About Jesus - "You Must Be Born Again" - August 15, 2021
Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:29 am
John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into 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 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which 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 whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
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From before the birth of Jesus, during his life on Earth and after his ascension, the great hope of the majority of Hebrews was the restoration of their national sovereignty. There was nothing they hated more than paying taxes to the Romans who had subjugated them. To drive the Romans from Judea was the minimum of the popular national ambition. Most of the Hebrews of that era expected a messiah to restore the kingdom to its extent (about 16,000 square miles*) and at least some of the “glory” it had during the reign of David and his son Solomon (over 900 years previously).
The words of Nicodemus to Jesus express a guarded hope that Jesus might be the Messiah.
For Nicodemus to speak of Jesus as “a teacher” was, on the one hand, an enormous complement when spoken by one of the most wealthy and influential men in Judea to someone who had no formal education and no formal accreditation by the (mostly self-appointed?) members of the Sanhedrin.
At the same time, while Nicodemus may have fervently hoped that Jesus was more than “a teacher”, the words of Nicodemus’ complement indicated only a willingness to allow that Jesus may have been, in some way, an equal.
What Nicodemus expected a messiah to accomplish by political means, Jesus will accomplish by another means entirely. Nicodemus expected a restoration of the kingdom to be accomplished by an appeal to ethnic pride. Jesus will restore the kingdom but, when he does, the meek will inherit the earth.
Jesus didn’t even acknowledge the complement Nicodemus had offered. Instead Jesus spoke to the heart of the matter, namely, that the restoration of the kingdom was predicated on a restoration of dedication to the principles that had allowed the kingdom of David and Solomon to flourish.
Nicodemus presumably was well acquainted with the history of the Hebrew nation before it had a human king. That history included repeated cycles of apostasy and restoration. Nicodemus presumably knew about the division of the kingdom after the death of Solomon (930 B.C?) the Asserian captivity of the northern kingdom (eighth century B.C?) from which no restoration had occurred as yet, the Babylonian captivity (sixth century B.C?) and the restoration after the Babylonian Empire had been overthrown by the Persians (later in that same century).
Nicodemus had been taught (and had almost certainly taught) that being born Hebrew gave a person the prior favor of the creator. He had been taught that careful adherence to the laws of God were also a way to curry God’s favor. He had undoubtedly been taught that non-Hebrews could become Israelites (or “Jews” as the Hebrew inhabitants of Judea were then called) by being adopted or reborn as Israelites. (See the story of Ruth.)
But what Jesus said to him was an entirely new idea to Nicodemus - the idea that he who had been born Hebrew and was accustomed to “keeping the law” as strictly as he knew how could be truly a child of Abraham and of Israel (Jacob) only by experiencing the same new birth - spiritual birth - as was needed by people who were not Hebrews.
Next, Jesus illustrated the birth from above by referring to the fact that, although the wind cannot be seen, its effects demonstrate its reality. So with spiritual birth, it cannot be witnessed by others but its effects can be observed.
Next, Jesus illustrated the faith that is the vehicle or conduit of the miracle of the birth from above. Upon hearing that Moses had put a bronze serpent on a pole and told people to look at it, Israelites had done as they had been bidden and were saved from the effects of the venom of the snakes in the wilderness. (See Numbers 21.) So whosoever acknowledges the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah and trusts him are saved from the law of cause and effect - the law that the wages of sin is death.
The kingdom will indeed be restored. Jesus will sit on the throne of his father David. That restoration is not limited to Hebrews only. All those who have been born from above can be citizens of that kingdom. At the same time, Hebrews who fail to avail themselves of the offer of the free gift of spiritual rebirth “cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) - “cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (verse 5) - cannot “have eternal life” (verse 15) - cannot “have everlasting life” (verse 16).
Those who have experienced the same rebirth as Ruth did will inherit what was promised to Abraham - not merely a patch of land in the Middle East but the whole planet. (See Psalm 37, Matthew 5 and Romans 4.)
*Estimates vary.
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From before the birth of Jesus, during his life on Earth and after his ascension, the great hope of the majority of Hebrews was the restoration of their national sovereignty. There was nothing they hated more than paying taxes to the Romans who had subjugated them. To drive the Romans from Judea was the minimum of the popular national ambition. Most of the Hebrews of that era expected a messiah to restore the kingdom to its extent (about 16,000 square miles*) and at least some of the “glory” it had during the reign of David and his son Solomon (over 900 years previously).
The words of Nicodemus to Jesus express a guarded hope that Jesus might be the Messiah.
For Nicodemus to speak of Jesus as “a teacher” was, on the one hand, an enormous complement when spoken by one of the most wealthy and influential men in Judea to someone who had no formal education and no formal accreditation by the (mostly self-appointed?) members of the Sanhedrin.
At the same time, while Nicodemus may have fervently hoped that Jesus was more than “a teacher”, the words of Nicodemus’ complement indicated only a willingness to allow that Jesus may have been, in some way, an equal.
What Nicodemus expected a messiah to accomplish by political means, Jesus will accomplish by another means entirely. Nicodemus expected a restoration of the kingdom to be accomplished by an appeal to ethnic pride. Jesus will restore the kingdom but, when he does, the meek will inherit the earth.
Jesus didn’t even acknowledge the complement Nicodemus had offered. Instead Jesus spoke to the heart of the matter, namely, that the restoration of the kingdom was predicated on a restoration of dedication to the principles that had allowed the kingdom of David and Solomon to flourish.
Nicodemus presumably was well acquainted with the history of the Hebrew nation before it had a human king. That history included repeated cycles of apostasy and restoration. Nicodemus presumably knew about the division of the kingdom after the death of Solomon (930 B.C?) the Asserian captivity of the northern kingdom (eighth century B.C?) from which no restoration had occurred as yet, the Babylonian captivity (sixth century B.C?) and the restoration after the Babylonian Empire had been overthrown by the Persians (later in that same century).
Nicodemus had been taught (and had almost certainly taught) that being born Hebrew gave a person the prior favor of the creator. He had been taught that careful adherence to the laws of God were also a way to curry God’s favor. He had undoubtedly been taught that non-Hebrews could become Israelites (or “Jews” as the Hebrew inhabitants of Judea were then called) by being adopted or reborn as Israelites. (See the story of Ruth.)
But what Jesus said to him was an entirely new idea to Nicodemus - the idea that he who had been born Hebrew and was accustomed to “keeping the law” as strictly as he knew how could be truly a child of Abraham and of Israel (Jacob) only by experiencing the same new birth - spiritual birth - as was needed by people who were not Hebrews.
Next, Jesus illustrated the birth from above by referring to the fact that, although the wind cannot be seen, its effects demonstrate its reality. So with spiritual birth, it cannot be witnessed by others but its effects can be observed.
Next, Jesus illustrated the faith that is the vehicle or conduit of the miracle of the birth from above. Upon hearing that Moses had put a bronze serpent on a pole and told people to look at it, Israelites had done as they had been bidden and were saved from the effects of the venom of the snakes in the wilderness. (See Numbers 21.) So whosoever acknowledges the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah and trusts him are saved from the law of cause and effect - the law that the wages of sin is death.
The kingdom will indeed be restored. Jesus will sit on the throne of his father David. That restoration is not limited to Hebrews only. All those who have been born from above can be citizens of that kingdom. At the same time, Hebrews who fail to avail themselves of the offer of the free gift of spiritual rebirth “cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) - “cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (verse 5) - cannot “have eternal life” (verse 15) - cannot “have everlasting life” (verse 16).
Those who have experienced the same rebirth as Ruth did will inherit what was promised to Abraham - not merely a patch of land in the Middle East but the whole planet. (See Psalm 37, Matthew 5 and Romans 4.)
*Estimates vary.