Week 1 Day 2
Did You Know?
Find out the meaning of Jesus’ statement about being lifted up like the snake in
the wilderness in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 21.
Background Notes:
Being born again is switching your identity and allegiance from self/family/etc., to
putting your full allegiance and faith in Jesus as both savior and leader of your life.
The woman at the well is most likely an outcast from her society. One clue is that
she is getting water in the heat of the day, rather than when the women of the
village gathered their water in the cooler morning hours.
Samaritans were not purely ethnically Jewish. They accepted only the first 5 books
of the Old Testament (Genesis-Deuteronomy). At about this spot where Jesus
was asking for water, the Jewish people had invaded and burned down the
Samaritan temple 100+ years before. There was great animosity between Jews
and Samaritans. This heightens the tension in the story of both the parable of the
Good Samaritan and here.
What does it say?
I picked the story of Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a guy who already has all the
answers. Jesus refers to him as Israel’s teacher. He challenges Jesus for using
vague spiritual imagery and demands that Jesus speak in plain language. Jesus
responds by saying that he is speaking of the concrete realities of this world.
Jesus also affirms that He possesses knowledge of the spiritual realm as well.
What does it mean?
Jesus is inviting Nicodemus to give up what he thinks he “knows” in order to find
the truth about God and discover a deeper relationship with God.
What does it mean to me?
Sometimes I get too cocky, too sure that I am right about too many things. I need
to remember the simple truth- I am not in charge, I do not know everything, and
that I need a Savior. I do not claim relationship with God or eternal life on the
basis of my knowledge or my actions. I have been saved because God so loved the
world that He sent Jesus to die on the cross in my place. My redemption- the
blessings of my life and those in heaven beyond- are on the basis of the grace of
God, not my knowledge or merit. When I have this in the forefront of mind, I am
happier, more humble, and a more helpful follower of Jesus in the world.