John 3,1-17 The Birth from Above
YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
John 3
3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews.
2 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 Jesus answered and said to him,
“Surely, I say to you,
unless one is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 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 Jesus answered, “Surely, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you,
‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear the sound of it,
but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.
So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him,
“How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him,
“Are you the teacher of Israel,
and do not know these things?
11 Most assuredly, I say to you,
We speak what We know and testify what We have seen,
and you do not receive Our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended to heaven
but He who came down from heaven,
that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation,
that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light
and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light,
that his deeds may be clearly seen,
that they have been done in God.”
—John 3:1–21
How fascinating that a member of the “Who’s Who of Jerusalem”
should seek out Jesus, a traveling preacher.
Could He have anything in common with Nicodemus,
a man with perfect credentials?
John describes Nicodemus as “a man of the Pharisees,”
which meant he was one of the separated ones,
an elite lay theologian dedicated to studying
and living out every jot and tittle of the law
and “a ruler of the Jews,”
meaning he was a member of the Sanhedrin,
that exclusive council which controlled
the religious life of Israel.
Nicodemus had come because of all that had been going on.
He said, “No one can do these things that You do
unless God is with him.”
The dramatic cleansing of the temple
and the works that followed had created quite a stir.
Surely these happenings had become common gossip
on the streets of Jerusalem.
There is a humility in the way he comes.
He addresses Jesus as “Rabbi,”
a title of respect he would use only
because he believed he could learn something
from this new teacher.
He came “by night.”
Was he ashamed or fearful to be seen with Jesus by day?
Or were there too many people clamoring for Jesus’ attention
by day?
Perhaps if there were to be any chance for an honest,
uninterrupted conversation
it would have to be at night.
But the night is also a time of darkness.
And is this not where Nicodemus was living?
In darkness?
Even though he affirms that God must be with Jesus,
he is ignorant?
Nicodemus says, “we know.”
He seems to be speaking for more than himself.
Nicodemus may have come to voice some of the questions
being raised by a group within the Sanhedrin.
By what authority was Jesus doing these things?
What was His purpose?
Did He have some new truth to reveal?
Nicodemus is speaking for men
Who truly wanted to know what Jesus was all about.
Earthly Birth and New Birth (vv. 3–7).
Jesus responds to Nicodemus’s friendly statement
by coming directly to the heart of the matter.
He does not waste time on peripheral issues.
His statement, “Surely,” calls for careful, singleminded attention.
Nicodemus’s destiny will hang on how he hears and answers
what Jesus will now say.
“I say to you, unless one is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus uses a basic earthly category—human birth—
to illuminate a profound spiritual reality.
“Born again”!
The phrase is arresting and fresh, alive with meaning.
Another chance, starting over, new life!
Is it possible?
That is exactly what Jesus is saying.
In our age, which has vulgarized so many great realities,
we have tossed these words around
as if they were simply another cool “in” phrase
to be used when we talk about other people.
“Oh darling,
You say he is a born again Christian?
How delightful!”
Even in church circles, sad to say,
the words have become worn out…
they are almost part of our professional jargon,
stripped of their original radical meaning.
But this was not the case with Nicodemus.
He comes up short.
He is baffled and confused.
This is not what he expected.
“How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb
and be born?”
How else can he respond?
In spite of all his religious knowledge
and living by the levitical code,
he is locked in flesh.
He can only understand from an earthly perspective.
His response makes earthly sense.
How can anyone who is physically mature
start over again within his mother’s womb?
Surely one cannot undo forty or fifty years of physical growth.
And if this is true physically,
then how much more difficult it is to start over in the moral
and spiritual realm.
Is not each one of us the sum total of all his experiences,
good and bad, at any stage of life?
Surely we cannot wipe that all out and say
that now we will start over.
Have all these years of study and zealous obedience to the law
been in vain for Nicodemus?
But this new birth is not an intensified continuation of old ways,
a deepened interpretation of the law,
or a more urgent effort to obey the levitical code.
No, this is a “new beginning,”
a starting over again.
This is new life given by God Himself,
a breaking in of His grace,
a supernatural act bringing forth a new creation.
Just as a human birth is a mystery,
but a very specific reality,
so there is a deeper mystery
and reality about spiritual birth.
Physical life is born through the intimacy of human love
shared by male and female
in which there is the union of egg and sperm.
But there is also a spiritual act of divine grace
in which God gives Himself to a particular person,
who, in receiving Him, is born anew.
It is in the union of the divine and the human,
the supernatural and the natural, the heavenly and the earthly, that new life comes.
This newborn person now understands a new order of being,
the kingdom of God.
He has been given new eyes and a new heart
to apprehend what it means to be a member of a new family,
a child of God living in joyful obedience to the Father’s will. Nicodemus had never grasped that reality,
even though he carefully studied the meaning
of the law of Moses with the other Pharisees.
The reign of God,
His gracious rule over all life,
can never be outwardly known,
for an order that is essentially spiritual
cannot be understood with natural powers.
Roger Fredrickson tells this Story
in The Preacher’s Commentary on John:
Well over a hundred Southeast Asians
have come to be a part of our church family,
and what joy they have brought into our congregational life.
One in particular is Mr. Nou,
a gifted man with many leadership qualities.
What a beautiful experience it was a few weeks ago
to hear him share the meaning
of the new life God had given him.
In his “old life” he had frequently beaten his wife and children,
often neglecting them
while he was “partying with other women” as he put it.
His weekends were often drunken orgies.
Coming to the United States as a refugee from Laos
did not change his situation.
In fact, it worsened it!
He finally gave in to one of his persistent friends
who almost angered him by constantly urging him
to come with him to church.
At first, it was all a joke for Mr. Nou.
But then, in God’s mysterious way,
he met the One to whom Nicodemus came at night.
It was a radical, life-changing encounter,
and Mr. Nou was “born again.”
He emptied the whiskey bottles in his home
and began to treat his wife and children
with new love and respect.
Then he discovered new friends among the believers
and began to eagerly study the Scriptures at 5:00 each morning.
What a joy to hear him speak about all the spiritual truths
he has already discovered in the Word of God.
His wife said,
“I don’t have a different husband. I have a new one.”
As he shared that day with our congregation,
there was a radiant joy about him.
No wonder Mr. Nou has become a contagious evangelist
among his own people,
going to their homes,
sharing the good news of what has happened to him,
and inviting them to church.
When I spoke to him commending him for this
he seemed surprised.
“Isn’t that what all of us are supposed to be doing?
How could anyone hold back such a good thing?”
The new birth is not some experience
added to our old way of thinking or acting.
We have had far too much of this in our churches—
people living the old life, ignorant like Nicodemus.
They may go through the motions of religion,
but there is no reality in it.
We have asked people to repeat the “right words,”
and we have been running in circles,
doing things, taking on more projects,
and desperately trying to behave “right.”
But at the center of existence, in their deepest selves,
people have been untouched and unchanged.
Then we have covered up the old,
unconverted self with churchly language.
We say, “Of course, he was baptized.”
“Yes, she’s been a member here for over twenty years.”
“You know what a great job she’s done in that committee.”
“They are about the best givers we have.”
And all the time,
many of these people are empty and needy,
spiritually bankrupt.
Nicodemus can only ask,
“How can a man be born when he is old?”
And again Jesus responds, “Surely.”
The new birth is by water,
Just as John’s baptism with water is a sign of cleansing from sin.
Unless he dares to let go of his morality and learning
and submit in humility and helplessness to repent before God,
he cannot be born from above.
Neither can we.
But there is more than water.
The new birth is also by “the Spirit.”
The Hebrew word for the Spirit is ruach,
translated “the intimate breath of God,”
and the Greek is pneuma, “the wind of His Spirit.”
The One by whose creative breath
every person becomes a living soul
also shares His life-changing Spirit
with all who will receive.
Here is the power from above that liberates
and makes all things new.
In verse 7, Jesus confronts Nicodemus directly and personally:
“You must be born again.”
Not someone else, but you, Nicodemus,
who are so dedicated to learn and obey the law.
The birth from above is not a general spiritual doctrine
to be endlessly discussed,
but a specific imperative that addresses
this particular man in the depth of his being.
So it is with us!
The claim of Jesus comes to each of us this way—
personally and directly—
to the very center of our existence.
A Mystery: As Wind Blows (v. 8).
Birth from above cannot be manipulated or programmed.
It is a gift given in God’s own way and time,
an act of sovereign grace.
It is a birth as mysterious as the wind,
which comes and goes as it wills.
Unseen, yet real!
Again, Jesus has used a common,
earthy reality to illuminate spiritual truth.
He has spoken of birth, then water, and now wind.
This breath of God brings life,
according to His gracious purpose.
There is a mystery about God’s working
which we can only anticipate and prepare for.
He is the One who moves when He wills!
“How can these things be?” (vv. 9–13).
There must have been a long, wondering pause
before Nicodemus asked Jesus the question in verse 9.
A conversation of this depth cannot be hurried.
Once again, Nicodemus can only ask “How?”
Even though he is a “teacher of Israel,”
but he’s speaking of them as a stranger,
an outsider, alien to all the inner meaning.
There is a note of sadness in Jesus’ response in verse 10.
How can Nicodemus be a teacher of Israel
and yet not know these things?
Nicodemus’s being a religious leader
is like the blind leading the blind.
What Jesus has shared with him is not sophisticated doctrine. These are the ABCs,
and if Nicodemus cannot grasp these truths
taught through simple, earthly symbols,
there is no way he can ever understand
and accept the deeper realities. [1]
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[1]Fredrikson, Roger L., and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. Vol. 27, The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 27 : John. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series, Page 77. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1985.