What Does It Mean to be “Born Again?”
What Does It Mean to be “Born Again?”
John 3:1-12
- There was a man who was one of the Pharisees who was called Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews.
- He came to Jesus by night and said to Him: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who
has come from God, for no one can do the signs which you do unless God is with him.”
- Jesus answered him: “This is the truth I tell you--unless a man is reborn from above, he
cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
- Nicodemus said to him: “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter
into his mother’s womb a second time and be born. ”
- Jesus answered: “This is the truth I tell you--unless a man is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
- That which is born from the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
- “Do not be surprised that I said to you: “You must be reborn from above.
- The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where
it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
- Nicodemus asked: “How can these things happen?”
- Jesus answered, “Are you the man whom everyone regards as a teacher of Israel, and you
do not understand these things?
- This is the truth I tell you – we speak what we know, and we bear witness to what we have
seen; but you do not receive our witness.
- If I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe me, how will you believe
me if I speak to you about heavenly things?”
There are certain things that we know about Nicodemus, who is central to this scripture:
- He must have been wealthy. According to John 19:39, when Jesus died, Nicodemus took for His body “about one hundred pounds of spices.” In those days, spices were placed in the folds of grave clothes to overcome the odor of a decomposing body. Only a wealthy man could provide enough expensive spices to bury a king.
- Nicodemus was a Pharisee. This was a Jewish sect who pledged to spend all their lives observing every detail of the Law, which is found in the first five books of the Old Testament. To the Jew, the Law was the most sacred thing in all the world It was considered the perfect and complete word of God, and to add one word to it or to take one word away from it was a deadly sin.
The Law as it stands consists of great and wide and noble principles, like the Ten Commandments. However, as time went on, this was not enough. Later Jews said that the Law contains everything necessary for the living of a good life; therefore, in the Law there must be a rule and a regulation to govern every possible incident in every possible moment of life for every possible man. They extracted from the great principles of the Law an infinite number of rules and regulations to govern every conceivable situation.
An example of this is a rule concerning the Sabbath. The Bible says that we must remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and that no work is to be done by a man or his servants or his animals on that day. Later Jews spent generation after generation defining what work is and listing the things that could and could not be done on the Sabbath. An example of this is knots. Knots tied by camel drivers and sailors and the untying of most knots were considered work, and therefore were prohibited on the Sabbath. However, a woman could tie the straps of her sandals and the strings of wine skins. The Pharisees dedicated their lives to meticulously observing the hundreds of rules and regulations of the Law. This necessitated their being separated from all ordinary life, in order to not be defiled. It is amazing that Nicodemus would consider talking with Jesus, a homeless man who associated with social outcasts.
- Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, a court of 70 members that was the supreme court of the Jews. The Sanhedrin’s powers were limited under Roman rule, but still extensive. It had religious jurisdiction over every Jew in the world, and one of its duties was to examine and deal with anyone suspected of being a false prophet. It is amazing that Nicodemus would want to associate with someone as controversial as Jesus.
There were probably two reasons why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night:
- The rabbis declared that the best time to study the law was at night, when a man was undisturbed.
Nicodemus may have wanted a private and undisturbed time with Jesus.
- The second possible reason is caution. Nicodemus may not have wished to commit himself or his fellow Sanhedrin members by coming to Jesus publicly during the day. It is a miracle of grace that Nicodemus overcame his upbringing and prejudices and whole view of life enough to go to Jesus. When Nicodemus met with Jesus, he said that no one could help being impressed with the miracles Jesus performed. Jesus answered that it was not the signs and wonders that were important; it was a change in a man’s inner life that could only be described as a new birth.
The Greek word used for again in the phrase born again has three different meanings.
- It can mean radically.
- Or for the second time.
- Or from above, from God.
All three of these meanings are combined in the Greek phrase born again. To be born again is to undergo such a radical change that it is like a new birth; it is to have something happen to the soul which can only be described as being born all over again. This comes from the grace and power of God and is a concept found in both the Old and New Testaments. Ezekiel 36:26 & 27 says, “I give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17 & 18, Paul says, “When anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into His friends.”
Paul is the poster child for being reborn. His main mission in life had been to stamp out Christianity. By his own confession, he went around arresting and imprisoning believers and taking some back to Jerusalem in chains to face punishment. He also persecuted believers to death. Then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, and the Jewish man Saul became the Apostle Paul, the greatest of Christian missionaries.
Nicodemus was another life changed. He went from being secretive about being a follower of Jesus to openly joining Joseph of Arimathea in making sure that Jesus had a proper Jewish burial.
What Does It Mean to be “Born Again?”
What does this rebirth mean for each of us? In the New Testament, there are four closely inter-related ideas.
- The idea of rebirth.
- The idea of the Kingdom of God, into which a man cannot enter unless he is reborn.
- The idea of sonship of God.
- The idea of eternal life
We get our best definition of the Kingdom of God, or Kingdom of Heaven, from the Lord’s Prayer:
Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a community where God’s will is as perfectly done on earth as it is in heaven. To be in the Kingdom of Heaven is to have arrived at a stage when we completely accept the will of God and live our lives accordingly.
Next comes the idea of sonship. John 14:21 says, “Whoever accepts my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me.” We cannot say we love a person and then do things that grieve that person’s heart. The essence of sonship is love; and the essence of love is obedience. The son of God and the citizen of the Kingdom are both people who have completely accepted the will of God.
When considering the idea of eternal life, it is more accurate to speak of eternal life than everlasting life. The main idea behind eternal life is not simply for ever and ever, but the idea of
a certain quality of life. Eternal life is the kind of life that God lives. This kind of communion and fellowship with God is achieved through love, reverence, devotion, and obedience. It is here that the idea of being reborn comes in. It is only when the grace of God enters into us and changes us that we can give to God the reverence and devotion we ought to give.
Jesus told Nicodemus that a man must be reborn of water and the Spirit. Water is the symbol of cleansing, and the Spirit is the symbol of power. Water and the Spirit stand for the cleansing and strengthening power of Christ, which washes away the sins of our past and gives us a victorious life in the future.
In verse 4, Nicodemus offers his resistance in the form of a question, “How can a grown man be born again? “ In effect, he is saying: “This rebirth may be possible; but I can’t understand how it works.”
Jesus’ answer revolves around the fact that the Greek word for spirit and the Hebrew word for spirit share the same two meanings: spirit and wind. So Jesus says to Nicodemus: “You can hear and see and feel the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. There are many things about the wind you may not understand; but the effect of the wind is plain for all to see. The Spirit is exactly the same. You may not know how the Spirit works; but you can see the effect of the Spirit in human lives.”
In our own time, there are a number of things we use every day without knowing how they work. Most of us don’t know how electricity or the internet work, but we happily use them. Many of us drive a car with just a vague idea of what goes on under the hood, but that doesn’t stop us from driving. We may not understand how the Spirit works, but the effect of the Spirit on people’s lives is there for all of us to see.
What Does It Mean to be “Born Again?”
When I started preparing this message, the first thought that came to mind was, “Oh brother, I’m doomed.” Then I remembered that God loves us and works with us in our efforts. No matter where we are in our faith journey, we can always stand to be improved. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The change comes when we love Him and allow Him into our hearts. Being born again isn’t something you earn, like a scout merit badge, it’s something you are. It’s a personal relationship between each of us and God.
William Barclay points out that the essential thing is to experience the power of Christianity. And at the heart of Christianity is the mystery of redemption, which is the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ--the mercy, love, power, patience, and strength of God working in us and through us.
Thank you, Lord, for your grace.
Amen