Jesus said this in John 3.
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
It’s ok to be confused. Nicodemus was also confused when jesus told him he must be born again, So he asked how this can be, how do we get born again.
Jesus gave him (and us) the answer
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man [b]who is in heaven.14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [c]not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Jesus points him to the OT, and a historical event which would be used as a teaching tool for us today.
1. The children of Israel were getting but by Snakes,, They were dead once they were bitten, there was no known cure, much like us, we are dead, no way for us to save ourselves. We must be saved by God
2. Moses was told by God to lift a serpent on a pole. Whoever looks will be saved, whoever does not, will continue to die, and eventually meet the fate they already had been sentenced to.
3. Only those who trusted God looked, those who did not, did not look, they may have believed God could save them? I do nto know. But they trusted more in themselves, and in denial kept on tryign to save themselves and failed.
Jesus used this to show nicodemus, who (an avid teacher of all of the OT) understood this story perfectly. So he would understand what Jesus said.
In the same way, jesus must be lifted up on a pole. That whoever believed in him will also not perish, but will live forever. Like the people of Israel. Whoever believed look, and were instantly saved, whoever did not. Were not saved, and eventually suffered their fate (Jesus called this fate condemnation)
Jesus said clearly, he was not sent to judge the world. But that the worl might be saved. Whoever believes (looks) is not only born again (saved from death) but they will live forever (eternal life) these people are no longer condemned, they are saved forever.
Whoever does not believe continue in that condemned state until they either repent and look, or suffer the physical death before they repent, in that case they will remain condemned, Be delivered to God for judgement, and suffer the second death. Many of these people will try to get out of it by trying to tell jesus of all their good works they did (I cast out devils, I did this and that and all these great works)
jesus will say depart from me, why? He never knew them, why? They practices lawlessnes (sin) why? They did not believe, and remained condemned in that state
Sadly
@Ritajanice does not understand this passage, so if you ask her, you will not get an answer which lines up with what jesus said, she will give you the calvinist answer.
run away from that answer.
