Banquet With The King: March 2026

Monday, March 2, 2026

Believe and Not Perish

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:11-21 ESV

Meditate. Consider God’s love.

Truly, truly. In this translation, Jesus was emphasizing to Nicodemus that He was telling the truth. Other translations have the same emphasis—although they may use different words like verily, or I assure you, these translations all stress that Jesus was being truthful as He spoke to the Pharisee.

God Loved the World
He still loves the world today!
Come to the Light.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

This is probably the most worldwide, well-known verse in the Bible. It is one that children are taught to memorize. Have you memorized it? Here, Jesus is teaching Nicodemus about God’s gift and eternal life. That is spiritual life. Everyone will live forever spiritually, and those not embracing the light—rejecting the light—are evil and thus will not be in God’s presence forever. They will not be saved. Saved from what? Eternal damnation—but Jesus did not explain it that bluntly. They will be condemned to live apart from God forever. I picture them gnashing their teeth, in a fiery pit, and moaning…forever. That is horribly sad. Where will you find yourself?

Jesus tells Nicodemus to be saved—not condemned. Believe in the Son—but He doesn’t directly tell him that He is the Son. Nicodemus had acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher from God (John 3:2)…but not that He was the Son of God, or God Himself. There is still some insight and teaching to be done. Are you convinced that you must believe in Jesus to have eternal life with Him?

Prayer – Lord Jesus, just as You taught Nicodemus a deeper understanding of You, give us wisdom and insight to know You more. Help us to comprehend spiritual insights and nuances that we have not previously grasp. Thank You, once again, for Your sacrifice and Your tremendous gift of love that believing in You we could have eternal life—and serve You together forever.

Verse of Salvation ~ So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:13-16

What do we learn about Jesus from this scripture passage?

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

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Sunday, March 1, 2026

Who is this Nicodemus?

Like the Butterfly--you can have a new life.
Be Born Again!

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:1-21 ESV

Meditate. Consider being born again.

This is a long passage. What do we learn from it? Nicodemus is a Pharisee—a Jewish leader and teacher—who approaches Jesus at night. Is he afraid of what his fellow Pharisees will think of him…or do to him? He must have made an appointment with Jesus—and snuck out so others didn’t know just who he went to see. It is an interesting interchange that Nicodemus and Jesus have—starting off with Nicodemus acknowledging that Jesus is a great teacher. He has seen or heard of the miracles that Jesus was doing. Did he know that Jesus turned water into wine? Who instantly does that? Who heals the sick, the blind, and lame? Yes, Jesus had already done all that, so Nicodemus knew His power. Jesus teaches Nicodemus the concept of being “born again” illustrating the basic concept of Christianity. You must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. It is a spiritual rebirth. Jesus emphasized this when He said… that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.God is a spiritual being. Jesus goes on to say…The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. Like the wind, we don’t see the Spirit, but the Spirit is real.

Born again. The disciple Peter later writes about this in the book he authored. He learned about this from Jesus, and passes that knowledge on to encourage other Christians. They have been born again.

- All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 1 Peter 1:3-4

- For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

Jesus confronts Nicodemus with being a Jewish teacher, but not understanding this concept. He states that we teach what we know—so how can Nicodemus teach about heavenly, spiritual things without understanding them? What a great challenge! Jesus goes on to discuss more concepts that Nicodemus and all those seeking knowledge about God need to understand. We’ll look at those for a couple more days this week. For now, reflect on just what it means to be born again.

Prayer – Lord Jesus, I have been “born again” just as You told Nicodemus. The Holy Spirit lives within me and reminds me of the truths that You taught. I’m so glad we have the Bible—Your living Word—to teach us and remind us how we should live—loving God and loving others. You have been so gracious and merciful to have given Your life—so that we might live forever with You. Thank you!

Verse of Salvation ~ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 1 Peter 1:8-10

What do we learn about Jesus from these scripture passages?