John 3:1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
observation
It’s early in Jesus ministry and already the Pharisees have formed an opinion against Jesus, well not all of them, there was one who still had an open mind to check out Jesus and see what he is all about.
So at night this curious seeker comes to Jesus and before Nicodemus knew it the teacher had become the student as Jesus begins to teach Nicodemus, before he can even ask a question Jesus goes straight to the heart of the matter and talks to Nick about his greatest need. Nick is still saying hello and Jesus jumps into a discussion about his spiritual condition, it may have seemed awkward and it could have scared some people off, but Jesus knew there wouldn’t be an opportunity like this one again.
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Out of nowhere Jesus takes control of the discussion and Nick is puzzled, how could he possibly be physically born over again and how could that get him any closer to entering heaven, a second physical birth even if were possible it could not change Nick’s condition. Besides he was a Jew and if anybody was born correctly the first time then it must be a child of Abraham.
“Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”
We all need a spiritual birth that comes when we believe that Jesus is the sacrifice for our sins and we receive the Holy Spirit. With the help of the Holy Spirit we will be a new creation and we will be totally changed from what we were before, even if what you were wasn’t so bad from a human perspective, Nick was probably a pretty good guy himself but he still had not earned a spot in heaven for himself.
”As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”
If Nick wasn’t convinced when he walked away from Jesus on this evening then I bet that he was convinced when he saw that Jesus prediction that he would be crucified had come true, by then he was sure that he "must be born again."
application
We have to make the most of opportunities to share the truth about Jesus whenever we meet a seeker.
prayer
Help me Lord to use the opportunities that come my way to share the gospel.
