Unless a Man Is Born Again (John 3:1-7)

Unless a Man Is Born Again

 

John 3:1-7

 

Most of seaside tourist attractions have whale watching as one of their tour programs. We can find such tour services in and around Boston. It is exciting to go out to the sea and see huge wild animals soaring out of the water just in front of my eyes. I have never had it, but one of my friends told me about his experience. He and his wife, with their two young sons, went whale watching many years ago. According to him, the boat sails about an hour to a spot where whales appear frequently, and there, people wait for the rising of the big marine animals. When they find whales, the tourists shout out of joy and take pictures hurriedly in order to save the short moment of wonder. Once the whales disappear, the passengers become quiet and wait for another round of excitement. In this way, they enjoy a few sights of whales, and come back through another hour’s sailing. Some unfortunate tourists may not see whales at all. My friend was not so eager to recommend whale watching to me. He complained that he had to spend money and endure long boring sailing with the fretful children in a hot summer day in order to watch whales just a few seconds.

 

When we look over the sea from a boat, we cannot see anything but water. The sea looks vast and dreary. But this is not the real face of the sea. Inside the sea is another beautiful and wonderful world teeming with all kinds of plants and animals. There are not only whales but also a huge variety of big and small fishes boasting of their unique shapes and colors. If one can dive into the water and play with the creatures underwater, he may not want whale watching any more. In today’s text, Jesus converses with a Jewish Pharisee named Nicodemus. Jesus tells him about how to enter the Kingdom of God. Figuratively saying, “the world without God” is like the vast and dreary sea without any visible life, and the “Kingdom of God” is the mysterious, rich, and glorious world hidden under the water. However, people cannot enter the water. If they fall into the water, they cannot breathe and soon they die. So they have to stay on the boat and wait for the appearance of the whales or whatever sign of life. But Jesus teaches him the way that we can enter the Kingdom of God. It is “being born again.” Jesus said to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born” (3). “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (5).

 

According to Verse 1, Nicodemus was a man of the Pharisees, and he was a member of the Jewish ruling council. The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group that emphasized the strict observance of Moses’ Law and the elders’ traditions. The Jewish ruling council means the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council with 70 members that had religious, civil, and criminal jurisdiction. Nicodemus was also called by Jesus “Israel’s teacher” (10). He must be respected by people for his good nature, wisdom, and knowledge. Even he was a rich man (John 19:39). He had everything. His life was successful socially, economically, politically, and religiously. Interestingly, his name “Nicodemus” means “the people’s victory.” Nicodemus shows us “what the most successful life would look like.” But he, as such, came to Jesus “at night.” And he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” His visiting at night and his saying to Jesus suggest his desperateness. He attained the treasure chest of “success” through many efforts, and now opened the chest in order to enjoy it. But surprisingly, it was empty. There was nothing in it. It was like a whale watching tour, enjoying a few seconds’ excitement and coming home “with empty hands.” To him, success was not “the way to happiness” but “a dead end” from which he didn’t know where to go.

 

We have several important questions, the answers of which we cannot find by ourselves. What is the meaning of life? Does God exist? How did this world come to exist? Who am I? Where did I come from and where am I going? What should I live for? What is waiting for me after death? …… Without answers to these questions, our life is nothing but “sheer darkness.” Today, people are enjoying the unprecedented conveniences of science and technology, but even this human advance cannot provide a ray of light to this darkness. Rather, the darkness is getting deeper over time. And the most glorious success is still meaningless in the darkness. Nicodemus, despite his successful life, was also in such darkness. Then, he saw light in darkness. The light was Jesus. He saw God in Jesus. And he believed that Jesus might be somehow able to take him out of the darkness. He believed that Jesus might know the answers to the many questions vexing him day and night. And Jesus gave him “the Answer.” “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” This is “All-in-One Answer” to all the questions that Nicodemus had in his mind.

 

In the Bible, we can find several descriptions of God’s Kingdom. Romans 14:17 says, “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” And Matthew 12:28 says, “But If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” About the Kingdom of God, I would like to say this way: in the Kingdom of God, we don’t have to ask questions any more. It is because we see the truth clearly. Whale watching tourists can only see the whales soaring up out of the water. With this very poor information, they may imagine how the underwater world would be, but it is merely imagination. If we dive into the water under the sea, we can see everything clearly with our own eyes. With the signs that Jesus performed, Nicodemus realized that there was something in Jesus. The miracles Jesus performed in this world are momentary appearances of “the hidden Kingdom of God.” Thus, the Bible calls them “signs” or “marks.” They are signs and marks showing how the Kingdom of God looks like, but only a short time and only partially. They are like the whales appearing over the water for a few seconds. Jesus performed the miracles, however, not to please our eyes but to invite us to the Kingdom of God so that we may see the kingdom, enter the kingdom, and live there. Once we enter the kingdom, we don’t ask “Does God exist?” “Who am I?” “What is the meaning of my life?” or “Where did I come from and where am I going?” It is because we live in the eternal truth and life of God who is our light.

 

To Jesus’ word that a man should be born again, Nicodemus asked back, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Then Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” According to this word, we must be born “of water and the Spirit” in order to enter the Kingdom of God. It is not easy to understand what is being born of water and the Spirit. Especially there are several opinions on what Jesus meant by “water” here. Some say that it means “repentance” referring to John the Baptist’s baptism with water. And some say that this water is “the Word of Jesus Christ.” In John 15:3, Jesus says, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you,” comparing his word to water for washing and cleaning people’s souls. Although these opinions look different, they are actually pointing at the same thing. The Word of Jesus Christ reveals our sins so that we repent the sins, die to the sins, and finally, are cleansed of the sins. Every word of the Lord opposes our “flesh desires” and suffocates them to death. Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44). “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then, come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). For us sinners who live by our flesh desires, dwelling in such words of Jesus Christ is like submerging under the water and being unable to breathe. We become like “a dead man.” And it is only the Holy Spirit who can raise the dead man. The Holy Spirit gives breath and life to those who are dead in Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of “being born of water and the Spirit.”

 

I think Romans 8 is the best Bible text in explaining the believers’ born-again life. In particular, Verses 10-11 say, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” According to this word, Christ is in us, and as a result, our body is dead because of sin. Our body is “the body of sin” that has breathed the world. It has breathed “the sinful air of the world” in order to survive, to be higher, to be more successful, and to be happier. But as Jesus dwells in us, namely, “our body submerges under the water,” we are disconnected from the sinful air of the world. We are dead. But this is not the end. Paul says, “yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Receiving Jesus in us becomes itself “our righteousness.” And God, who raised Christ from the dead through his Spirit, also regards us as righteous and gives life to us through the Holy Spirit. Because in Jesus Christ our body died to the world, we don’t need to breathe the world for our lives. Instead, we live by the life given by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. It is truly amazing to live by the Spirit. Romans 8:2 says, “Through the Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death,” and 8:6 says, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” When we live according to the Holy Spirit, we can obey God’s law, and please Him as his children.

 

Jesus says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Many Christians do not enter deep under the water, but stay on the boat and wait there the appearance of whales. And many of them stand on the boundary between this world and the God’s Kingdom, and lead an anxious life in order to hold both. But Jesus says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus is saying that there is no common area where flesh and spirit come together, and that we must choose either flesh or spirit. Jesus is urging that we crucify all of our “passions and boastings of flesh” completely and live with a clean and pure heart in the Holy Spirit. I pray that we may drown ourselves deeply in the Word of the Lord until our flesh nature dies completely and the Holy Spirit can work freely on our souls. I pray that we meditate on and understand the mystery of being born again so that we may be led by the Word and the Spirit to the innermost court of King’s Palace.