A Ruler and Teacher Talk (Part 2)

Do not be surprised that I say to you, It is necessary for you to have a second birth. The wind goes where its pleasure takes it, and the sound of it comes to your ears, but you are unable to say where it comes from and where it goes: so it is with everyone whose birth is from the Spirit.

And Nicodemus said to him, How is it possible for these things to be? And Jesus, answering, said, Are you the teacher of Israel and have no knowledge of these things? Truly, I say to you, we say that of which we have knowledge; we give witness of what we have seen; and you do not take our witness to be true. If you have no belief when my words are about the things of earth, how will you have belief if my words are about the things of heaven (BBE)?  

Synonym Matching
surprised                                                                                  exist
earth                                                                                         tell about
necessary                                                                                 amazed
to be                                                                                         world
give witness                                                                             needed
                                    
Antonym Matching
true                                                                                          able
knowledge                                                                              pain
unable                                                                                     false
pleasure                                                                                  ignorance
necessary                                                                               unnecessary 
 
​Introductory Activity 
What are the five senses? ​
With each photograph, ask which sense is represented.
Also, ask what their favorite and least favorite taste is, etc. 

Introductory Discussion Questions
Which of the five senses is the most important? Why? 
What makes things real?
Can we hear, smell, see, taste, touch, the wind? How do we know wind is real?
What subjects did you struggle with in school? 
Can you think of some things that are difficult to understand? 

Ranking
In groups, have students rank the five senses from most important to least important.
​When they have finished, have each group present their ranking choices and their rational behind it. 

Listening Blank Fill
Do not be surprised that I say to ______, It is necessary for you to have a second ________. The wind goes where its pleasure takes it, ______ the sound of it comes to your ears, but you are _________ to say where it comes from and where ____ goes: so it is with everyone whose birth is _______ the Spirit.
 And Nicodemus said to him, How is it ____________ for these things to be? And Jesus, answering, _______, Are you the teacher of Israel and have no ____________ of these things? Truly, I say to you, ____ say that of which we have knowledge; we _______ witness of what we have seen; and you ____ not take our witness to be true. If you _______ no belief when my words are about the _________ of earth, how will you have belief if my ________ are about the things of heaven?

Multiple Choice
Do 1. (     ) be surprised that I say to you, It is necessary for 2. (     ) to have a second birth. The wind goes where 3. (     ) pleasure takes it, and the sound of it comes to your 4. (     ), but you are unable to say where it comes from and where it 5. (     ): so it is with everyone whose birth is from the Spirit.
 And Nicodemus said to him, 6. (     ) is it possible for these things to be? And Jesus, answering, said, Are you the teacher of Israel and have no 7. (     ) of these things? Truly, I say to you, we say that of 8. (     ) we have knowledge; we give witness of what we have 9. (     ); and you do not take our witness to be true. If you have no belief when my words are about the things of 10. (    ), how will you have belief if my words are about the things of 11. (     )?

1. a. but b. not c. yet d. no
2. a. you b. she c. he d. it
3. a. her b. his d. their e. its
4. a. ears b. eyes c. hands d. nose
5. a. go b. goes c. goed d. gos
6. a. what b. where c. when d. how
7. a. knowledge b. know c. knowing d. knows
8. a. that b. why c. which d. this
9. a. smelled b. seen c. felt d. listened
10. a. world b. cosmos c. earth d. dirt
11. a. heaven b. world c. earth d. clouds

Pair Work Discussion Questions
A:
What effects may be seen from the wind?
What is the strongest wind you have seen?
What do you think these two men believed about the nature of reality? Did they believe things are real?
Why was Jesus frustrated that Nicodemus didn’t understand?
What knowledge could Nicodemus not understand so that Jesus could move on to the next thing?
B:
What effects may be seen from a spiritual second birth?
What sounds of the wind do you like or not like?
Why do you think Nicodemus struggled to understand?
Can you think of a story in which someone shared a true story, but they were not believed?
What information did Jesus want to share about next?

Add Punctuation
In groups, have students add punctuation to the story. After a while, allow them to look at the original story and see how close they were. 

Do not be surprised that I say to you It is necessary for you to have a second birth The wind goes where its pleasure takes it and the sound of it comes to your ears but you are unable to say where it comes from and where it goes so it is with everyone whose birth is from the Spirit

And Nicodemus said to him How is it possible for these things to be And Jesus answering said Are you the teacher of Israel and have no knowledge of these things Truly I say to you we say that of which we have knowledge we give witness of what we have seen and you do not take our witness to be true If you have no belief when my words are about the things of earth how will you have belief if my words are about the things of heaven (BBE)  

Key Vocabulary
surprised  惊
necessary  必要
birth    分 娩
wind  风
pleasure    乐趣  
sound  声音
ears  耳
unable   无法
everyone   大家
Spirit   圣 灵 
possible  可能
teacher  老师
Israel    以 色 列
knowledge  知识
Truly 实在
give witness   见证
have seen   见过
belief  信仰
words  话
earth  地球
heaven  天
​
Exercise Answers
Synonym Matching: surprised-->amazed, earth-->world, necessary-->needed, to be-->exist, give witness-->tell about     
​Antonym Matching: true-->false, knowledge-->ignorance, unable-->able, pleasure-->pain, necessary-->unnecessary
Listening Blank Fill: You, birth, and, unable, it, from, possible, said, knowledge, we, give, do, have, things, words.
Multiple Choice: 1. b. not, 2. a. you, 3. e. its, 4. a. ears, 5. b. goes, 6. d. how, 7. a. knowledge, 8. c. which, 9. b. seen 10. c. earth, 11. a. heaven