John 3:36- Better to Obey Jesus, or to Believe in Jesus?

[newton3005]

In John 3:3, Jesus says to Nicodemus the Pharisee who ‘rules the Jews,’ “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Whereupon in Verse 4 Nicodemus asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

The question Nicodemus asks reflects an earthly mind, one that may only conceive of things he knows that are on earth. His thinking may reflect the Jewish objective of abiding by all God’s Laws in the OT. One may note that in Leviticus and Deuteronomy there isn’t as much mention of spirituality as there is in the NT. Seems that the only thing that is intangible in nature and addressed by God in the OT is one’s future. Submitted for your approval is Deuteronomy 28:1–6 which says, “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”

Passages like those are what the Pharisees and other devoted Jews have learned and abided by. No mention here of spirituality and what awaits in Heaven. Easy to surmise how both can be beyond the understanding of Nicodemus and others who, with the exception of being taught about God, were not taught or indoctrinated on things they can’t see. So, whereas Christians may find amusing the question Nicodemus asks in Verse 4, a Jew in that time would be thinking ‘That’s what I’D like to know!’

That is not to say that all Jews are inflexible: it is obvious that after some initial confusion amongst Jesus’ Jewish disciples as to what Jesus meant when he said certain things that at first glance sounds more like riddles in what he was teaching them, they caught on.
Which brings us to the curious Verse, John 3:36.

Different Bibles have their own version of what this Verse says. The English Standard Version says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” The New King James Version says, “He who BELIEVES in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Within the Verses of John 3:1-36, Jesus explains to Nicodemus what it is to be born again. Much of what Jesus says here centers on the spirituality of being born again, as in Verses 5 and 6 in which he says, “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.”

Where is the spiritualness in OBEYING someone like Jesus? Wouldn’t it be more in line with the spirit if we BELIEVED in Jesus? Seems that believing in Jesus encompasses more then just an earthly notion of merely obeying him. One can obey someone else without giving it much thought or examining the command in terms of one’s own experiences. But to believe in someone involves expanding on what one is aware of, and it would involve engaging one’s feelings toward believing in someone. So, it would seem we have a better chance of being born again by believing in Jesus, instead of merely obeying Jesus, n’est ce pas?

 

[MatthewG]

I get what you’re saying, and honestly I agree with the core of your point: none of us today can obey everything Yeshua said the way the people of His day were expected to. Even the apostles admitted this — Peter said plainly, “Why put a yoke on the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10). They were living inside the covenant transition, inside the moment, inside the fulfillment. We’re looking back at it through the lens of resurrection and the Spirit.

That’s why I don’t even like the word obedience anymore. I can’t obey everything Yeshua did — not perfectly, not consistently, not in the flesh. But I do believe His Spirit can work in me, shape me, and lead me as someone who has died with Him, been buried with Him, and been raised with Him (Romans 6:3–5). That’s relationship, not checklist.

And that’s really the point: I can choose to walk with God through the Spirit… or I can choose not to. That’s not law-keeping. That’s relational faith. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

But here’s something interesting: Some people in the Gospels were told not to speak about Him — and they ran off and did it anyway. Jesus told them, “See that you tell no one” (Matthew 9:30), and yet “they went away and spread His fame through all that district.” (Matthew 9:31)

They didn’t “obey” the command. They overflowed. They couldn’t help it. Their hearts were changed.

So what do we do with that? Were they disobedient? Or were they so transformed that the life of God in them overpowered the command meant for that moment?

To me, that shows something deeper: The Spirit produces a response that goes beyond rule-following. Paul said, “It is God who works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

It’s not about obeying every word Jesus ever spoke — it’s about being born of the Spirit so that the life inside you moves you in ways the flesh never could (John 3:6–8).

That’s why I lean toward believing in Him, trusting Him, and walking with Him — not trying to recreate first-century obedience in a twenty-first-century body.

What do you make of those people who “disobeyed” Jesus because their hearts were burning too strongly to stay silent?

 

[1stCenturyLady]

Both. You can't do one without doing the other also and be saved.

 

[MatthewG]

The only commandment I do remember is this; "believe on the one whom God had sent and love your neighbor as yourself."

I can't even love properly without the Lord Yeshua and abiding in him.

You’re speaking the truth that every honest disciple eventually discovers: you can’t love the way God commands unless you’re drawing that love from Yeshua Himself.

That’s not failure — that’s the design.

The command is simple, but impossible without Him​

You remember the heart of it:

• Believe on the One whom God has sent
• Love your neighbor as yourself

That’s the whole thing. But the second command cannot be done in the flesh. Not consistently. Not deeply. Not with the patience, mercy, and endurance that real love requires.

Scripture doesn’t hide this:

“Without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Not “a little.” Not “sometimes.” Nothing.

That includes loving your neighbor.

Love is not something you generate — it’s something you receive​

When you abide in Yeshua:

• His patience becomes your patience
• His mercy becomes your mercy
• His gentleness becomes your gentleness
• His endurance becomes your endurance

You’re not trying to imitate Him — you’re letting Him live through you.

Paul said it plainly:

“It is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me.” Galatians 2:20

That’s why you feel what you feel. You’re aware that your own strength isn’t enough — and that awareness is actually evidence that you are abiding.

People who try to love without Him don’t even notice their lack. You do.

Your confession is not weakness — it’s alignment with truth​

Saying:

“I can’t even love properly without the Lord Yeshua.”
isn’t a failure. It’s the exact posture He wants.

Because the moment you admit that, you’re already leaning into Him. And when you lean into Him, His Spirit produces the love you cannot manufacture.

That’s why the fruit of the Spirit is called fruit — it grows from the Vine, not the branch.

 

[Grailhunter]

So, it would seem we have a better chance of being born again by believing in Jesus, instead of merely obeying Jesus,

There is more than one topic here....
Born again is associated with Baptism....The water and the Spirit.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:1-7

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Act 2:38

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Romans 8:9

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2nd Corinthians 5:17

Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16

Your initial obedience is......
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Act 2:38 This is the point of salvation.
When you come up out of that water you are born again.....sinless.....a new person, as far as God is concerned, you have no past and no sin. Then you receive the Holy Spirit. People say we are soul and spirit and non-Christians do not have a spirit. That is because we receive a spirit at Baptism.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Romans 8:9
And there is salvation in a nutshell.

Obedience comes after.....So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12
Yeshua expects us to do our best to keep the morals He and the Apostles taught us. And to love God and each other and help others as much as possible. And doing so pleases Him.

And yes, we can be disobedient and sin and rebel and therein sin our way to Hell.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2nd Corinthians 5:10
And remember those in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats that did not help people, they went to Hell.

So, it is a fact that obedience does not save you, but disobedience can send you to Hell.

But still we are all going to sin and if we ask forgiveness He will forgive us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness....... 1st John 1:9

But just as Romans 6:1 says....Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
Grace is not a license to sin. And Yeshua knows our heart and our intent, don't think you can play Him for a fool. Do the best you can.

Be good and do good.
The Johnny Appleseed of Truth

 

[Davy]

Sorry to sound harsh, but it's kind of late in the day to be playing religion instead of wanting to understand God's written Word in the simplicity that it is written.

Just because we see many preachers today leaving the actual 'written' simplicity of the Bible Scripture, and instead going on a philosophical tirade as if they are writing their senior thesis for their religious seminary, that does not mean it's OK to go on like that. Trying to sound intellectual and academically educated has nothing with being called to preach God's Word.

The conversation Lord Jesus and Nicodemus had was not about water baptism, nor about the gobbledygook pushed in the OP.

And furthermore, not all the Pharisees were against Lord Jesus, so someone who does generalizations about a whole group of people show their immaturity in life in general, and not only when it comes to their reading God's Word. Nicodemus contributed spices for the burial of Lord Jesus' body. So most likely Nicodemus was a believer on Christ. He simply went to see Jesus at night so the non-believing Pharisees wouldn't ostracize him.

Nicodemus understood Lord Jesus in John 3 to be speaking of being born in the water of woman's womb. This is why Jesus told him in verse 6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; ...". Jesus' flesh reference is to the being born of water in verse 5, the previous verse. And the phrase "born again" about the spirit part per the Greek is actually 'born from above'. It means our spirit must be re-born of The Holy Spirit.

The proper interpretation of John 3:5 is that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, one must be born in the flesh (of the water of woman's womb), and their spirit must be re-born by The Holy Spirit through Faith on Jesus Christ.

 

[Grailhunter]

Sorry to sound harsh, but it's kind of late in the day to be playing religion instead of wanting to understand God's written Word in the simplicity that it is written.

Just because we see many preachers today leaving the actual 'written' simplicity of the Bible Scripture, and instead going on a philosophical tirade as if they are writing their senior thesis for their religious seminary, that does not mean it's OK to go on like that. Trying to sound intellectual and academically educated has nothing with being called to preach God's Word.

The conversation Lord Jesus and Nicodemus had was not about water baptism, nor about the gobbledygook pushed in the OP.

And furthermore, not all the Pharisees were against Lord Jesus, so someone who does generalizations about a whole group of people show their immaturity in life in general, and not only when it comes to their reading God's Word. Nicodemus contributed spices for the burial of Lord Jesus' body. So most likely Nicodemus was a believer on Christ. He simply went to see Jesus at night so the non-believing Pharisees wouldn't ostracize him.

Nicodemus understood Lord Jesus in John 3 to be speaking of being born in the water of woman's womb. This is why Jesus told him in verse 6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; ...". Jesus' flesh reference is to the being born of water in verse 5, the previous verse. And the phrase "born again" about the spirit part per the Greek is actually 'born from above'. It means our spirit must be re-born of The Holy Spirit.

The proper interpretation of John 3:5 is that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, one must be born in the flesh (of the water of woman's womb), and their spirit must be re-born by The Holy Spirit through Faith on Jesus Christ.

Glad you were not replying to me because I pretty much disagree with everything you said.