Jesus Teaches of Being Born Again
Throughout his ministry building, Jesus often butted heads with the stubborn and legalistic Pharisees. His message, which stood in direct opposition to their power and principles, centered effectually a spiritual transformation of the middle, non a captious adherence to the police force.
To experience salvation and truly see the kingdom of God at work in one's life, Jesus taught that we must cast aside the onetime, sinful life to go new creations—transformed, renewed, and reformed past the God's grace, not personal works.
Jesus would later say that we must exist "born once more."
This idea of being "built-in once again" (one of the almost powerful and prevalent themes in the Christian faith) actually emerged from a conversation with a Pharisee. In John 3, Nicodemus—a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council—came to Jesus at night with a seeker's heart and a question regarding the deeper meaning of conservancy.
Jesus' reply would not simply change his life; it would modify the lives of time to come Christians and agreeing seekers forever.
Who was Nicodemus in the Bible?
Nicodemus, a name in Greek which means, "victory of the people," was a member of the Sanhedrin, a regional body of religious leaders and Jewish scholars charged with handling matters of Jewish law and faith. As a member of this torso, Nicodemus would accept been a well-educated, privileged, and influential homo, responsible for knowing about any teacher or public figure who might lead the people off-target.
I night, Nicodemus came to Jesus in private to inquire nearly things he had heard and seen. Some believe that he came as a spy for the Sanhedrin, looking to find the nature of Jesus' ministry or trap him in an reply that could exist used against him in the courts. While this couldprovide an explanation for Nicodemus'due south motivations, there is not enough evidence in the text to support this theory.
As a previously published Christianity.com article explains, the fact that he came to Jesus in private, rather than challenging him publicly, every bit other Pharisees had frequently done, might reveal more about his center and possible motivation.
Everything we know almost Nicodemus comes from John's gospel. What nosotros read in John iii is that Nicodemus came to Jesus, starting the conversation with a argument, not a question:
"Rabbi, we know that Y'all take come from God equally a teacher, for no 1 tin can do these signs that You practice unless God is with him."(John iii:ii)
Nicodemus, at the very to the lowest degree, was different than most Pharisees in that he acknowledged Jesus' dominance and divine wisdom from the offset. He may non have been an outright believer or follower of Jesus (at the fourth dimension), merely he could not argue against what he had seen and heard.
Every bit Matthew Henry writes in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "his (Jesus') miracles were his credentials."
Nicodemus had witnessed the miracles of Jesus and heard his teachings. Now he sought answers and came when he knew he could speak to Jesus one-on-one.
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What Did Nicodemus Ask Jesus and Why?
To Nicodemus' initial statement, Jesus responded, "truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born over again, he cannot encounter the kingdom of God" (John 3:2).
This response clearly befuddled the inquisitive Pharisee, who apace asked, "how can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a 2nd fourth dimension into his mother's womb and be built-in, can he?"(John iii:4)
Nicodemus would ask a very logical question to analyze a very spiritual truth.
In his mind, information technology didn't make sense how a person could be born a second time or how 1 would render to their mother's womb to exercise so. In purely physical terms, he was right. It isn't possible. But the mysteries of God and the wonders of His kingdom are non e'er apparent or understood in purely literal or physical terms.
In fact, to the earthly mind, the wonders of God often seem similar foolishness. Nicodemus would shortly discover that being "born once more" has zero to do with physical rebirth.
Matthew Henry writes, that "such is the nature of the kingdom of God (in which Nicodemus desired to be instructed) that the soul must be re-modelled and moulded, the natural man must get a spiritual man, before he is capable of receiving and understanding them."
Even prior to Jesus, Scripture spoke of the depth and mysteries of the Creator:
- "Call to me and I volition answer yous, and will tell y'all slap-up and hidden things that you have non known."(Jeremiah 33:three)
- "It is the glory of God to conceal things, merely the celebrity of kings is to search things out."(Proverbs 25:ii)
- "Tin yous find out the deep things of God? Tin can y'all find out the limit of the Omnipotent? It is higher than the heaven – what tin can you practise? Deeper than Sheol – what tin can you know? Its measure is longer than the world and broader than the sea."(Job eleven:vii-9)
God, in His infinite power and divine wisdom, is often shrouded in mystery beyond the telescopic of human understanding. This does non hateful that He cannot be known or has intentionally hidden himself from the globe. To empathize the divine nature of God, nevertheless, we must seek out divine wisdom and allow ourselves to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds." (Romans 12:2)
In his chat with Nicodemus, Jesus said that, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and what which is born of the Spirit is spirit."(John 3:5-half-dozen)
Nicodemus' inability to understand what Jesus meant demonstrated Jesus' point perfectly.
Born of flesh, the human mind cannot grasp the mysteries of the kingdom of God or understand the fullness of God. This level of understanding can merely come up from a spiritual transformation and re-forging of a mind that is made new or "built-in over again" through Christ.
This is why the Pharisees often struggled to understand or accept the bulletin and ministry of Jesus. They were likewise entrenched in their ways and reliant on their political power and influence to accept any kind of spiritual transformation or philosophical give up.
They were the religious elite and thrived on the public's perception of them being the ultimate intellectual authorization in spiritual matters. But earthly influence and political status are irrelevant in the kingdom of God.
"To be born again is to be built-in of the Spirit" (Matthew Henry). This was something the Pharisees simply could not fathom.
What Does Nicodemus Demonstrate nearly Religion?
Nicodemus, all the same, came curious and eager to acquire more about Jesus' teachings. His middle had been stirred and mind challenged, and every bit is truthful to Scripture, those who seek the Lord and answers to the mysteries of his kingdom will not be disappointed (Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29, Luke 11:nine).
While Jesus may have gently admonished Nicodemus, a teacher of the law, for his initial ignorance, asking, "are you the teacher of Israel and practice not understand these things?"(John 3:9), he all the same guided him to understanding with a reference to Old Testament narrative that pointed to his eventual sacrifice.
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes will in Him accept eternal life."(John 3:14-15)
The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus clearly planted the seed for Nicodemus' own spiritual transformation.
Some take noted that Nicodemus came to Jesus discretely and by night. It is possible that he didn't want others to know of this meeting, least of all the Pharisees, and that he may have tried to keep his emerging organized religion subconscious from the earth out of fright of public scrutiny. That would soon change.
Nicodemus later on would publicly defend Jesus when the Pharisees questioned whether or not to seize Jesus (John 7:51). And even after Jesus' death, Nicodemus was seen, forth with Joseph of Arimathea, bringing myrrh and spices to the tomb of Jesus after he had been crucified (John 19:39).
As Matthew Henry writes, "though now he came by nighttime, afterwards he endemic Christ publicly."
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Why Does the Bible Address Being Born Again?
Jesus spoke of beingness "born over again" to explain what must happen in the center, heed, and soul of the believer who is transformed by the grace and forgiveness of God. Nativity is the beginning of all life, and to exist born of the Spirit, one must start at the foot of the cross.
John the Baptist heralded Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and every bit Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things accept come up." (2 Corinthians five:17)
Our old, sinful life died with Christ. New life is built-in of His resurrection. Equally Matthew Henry writes, to exist born over again, "we must take a new nature, new principles, new angel, new aims."
Reborn in Christ, everything must adapt to His image and will. In Him, we are given fresh eyes, fresh motivations, a fresh middle, and a fresh start.
Nicodemus discovered something most the mysteries of God and meaning of salvation in his conversation with Jesus. Not long after Jesus talked of beingness built-in once again, he delivered one of the well-nigh famous passages of Scripture, 1 which encapsulated the entirety of the Gospel.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His merely Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life."(John 3:16)
The spiritual rebirth and new life offered through the grace of Jesus Christ is more than just a quick prepare to an earthly sickness. It is a spiritual cure that allows u.s.a. to experience and enjoy a spiritual eternity with Christ. The Pharisees had sadly fallen into the trap of legalism, and in doing so, missed the heart of God in Christ.
Thankfully, Nicodemus' seeking heart overcame his earthly grooming and the narrow-mindedness of his spiritual colleagues.
As it says in Jeremiah, "y ou volition seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart"(Jeremiah 29:xiii); and Nicodemus did indeed observe Him. It seems that the all-time way to understand what information technology means to exist "built-in again" is to experience it for oneself, and that is certainly proven in the life and transformation of Nicodemus.
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Source: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-does-nicodemus-know-about-being-born-again.html
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