Lesson 4 - John 3:1-16 - THE NEW BIRTH
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in John 2:1-16, we covered the first of seven signs reported in John's gospel, when Jesus' turned water into wine during a wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In this sign, the old water represented the Law and the Prophets, while the new wine signified the coming of Christ and the age of grace-which offers salvation to an entire world, not just the Jews. We also learned that Jesus brought the sign to inspire belief in Him as the Christ, the son of God. Later, when Jesus cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem, He demonstrated the vital importance of honoring God's house as a place of worship rather than using it to enrich the religious elite. In the same way, modern Christians shouldn't be focused on maintaining our comfort inside our church buildings but on reaching the lost and helping those in need who are outside our doors.
This week, in John 3:1-16, we'll cover the story of the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. According to the text, Nicodemus was a Pharisee of the highest rank, who was not only a member of the Sanhedrin, the top governing body of the Jews, but the most respected teacher of the OT Scriptures. To local Jews, he would have been a 'Billy Graham type' of authority figure. As we study the discourse between Nicodemus and Jesus, we need to keep in mind that Nicodemus' questions and answers represent the views of Judaism from the perspective of a learned Pharisee.
Read John 3:1-4 - HOW CAN A MAN BE BORN WHEN HE IS OLD?
1 Now 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 have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, 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? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"
v. 1: "Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews," - it's noteworthy that Jesus mentions "Nicodemus" by name here (lit. 'victor over the people'), since many significant people in John's gospel go unnamed. Maybe it was because of his prominence, we don't know. In any case, he's a man who comes with very impressive religious credentials.
v. 2a: "this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him," - He may have come at "night" in order to have a quiet, uninterrupted conversation with Jesus, who tended to attract crowds. Also, to avoid conflict with his Pharisee brethren, he might not have wanted to be seen in public with Him.
v. 2b: "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." - The title "Rabbi" tells us that Nicodemus recognized Jesus as a teacher, but at the same time, did not go as far as showing faith in Him as Messiah or the Son of God. In view of the "signs" Jesus had performed that many people had observed in Jerusalem during the Passover (see, John 2:23, Nicodemus does admit that Jesus had "come from God." What Nicodemus really wants to discover is whether Jesus is truly a prophet besides being a teacher. When he says "we," he could be referring to just himself or possibly other Council members like Joseph of Arimathea; and Nicodemus' assertion "we know" is ironic, because as we'll shortly find out, Nicodemus doesn't know who Jesus really is; in fact, he's clueless.
v. 3: "Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." - To this, Jesus emphatically replies with a central doctrine of Christian belief: A person cannot "see the kingdom of God" (i.e., be saved) unless he or she is "born again."
Note: Nicodemus claimed to see something of who Jesus was because of His signs; however, Jesus is telling him that no one can see God's Kingdom without new birth, which is a spiritual regeneration. The term "born again" could also be expressed as being re-born from above.
v. 4: "Nicodemus *said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" - Here, Nicodemus mistakenly interprets Jesus' words as having to do with physical birth rather spiritual re-birth. His question reflects that he and Jesus are talking in two different spheres: Nicodemus is thinking literally while Jesus is expressing a fundamental spiritual truth metaphorically (i.e., a word picture). To a Pharisee like Nicodemus, Jesus' statement was radical: to him, God's plan of Salvation revolved around adherence to Torah Law.
Read John 3:5-8 - DO NOT BE AMAZED
5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and 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 Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born gain.' 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
v. 5: "Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." - This is a difficult verse and there are differing views of the meaning of being "born of water and the Spirit." The majority (and Southern Baptist) interpretation is that born of "water" refers to purification and the "Spirit" (capital 'S') refers to the Holy Spirit, which taken together, means being purified and regenerated by the Holy Spirit-a new creation. The bottom line is that unless a person has experienced spiritual cleansing and renewal from God's Holy Spirit, he or she cannot enter God's heavenly Kingdom (i.e., eternity).
v. 6: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." - Here rather than verse 5, Jesus makes the distinction which clarifies that there are two types of birth: One physical, i.e., "of the flesh" and one spiritual, i.e., "of the Spirit." In the flesh, we are spiritually dead until God's Spirit gives us spiritual life. Nicodemus should not have been surprised at the idea that there is spiritual birth as well as physical birth, insofar as the OT speaks of it. In terms of a future, renewed Israel, God had said through the prophet Ezekiel, "Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life" (Ezek. 37:13-14). This was a revelation that most of the Jews of Jesus' day, including Nicodemus, missed!
v. 7: "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born gain.'" - Despite his learning and Pharisee background, Nicodemus desperately needed spiritual life, and to do this, he needed to experience rebirth. He evidently held the flawed view of acceptance by God followed by so many of his Jewish contemporaries: He erroneously believed that his heritage, ancestry, position, and works would be adequate to get him into the kingdom and make him acceptable to God. But he needed to realize and believe that he needed the spiritual cleansing and renewal that only God could provide by His Spirit-as Jesus said it: "you must be born again!" Many people today have the same problem: They think they only have to be good enough-that they can rely on human effort to get them there.
v. 8: "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." - Here, Jesus uses the "wind" to illustrate how the Spirit regenerates. The wind is sovereign, blowing wherever it wants to blow. There are three similarities between the wind and the Spirit: First, man does not and cannot control either one; second, we notice or perceive the presence of both only by their effects; and third, we can't explain them because they arise from things unseen or unknowable. So it is with God's Spirit-invisible, mysterious, and beyond our control, but discernible by its effect on people.
Read John 3:9-12 - HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE?
9 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
v. 9: "Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" - These are Nicodemus' final words in this passage. His question tells us that He really can't bring himself to accept what Jesus has just attempted to explain; specifically, that a person must be "born-again"-spiritually regenerated-in order to enter God's Kingdom. Later, however, Nicodemus will defend Jesus (7:50) and will assist in His burial (19:39), but did he ever see the light, believe? We really don't know.
v. 10: "Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?" - Despite his status as a teacher, Nicodemus' question in v. 9 betrays his ignorance of OT revelation, e.g.: 1 Sam. 10:6; Isa. 32:15; Ezek. 36:25-28; 37:13-14; Jer. 31:33; Joel 2:28-29, all of which foretell a new era of spiritual cleansing and regeneration. Nicodemus should have known better.
v. 11: "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony." - Nicodemus had previously admitted that Jesus had "come from God," and in confirmation, speaking as "we", Jesus confirms that He speaks with the authority of a member of the Godhead. Specifically, Jesus claims to speak the truth as an eye-witness. However, Nicodemus can't bring himself to believe; in effect, he has rejected Jesus direct witness to him, and Indeed, Jesus saw him as representing the viewpoint of many others in the Jewish religious hierarchy.
v. 12: "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" - The "earthy things" of which Jesus had told Nicodemus pertained to new birth (vv. 3, 5-8). The new birth is earthly in that it occurs on earth. If he can't believe in the first step of salvation, how can he believe in anything beyond it, such as the new heavens and the new earth (Isa. 65:17)?
Read John 3:13-16 - THE SON OF MAN MUST BE LIFTED UP
13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
v. 13a: "No one has ascended into heaven," - Jesus is saying that no teacher had "ascended into heaven," then returned to teach about heavenly things. Jesus Christ wasn't merely a human teacher sent from God but a co-equal member of the Godhead who coexisted with God the Father eternally.
v. 13b: "but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man." - However, as the "Son of Man," Jesus "descended" from heaven so He could teach the world about heavenly things (Dan. 7:13-14).
v. 14a: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, - Here, Jesus is alluding to Num. 21:4-9, when the children of Israel complained against God, and He sent fiery serpents to punish them; but when the people cried-out in repentance after many of the bitten died, the LORD told to Moses make a serpent of brass and hang on a pole, so that bitten Israelites who looked up at it would be saved.
v. 14b: "even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;" - This is Jesus' earliest recorded prediction of his impending death. The brass serpent on the pole represented the cross of Calvary where Jesus would be "lifted up." And we are saved by repenting of our sin and looking up to Jesus in faith.
v. 15: "so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." This is the first reference to "eternal life" in this gospel. And here, John presents eternal life as something a person can experience before the Kingdom Age to come (i.e., the New Heaven and Earth in eternity). This life comes to us by believing in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ-by looking up to Him in faith. The eternal life Christians possess is not any sense independent of Christ but is a life that is "hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). So, the important thing to remember about eternal life is not about its quantity-forever-but its quality-life forever with and in Christ.
v. 16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." - This best-known verse in the Bible expresses, in a nutshell, the gospel message more clearly and dearly than any other. It expresses that Jesus' incarnation (His humanity) and His sacrifice on the Cross resulted from God's love for human beings. In doing this, God gave His very best, His unique and beloved Son. He did this for you and me.
APPLICATION-Seeking and Believing in Jesus
