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Born Again or Born From Above?
#11
In John chapter 3, Yahshua gives you the ananswer (born from the head), whereas the pharisee Nicademus gives you a different answer 'born again' -- In John 3:4, Niqademus says ?tub? (?is it possible again the womb of his mother a second time to enter?), whereas in John 3:3 and 3:7, Yahshua says ?ris? (?born from head/start?).

As the true head rabbi, Yahshua used this teaching technique many times (correcting his questionner by using the most correct phrase in response to his questioner's phrase that was off the path).

Consider the bigger picture and context here -- the debate in John 3 between Yahshua and Nicodemus is full of informative and exciting contrasts! Nicodemus (nyqdmus) has a name in Aramaic that is difficult to translate, but may mean ?will burn tribute? (n = will; yqd = burn; mus = tribute). During darkness, this chief priest Nicodemus (burning like a tribute fire) comes to Yahshua (the light) and praises/tributes him (yet Yahshua knows the man?s heart). Here we are seeing water and spirit (Yahshua at John 3:5) battling against fire and earth (Niqademus). Or more simply it is light versus dark (John 3:19-21), or fire (nura) meets light (nuhra). It is head priest versus head priest! It is not born again priest versus born again priest.

That is one of the reasons why it is so important in John 3:4 that Niqademus says ?tub? (?is it possible again the womb of his mother a second time to enter?), whereas in John 3:3 and 3:7, Yahshua says ?ris? (?born from head/start?) twice.

Niqademus talks of seeing signs, and Yahshua encourages him to see (John 3:11). Niqademus says teacher (3:2) and Yahshua says teacher (3:10). You get the picture -- the passage is rich with word dichotomies for us students to explore. Yahshua concludes his discussion with Niqademus by discussing the snake lifted up in the wilderness. In John 3:14, note the multiple Aramaic references after snake to 'dn' (judgment), and compare Genesis where Jacob's son Dan is represented as a snake.

There?s also an interplay between the name Niqademus and the name Moses (remember that Niqademus occupies a seat of Moses), which is interesting because Yahshua describes in this passage how Moses lifted the snake in the wilderness. So the wordplays in John emphasize greater parallels/paradigms of theological significance. Let's follow that logic and see if we can find a satisfactory conclusion -- the lifting of the snake for healing purposes changes the whole paradigm, as snakes are supposed to cause harm and be on the ground. Yahshua is offering to be a healing snake, where those who trust in the true meaning of his name are healed. Even the symbolic sin of Adam following the snake is remedied through this paradigm of trust. What is the opposite of the pursuit of undeserved knowledge that Adam sought before the appointed time? Answer: trust.

So to answer your question from the head of your post, whose words do you trust? Yahshua or Nicodemus? What a blessing it is to have such trust in our messiah that when we phrase the question like this, it becomes simple!
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Messages In This Thread
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by Thirdwoe - 06-06-2013, 02:55 AM
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by Thirdwoe - 06-06-2013, 05:43 AM
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by Thirdwoe - 06-06-2013, 07:39 AM
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by gregglaser - 06-06-2013, 04:01 PM
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by Thirdwoe - 06-06-2013, 06:40 PM
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by distazo - 06-10-2013, 11:38 AM
Re: Born Again or Born From Above? - by Thirdwoe - 06-11-2013, 01:13 AM

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