The Second Sunday of Lent – Mark S. Winward
“Jesus answered [Nicodemus], Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” – John 3:3, NRSV
Reclaiming a Term
The theme of John chapter 3 is the “new birth.” In recent years, a great deal has been made of this passage. It was fifty years ago that a massive stir was caused when a presidential candidate named Jimmy Carter stated publicly that he was “born again.” (Yes, half a century!) Since then—and especially after Chuck Colson, one of the most notorious figures of the Watergate scandal, wrote of his dramatic prison conversion in his bestseller Born Again—the term has firmly entered our popular consciousness.
However, following the rise of the Moral Majority, the term became heavily associated with Southern fundamentalism and specific political positions. I know many people—even clergy, no less—who refuse to identify themselves as “born again” simply because of those political connotations. And I recognize that may resonate with some in our congregation.
But whether or not you are “born again” has nothing to do with politics or religious factionalism. In this passage, Jesus tells us that being born again is a description of a spiritual state of being—one that determines your relationship with God. Quite simply, understanding what it means to be born again is the most important question you could ever ask in your life.
The Midnight Seeker
Let’s take a moment to look at what the text says. At the beginning of John 3, we meet Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader of the most respectable and ruling Jewish religious sects. The Pharisees prided themselves on their rich heritage and their scrupulous adherence to Jewish Law. To put it in modern terms, Nicodemus held a social status similar to a leading bishop or the senior pastor of a big-city mega-church.
And yet, verse 2 tells us that Nicodemus “secretly slipped out into the night” to question Jesus. Clearly, he intentionally sought out this troublesome but compelling carpenter from Nazareth who was causing such a stir in Jerusalem. Imagine a high-ranking bishop sneaking through the night to seek guidance from a visiting camp-meeting preacher!
We can gather that Nicodemus was a true seeker because he was willing to entertain that Jesus was sent by God. We might amplify his greeting in verse 2 as: “Rabbi, I call you this because we know you are a teacher come from God.” This was a massive, dangerous step for a man in his position, especially since many of his peers believed Jesus was from the devil.
The Great Disruption
Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush. He answers this righteous, respected man in a totally unexpected way. Jesus makes it clear in verse 3 that simply believing he is a “great teacher” isn’t enough to get to heaven. His answer would change Nicodemus’ life—and the world—forever: “…unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This statement must have knocked Nicodemus off his feet. By any worldly or religious standard, Nicodemus was a “good man.” Did all his years of study, his strict obedience to the Law, and his ritual service to God mean nothing? The answer was a jarring: “No, you must be born again.”
Nicodemus, confused, asks the logical question: “How can anyone possibly be born all over again? Surely he can’t go back into his mother’s womb!” Jesus responds, in essence, that regardless of how respectable or righteous you appear to others, unless you are born of “water and the Spirit,” you will not enter heaven. While interpreters differ on the exact meaning of “water,” given that this Gospel opens with John the Baptist in the Jordan, it is reasonable to assume Jesus refers to baptism. But the second half of his statement is crystal clear: salvation is dependent on a spiritual rebirth—a new way of thinking and a total change of heart.
From Dry Bones to New Breath
To explain this to Nicodemus, Jesus reaches back into the Hebrew Scriptures that Nicodemus knew so well. He says in verse 8,
“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it but you do not know from whence it comes…”
Most scholars agree Jesus is referencing the famous prophecy of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. You remember the scene: a valley full of very dry, very dead bones. God asks, “Can these bones live?” and then commands the prophet to speak to the wind—to the Spirit. As he prophesies, breath enters the dead, and they stand up as a vast army. The imagery is unmistakable: it is a picture of people who were spiritually dead becoming spiritually alive.
The Symbol of Healing
Jesus then provides a second image from the wilderness: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up…” He is referring to Numbers 21, when the Israelites turned against God and were bitten by venomous snakes. When the people repented, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten, if they simply looked at that bronze serpent, would live. The imagery is of a people wounded by their own sin. God provided a symbol for them to look to in order to be healed. Likewise, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that all who look to Him will be healed of their sin and disobedience.
The Lifeline
Having provided these two biblical anchors, Jesus explains the “new birth” directly. It is so important that he says it twice:
“…that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
“Whoever believes in Him.” This is hard stuff, and the text doesn’t leave much room to “soft-pedal” this to make it politically correct. Jesus doesn’t say “whoever thinks I’m a great teacher,” or “whoever is a good person,” or “whoever goes to church every Sunday.” He doesn’t even say “whoever is baptized.” He says, simply: “Whoever believes.”
If that makes your head swirl, imagine being Nicodemus, the “Great Teacher of the Law.” The text is making an inescapable claim: belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of your soul is the decisive factor for eternal life.
Jesus isn’t being harsh; He is sharing the truth in love. He explains that He didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it. His point isn’t that God wants to send people to hell, but rather that all of us are drowning already. He has come to offer a lifeline. That lifeline isn’t reached by working harder or relying on our own “goodness”—it comes by putting our hope in Jesus Christ.
The Stalemate of “No-Man’s Land”
People often ask why God doesn’t just show Himself clearly rather than requiring faith. Think back to World War I. Some of the fiercest battles in history were fought in the fields of France and Belgium. After the initial movements, the war ground to a deadly stalemate. Allied and German troops faced one another from trenches, and the space between them was called “No-Man’s Land.”
God created us for “friendly territory”—to be in a relationship with Him and in harmony with one another. But something went terribly wrong. Humanity, and each of us individually, chose to turn against God’s standards. We broke the relationship. The world became a kind of “No-Man’s Land”—territory claimed by both the forces of good and evil. That is why we see both breathtaking displays of God’s glory and horrifying reminders of evil in the same world.
In WWI, a soldier would occasionally venture into No-Man’s Land—usually sacrificing his life—to break the stalemate. God did the same. He broke the stalemate by sending His Son into this world.
Belief is vital because God doesn’t want to enslave us; He wants children. He wants to restore a damaged relationship, and a relationship cannot be forced. It has to happen through the choice to love. Faith is nothing less than God’s invitation for us to enter into a loving relationship with Him.
Conclusion: The Gift of Freedom
Still, I personally hold out hope for those who have never known Christ, or have become estranged from him, or practice another faith. What I know, though, is that all of us are in the hands of a loving and just God. And I trust that God is not a tyrant who wants to see humanity suffer, but a loving Father who yearns for each of us to be restored. That is why He sent His Son at the cost of His life.
One day, God will draw all hostilities to an end. “No-Man’s Land” and enemy territory will be utterly defeated. But until that day, God allows each of us the gift of freedom: the freedom to reject Him or follow Him; the freedom to believe; and the freedom for Him to be our Father, and us His children, forever.