~You Must Be Born Again

JOH 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [a member of the Sanhedrin]

  • Judaism in New Testament times was diverse. We read of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. One man is called a Zealot. From other sources we learn of the Essenes.

The Pharisees constituted the most important group. They appear in the Gospels as the opponents of Jesus. Paul claimed that he was a Pharisee before becoming a Christian (Philippians. 3:5). They were the most numerous of the groups, although Josephus stated that they numbered only about six thousand. They controlled the synagogues and exercised great control over the general population.

No surviving writing gives us information about the origin of the Pharisees. The earliest reference to them is dated in the time of Jonathan (160-143 B.C.), where Josephus refers to Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Their good relations with the rulers ended in the time of John Hyrcanus (134-104 B.C.). They came to power again when Salome Alexandra became queen (76 B.C.).

The name "Pharisee" means "the separated ones." It may mean that they separated themselves from the masses of the people or that they separated themselves to the study and interpretation of the law. It is usually assumed that they were the spiritual descendants of the Hasidim, the loyal fighters for religious freedom in the time of Judas Maccabeus. They appear to be responsible for the transformation of Judaism from a religion of sacrifice to one of law. They were the developers of the oral tradition, the teachers of the two-fold law: written and oral. They saw the way to God as being through obedience to the law. They were the progressives of the day, willing to adopt new ideas and adapt the law to new situations.

The Pharisees were strongly monotheistic. They accepted all the Old Testament as authoritative. They affirmed the reality of angels and demons. They had a firm belief in life beyond the grave and a resurrection of the body. They were missionary, seeking the conversion of Gentiles (Matthew 23:15). They saw God as concerned with the life of a person without denying that the individual was responsible for how he or she lived. They had little interest in politics. The Pharisees opposed Jesus because He refused to accept the teachings of the oral law.

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."

  • There is no reason given for Nicodemus coming at night.
  • In the New Testament, Jesus is many times spoken of as teaching. Nicodemus recognized Jesus as a Rabbi, one of the many Jewish interpreters of the Law who gathered disciples and performed authenticating signs. Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus came from God, responding to Jesus' mighty works.

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, 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, "Most assuredly, 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.

  • In verse 3 Jesus in His omniscience understood Nicodemus spiritual condition and directed the conversation to Nicodemus only hope for seeing the kingdom of heaven.
  • I verse 4 Nicodemus reveals his ignorance as to the term "born again'.
  • In verse 6 Jesus makes clear to Nicodemus that He is not referring to one kind of birth twice, but to different births.
  1. Birth of water, a natural birth.
  2. Birth of the spirit, a supernatural a birth.

 

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."

 

  • In verses 7-8 Jesus explains the evidence of the spiritual birth.

 

  1. Jesus affirmed two things about the Spirit here: freedom and mystery. The Spirit (Greek pneuma) moves about just as freely as the wind (Greek pneuma). No religious group controls Him. No religious doctrine fully defines or confines Him. He is at liberty to move about exactly as He pleases. The Spirit works to regenerate all ungodly people, even pious Pharisees. The reminder is still needed today in the church. The movement of the Spirit is mysterious, like the wind. You cannot see the wind; you can only see the results of its moving, such as the movement of tree branches. You cannot see the Spirit; you can only see the results of His works, such as the changed lives of those who have been born again. Both the freedom and the mystery of the Spirit suggest that He is divine, for only God is utterly free and utterly mysterious.

 

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?

 

  • At this point in the conversation Jesus points out to Nicodemus just how little he knows about the Scripture. The Scripture that he is an advanced teacher of.

 

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.

 

  • 1John 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life -- the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us -- that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 

12 "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

 

  • Jesus reveals to Nicodemus he is so blinded by the teaching of the law that he is unable to understand the reality of the Spiritual.

 

13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

 

  • This reference to Jesus being the third member of the Trinity of God is totally foreign to Nicodemus.

 

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.

 

  • A reminder of Old Testament prophecy that if people would believe that if they looked upon the serpent that was lifted up they would live. If people would believe when they looked upon the crucified Christ, they would receive eternal life.
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  1. Numbers 21:5-9 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread."So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

 

At this point in the conversation Nicodemus is totally confused. In part four of this study we will listen to the Scripture explain the need for being "born again".