“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.”” (John 3:1–8, ESV)
Jesus did not entrust Himself to those who believed in the works
He was doing because He knew their hearts. This is what we read in the previous
three verses. Here is an example on one of those individuals. Nicodemus, who we
read was a ruler among the Jews, came to Jesus quietly by night to talk with
Him. From his words we know that he believed Jesus to be someone special, that
Jesus was a teacher sent by God. This was proven by the signs that Jesus had
been showing them (miraculous things). Anyone who could do these things must be
sent by God, because apart from God moving these things would not be possible.
To Nicodemus the signs validated the messenger and endorsed the message, and he
wanted to find out more.
We don’t know if Nicodemus said anything else along with
this, but we do know that Jesus responded to Nicodemus’ statement with an
answer that neither confirmed nor denied what Nicodemus had said. Rather, Jesus
spoke to the need of Nicodemus’ heart—that he needed to be born again in order
to see the kingdom of God. As a Jew, Nicodemus had been looking forward to the
coming Messiah who would usher in this new millennial kingdom, but the
condition that Jesus put on Nicodemus entering that kingdom threw him for a
loop. There is no way that he could reenter his mother’s womb. What was Jesus
talking about with this new concept of being “born again?”
Jesus did not miss a step, having baited Nicodemus curiosity,
and He began to explain to Nicodemus the difference between being born of the
flesh and being “born again” of the Spirit. Reinforcing this rebirth as a condition of
entering the kingdom of God, Jesus said, ““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.” “Born again” literally means “born from above.” Jesus was not telling
Nicodemus that he had to be born of flesh like he was years before, but that he
had to experience a new and different kind of birth, one that did not come from
fleshly relations between his mother and father, but from God above and the
working of His Spirit. As humans we are given life in our bodies, but this life
is subject to the certainty of death. As those saved by the Spirit of God, we
are given a new life that never dies and which will endure forever.
Being born of water and Spirit is not a reference to the two
different forms of birth (flesh and Spirit), but a statement of the cleansing
necessary for individuals to be given new life in the Spirit. Jews knew about
cleansing. This was something established by God before sacrifices could be
offered. It was required of them by God before the priest could enter the Most
Holy Place. It was required in their traditions before someone could enter the
temple after having been with someone who is unclean or who may have touched
that which was unclean. Ceremonial cleansing was a regular part of the devout
Jew’s life. But Jesus was telling Nicodemus that his real need was not this
form of cleansing, but a cleansing that was full, permanent, and complete.
The writer of Hebrews tells us in terms that the Jews would
understand, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood,
and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was
necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these
rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies
of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of
God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest
enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would
have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is,
he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and
after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins
of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who
are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:22–28, ESV)
Jesus was the One who had come to cleanse. He was going to
do it fully and permanently. Inseparable from this cleansing Jesus was also going
to give new life to all who believe. “For Christ also suffered once for sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18, ESV)
There was more said that night which we will
continue to look at in later posts, but these words which were true for
Nicodemus as true for all mankind—“You must be born again!”
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