April 9, 2026 - Jesus the Son of God Who Comes from Above

Psalms 99:1-9

John 3:1-36

Joshua 10:1-43

Joshua 11:1-23

Bible in a Year Through Song - Day 99 of 365

John 3:2 NIV

[2] He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

A Pharisee. A prestigious Pharisee at that, named Nicodemus, recognized that Jesus "has come from God". He recognized that nothing but the power of God could do the things that Jesus had done. But it was based on what He saw. It was a need to rationalize what he saw. There is more to believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but it is the start. Many of us have to start with a curiosity about what we don't understand. Curiosity about what we see have seen or heard. And like Nicodemus we may do it in secret out of worry for what our peers will think. But when we sincerely seek the truth even if it is in secret, it will be revealed to us. Jesus tells Nicodemus what is needed to be saved.

John 3:5-8

5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

He doesn't get it right away but I believe that he does eventually come to a saving faith in Jesus.

John 3:16-18

16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

John explains it a little more clearly. He gives us not only the how to be saved but the why God would even want to save us. You must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore God Himself. You must also believe that His love that was demonstrated on the cross is sufficient for your salvation. That is when things change when we become made new. We are born again.

John 3:29-31 NIV

[29] The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. [30] He must become greater; I must become less.” [31] The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.

John the Baptist explained the greatness of Jesus. He is greater. He is the bride groom. Everyone would wait for the bride groom to come and claim His bride. John's disciples were worried that Jesus disciples were baptizing people instead of coming to John. He explains to them that he has been waiting for Jesus to come into the place of the groom. He knows that his job is to serve God and make the way for Jesus. Now that Jesus' ministry is beginning, he knows that his job is coming to an end and it is time to joyful step back. He recognizes that Jesus is God which means He comes from above. That means He is above all. He is greater than John who is of this earth. John was willing to serve however and as long as he needed to but he also is willing to step back when that time comes as well. That is sort of what our job is as believers in Christ today. We are waiting for Jesus to return and until He does, we are to be inviting guest to the banquet and waiting to hear Jesus' voice when He returns. We need to be willing and responsive in service to the Kingdom of God, but when it is time for us to relinquish the reigns whether that will be to someone else who is to take the next part of the journey or when the job is done and we trust it into God's hands. No matter what, whatever we try to do here on earth will have no great value unless it is directed by the one who comes from above.