John 3:1-8
You Must Be Born Again
When Jesus of Nazareth – The Word of God become flesh – stepped from the obscurity of His youth to the days of His ministry, His presence was unmistakable.
Of Him John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world.”
Remember, the Pharisees, who were the religious scholars, judges, and political leaders of the Jewish people, had already taken note of John –
They had questioned him on more than one occasion regarding his teaching for people to repent and prepare for the Kingdom of God to come.
They had challenged him on his declaration that he was the voice in the wilderness the prophets had spoken of – preparing the way for the coming of the Christ, the One anointed by God who would deliver His people.
John declared that Jesus was this One, of whom the Law and the Prophets spoke, telling them, “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Jesus began to move quickly, drawing disciples to follow Him.
Word of the Miracle at the wedding in Cana surely began to spread as stories about Jesus of Nazareth began to circulate.
Last week, Pastor Dennis brought us in the Book of John chapter TWO, to the temple, just before the Passover.
Jesus had been in Capernaum prior this. He and His disciples then made the trip to Jerusalem to make their sacrifices. A journey that took about 5 days in the biblical era.
While in Jerusalem John records that many observed signs (Miracles) that Jesus was performing, and many were believing in Him.
And yet, Jesus did not fully commit to them – because He knew their hearts -
A sad indication that then – as now – there are many who make decisions in their head that never becomes a commitment in their heart.
When Jesus entered the temple and saw the mockery of worship the Sadducees were perpetuating, He was filled with a righteous anger.
Let me just say friends- for us who are found in Christ – saved by God’s marvelous grace through faith – It is okay – even appropriate – for us to be moved by gross irreverence toward God.
And yet as Pastor Dennis reminded us- we are commanded, “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Ephesians 4:26
So much for a low profile!
Overturning tables and chasing merchants out of the temple courtyards with a switch surely drew the attention of the religious leaders!
Jesus said a lot with only a few words –
“Stop making My Father’s house a place of business”
It seems the Jews who challenged Jesus were at least aware of something about who this man claimed to be-
Rather than simply call for the temple guard to arrest Him – they question him instead.
“What sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?” they asked.
The Law of Moses, and the sacred writings of the Patriarchs, and the Prophets was the foundation of authority for the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Prophets like Moses, Elija, and Isaiah had all provided miraculous signs to authenticate their messages as being from the Lord.
Jesus’ reply was the solid truth that would become the foundation for the Christian faith – the sign of His death, and resurrection – that proved to all the world that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and is our Lord and Savior.
But in their day, those who heard His reply were left with more questions than answers.
Today we meet a man from among the order of the Pharisees who was able to put pride and prejudice aside to ask the sincere question –
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?”
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 again.’ 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.”
"If you were to poll the average person on the street today and ask them, 'What does it take to get into heaven?', you will almost always get a performance-based answer.
People will say, 'Well, you have to be a good person. You need to keep the rules. You should do your best to do more good than bad.'
Even inside the church, we can secretly fall into the trap of thinking our religious pedigree, our church attendance, or our moral upbringing is what secures our standing before a holy God.
If anyone in human history could have gotten into the Kingdom of God on his own merits, surely it was the man we meet today in John 3.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He didn't just know the Bible; he had vast portions of it memorized.
He didn't just try to keep the law; he dedicated every waking hour to its finest details.
He was a 'ruler of the Jews'—a member of the religious supreme court. He was Israel's theologian.
The Core Truth: Yet, Jesus doesn't congratulate him on his performance.
Instead, Jesus completely strips him of his credentials. In five words, Jesus dismantles the entire system of human effort: 'Unless one is born again...'
Jesus looks at the best humanity has to offer and says, 'Your best isn't enough. You don't need a renovation; you need a resurrection.
Today, we are going to follow along as Jesus declared to Nicodemus the Pharisee the absolute necessity of the New Birth.
1) The Great Confession (v. 1–2)
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.”
By John 3, enough discussions and debates were already being made among the Pharisees that Nicodemus purposes to find out more about this man for himself.
John makes the point of telling us this encounter happened at night.
Perhaps:
Regardless:
Nicodemus represents the best a man could hope to achieve in the eyes of his peers—
Yet, his credentials only brought him far enough to recognize Jesus as a "teacher," not a Savior.
Scripture heavily emphasizes that no amount of religious performance, heritage, moral uprightness, or the best of the deeds we might do in His name can bridge the gap between sinful man and a holy God.
Isaiah 64:6 –
"For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
Titus 3:5
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
* The Danger of the "Good Life"
It is often harder for a highly moral, religious person to see their need for Christ than a blatant sinner.
What need of a savior has those who are self-righteous!
2) The Absolute Necessity of Regeneration (v. 3)
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.”
Does anyone else feel like Jesus answered a question that wasn’t asked?
In Matthew 6:8 Jesus was teaching about prayer and declared we should avoid meaningless chants and babbling words, “Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.”
I believe Jesus’ reply was not to acknowledge what Nicodemus said, but what was on Nicodemus’ heart.
Jesus uses the “double amen” ("Truly, truly") Greek/Hebrew “amēn” to signal a non-negotiable divine decree.
The phrase "born again" (gennaō anōthen) literally translates "born from above."
The Insufficiency of Our best
Jesus shatters Nicodemus’s worldview:
Understand – the dead will not enter the eternal Kingdom of God!
Therefore, what is required is not a reformation – for the dead cannot be healed – what we need is a resurrection – to be made alive again, by a spiritual rebirth.
If we had been spiritually SICK in our sin – perhaps we could have been healed. Perhaps we could have recovered on our own.
Because of our sin – we had all become “unrighteous” –
And as we read in 1 Corinthians 6:9 “The unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
Truly, Truly I say to you - You cannot "try harder" to get into the kingdom of God any more than an unborn child can try harder to be born or the dead can raise themselves from the grave.
Spiritual rebirth – to be born again- to be born from above - is NOT something done BY us - but done TO us by God’s unmerited grace.
This is the teaching at the core of that pivotal verse in Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
3) Cleansed by the Word and Renewed by the Spirit (v. 4–6)
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?”
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.
Nicodemus stumbles by thinking purely in physical terms (v. 4).
1 Corinthians 2:13-14 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Again, Jesus declares with the “double amen” - unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
What this is NOT - This is not a reference to baptismal regeneration
What this DOES – is to draw on Nicodemus the Pharisee’s understanding of the Sacred Writings – the Old Testaments of the prophets –
Where God spoke through Ezekiel to a sinful and fallen Israel – declaring He would restore them – NOT FOR THEIR SAKE – BUT FOR HIS GLORY!
Ezekiel 36:21-22 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It is not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.
Ezekiel 36: 25-26 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
As John the Baptist declared – Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Jesus continued - 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
And all mankind has the “knowledge of this in their heart”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
But the flesh is flesh – it is corrupted by sin – it is perishing - and therefore there must be more to us than this flesh prepared for the eternal –
We call it the spirit of man – the essence of man, or the soul of man - But in the end they all amount to the same understanding and beg the same question – “What happens to ME when I die?”
Jesus declares that Nicodemus should take off the blinders of the flesh to search out the things that are spiritual.
And if you see and believe the truth that God is declaring – that you must be born again – then that second birth is not of the flesh – but of the spirit.
Born again – to righteousness.
Born again – Not to death in the flesh due to sin, but to the redemption in Christ Jesus who died that those who believe Him would not perish, but have eternal life.
1 Peter 1:23 – "For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God."
4) The Sovereign, Mysterious Work of the Spirit (v. 7–8)
7 Do not be amazed 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 do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
There is an interesting hermeneutical application to the wording Jesus chose.
In the Hebrew the word for wind and spirit is the same, “rauch”
In the Greek the word for wind and spirit is the same, “pneuma”
Jesus makes an applicational connection between the “wind” and the “Spirit” (Spirit of God)
John 1:12–13 – But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.
The Beautiful Wind Trajectory of Nicodemus
IN CLOSING
I wonder how many people are sitting in this room—or listening online—who are modern-day “Nicodemuses.”
You know all the right words - how to speak “Christianese”.
You know how to do church - when to stand up, when to sit down, and how to look like a Christian on Sunday morning.
But if you are honest with yourself and with God- in light of His Word – you are pretending.
Are you doing your best to be a good person? Or have you been born again- born from above?
Are you striving to earn your righteousness and prove your worthiness to God?
Is your plan to leave here today and simply try harder? To be a better person, to be a better spouse. To curse less and read your bible more?
Believing that somehow, if you try hard enough, when you die you will inherit the Kingdom of God? Truly, truly I tell you - It does not work that way.
Apart from a fully committed trust in the salvation that was made available by the completed works of Jesus on the cross there can be no resurrection.
For you to receive salvation, to be born again, born from above – you must surrender all hope of saving yourself – and trust fully on Jesus Christ.
He offers a salvation based not on anything you could have done – but because God chose to offer it to you - for His glory.
As Jesus said, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' It cannot save you, and it cannot sustain you. That is why you must be born again. Spiritually regenerated from your death that was caused by your sin.
If you are fully committed by faith to the salvation God has offered – then you can join with the rest of the redeemed as we proclaim-
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."