John 3:1-21
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The 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.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
“For 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
The ability to peer inside our bodies is truly a scientific revelation. Years ago Madame Curie discovered x-ray and this initiated the art of analyzing the bone structures of the body. It is now common place to stand before a piece of electrical equipment that can produce a picture of the skeletal make-up of the body. In the past few years, medical science has perfected the technique of analyzing the soft tissues of the body, utilizing only sound waves. A transducer, which transmits an electrical signal for a fraction of a second, sends a wave into the chest and then acts as a receiver that records the wave as it is reflected back from the structures there found. The heart can be properly imaged to show the motion of it walls, valves, and the blood contained therein. The risk is negligible and the benefits are immense.
As this equipment has become more sophisticated, its application to the progress of new life in the womb has become of great value. Serial exams during pregnancy have disclosed not only the normal development of this new child but have demonstrated the gender. Long before the delivery date, the child may be given a name such as Kennedy Reese or Ella Grace. Some of the wonder of the birth is lost but the sense of bonding is increased. God’s providing of new life is a cause for celebration.
Nicodemus was Jesus’ nighttime visitor who came to inquire of this young Rabbi. He was a man of position and a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Hebrew Supreme Court. He was a Pharisee whose life was devoted to the Hebrew Scriptures with respect to their study and to the keeping of the associated religious law. He was a leader of the people and was esteemed for his position and his dedication. In contrast to other Gospel accounts of the Pharisee’s contact with Jesus, I sense that he came truly motivated to learn rather than to trap or condemn Jesus. His subsequent actions of a limited defense of Jesus before his peers and his help with Jesus’ burial suggest this. His motives seem sincere.
Jesus wastes no time in going to the heart of the issue. Despite Nicodemus sincerity and reputation, he must be reborn. Secondary to his limited understanding, he applies a physical comprehension to this statement. A physical miracle would be necessary for him to enter his mother’s womb for rebirth. Truly a miracle is necessary but it is a Spiritual one that can only be accomplished from above. Key is the impartation of the pure Light of God into the darkened heart of mankind. Nicodemus remains confused. We can only imagine that he leaves in frustration with his neat world of rules and regulations destroyed by a concept that confound his mind, new birth from above.
We stand 20 centuries later bathed in the light of Scripture that helps all of us who desperately seek Kingdom entry. The Kingdom of God is most simply defined as the reigning of the God of Creation in our hearts. In simplest terms, our hearts are composed of our eternal souls and our spirits. Our souls are our essence, our being, and our spirits are that portion of our makeup that allows us to communicate with God. The miracle that occurs begins with the simultaneous gifting of new life in our souls accompanied by faith in Jesus the Christ as the Son of God and our Savior. This miracle is made possible by the free gift of the very Spirit of God to indwell the believer. From this vantage point in our being, God the Spirit, begins to accompany us on a walk of holiness. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans provides us with the understanding of how we become more of whom God made us to be. Romans 12:1-2 Living Sacrifices_ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. The key is the aspect of the renewing of our minds. Involved in this is the transformation of our allegiance to the thoughts of God rather than the lure of the culture. Being born of Adam and Eve, we are conceived as children of darkness. Sin is not just what we do but who and whose we are. A transformation is essential. Without this transformation, Scripture says we are lost forever. Rebirth by Gods’ Spirit transfers us from lost to found, from dark to light, from Satan to Christ. God’s desire is to infuse His character into our souls so that we resemble His son. This was God’s intention in Eden’s garden when he fellowshipped with Adam and Eve. He forbade their access to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil not to suspend them in ignorance but to shelter them in the purity of their souls. The sin of pride destroyed that possibility at that juncture. It is for this reason that God sent His son as Jesus of Nazareth to provide for a new birth of soul and renewing of the mind to what God originally intended.
What is the proof of such transformation? Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. If these do not exude from our personality, we need to pray for the Spirit’s help and surrender our wills to God. The outcome is a peace beyond understanding.
