Text: John 3:1-21 (NKJV)
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, “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. 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.”
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This passage contains the single most well-known Bible verse in the Western world today. John 3:16 appears in many places that other Bible verses are never considered- from signs at NFL games to tshirts, this verse has a place in pop culture that seems to have forgotten the rest of the Bible. This historical record of a conversation between Jesus and a prominent man named Nicodemus (likely one of the seventy most respected men in the nation at that time, from the Sanhedrin) serves as a clarifying point for what God's- and thus Jesus's- mission in the world was by sending Jesus to Earth.
Nicodemus was what I would call a seeker- he wanted to know more about Jesus. Nicodemus understood Judaism and God's Word as found in the Old Testament. He was seeking to reconcile the claims of Jesus with what he thought he knew, and his best conclusion underestimated Jesus as mere a human teacher sent by God. The education that Jesus gave this learned man is equally vital for us today.
Evangelicals in America are notorious for using the phrase "born again." It is often used by secular sources to refer to anyone within a broad conception of Christianity who is not Catholic. Still, I think it often rings as a hollow title, having no understanding of the meaning. Here (verse 3), Jesus introduced and defined it for us. Immediately (verse 4), Nicodemus got the elephant in the room out of the way- how can an adult be physically reborn? Not using so many words, he questioned the biology of how that would work. I think Nicodemus's question is indicative of the fact that he suspected that Jesus meant something more by the statement in verse 3, but this Jewish noble could not conceive of any other birth than the physical. Jesus turned the question on its head. Though there is controversy among theologians regarding the reference of Jesus in verse 5 to being born of water as a necessity to enter His spiritual kingdom, I believe that the understanding is clear. When taken in context, there are two types of birth discussed here- physical and spiritual. A baby is physically born shortly after a mother's "water" breaks. I believe that the best understanding would be as if, in our language and culture, we said "... by water AND the spirit..." Basically- ok Nicodemus. Yes, you are physically born. We all get that, but I am talking about something more here. Verses 6-7 further hammer this idea out with Jesus reiterating the thought for clarity to a man who was apparently confused.
Skipping ahead to the meat of the discussion in verses 15-21, we come to the main idea that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes on Him will not die spiritually but have eternal life. I think it is important here that I insert another passage to help us in our understanding here:
This is, as the hymn writer put it, how deep the Father's love [is] for us. In American culture today, love is cheap and fast. Yet God's love, was so profound that He sacrificed His only Son to pay the penalty for our offenses against Him. It would be like if bin Laden arranged the murder of President Obama's daughter Sasha, American soldiers captured him, American courts sentenced bin Laden to be executed, President Obama substituted his daughter Malia in the executioner's chair, granted a pardon to bin Laden, and then adopted bin Laden as a member of his family. As ridiculous as that scenario sounds, that is what God did for us here. While were as offensive as possible to Him, He sacrificed His Son for us so that we could have eternal life in Heaven.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, “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. 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.”
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This passage contains the single most well-known Bible verse in the Western world today. John 3:16 appears in many places that other Bible verses are never considered- from signs at NFL games to tshirts, this verse has a place in pop culture that seems to have forgotten the rest of the Bible. This historical record of a conversation between Jesus and a prominent man named Nicodemus (likely one of the seventy most respected men in the nation at that time, from the Sanhedrin) serves as a clarifying point for what God's- and thus Jesus's- mission in the world was by sending Jesus to Earth.
Nicodemus was what I would call a seeker- he wanted to know more about Jesus. Nicodemus understood Judaism and God's Word as found in the Old Testament. He was seeking to reconcile the claims of Jesus with what he thought he knew, and his best conclusion underestimated Jesus as mere a human teacher sent by God. The education that Jesus gave this learned man is equally vital for us today.
Evangelicals in America are notorious for using the phrase "born again." It is often used by secular sources to refer to anyone within a broad conception of Christianity who is not Catholic. Still, I think it often rings as a hollow title, having no understanding of the meaning. Here (verse 3), Jesus introduced and defined it for us. Immediately (verse 4), Nicodemus got the elephant in the room out of the way- how can an adult be physically reborn? Not using so many words, he questioned the biology of how that would work. I think Nicodemus's question is indicative of the fact that he suspected that Jesus meant something more by the statement in verse 3, but this Jewish noble could not conceive of any other birth than the physical. Jesus turned the question on its head. Though there is controversy among theologians regarding the reference of Jesus in verse 5 to being born of water as a necessity to enter His spiritual kingdom, I believe that the understanding is clear. When taken in context, there are two types of birth discussed here- physical and spiritual. A baby is physically born shortly after a mother's "water" breaks. I believe that the best understanding would be as if, in our language and culture, we said "... by water AND the spirit..." Basically- ok Nicodemus. Yes, you are physically born. We all get that, but I am talking about something more here. Verses 6-7 further hammer this idea out with Jesus reiterating the thought for clarity to a man who was apparently confused.
Skipping ahead to the meat of the discussion in verses 15-21, we come to the main idea that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes on Him will not die spiritually but have eternal life. I think it is important here that I insert another passage to help us in our understanding here:
- Romans 6:5-11 (NKJV): 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Based on this understanding, we can now get a better understanding of how God is rightly the condemning Judge of those who do not accept the free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) of eternal life offered in Jesus. To reference the bin Laden / Obama story earlier, it would be as if bin Laden turned down President Obama's offer for freedom and family right after Malia were put to death. Those who reject Jesus are guilty of the most heinous slap in the face possible following a life as a spiritual criminal. In reading the reader comments on some CNN story recently, I read a serious of posters saying things typified by one respondent, who said "I just can't believe in a God who sends someone to hell when they do something wrong." The reality is that the God of the Bible doesn't do that- He only sentences someone to judgment in Hell after a lifetime as a spiritual criminal climaxed by spitting in His face after God made the ultimate sacrifice for them.
So, what was the divine mission in sending Jesus to Earth? So that anyone can be saved from eternal death and to eternal life by simply believing on Jesus for that.
Applications:
It feels like I have said this many times (probably because I have), but the main application here in this passage is to be "born again" spiritually by believing in Jesus as your Savior.
For those who already having saving faith, we ought to live our lives in appreciation for what He did for us. He died physically so we do not have to die spiritually. It is not uncommon for war survivors to experience great lifestyle changes to fulfill the dying wish of a comrade who saved their life. We should do no less and so much more.
Other Studies from John
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