Born again
3:1 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 are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered 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? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 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 marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 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. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:1–17 (ESV)
During the season of Lent, we are reminded that without God’s intervention, we can’t help but wander from his path. Lent is a time to return to God, to repent before God, and to be renewed by God. It’s all about bringing our focus back to the right place.
Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus is one of several in-depth conversations recorded in John’s gospel, and it is a very important one.
To see God’s kingdom, a rebirth needs to take place.
3:1 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 are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus recognises that Jesus is someone special because of the signs he had shown. He must have witnessed some, or at least heard plenty about them. We know who or what someone is by their outward actions.
Jesus himself says that what comes out of a person’s mouth reveals what is in their heart (Mt. 15:18). To a degree, that can go for actions as well.
Jesus’ words and actions so far have revealed to Nicodemus that God is, at the very least, “with him”. He had turned the water into wine at the wedding at Cana, and he had cleansed the temple. These two “signs” demonstrate that Jesus has power to perform impossible things, and that he has God-given authority even in the temple, the holiest of places.
Nicodemus says, “We know…” Yet, he had arranged to see Jesus at night to hide from his colleagues. This statement is an expression of some faith in Jesus as a uniquely gifted teacher, but Jesus is about to go beyond Nicodemus’ expectations. Genuine faith always goes beyond what is humanly comprehensible. That’s what makes it faith.
Jesus then makes two statements about the kingdom of God:
No one can see God’s kingdom without being born again.
No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit.
As a leader of the Jews, Nicodemus had the understanding that, to belong in God’s kingdom and under his rule, a person needs to:
be born into the right family, and
live according to the standards set by God himself.
By speaking about being born again, Jesus is challenging the whole understanding of how God relates with humanity. A whole nation’s identity and culture was dependent on this system of families, legalities, and technicalities.
Just imagine if a brilliant pastor came along one day and challenged our whole system of worship and church, saying that you can’t be a genuine child of God without splitting off from the whole institution and gathering in homes instead. When our foundations are challenged, we can only respond two ways:
Reject change and dig in.
Accept change and let go.
There’s no surprises about which response is more likely, and for good reason. When we have been brought up to understand God in a certain way, it would take a very good argument and a lot of careful conversation to bring that kind of change about.
Jesus goes in hard and fast here. Having been brought up in a Jewish household, he had lived and experienced the culture and system that he was about to turn upside down. But he also knows who he is—the only Son of God, sent into the world to redeem it and save it.
God had established the nation of Israel as his own people, set apart from the rest of the world—now, it is time to open up to the world.
Paul demonstrated this point to us in the New Testament reading from Romans 4:
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Romans 4:16–17 (ESV)
We Gentiles may not have direct lineage to Abraham, but we are his offspring in the faith we have inherited.
We cannot produce this faith ourselves—it is gifted to us when we are born again.
Rebirth happens by water and the Spirit.
There are many reasons why there are so many Christian denominations around the world (and even in our own town), but these differences usually hinge on the understanding of two things: the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. We understand these things to be the only two physical means that God gives us to encounter him, relate with him, and receive his grace.
This statement made by Jesus about rebirth is absolutely critical for our understanding of Baptism. As Lutherans, we harp on about it all the time because Jesus explicitly states that there is no way for us to see or enter God’s kingdom without first being reborn by water and the Spirit. That sounds an awful lot like baptism to me.
When Jesus departed from this world, he left his disciples with one task: to make more disciples. He then describes how to do that: baptise and teach (Mt. 28:19). God can bring people to faith however he chooses—sometimes, he uses what we might call “alternative pathways” like visions or epiphanies—but we know for sure that he does bring people into his fold through the means of baptism. Jesus says you can’t enter God’s kingdom without it.
The rest of the details about baptism—sprinkling or full immersion (“dunking”), in a font or in a lake, wearing a gown or swimwear—are not essential. We practice baptism in a certain way for certain reasons, though.
Firstly, we do it within a regular worship service because baptism is the entry rite into the family of God, represented here by a small gathering of people. We are baptised into something. Paul says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Ro. 6:4).
That walk of new life is best done together—we need all the help we can get. We are baptised, then, into the communion of saints, the holy people of God.
Secondly, we often baptise people as infants because there is nothing we bring to the table except our sinful, mortal selves. At that point in the child’s life, parents make the decision for baptism on behalf of their child, so we make sure they know what they are signing up for. If the candidate is an older child or adult, we take the time to prepare them as well.
That preparation is not strictly a requirement, but we do it because baptism is not simply a nice ritual or symbolic ceremony—it’s a death and resurrection. Remember, Jesus said to make disciples by baptising and teaching. These two things are not in order—baptism and teaching belong together.
As a church, we have a duty to make sure that people are protected from spiritual harm. This is also why only certain people in the church can perform baptisms—namely, ordained pastors. Baptism is a powerful act which requires special care.
The Spirit moves however it wants to.
We do our due diligence when it comes to handling God’s means of grace in the sacraments. There is a fine line, however, between diligently practicing what God commands and being responsible with the gifts he entrusts us with, and taking control over God’s gifts and creating unnecessary requirements and regulations in order to protect them. We should treat God’s gifts with respect, but we should also allow room for his Spirit to do his work.
We can apply this to anything we do as Christian people.
Worship: we should ensure that our worship space is kept tidy and well maintained, but we shouldn’t become so attached to the physical space that we cannot worship or pray to God anywhere else.
Programs: we should accommodate for as many different age groups and preferences as we can in our community activities, but we shouldn’t place so much importance on them that they take away from our core purpose of making disciples.
Vocation: we should participate in the life of our wider community in a Christ-like way, but we should not abandon our life in the body of Christ, his church.
There is some black-and-white when it comes to our Christian faith, but so much of it is grey. The problems arise when we turn what God says is grey into either black or white. We need help to discern what is negotiable and what isn’t.
If Nicodemus’ life was an office, it would be very orderly. Every piece of paper would have its specific pile, and nothing would be out of place. What happens when the Spirit of God blows through the open window like a gust of wind?
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.
I am naturally a very organised person. I like things to have their place. My desk is always clear of clutter. When I cook tea at home, I like to wash dishes as I go. I am known to wash things before I’m done using them.
When Jesus describes people born of the Spirit as free-flowing and wind-blowing, I struggle with that. In anything we do, there is always a point where one needs to let go and allow the Spirit to do his thing.
This is the struggle of any pastor who is tasked with preparing a sermon each week.
Lent is a time to examine ourselves before God. It is a time to acknowledge our failures and hurts felt or caused. It is a time to return to God’s way. It is a time to let go and allow the good news of God’s saving love to penetrate our souls and change our hearts.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Amen.
