We continue from the last lesson looking at Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21. We had looked at verse 5 and the unfortunate (and misleading) translation found in most versions where Jesus appears to say a man must be “born of water and the Spirit”, indicating two separate births. The verse should read “born of water even the Spirit”, indicating one birth described two ways for emphasis. Jesus uses “water” figuratively to illustrate both salvation and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is obvious both in His conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4:7-15 where salvation is likened to a spring of water that flows into eternal life (verse 15) and then in John 7:37-39 where He likens water to the Spirit being a spring of living water flowing from a man’s innermost being, again connected to salvation (here, the promised renewing ministry of the Holy Spirit, verse 39).
Let’s move on to verse 6, “What is born from the flesh is fleshly; what is born from the Spirit is spiritual.” This is a fundamental doctrine emphasized by Paul. “Those who are controlled by their flesh set their minds on and pursue the things that gratify the flesh; but those who are controlled by the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things that gratify the Spirit. The mind that follows the flesh brings misery, both here and hereafter. But the mind that follows the Spirit brings life and peace, both now and forever.” (My contextual translation of Romans 8:5-6, compare Galatians 5:16-17)
“Don’t be astonished at Me saying, You must be born from above. The wind blows where it wills: you hear the sound it makes, but you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (Verses 7 and 8) Here Jesus is (of course) consistent in talking about only one birth, the birth from above. He then explains the wind will blow wherever it pleases; you can hear it, but you can’t see it. In the same way, when you’re born from above, you can’t see the Holy Spirit, but you can hear it.
Nicodemus is still confused, “How is this possible?” (Verse 9) And Jesus answered, “Are you a teacher of Israel and yet these things are strange to you?” (Verse 10) Here, “teacher” is from didaskalos, in this context, a term of honor and respect. I won’t belabor the point, but if Nicodemus understood the Old Testament, he would have remembered scriptures like Jeremiah 31:31-33 where the Lord said He would make a new covenant with Israel and would write His commandments in their minds and on their hearts. Or Ezekiel 36:25-27 that says “I will sprinkle clean water on you and give you a new heart and a new spirit. And I will put My Spirit in you, so you can follow My statutes and obey My ordinances.” And I must point out here, in all likelihood, Jesus uses water figuratively in verse 5 and the other places noted above exactly because Ezekiel had used it in the same way and unlike Nicodemus, Jesus knew the Old Testament well.
“I assure you, this is the truth, I’m telling you, We speak only of what we know, and testify only to what we have seen; but you reject our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you don’t believe Me, how can you possibly believe when I talk about heavenly things?” (Verses 11 and 12) The “earthly things” were “water, flesh and wind”; the “heavenly things” were “born from above, the Spirit, born of the Spirit”. Jesus’ statement in verse 11, “but you reject our testimony” seems to indicate Nicodemus went away in doubt, not understanding what had been said about spiritual things. However, as already mentioned from later references it’s clear that he did come to understand and believe.
This next verse has been use by some to question the validity of the Scriptures or claim there are contradictions. I’ll explain after I quote it. “And yet no man has ascended up to heaven, but there is One Who has come down from heaven, even the Son of Man.” (Verse 13) Some say this contradicts scripture because both Enoch and Elijah ascended up to heaven. However, the verb here is anabaino and means to ascend of his accord or by his own power. God “took” Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah “went up in a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:11). But Jesus both descended and ascended by His own power (compare John 6:33, 38, 51, 62; 20:17; Acts 1:11). Note, the last phrase in this verse in the KJV, “which is in heaven” is not found in most manuscripts and is excluded in many versions (the NIV and Amplified, for example).
“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (Verse 14) Here Jesus is referring to the incident in Numbers 21 when the people complained against the Lord and Moses; so the Lord sent serpents to torment them with painful bites and many died. They repented (though their repentance proved to be disingenuous), Moses prayed for them and the Lord instructed him to fashion a serpent of brass and when the people looked upon the serpent they lived. The serpent is seen as a type of Christ bearing the sins of man; the serpent was lifted up on a pole as Christ was lifted up on a cross.
“So that everyone who trusts in Him could have eternal life.” (Verse 15) The Israelites in the wilderness who looked on the serpent trusting it would save them continued to live; and in the same way, those who look to Christ will live eternally. Again, if you notice, I omitted “should not perish” from verse 15, as some later manuscripts actually added it.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so everyone who trusts in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (Verse 16) I have to mention here that the term “only begotten Son” is from monogenes and is actually a reference to the unique circumstances of Jesus’ virgin birth. He is the “only one” from monos (making Him “unique”) of “the family” from genos of God born of the union of a woman and the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-35). (For a detailed explanation of Jesus’ virgin birth and the provision the Lord made in the creation and design of the female reproductive system, see the article “Grace, Faith and the Plan of God”, Part Two – God Condemns Us on the website www.voiceofonecrying.com)
And in the same way, for the Israelites in the wilderness, the serpent was the only remedy for their sin – God did not provide an alternate solution. So, as the verse above makes clear, trusting in Christ is the only remedy for our sin.
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world might be saved through Him. He that trusts in Him is not condemned; but he that does not trust in Him is condemned already because he has not trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Verses 17 and 18)
“Condemn” above is from the verb krino, literally, to make a distinction or come to a decision and is used sometimes to describe deciding what is right or wrong for someone else, something Jesus warns against in Matthew 7:1-5. Here, it has more a meaning of passing judgment leading to punishment. Jesus did not come to pass judgment or punish; He came to provide a way of escape from judgment.
And just as trusting on the serpent restored health and peace to those who had rebelled against God in the wilderness; our trust in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross brings us peace and reconciliation with Him. And at this point I have to quote a favorite passage here from Paul on the subject of reconciliation. This is 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 “If any person is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, the new has come! And all this comes from God, Who through Christ has brought us into favor (reconciled) with Himself and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation (bringing others into favor with Him). It was God through Christ reconciling the world to favor with Himself, not holding against us our trespasses, but canceling them and entrusting to us the message of this restoration of favor.”
Then these verses end Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. “And this is the condemnation, that Light has come into the world and people have loved the darkness more than the Light, because the conduct of their lives were only continually evil.” (Verse 19) Here, “condemnation” is from krisis, the noun form of the verb krino above in verse 17 and means, the basis or test by which men are judged. The word does not define a punishment, only the test; that Light (Jesus) has come into the world, but people loved their darkness (evil conduct) more than they loved the Light.
“For everyone who does evil hates Light and will not come into the Light, because their evil would be exposed. But those who live in the Truth come into the Light and their lives clearly show their dependence on God.” (Verses 20 and 21) It’s interesting (at least to me) that Jesus uses the word phaulos translated “evil” in His statement. Used only two other times in the NT (Titus 2:8; James 3:16), it describes something good-for-nothing, unimportant or worthless. This is simply Jesus way of saying, embracing or loving the Light (the Truth) is a priority, and everything else by comparison is unimportant. “Let your light shine” (demonstrate the character and goodness of God, Matthew 5:16-18).