Week 11 Q&A in John’s Gospel
You Must Be Born Again
What Jesus Told Nicodemus and What It Means for Us
In John 3, Jesus has one of the most important conversations recorded in the Gospels. He sits down with a man named Nicodemus, a highly respected religious leader, and tells him something that completely upends everything Nicodemus thought he knew about God and the kingdom. The message is simple but profound: you must be born again.
Who Was Nicodemus and Why Does It Matter?
It is easy to read the word "Pharisee" and immediately think "bad guy." But that is not what John is doing here. Nicodemus was not corrupt or self-serving. He was likely a member of the Sanhedrin, and Jesus later refers to Him as "the teacher of Israel." Not a teacher. The teacher.
Nicodemus was religion at its best. He was devout, educated, and sincere. Later in John's Gospel, he speaks up to give Jesus a fair hearing, and after the crucifixion, He brings an extravagant amount of spices to bury Jesus at real personal cost to Himself.
John places Nicodemus here on purpose. This is not a story about a corrupt leader getting corrected. This is a story about the most devoted, most qualified, most sincere man finding out that what he has is still not enough.
What Did Nicodemus Say to Jesus?
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and opens with what amounts to a favorable review. He says, "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." He is respectful, generous, and affirming. He is essentially saying, "We see you. We approve."
Jesus does not thank Him. He does not acknowledge the compliment. Instead, He says something that cuts straight through all of it.
What Does "Born Again" Actually Mean?
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3
When Jesus says "truly, truly," it is a signal to pay close attention. John uses this phrase over twenty times in his Gospel, and it is always attached to something Jesus wants His hearers to really hear.
The Greek word translated "again" can also mean "from above." Some Bible translations say "born again" and others say "born from above." Both meanings are likely intentional. Jesus is not describing a better version of Nicodemus. He is describing a whole different kind of existence, one that originates from outside of Nicodemus entirely.
Why Did Nicodemus Misunderstand Jesus?
Nicodemus responds with a literal question: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" His answer reveals exactly what Jesus was pointing to. Nicodemus can only think in physical categories. He hears "birth" and thinks biology.
This is not because Nicodemus is unintelligent. It is because Jesus is reaching the edge of what Nicodemus has the capacity to understand. And that is precisely the point.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that apart from Christ, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Not sick. Not struggling. Dead. And dead things do not improve themselves.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." - Ephesians 2:4-5
Nicodemus does not need Jesus to help Him get a little better. He needs to go from dead to alive. And that is not something Nicodemus can do for himself, no matter how sincere or educated he is. Dead men do not raise themselves.
What Does "Born of Water and the Spirit" Mean?
Jesus goes deeper: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of God." - John 3:5
Some read "water" here and think baptism. But Jesus is more likely pointing back to Ezekiel 36, a passage Nicodemus should have known well:
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." - Ezekiel 36:25-27
Jesus is not introducing a new idea. He is saying this has always been where the story was heading. God promised to cleanse His people, give them a new heart, and put His Spirit within them. Jesus is telling Nicodemus: this is that moment. And you, the teacher of Israel, should already know this.
Can Human Effort Produce Spiritual Life?
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." - John 3:6
A thing can only produce after its own kind. Apple trees produce apples. Fig trees do not produce apples, no matter how good the soil or how careful the gardening. Fig trees simply do not have "appleness" in them.
That is Jesus' logic here. Flesh can only generate more flesh. No amount of discipline, moral effort, or religious devotion changes that, because effort itself is still flesh. However sincere the effort is, it cannot cross the line into Spirit.
Paul echoes this in Galatians: "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" - Galatians 3:3
Paul himself is essentially a New Testament Nicodemus. In Philippians 3, he lists his religious resume: circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisee, blameless under the law. And then he says he counted it all as loss for the sake of Christ. Because flesh, however impressive, can never produce what only the Spirit can give.
This does not mean effort is worthless. Devotion matters. Reading the Bible matters. Prayer and fasting matter. But they do not make you alive. For a believer, they stir up the life that has already been placed inside of you. They cannot generate that life on their own.
What Is the Wind Illustration About?
"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." - John 3:8
The word for "wind" and the word for "Spirit" are the same in both Greek and Hebrew. Jesus is making a deliberate connection. The wind is real. You can feel its effects. You can hear it move. But you cannot control it, summon it, or fully explain it.
The Spirit works the same way. New birth is not a technique you learn or a force you master. It is a sovereign movement of God.
And notice where Jesus ends the image. He does not say "so it is with the Spirit." He says "so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." If you are born of the Spirit, your life carries that same quality. It is real and undeniable in its effects, yet not something you engineered or produced yourself.
What If I Can't Point to an Exact Moment of Conversion?
This is actually good news for people with different kinds of testimonies. Some people have a dramatic moment they can point to. Others say they cannot tell you exactly when it happened, only that it did.
Jesus is not asking Nicodemus to explain the wind. He is asking him to notice whether anything has changed. You can point to love where there was no love before. You can point to hunger for God where there was no hunger before. You can point to a life that was bent in one direction and now pursues holiness.
You do not need to map out your testimony with perfect theological precision for the new birth to be real.
What Is the Core Message of John 3 for Us Today?
Nicodemus came to Jesus with a stamp of approval. He came to evaluate Jesus and let Him know that the religious leaders understood Him. Jesus dismantled that entire position. He told Nicodemus: you are not in a position to evaluate Me, because you cannot even see what I am doing.
No amount of devotion, ethical seriousness, or theological knowledge can produce new life. The Gospel does not tell us we need to improve ourselves. It tells us we are dead and we need to be made alive. That is not something we make happen. It is something God does to us.
If you have been born again, you are in God's kingdom not because of your good works but because He raised you from death to life. No amount of good works keeps you there either. You are there because of His Spirit, His work, and His goodness.
Life Application
This week, resist the temptation to measure your standing with God by your spiritual performance. Instead, look for the evidence of the Spirit's work in your life. Where has love grown where it did not exist before? Where has your hunger for God increased? Where has your life bent toward holiness in a way you did not manufacture?
If you are unsure whether you have been born again, there is nothing wrong with simply praying: "Lord, make me alive." That is not a weak prayer. It is an honest one, and it is exactly the kind of prayer God responds to.
Ask yourself:
1. Am I trusting in my spiritual effort and consistency to keep me right with God, or am I resting in what Christ has already done?
2. Have I been born again, or have I simply been stacking up devotion and good works?
3. Where do I see evidence in my life that the Spirit has done something in me that I could not have done for myself?
Who Was Nicodemus and Why Does It Matter?
It is easy to read the word "Pharisee" and immediately think "bad guy." But that is not what John is doing here. Nicodemus was not corrupt or self-serving. He was likely a member of the Sanhedrin, and Jesus later refers to Him as "the teacher of Israel." Not a teacher. The teacher.
Nicodemus was religion at its best. He was devout, educated, and sincere. Later in John's Gospel, he speaks up to give Jesus a fair hearing, and after the crucifixion, He brings an extravagant amount of spices to bury Jesus at real personal cost to Himself.
John places Nicodemus here on purpose. This is not a story about a corrupt leader getting corrected. This is a story about the most devoted, most qualified, most sincere man finding out that what he has is still not enough.
What Did Nicodemus Say to Jesus?
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and opens with what amounts to a favorable review. He says, "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." He is respectful, generous, and affirming. He is essentially saying, "We see you. We approve."
Jesus does not thank Him. He does not acknowledge the compliment. Instead, He says something that cuts straight through all of it.
What Does "Born Again" Actually Mean?
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3
When Jesus says "truly, truly," it is a signal to pay close attention. John uses this phrase over twenty times in his Gospel, and it is always attached to something Jesus wants His hearers to really hear.
The Greek word translated "again" can also mean "from above." Some Bible translations say "born again" and others say "born from above." Both meanings are likely intentional. Jesus is not describing a better version of Nicodemus. He is describing a whole different kind of existence, one that originates from outside of Nicodemus entirely.
Why Did Nicodemus Misunderstand Jesus?
Nicodemus responds with a literal question: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" His answer reveals exactly what Jesus was pointing to. Nicodemus can only think in physical categories. He hears "birth" and thinks biology.
This is not because Nicodemus is unintelligent. It is because Jesus is reaching the edge of what Nicodemus has the capacity to understand. And that is precisely the point.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that apart from Christ, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Not sick. Not struggling. Dead. And dead things do not improve themselves.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." - Ephesians 2:4-5
Nicodemus does not need Jesus to help Him get a little better. He needs to go from dead to alive. And that is not something Nicodemus can do for himself, no matter how sincere or educated he is. Dead men do not raise themselves.
What Does "Born of Water and the Spirit" Mean?
Jesus goes deeper: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of God." - John 3:5
Some read "water" here and think baptism. But Jesus is more likely pointing back to Ezekiel 36, a passage Nicodemus should have known well:
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." - Ezekiel 36:25-27
Jesus is not introducing a new idea. He is saying this has always been where the story was heading. God promised to cleanse His people, give them a new heart, and put His Spirit within them. Jesus is telling Nicodemus: this is that moment. And you, the teacher of Israel, should already know this.
Can Human Effort Produce Spiritual Life?
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." - John 3:6
A thing can only produce after its own kind. Apple trees produce apples. Fig trees do not produce apples, no matter how good the soil or how careful the gardening. Fig trees simply do not have "appleness" in them.
That is Jesus' logic here. Flesh can only generate more flesh. No amount of discipline, moral effort, or religious devotion changes that, because effort itself is still flesh. However sincere the effort is, it cannot cross the line into Spirit.
Paul echoes this in Galatians: "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" - Galatians 3:3
Paul himself is essentially a New Testament Nicodemus. In Philippians 3, he lists his religious resume: circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisee, blameless under the law. And then he says he counted it all as loss for the sake of Christ. Because flesh, however impressive, can never produce what only the Spirit can give.
This does not mean effort is worthless. Devotion matters. Reading the Bible matters. Prayer and fasting matter. But they do not make you alive. For a believer, they stir up the life that has already been placed inside of you. They cannot generate that life on their own.
What Is the Wind Illustration About?
"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." - John 3:8
The word for "wind" and the word for "Spirit" are the same in both Greek and Hebrew. Jesus is making a deliberate connection. The wind is real. You can feel its effects. You can hear it move. But you cannot control it, summon it, or fully explain it.
The Spirit works the same way. New birth is not a technique you learn or a force you master. It is a sovereign movement of God.
And notice where Jesus ends the image. He does not say "so it is with the Spirit." He says "so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." If you are born of the Spirit, your life carries that same quality. It is real and undeniable in its effects, yet not something you engineered or produced yourself.
What If I Can't Point to an Exact Moment of Conversion?
This is actually good news for people with different kinds of testimonies. Some people have a dramatic moment they can point to. Others say they cannot tell you exactly when it happened, only that it did.
Jesus is not asking Nicodemus to explain the wind. He is asking him to notice whether anything has changed. You can point to love where there was no love before. You can point to hunger for God where there was no hunger before. You can point to a life that was bent in one direction and now pursues holiness.
You do not need to map out your testimony with perfect theological precision for the new birth to be real.
What Is the Core Message of John 3 for Us Today?
Nicodemus came to Jesus with a stamp of approval. He came to evaluate Jesus and let Him know that the religious leaders understood Him. Jesus dismantled that entire position. He told Nicodemus: you are not in a position to evaluate Me, because you cannot even see what I am doing.
No amount of devotion, ethical seriousness, or theological knowledge can produce new life. The Gospel does not tell us we need to improve ourselves. It tells us we are dead and we need to be made alive. That is not something we make happen. It is something God does to us.
If you have been born again, you are in God's kingdom not because of your good works but because He raised you from death to life. No amount of good works keeps you there either. You are there because of His Spirit, His work, and His goodness.
Life Application
This week, resist the temptation to measure your standing with God by your spiritual performance. Instead, look for the evidence of the Spirit's work in your life. Where has love grown where it did not exist before? Where has your hunger for God increased? Where has your life bent toward holiness in a way you did not manufacture?
If you are unsure whether you have been born again, there is nothing wrong with simply praying: "Lord, make me alive." That is not a weak prayer. It is an honest one, and it is exactly the kind of prayer God responds to.
Ask yourself:
1. Am I trusting in my spiritual effort and consistency to keep me right with God, or am I resting in what Christ has already done?
2. Have I been born again, or have I simply been stacking up devotion and good works?
3. Where do I see evidence in my life that the Spirit has done something in me that I could not have done for myself?
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