There was no doubt, when Jesus had disturbed the market in the temple He also unsettled the religious power-holders. They demanded to know His authority for doing so, and wanted Him to do a miracle. But Jesus never did miracles to satisfy people’s curiosity. Instead He told them a riddle: “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days”. But it made no sense to them at all.

Nicodemus is a key character in John’s Gospel, (appearing in chapters 3, 7 and 19). Although he was a leading Pharisee, and a member of the 72 strong Sanhedrin (the religious ruling council) which agreed to put Jesus to death, this passage shows him to be a seeker of the truth.

Nicodemus had come to quiz Jesus on theology, but it soon became clear that he did not understand the answers. This top theologian had no grasp of what it meant to be born again. He understood religious rules but had no concept of grace. His learning was academic but his understanding was not informed by God’s Holy Spirit. Even the simple analogy of God’s sovereignty over the wind (the word for ‘Spirit’ is the same in John 3:8) was impossible for him to comprehend.

This verse is the most preached of all gospel texts. It presents the five essential components of God’s good news. Firstly, “God so loved the world”. Unlimited love was His motivation, holding nothing back, even His Son. The ‘world’ means all the people in the world at every point of time; all have sinned - everybody except Jesus has offended God’s holiness. Secondly, Jesus Christ was sacrificed by Father God, although He was infinitely precious.