The Gospel According to John 1:1-9 [NLTse]

3 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.

Nicodemus should have known Jesus was talking about conversion.

Most literally Jesus speaks here as being born “from above”. In the Lord Jesus’ day, as is sometimes still practiced by Jews and even a few Christians, as a way of demonstrating the holiness of God’s name – hallowed be Thy name, we pray – some good Jews would not use God’s name in their conversation: Not “Lord”, not “Yahweh”, and for some not even saying “God”. And so they developed what are called circumlocutions to help them talk about God and His things without having to refer to Him and use any of His names directly. So “Kingdom of Heaven” is spoken of when referring to the Kingdom of God; and when the High Priest asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” he says “Son of the Blessed One” instead of saying Son of God. So the Lord is speaking here of being born of God, often spoken about as being “born again”…

That being said, Nicodemus should have known Jesus was talking about conversion. Because when Jewish teachers would speak of Gentile converts to Judaism they would talk about the convert starting a new life, like a “newborn child”. For another reason, in the First Century, those adopted as sons, under Roman law, relinquished all legal status in their former family: Legally-speaking they were not children in their family of origin any longer, they were children of their new family, as though they had died and were born again. Nicodemus should have known the Lord was talking about conversion because baptism was seen, by Jewish leaders, as necessary for cleansing converts to Judaism from their “Gentile impurities”, and was commonly spoken of as saying they’d been “born of water”…

Perhaps Nicodemus didn’t get it because these were all associations used for Gentile converts to Judaism. Perhaps, as a leader of Israel, he couldn’t perceive of the need for someone who’d been born a Jew to need to be cleansed from impurity and start a new life like a “newborn child” and be born again of God and be converted to the true faith of Israel by following the Messiah, Jesus. Perhaps he couldn’t get it even though John the Baptist had preached it, as well, when he said, “Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing.” (Matthew 3:9) No, for neither religious knowledge nor family affiliation nor community ties are sufficient basis for a relationship with God: One must be born into God’s family by the Holy Spirit.

And we need to hear these things in our day because we have people who say, “I’m a Christian because my momma and daddy were Christians.” Or who say, “Of course I’m a Christian. I’ve been attending this church since I was a kid.” Or who say, “Who are you to tell me I don’t have a relationship with God? I went to seminary!”

No, my brothers and sisters and friends: We must be born of God by the inward working of the Holy Spirit, that work that occurs once we’ve seen our need for a new life – our need for someone to save us and rescue us from this life – and we put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Lord of all of our lives.

Nicodemus should have gotten it because, as a leader of Israel, the prophetic words of Ezekiel should have echoed in his mind when the prophet uses water to speak symbolically of God’s cleansing work by the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel speaks the Word of God, saying, “For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. ²⁷ And I will put My Spirit in you so that you will follow My decrees and be careful to obey My regulations.” (36:24-27)

And with God’s Word echoing in our minds we can see that the Lord Jesus’ use of the term “born of God” and “born from above” and “born again” speaks of so much more than merely relinquishing legal status in former families, and so much more than merely shifting from one belief, view, or party to another (which is what “conversion” actually means). So very much more!

It is a cleansing, this being born of God, as absolute cleansing from every impurity and all filthiness. It is an absolute cleansing from every wrong and harm and shameful act you have ever done and an absolute cleansing and binding up and healing from every wrong, harmful, and shameful act ever done to you. An absolute cleansing.

And yet there’s more! Ezekiel speaks of so much more! The Lord’s referring to so very much more!

To be born of God / born from above / born again means receiving a new heart. A new heart from God! God has a new heart for you – for us! A new heart not of stone filled with commandments and “you must”, “you must”, “you must”, but a heart of flesh that brings our desires in-line with His desires, so that we might want for others and for ourselves what God wants for them and for us; a new heart to share each other’s lives, so that other’s burdens would be our burdens – joining our hearts with them in prayer and joining our resources with theirs to help support and alleviate their need; a new heart – a heart from God – to replace your weary and despairing heart with a fresh and a hope-filled heart! To replace your jaded and needing-to-protect-yourself heart with a new trusting and free-to-trust-God-to-protect-me heart from God!

And yet being born of God, being born from above, being born again is so much more! Through His Word God has promised, “I will put My Spirit in you so that you will follow My decrees!”

So the born of God / born again life is not you and me trying our best to dig deeper and work harder to have the strength or energy or courage or whatever to accomplish God’s heart and will for us in serving others and sharing Jesus’ good news. And it’s not about trying to be more and do more and trying not to burn out as we do so. No!

It is God’s Own Spirit giving us power to not only do what the Father has called us to but also to succeed in everything He’s called us to do. Whether that’s helping families recover from hurricane Sandy; whether it’s sharing what the Lord’s done in our lives with neighbors, coworkers, or friends, whether it’s helping clean up after Worship or Fellowship Hour; or praying for someone while you’re in Wal-Mart together; or telling your husband or your wife or your roommate or child or parent that you’re sorry… Whatever God is speaking to you to do through the new heart He’s given you, He empowers you to do in giving you the Holy Spirit!

Is your life bad enough that you’d be born again of God through Jesus Christ today? I’m not asking for some emotional response, but for a thoughtful, intentional decision to follow Jesus and start – today – a new life! Are you discontent enough with your present life in this world that you would give yourself to Jesus’ new life today?

Don’t misunderstand, the Lord of Heaven and Earth has not come and borne the sin of the world on the cross of Golgotha to just be one more part of your life. The Almighty God has not overcome death so we could join another community group to help us all be nicer and more moral people. He has come that we would be born again – born of God! – to live a completely new life with a new heart and the Holy Spirit of God within us. Is that you today?

Is God helping you see today that you have merely been being a part of this church, or that you have merely been being a member in a Christian family, or that you have merely been doing good and trying to do your best and please God so that He might be pleased with you and love you?

If God has helped you see that – or something like that – today but today you want to become a son or a daughter of God, trusting God to give you all He’s promised AND MORE THAN WE CAN IMAGINE! Then I invite you to come forward…