#1467 John 3 Part 2 Are You The Teacher Of Israel

 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen, and you do not accept our witness. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.” John 3: 1-21 LSB

John 3: 4-13

V. 4 How can a man be born when he is old - He has already called Jesus, Rabbi (Teacher), and One from God because of the miracles associated with Jesus. He has seen Jesus do things that can't be done by normal people. Jesus has omnisciently looked inside this man's heart and seen that he lacks something, and then He tells him what that is in verse 3, Nicodemus needs to be born again. Nicodemus' response is a clarifier, "when he is old", I have already been born physically, and this is where many disagree with the motives behind his questions, but look at the first reality, Jesus revealed to Him his first question which was about seeing the kingdom of God. He uses the analogy about birth and doesn't back away from it, and He is using this with Nicodemus who is also a teacher. Nicodemus clarifies this even more, "Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" So what does it clarify, can a man do that? No, that's the simple answer, no, you can't physically do that, you both will die and he is old so his mom is probably already dead. "So, Jesus, let me get this straight, you are saying that in order for me to enter the kingdom of God something must happen that I can't do for myself? You are saying that I have to start all over, there has to be a reset?" Yes, just like when you were physically born you did not call yourself into being. Keep in mind, Nicodemus is a scholar, a teacher, a man use to debate so it is strange to take a position that leaves him in a totally materialist position when he ask these questions. I agree with MacArthur, Nicodemus is probably rolling with the analogy, seeing where Jesus is going with this, after all, these were not His first questions, Jesus already brought that to light. Jesus is talking to a man who has spent his whole life trying to get into the kingdom by his own works of "righteousness".

He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" - The grammar of this question calls for a negative response. Of course not! Lenski paraphrases Nicodemus as if he would say " “I know you cannot and do not mean that!” or, “That much I see.” He clearly perceives that Jesus has in mind some other, far higher kind of birth." Nicodemus knew that literal physical birth a second time was an impossibility. Jesus is in effect backing Nicodemus into a corner. He knew Nicodemus like all Jews wanted to enter the Kingdom of God, and here it looked to Nicodemus as if Jesus were making entrance into the Kingdom of God something that could not be achieved by human effort. MacArthur agrees commenting that Jesus "was making entrance into the kingdom contingent on something that could not be obtained through human effort." - Precept Austin

…16It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice: 17‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker? 18If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,… Job 4: 16-18

…18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.… Matthew 5: 18-20

V. 5a Truly Truly, I say to you - This is important, really important, listen, this is not about perception, this is ultimate truth. 

V. 5b Unless one is born of water and  the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God - There are a host of, let's be kind and say, different interpretations as to the water here, and now let's debunk a few and then go where the text forces us:

Some have referred to this as being physically born, associating it with the breaking of water that happens prior to birth. As J Mac points out, this is a little more than difficult because it's like saying, "first you have to be physically born." Okay, well Nicodemus is covered that far at least, because otherwise they couldn't be having this conversation. Silly.

Others have seen in this, Christian baptism, some of whom try to make a case for baptismal regeneration. The text won't allow this because, as we will see, Jesus will point him back to the fact that he is "the teacher" in Israel, so the answer will be in the Scriptures that Nicodemus should already know. It is not a foreign concept, it is not a new concept that arose with Jesus first advent. The metaphors that Jesus uses all have Biblical, spiritual realities. Baptism was a sign of repentance, acknowledging the need to be cleansed.

Carson has an excellent argument against this interpretation writing that "If water = baptism is so important for entering the kingdom, it is surprising that the rest of the discussion never mentions it again: the entire focus is on the work of the Spirit (v. 8), the work of the Son (vv. 14–15), the work of God himself (vv. 16–17), and the place of faith (vv. 15–16)....The Spirit plays a powerful role in John 14–16; 20:22, but there is no hint of baptism.....The entire view seems to rest on an unarticulated prejudice that every mention of water evoked instant recognition, in the minds of first-century readers, that the real reference was to baptism, but it is very doubtful that this prejudice can be sustained by the sources. Even so, this conclusion does not preclude the possibility of a secondary allusion to baptism" Borrow The Gospel according to John)

Constable - According to this view spiritual birth happens only when a person undergoes water baptism and experiences regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Some advocates of this view see support for it in the previous reference to water baptism (1:26 and 33). However, Scripture is very clear that water baptism is a testimony to salvation, not a prerequisite for it (cf. 3:16, 36; Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5). In addition, this meaning would have had no significance for Nicodemus. He knew nothing of Christian baptism. Furthermore Jesus never mentioned water baptism again in clarifying the new birth to Nicodemus. - Precept Austin

So look at this, you have to be born again to enter the kingdom, and Jesus amplifies it even more, this is the requirement for entering the kingdom, something you can't do for yourself, you have to be born of water and of the Spirit, now where would one get such an idea? Here is your water and the Spirit. 

…24For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land. 25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.… Ezekiel 36: 24-26

37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”… Acts 2: 37-39

V. 6 That which has been born of the flesh is flesh - The flesh is dying, men are spiritual stillborns, dead in their trespasses and sins. The flesh has nothing saving in it, even the best works of the flesh are all tainted. This condemns all hopes of justification by one's works and begs for a righteousness that can only be found outside of us, born from above. Men are not saved by rituals or rites of passage, not by physical birth into a particular familial bloodline, but in Christ alone. 

…62Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before? 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)… John 6: 62-64

…17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, 19in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison… 1 Peter 3: 17-19

…5But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 That is why the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged as men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.… 1 Peter 4: 5-7

V. 6b And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit - Different than the works of the flesh, this is the regenerating, cleansing and sanctifying work of the Spirit, being born from above. The metaphor of rebirth is also shown in the resurrection. It is God's saving work to bring the dead to life. 

And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit - This refers to the spiritual nature which the Spirit produces. The spirit that is born (comes into existence at time of regeneration) from God’s Spirit has an OT parallel (with which Nicodemus should have been familiar!) which gives a prophetic promise of God's gift of a “new spirit” (able to discern spiritual truths, etc) and the gift of His Spirit (Who enables life in this new realm) which says "Moreover, I (GOD) will give you (SPEAKING TO NATION OF ISRAEL BUT THIS TRUTH IS APPLICABLE TO GENTILES WHO BELIEVE IN THE MESSIAH) a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." (Ezekiel 36:26, 27+)  - Precept Austin

…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 26-28

…10So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army. 11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 12Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.…

…13Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’” Ezekiel 37: 10-14

…4so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace,… 

…7because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. 9You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.… Romans 8: 4-9

V.8 The wind blows where it wishes - So much for putting those "Revival this Sunday" signs on your churches. This further takes salvation out of the hands of men, it destroys books that people write on how to be born again, it affirms that salvation is of the Lord, it is His own work. 

When Jesus used this symbol, Nicodemus should have recalled the famous prophetic passage in Ezekiel 37:1-14+. In that passage the prophet Ezekiel saw a valley full of dead bones, but when he prophesied to the wind, the Spirit came and gave the bones life. Notice it was the combination of the Spirit of God and the Word of God that gave life. The nation of Israel (including Nicodemus and his fellow council members) was dead and hopeless. They needed the new birth from above.

Alan Carr on the wind as an illustration of the Spirit - Jesus uses the image of the wind to describe the action of the Spirit. His movements, like those of the wind, cannot be predicted or anticipated. Like the wind, the movement of the Spirit is invisible, but powerful! When He passes by, He touches whom He will and His presence is easily seen!

Bob Utley - The point is that the wind has freedom, as does the Spirit. One cannot see the wind, but rather its effects; so, too the Spirit. Man’s salvation is not in his control, but is in the Spirit’s control (John 3)

Constable - There are three similarities. First, both the Spirit and the wind operate sovereignly. Man does not and cannot control either one. Second, we perceive the presence of both by their effects. Third, we cannot explain their actions since they arise from unseen and unknowable factors. - Precept Austin

…29And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness, 30as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” 31After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.… Acts 4: 29-31

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17

V. 10 Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things - Again, Jesus affirms that this is no new or rogue teaching. Nicodemus is high up, revered as a teacher, a Pharisee and yet he doesn't understand these things, which Jesus finds inexcusable. He gave him the clues, the water, the wind, the spirit. Look, it goes even further back than Ezekiel. The Psalmist spoke of these things. Like J Mac points out, Jesus doesn't let Nicodemus off the hook, no, "you of all people should know better than this. You are a teacher." This could be and should be said to those who teach in the evangelical church today, who like the Roman Catholics try to put forth another gospel, how are you the teachers, when you don't call for reform back to what Jesus taught as the gospel, when you pretend that rituals, feelings, emotional ploys are the call to men's hearts, that walking forward and repeating a prayer is the same as being born from above. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God so that is your job, to teach the Word of God and let the Spirit regenerate and convict. Faith itself is even a gift from God. 

…6Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.…

…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 6-11

…5And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers. 6The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 7Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you.… Deuteronomy 30: 5-7

7“Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy. 8Who has heard of such as this? Who has seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be delivered in an instant? Yet as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. 9Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD. “Or will I who deliver close the womb?” says your God.… Isaiah 66: 7-9

…32It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”… Jeremiah 31: 32-34

MacArthur comments that "Jesus’ reply emphasized the spiritual bankruptcy of the nation at that time, since even one of the greatest of Jewish teachers did not recognize this teaching on spiritual cleansing and transformation based clearly in the OT (cf. v. 5). The net effect is to show that externals of religion may have a deadening effect on one’s spiritual perception." (Borrow The MacArthur Study Bible)

In another note MacArthur wrote "Jesus found it inexcusable that this prominent scholar was not familiar with the foundational new covenant teaching from the Old Testament regarding the only way of salvation (cf. 2 Ti 3:15). Sadly, Nicodemus serves as a clear example of the numbing effect that external, legalistic religion has on a person’s spiritual perception—even to the point of obscuring the revelation of God. His ignorance also exemplified Israel’s spiritual bankruptcy (cf. Rom. 10:2–3). In Paul’s words the Jews, failing to recognize “God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own … did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3). Therefore, their “zeal for God [was] not in accordance with knowledge” (Rom. 10:2), meaning that it was all for naught. (See John 1-11 MacArthur New Testament Commentary) - Precept Austin

V. 12 If I told you earthly things - This goes back to His usage of birth. If you can't understand an analogy from your own realm, how will you understand the heavenly things?

MacArthur - Because of his refusal to believe, he could not even fathom the earthly truth of the new birth, not to mention profound heavenly realities such as the relationship of the Father to the Son (John 1:1; 17:5), God’s kingdom (Matt. 25:34), or His eternal plan of redemption (Eph. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9). (See John 1-11 MacArthur New Testament Commentary) - Precept

V. 13 And no one has ascended into heaven - Keep in mind that He isn't talking to just anyone, but a very learned Jew. Jesus is referring to His origin from heaven, that is His basis for speaking on such things, that's where His knowledge comes from, first hand. He created perception so He is above man's perception. 

…61Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you? 62Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before? 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.… John 6: 61-63

…3I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son— surely you know! 5Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.… Proverbs 30: 3-5

…46The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.… 1 Corinthians 15: 46-48