Scripture: John 3:1-3
Date: August 28, 2011
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Why do men think that they can fix their problems, that they can fix other people’s problems, too? Why do they consistently underestimate the depth of their problems and exaggerate their understanding of the situation? Why does this happen even in Bible-toting, righteousness-promoting, faithful-service-attending churches?
Because it’s possible to be rigorously moral, to know the Scripture backward and forward, to appreciate Jesus’ teaching and acknowledge Him as being sent by God and still be dead. A man can talk about God’s sovereign rule, look forward to God’s coming reign on earth and never see God’s kingdom. There is no saving, eternal benefit in Jesus unless one is born again.
We meet just such a lost man in John 3:1-21. John introduced us to his type in 2:23-25. Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast and “many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” Yet “Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them” because their faith was superficial. Nicodemus represents this group.
John records the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus in order to expose the cause and the consequences of surface believing. Unless one truly believes, he “cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3), he “cannot enter the kingdom of God” (3:5), he will perish eternally (3:16), and is condemned (3:18). In other words, without genuine believing, a man is in the dark. He has no life. He is eternally condemned.
What’s more, a man can’t do anything about it. True believing is beyond one’s own ability, out of one’s own control. Believing is required but it only occurs in the regenerated. No one truly believes unless one is born again and no one can make himself born again.
The interchange between Jesus and Nicodemus (3:1-15), followed by John’s comments (3:16-21), expose the need for new birth, the sovereignty of the Spirit in new birth, and the believing life that results from new birth. There are three rounds of conversation, 1-3, 4-8, 9-15. I’ll be making the case that Jesus stops talking and John takes over in verse 16.
Nicodemus is an object lesson in at least two ways. Looking back at 2:23-25, he personifies those with superficial belief. Looking forward, he illustrates the need for spiritual birth. We have no indication whether he was born again or not, at least not here at this point in the story. Nowhere in John’s gospel (or elsewhere in the New Testament) does it say that Nicodemus believed. 1
Why would John leave us hanging? The reason is that the story isn’t ultimately about Nicodemus. His role dwindles as the dialogue develops, from 24 words (in the Greek New Testament) in verse 2 to 18 words in verse 4 to four words in verse 9, and then zero words of final response. Jesus’ replies increase and then John explains the promise of eternal life. The story, then, is for us, for the readers of the gospel, that we might believe. John leaves us hanging on Nicodemus because we really need to hang on whether our own hearts believe. We won’t seen the kingdom of God unless we are born again.
A simple outline of verses 1-3 would be the Context (v.1), the Approach (v.2), and the first Reply (v.3). We also see the inadequacy of religion (v.1), the inadequacy of recognition (v.2), and the necessity of regeneration (v.3).
No matter how good it is, religious practice or position won’t get anyone into the kingdom of God.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. (John 3:1)
Even though in some ways he embodies an entire group of people, Nicodemus was a man with impeccable religious credentials. Among the Jews who saw Jesus in Jerusalem, Nicodemus was certainly in the top tier of religious elite.
Nicodemus was a man of the Pharisees . “Pharisee” is such an ugly word to us, a caricature of legalistic, authoritarian, foul-hearted piety because we’ve read all the things Jesus called them and how He rebuked them. We got our first bad taste in John 1:24. And yet, if we put ourselves in early first-century sandals, there’s no doubt we would esteem a Pharisee as someone with disciplined devotion to God. To be a Pharisee required that one was a Jew, one of God’s people. It also meant that one was recognized for his exposition of, and strict adherence to, God’s law.
Nicodemus was also a ruler of the Jews . This refers to the Sanhedrin, a council of men made up of Pharisees and Sadducees headquartered in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin was the “highest legislative body in Jewish Palestine, the supreme judicial court, the grand jury for important cases, [and] the council of the Pharisaic school” (Anchor Bible Dictionary). No higher religious class existed.
Nicodemus had it all in terms of religious attainments. He would have had great understanding of the Old Testament and, in fact, Jesus calls him “the teacher of Israel” in verse 10, indicating that Nicodemus was known for his knowledge.
John includes this story as an argument from the greater to the lesser. Hardly anyone would have better credentials, but if even someone such as Nicodemus couldn’t see or enter the kingdom, who else could?
That certainly should upset us, too. We may be almost 2000 years later with our completed New Testaments and resources to know God’s Word. But we are pagans, Gentiles no matter how many generations of parents and grandparents have been Christians before us. It does not matter how strict we may be with our movie watching or devoted to our teetotaling or committed to church going. It doesn’t matter if someone went to Bible college, graduated from seminary, or pastors a church. All those are inadequate for eternal life unless one is born again.
No matter how correct it is, recognizing or affirming true things about Jesus is not sufficient for eternal life.
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.” (John 3:2)
Nicodemus goes out on a limb, even though it was after dark, by approaching Jesus. Evidently he had seen some of the signs and heard some of the teaching. Jesus already upset the religious establishment by clearing the temple. During His time in Jerusalem He did many “signs” mentioned in 2:23 and tied to Nicodemus’ coming by himself: these signs that you do .
Nicodemus cautiously came to Jesus by night , when it would be less visible and when the crowd around Jesus was likely reduced to only His (five) disciples. He did have a reputation to protect. Nicodemus demonstrates that he was in the dark in more ways than one.
Nicodemus addressed Jesus as Rabbi , or “Master,” an honored Teacher, a significant show of respect from one so old for one so young. He said, We know that you are a teacher come from God , with “we” probably referring to the many who believed even if not speaking for them in any sort of official way. It also may be sort of a hiding behind the unnamed “many.” The reason for the recognition was the signs Jesus did since supernatural signs require a supernatural source behind them.
In no way is this a complete recognition of who Jesus is, but it is correct. Jesus did perform signs, He did come from God (see v.16) and God was with Him (John 1:1). Nicodemus was right as far as it goes and he risked his reputation by coming to Jesus. But he didn’t get it. All that he recognized wasn’t enough, and no one can recognize all he needs to unless one is born again.
No matter how impossible it seems, regeneration—being born again—is the only way to eternal life.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
Jesus’ response does not seem to fit with Nicodemus’ statement, but it does suit Nicodemus’ heart. Jesus “knew all people” and “he himself knew what was in man” (2:24-25). Nicodemus came to Jesus to see what he could get from Jesus, to see if Jesus could advance him in God’s kingdom. Jesus told Nicodemus he wasn’t even in the kingdom and that Nicodemus wasn’t even able to assess the evidence about who Jesus is accurately.
Truly, truly is “amen, amen” or “verily, verily.” Three times (here, v.5, v.11) Jesus responds to Nicodemus with this introductory formula that stresses the significance of what follows. Here, Jesus confronts Nicodemus’ presumed knowledge with reality. Nicodemus thought he understood. He thought he could see what he needed and figure out who Jesus was. But Jesus said that Nicodemus’ premise and process was all wrong. Nicodemus couldn’t make any accurate assessment without spiritual rebirth. In a few moments (verses 11-12) Jesus will state plainly that Nicodemus isn’t qualified to sort out “heavenly things.”
It’s significant because seeing the kingdom of God is at stake. Based on the rest of the exchange and John’s explanation, seeing the kingdom (v.3) is equal to entering the kingdom (v.5) is equal to having eternal life (v.16) is equal to being saved (v.17) is equal to not being condemned (v.18). To see the kingdom speaks of the very first part, the door.
Jesus told Nicodemus that he couldn’t take a baby step in God’s kingdom without being born again . What a blow to Nicodemus. What a blow to religious people everywhere. Spiritual sight and salvation are impossible unless one is born again.
Any list of the most used and least understood Bible phrases would include “born again” near the top of the list. What does it mean to be “born again”? Who are the “born again”? How does one become “born again”?
Nicodemus didn’t know but Jesus said he should have. Nicodemus asks some follow up questions (verses 4, 9) and Jesus told him not to marvel (verse 3) and asked how “the teacher of Israel” didn’t know (verse 10). Whatever it means, then, must have been taught in the Old Testament. We’ll continue to learn more about how it happens in the next paragraph (3:4-8), but at least four observations come from verse 3 itself.
First, being born again is a necessity for everyone, not just Nicodemus. Jesus said, unless one is born again , unless a man, a person. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, it applied to Nicodemus, but the realty is the same for everyone.
Second, being born again is the requirement, the only way, to see and enter the kingdom of God. No one can properly assess, let alone accept, spiritual truth without spiritual rebirth. Nicodemus didn’t believe because he wasn’t born again.
Third, being born “again” is not the same as being born, or, second birth is not like the first. One must be born ἄνωθεν, a word that can mean “again” or “from above.” John may deliberately play on the two meanings together. Being born “again” has a temporal sense, being born “from above” a spatial reference.
Nicodemus connected with the time emphasis as is evident in his follow up question: “Can [a man] enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (v.4). While Jesus may play up the above part by referring to being “born of the Spirit” (vv.5, 8). In both cases, something altogether different happens.
By the phrase born again is expressed not the correction of one part, but the renovation of the whole nature. (John Calvin, 108).
the focus here is not on the potential convert’s humility, brokenness or faith, but on the need for transformation, for new life from another realm, for the intervention of the Spirit of God. (D.A. Carson, 190)
Fourth, being born again is not under human control. The children of God are born again, and the second birth is “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Being born again is something that happens to us, not something we produce. Spiritual birth is no more controllable than physical birth; that’s the point of the analogy and Jesus’ statement in verse 8 which we’ll study next time.
Everyone needs this total transformation that they can’t manage. You must be born again, and being born isn’t up to you.
The reason John includes this story is because many are not born again, in particular, many religious, externally righteous, and Jesus-talking people. Not many of these have done as well as Nicodemus, but many share his need for regeneration. A 30 year old from Galilee told the established, esteemed Nicodemus that couldn’t even see the kingdom. If he needed to be born again, so do all.
The reason John includes this story is so that many would be born again, in particular, many religious people. Unless one is born again he cannot be saved and God is causing many to be born again by His Spirit and by His Word.
Men do not need new or better Bible knowledge. They don’t need new or more morality. They don’t need new or different church affiliation. They need new birth.
Do you believe Jesus or do you believe Jesus is happy to have someone with your credentials in His kingdom? Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
In order that we may be his true disciples, we must become new men. (Calvin, 104)
Nicodemus did help bury Jesus in John 19:38-42, which may indicate that he eventually believed, but it does not say so explicitly. ↩