Articles
What Should Nicodemus Have Known?
Jesus challenged Nicodemus with a truth about His kingdom: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3). Nicodemus may have thought that being a Pharisee and a card-carrying member of the Sanhedrin would have automatically qualified him for whatever kingdom it was that Jesus and John were preaching.
But Jesus’ words seem strange to Nicodemus’ ears. When he confesses his ignorance in Jn 3:4, Jesus sheds more light: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (3:5-6).
When Nicodemus again confesses that he just doesn’t get it (3:9), Jesus issues a mild rebuke: “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” So, what should Nicodemus have known from the Old Testament about the need for spiritual rebirth?
The Jews thought that their link to God’s blessings was physical in nature. They were Abraham’s descendants; their land was deeded to them by Jehovah; His temple was in Jerusalem, etc. This dependence on outward things is later evidenced during a heated discussion with Jesus. “Abraham is our father” (Jn 8:39) they boasted. While this was true from a genetic standpoint, it is spiritually irrelevant for they do not have the attitude of Abraham: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this” (8:39-40).
Borrowing Jesus’ words to Nicodemus, they needed to be “born again.” They needed a new, spiritual identity. They were thinking and acting in rebellion to God, and such a fleshly outlook invited the wrath of God. They needed a drastic change in orientation. They needed a new heart.
And that, too, was something foreseen in the Old Testament. Carnal thinking had brought destruction upon Israel. But Ezekiel foresees a better future, one that would only come by inward changes: “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezk 36:25-27).
Similarly, God had said, “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts walk after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads” (Ezk 11:19-21).
No, Nicodemus could not learn from the Scriptures the details of redemption and the vital connection with God established by an obedient faith. Especially obscure would have been the role of immersion relative to the remission of sins as it mimicked the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. But Nicodemus had ample evidence from the Law and the Prophets that the historical “business as usual” Jewish attitude would not suffice. Israel had repeatedly failed God time and time again because they propped up their carnality with claims of Abrahamic descent. What they needed was to become a new person, with a new heart truly oriented toward God. Only those who make such a transition can enter the kingdom of God.
But what is the key to making this change? Is it human willpower? Sheer grit and determination? Is it the result of positive thinking, therapy, meditation, stoic detachment from earthly joys, pleasures and participation? Jesus said to Nicodemus that true transformation occurs when one is born of water and the Spirit. Paul says something similar: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body …” (1 Cor 12:13).
While we may assess this in various ways, my take is that it is the Holy Spirit who educates, encourages and empowers us by revealing the love, mercy and grace of God in offering His own Son as a sacrifice for us. This is what Jesus goes on to say to Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). The only way we know what God has unfolded on behalf of His people through the ages is because the Spirit has explained it. And He exhorts us through that revelation to be born again by the power God makes available. Enough light was given to Nicodemus to grasp these truths when revealed by Jesus.
