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)

What might it have been like to have a conversation with Jesus? Can you imagine going over to the house Jesus is staying to have a chat with Him? One guy named Nicodemus found out. His conversation with Jesus is one of the most well-known events  in the New Testament, if not the whole Bible.

Context

This scene occurs right after Jesus attends Passover (John 2:13-25). At end of chapter 2, we read:

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing (v. 23).

The phrase “believed in His name” is a key theme in John’s gospel. John tells us that the people saw the signs that Jesus was doing (though here he is not specific) and believed in Hm. What specifically they believed is not certain, however, as we see people who “believed” in Jesus begin to argue with Him and deny His teachings.

We know little about Nicodemus. We know he was a member of Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. We know he was a Pharisee. We also know he became a disciple of Jesus. John calls him a secret disciple, and his cautious defense of Jesus in John 7 show a man who was deeply impacted by this encounter. In connection with this, much has been made of Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night. As a member of the Sanhedrin and an important teacher, Nicodemus would have been busy during the day. We should avoid ascribing motives to him when the text is unclear.

The Opening Observation

Nicodemus opens the discussion with an observation:

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 (v. 2).

He starts by calling Jesus “Rabbi,” a courteous expression of respect, meaning “Teacher.” Throughout the brief dialog, there is no hint of disrespect in Nicodemus, though there is obvious confusion. The use of “we” in v. 2 suggests that he is linking himself to the people who believed in Jesus’ name” as a result of the signs they had seen (2:23). He acknowledges at least that Christ is a “teacher come from God,” and he, like the people, bases his conclusion on the fact that no one could do such things apart from God (v.2).

So, Nicodemus makes what most people would consider a fair observation. He’s polite, respectful, acknowledges that Jesus is a Godly teacher. Then we read Jesus’ reply:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (v. 3)

What was that, Jesus? Can’t you see Nicodemus scratching his head trying to figure out exactly what Jesus is trying to say? But if we look back at this brief exchange, perhaps the statement is not as cryptic as it seems. Nicodemus has already admitted that Jesus is come from God as teacher. He’s got incomplete belief, and his belief, like much of the people, is at the level of mental or intellectual assent: “Yes, I believe Jesus is come from God. Yes, I believe Hawaiian pizza is the best pizza ever.”

In that light, Jesus’ reply would seem to say, “Nicodemus, if you want to see the kingdom of God, mental assent is not enough. There must be a fundamental change in your nature, through the new birth.”

A Clarifying Question

Ever the Pharisee-lawyer, Nicodemus takes Jesus’ words at face value—literally. It’s clear he is confused. So, he kind of scoffs at the idea by asking,

How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born (v. 5)?

Jesus then proceeds to elaborate on His previous statement. He says, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (v. 5). Now, let’s stop right there for a moment. Many are confused by this verse. Is Jesus teaching, as some believe, that baptism in water is necessary for salvation? Taking into account the whole of the New Testament teaching on salvation, that position is untenable.

What, then, does Jesus mean by the statement? In the whole passage of John 3:3-9, it is clear Jesus is talking about a spiritual birth (otherwise, Nicodemus would not be so confused). Therefore, v. 5 must be taken with the context in mind. The key to the verse is found in the word translated “and.” The Greek word for this is kai, which is often just a connective word. However, in many instances it can (and should) be translated by “even” or “indeed.” Translated this way, the verse would read, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water, even [or indeed] the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” The interpretation of this then is that Jesus is using an earthly symbol (water), something Nicodemus would understand, to represent a spiritual concept or entity (the Holy Spirit).

Another example of this is found in verse 8, where Jesus compares the new birth (those born in the Spirit) to the blowing of the wind. We cannot see the wind, only the results of it blowing. Likewise, we cannot see the Spirit change a person on the inside, but we can see the results of the new birth. One obvious conclusion to be drawn from this passage is that one who has been born again will experience change, as 1 John makes clear.

Nicodemus still has one final question to ask and we will look at that next week in Part 2 of this interview with Jesus.

Takeaways from This Passage

There are two primary ideas that we should take from this passage. First, mental assent is not the same thing as biblical faith. Biblical faith goes far beyond that, causing us to trust our very lives to God and His goodness. Second, it’s not enough to see Jesus as a great teacher (and He certainly is the best of any teacher). That is really the root problem that Nicodemus had. His eyes were blinded to the truth about Jesus, and thus he couldn’t understand the deep spiritual truth of which Jesus was speaking. Next week, we’ll see this interview come to a climax—and a close—with Jesus revealing Himself to Nicodemus.