Day 812: Born again? - John 3 vs 1 - 12

1-2 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.” 3-4 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or, from above) 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?”

5-6 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. 7-8 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You (plural) 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.” (The same Greek word means both wind and spirit.)

9-10 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? 11 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. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? John 3:1-12 English Standard Version

Chapter 2 ended by saying that “when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing.” Verses 1-2 today suggest that one of the people impressed by Jesus' miracles was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. It's likely that his coming to Jesus at night time was from fear of what other Pharisees might say. But Jesus challenged Nicodemus' knowledge in a way that showed Nicodemus was actually missing a vital truth. What was that? (vs 3-4)

Nicodemus was thinking in very physical, or earthly terms. One could say he was basing his convictions purely on head knowledge. Jesus said that to truly understand what the Kingdom of God is all about requires a spiritual birth in a person's life. It’s an awakening that is brought about by God's Spirit. (vs 5-8) This is a vital truth of the gospel and explains why a man or woman can be a devout Church goer, yet not necessarily have a true relationship with Jesus Christ as Saviour.

I've heard different explanations for Jesus' words that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Some suggest Jesus is contrasting natural human birth, when a woman's waters break, with the spiritual birth brought about by God. But as this conversation follows what the apostle told us in Chapter 1 about the buzz that that was created by John the Baptist's activities, it could be that Jesus was showing Nicodemus that an act of baptism in itself, or any religious activity, doesn't give new life. This would explain vs 11 where Jesus is probably referring to Himself and John the Baptist.

The chapter is about to move on to some of the most well known verses of the Bible among Christians which, God willing, I'll get to next week. But what Jesus says to Nicodemus in vs 9-10 is important not only for Nicodemus, but for anyone who is familiar with the Bible. Can you see why that is?

Nicodemus and his fellow Pharisees were 'teachers in Israel', yet didn't grasp the spiritual requirements for a relationship with God. They knew the Old Testament so well, but missed the implications of a verse such as Psalm 51:10 where David prayed “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Knowing what the Bible teaches is not enough. There needs to be a work of God's Spirit in our life if we are to enter the Kingdom of God. It's possible even to be a minister of a Church, yet still far from God. We can't make ourselves 'born again' – it's an act of God's Spirit, as we see from vs 7-8. But, God willing, we will see in the verses that follow today's section how God brings it about. It's not through Church rituals, but something far more wonderful. May God grant that what we 'know in our head', will be a spiritual reality in our heart.