John 3

The phrase so often translated as “born again” can also be translated “born from above.” Nicodemus obviously understands it one way, and Jesus accommodates his understanding, but also tries to get him to think more spiritually. To be born again is to be born from above, i.e. born of the Spirit. And to be born of the Spirit means to believe in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to have eternal life. And if you believe in Him you will change, because you are no longer in darkness: you are in the light!

There are various opinions as to when Jesus stops speaking in this passage. Is it after verse 12? Is it after verse 15? Or is it later in the passage? It’s an interesting question because Jesus may be revealing Himself as the Son of Man and giving Nicodemus some important information. I believe that Jesus probably stops speaking after verse 12, and that John is the one revealing the spiritual truth of how to be born from above to his readers. And that truth was actually foretold in the Old Testament:

Numbers 21:4-9 “They travelled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey. The people spoke against God and against Moses: ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food!’ The LORD sent venomous snakes amongst the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died. The people came to Moses, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.’ Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ Moses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived.”

Either way, it’s quite an expose of Nicodemus’ lack of spiritual insight!

John’s joy comes from his ability to point to Jesus. Jesus is from heaven and can testify to more than earthly things. He speaks the Word of God, and He is the only one who has the Spirit without measure. He is our authority, and we need to believe in and follow Him!

Thought for the day: John’s words should echo in our lives as well:

John 3:31 (WEB) “He must increase, but I must decrease.”