehrig’s disease where the body’s muscles cease to function properly. An interesting aspect of Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is that in around 90-95% of the cases, the cause for ALS in not known. In about 5-10% of the cases, the condition was passed on from parents. If the man sick of the palsy had ALS, the mysterious aspect of the onset of his disease might explain why it was associated with sinful behavior and assumed that he was being punished by God.

It says in Mark 2:5, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” The faith that Jesus saw was probably that of the four men that broke open the roof and let the man down on his bed so Jesus could heal him. The Greek word used here for faith, pistis refers to reliance upon Christ for salvation (4102). Most likely, the four men were known by Jesus and their belief in him is what caused him to deal with the issue of the sick man’s sins before or rather than just healing him. By forgiving the man’s sins, Jesus guaranteed that when he died, the man sick with the palsy would go to heaven and one day be reunited with his believing friends. Afterward, when he commanded the man to, “Arise, and take up thy bed and walk, and go thy way into thy house” (Mark 2:11), Jesus demonstrated his willingness to give this man a second chance at living his life according to God’s laws.

The Greek word translated sins, hamartia literally means “a missing of the mark” (266). Sin should be viewed as a principle or source of action. From God’s perspective, sin is seen as a governing principle or the power behind our actions. When we choose to go our own way rather than the way that God directs us to, we are sinning against God and will be punished for our disobedience. Forgiveness of sins is when God removes or takes away the effect of the wrong things we have done. An illustration that is used to explain forgiveness is that of a husband divorcing his wife. In that situation, there is no longer a legal claim to assets or an inheritance. The divorced person is freed from all legal obligations. Behind the concept of forgiveness is the idea of abandonment. Whereas sin once had a claim to our life and our possessions, forgiveness allows us to abandon sin and also takes away sin’s ability to claim anything from us in the future.

Living water

Jesus used an everyday experience to teach an important lesson to a woman that no one else would have dared to interact with. She is identified only as “a woman of Samaria” (John 4:7). Samaria became the capital of Israel after the nation was split into two separate kingdoms (Israel in the north and Judah in the south) following the death of king Solomon (1 Kings 16:29). Samaria was later destroyed when Shalmaneser king of Assyria defeated Israel and took its people into captivity (2 Kings 18:9-11). It says in 2 Kings 17:24, “the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.” The animosity between the Jews and Samaritans was evident in the Samaritan woman’s response to Jesus’ request for a drink of water. She said, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9).

Jesus’ open discussion with the woman of Samaria showed that he was willing to invite into his kingdom anyone that recognized him as Israel’s Messiah and the savior of the world. Pointing out her ignorance of God’s plan of salvation, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have have given thee living water” (John 4:10). The Greek words translated living water, zao (dzah´ – o) and hudor hudatos (hoo´ – dor hoo´ – dat – os) literally mean to live (2198) and water (as if rainy) (5204). What Jesus was referring to was the spiritual birth or eternal life that he associated with water baptism. In essence, Jesus saw God’s gift of salvation as an opportunity for everyone to experience a spiritual birth or as he explained it to Nicodemus, to be born again. In the same way that Jesus clarified the difference between a physical and spiritual birth to Nicodemus, he told the woman at the well, “Whosoever drinketh this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

The concept of eternal or everlasting life was not new to the Israelites, but Jesus’ description of this kind of life as a well of water springing up inside the person was meant to convey eternal life as something that was a continual, ongoing gift from God that never ran out or dissipated. Rather than seeing salvation as a one-time transaction that merely entitled the recipient to entrance into heaven, Jesus wanted the woman of Samaria to understand that the gift that God wanted to give her was something that was available to her immediately and it could be replenished without limit. Jesus also revealed that the key that unlocked this everlasting fountain of life was worshipping God “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Jesus’ reference to spiritual activity in the physical realm linked together the gift of eternal life and its source, the Holy Spirit. Although the Holy Spirit was not available to believers until after Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus was preparing the way for his arrival and also letting his followers know that there was another person (Holy Spirit) involved in God’s plan of salvation.

Born again

The effect of Jesus’ teaching was evident from the start. In his first public appearance at the temple in Jerusalem, when he declared his intent to rise from the dead, John tells us of Jesus that “many believed in his name” (John 2:23). Although the religious leaders were probably already plotting to kill Jesus, one man had the courage and conviction to find out for himself what exactly the term basileia (bas – il – i’ – ah) ouranos (oo – ran os’) or “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 3:2) meant. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, a member of the group that eventually condemned Jesus to death. He came to visit Jesus at night for one of two reasons, either Nicodemus didn’t want anyone to know he was there or he intended to have a lengthy discussion with Jesus and wanted to speak to him when he had more time available. Nicodemus stated plainly the reason for his visit. He said to Jesus, “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” (John 3:2).

Nicodemus wanted to know the truth. He believed that Jesus was a prophet, but was obviously still struggling with the possibility that God had actually kept his promise and had finally sent his Messiah, Jesus to save his chosen people. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the reason he couldn’t make sense of what was happening was because he hadn’t been born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus’ response indicated that he was looking at things from a human or material perspective. He asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3:4). Jesus then explained to Nicodemus that being born again had nothing to do with the physical realm. He wanted Nicodemus to understand that in order to see the spiritual realm or kingdom of heaven, one had experience a spiritual birth, a birth just like or similar to the birth that brought him into the physical world, but completely different in its effect upon his life.

Jesus’ lengthy conversation with Nicodemus centered around the fact that a requirement for entrance into God’s kingdom was belief in him. He told Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:14-17). Jesus’ repetition of the statement “whosoever believeth in him should not perish” placed the emphasis on everyone, both Jews and non-Jews, being able to be saved as long as they believed in him. This declaration made it clear to Nicodemus that God’s chosen people were those who would by their own volition make a conscious choice to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. The great truth that motivated God’s plan of salvation was that he wanted to save the world, and therefore, made it possible through a process of spiritual adoption for everyone to be born again (Ephesians 1:4-5).