Understanding New Birth - Part One
SCRIPTUREJohn 3:1-15
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel yand yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
LESSON
By any man's list, John 3 and John 4, put side by side, are two of the great passages of the Bible. Chapter 3 is about a man, chapter 4 is about a woman. Chapter 3 took place at night, chapter 4 took place at noon. Chapter 3 has to do with a ruler, chapter 4 with a prostitute. The ruler is a Jew, the prostitute is a Samaritan. She believed in Jesus. We have no knowledge whether Nicodemus is in heaven or not. He heard great preaching, but there is no word at all of his immediate reaction to it. It is a tremendous story.
How happy Christ must have been in the conversation with Nicodemus to realize that Nicodemus had real understanding of some spiritual truths. We all like to be understood. No one likes to give thought and effort to an explanation only to hear a question that shows our hearer has totally misunderstood us.
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, had come to Jesus by night with a question. He was aware of the work that Jesus was doing. As a thinking man he had verified the reports that were going around concerning the works of the Lord Jesus, he had become convinced intellectually of the supernatural reality of these works. "Rabbi," he addressed the Lord Jesus, "we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2).
But in saying, "We know you are a teacher come from God," Nicodemus betrayed one basic misunderstanding. You see, Jesus was not a "teacher come from God," but God come to teach. There have been thousands of teachers come from God - Moses, Isaiah, Paul, the disciples, Luther, Calvin, Augustine. Many men today are teachers come from God. But only once did God come to teach. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was the best of mankind, that He was a "good teacher," but to believe that He is God manifest in the flesh.
There are times when the longest way round is the quickest way home and Jesus took that way. He did not start to discuss the question of His deity. He went to the heart of the matter and said to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
STUDY QUESTIONS
- What are the consequences of thinking Jesus just a moral teacher or just an example? Are there any worldviews out there that already think this way?
- What was Nicodemus real issue? Are we ever guilty of the same issues?
- Can we prevent them or try to combat these thoughts? How?
