No one can see the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit

When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

- John 2:23-3:15

This is yet another passage filled with many things to note. John's gospel gives us rich readings every day - and I hope my readers will be patient with me. My study bible notes that in the first paragraph of the reading, above, Jesus is aware that many are misinterpreting his signs. People "believed in his name" but Jesus understands the very heart and soul of people, and so he "would not entrust himself to them." They did not have the true faith he's looking for. So, from the first verses above we understand faith (Greek πιστις, "pistis" - a word that means "trust" as strongly as it does "faith") to be a mutually reciprocal relationship of trust. The verb form of this word, which is often translated into English as "I believe" is also the statement, "I trust." The "purity in heart" of "those who see God" (see the Beatitudes) therefore implies a depth of trust, for a relationship that can be deeply, infinitely penetrating, an eternal experience for both God and man.

Nicodemus, we are told is a Pharisee, and a leader of the Jews. He comes to Jesus at night, to avoid others seeing him. My study bible notes that Nicodemus disappears from John's gospel at this point, only returning when he seeks to defend Jesus' legal rights before the Sanhedrin. At the end, Nicodemus prepares Jesus' body for burial along with Joseph of Arimathea, a bold public expression of faith. His memory became one celebrated in the Church. According to some early sources, he was baptized by Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to leave Jerusalem. Keeping all of this in mind, and Jesus' knowledge of people's character (remember his naming of Simon "Peter" - rock - and his understanding of Nathanael in whom there was no deceit), Jesus takes time to explain something important to this man Nicodemus. Nicodemus too has seen the signs Jesus performed during the Passover, but he is one that Jesus will "entrust" himself to, and teach.

Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." He is speaking of birth in Spirit and in faith in that which comes from above, Jesus himself. Nicodemus asks, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?" As Christ himself is begotten of the Father before the ages, and is now teaching about baptism and "rebirth" for human beings in time, my study bible notes that John's gospel will frequently lead us from the superficial understanding to the spiritual. And it is so here: Nicodemus is puzzled by these puzzling words, looking for their literal meaning. But, we're reminded, these are not scientific textbooks we're reading: this is spiritual literature and has as its function to point to that depth of relationship, understanding and trust. We are to understand something more deeply than its superficial meaning.

Jesus teaches: "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' " "Water and Spirit" is a clear reference here to baptism. We recall that John the Baptist baptized with water for repentance. We die to ourselves, in the symbolic immersion in water, to be filled with Spirit. It is not emptiness we are after, but nature transfigured. As Jesus came to the world to be like us, we are baptized to become like Him, to take on another nature that transforms, teaches, and into which we grow. Baptism is but the first step. We are restored to heaven in this sense, to an eternal kingdom and relationship with Creator. My study bible notes, "While the workings of the Holy Spirit are mysterious, nevertheless spiritual birth is integrated with baptism here and throughout the New Testament."

Jesus continues, in one of my most favorite sayings of the gospels: "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." How does faith work? How does this transforming, transfiguring reality integrate itself with our human earthly natures and reshape us in Its image? We are not able to predict, it is not an achievement of will of the mind or our own effort, we cannot contain it, limit it, control it. The expression of the Divine in the world will always be something beyond our limits in every sense. And yet, we can know where it has been, we experience this birth and its effects. This saying about the wind is a poetic play on words. The Greek word for "wind" and for "Spirit" is the same: "pneuma" (πνευμα). It can also mean "breath," "soul," "spirit."

Nicodemus asks, "How can this be?" Jesus answers, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?" The "earthly things" Jesus has told Nicodemus about are the elements of baptism, and the transforming reality of belief as seen in those to whom Jesus can entrust himself, to the faithful who follow him, his disciples, which we will see at work, for example, in Peter. But Nicodemus presses for greater revelation of the Spirit and the heavenly reality. Chrysostom interpreted this passage as one that contrasts the "earthly" reality of the spiritual gift of rebirth in baptism with the heavenly reality of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father. But it seems to me that Nicodemus could be asking for an explanation of the Mystery of Spirit, how is this transformation effected exactly, and by what workings? Nicodemus does not understand even the power of Spirit at work in the world, although he is a teacher of Israel. This seems to me a contrast of faith in the law and insight into the workings of Spirit through Israel's history, creating the "types" we read in the Old Testament. Therefore, baptism and its transformational effect also remains a mystery.

Jesus says, "No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." The mysteries of this reality, Jesus is saying, belong to the One who has descended from that reality, from heaven. Jesus' testimony is true, because he is the One who has descended. And here Jesus alludes to the great sign he spoke of in Saturday's reading during the cleansing of the temple, in which the Son of Man will be "lifted up," "that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." Moses lifted up a bronze serpent to cure the Israelites from the deadly bites of poisonous snakes (see Numbers 21:9). Jesus will be lifted up on the cross. My study bible reads in a note: "As the believer beholds the crucified Christ through faith as Savior, the poisonous bite of that old serpent, the devil, and the bite of sin and death, is counteracted and cured. The moment of Christ's greatest humiliation becomes the moment of exaltation for completing His redeeming work. This is the first of many instances in John's gospel where Jesus teaches that He is the fulfillment of an Old Testament type." Jesus is not only the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, he is also the fulfillment of the reality of the faith of the Jews - his redeeming power saves us from death through the poisons of the world, in the sense of that Spirit-led transformation. Jesus promises that those who have faith in him will have eternal life, they will see the kingdom of God. My study bible notes that the phrase "kingdom of God" is frequently used in the synoptic gospels, but this is the only passage in which it figures in John's gospel. For John the Evangelist, the word "life" or "eternal life" is the equivalent.

So what are we to make of this passage so packed with meanings and understandings, alluding to mysteries too deep to reveal to we who are earthly? We understand the depth of the reality of Spirit and spiritual truth. We understand the power in the great Gift we are given. A gift, we understand, that is to expand not only to Jesus' death but to Resurrection and Ascension, and which happens through earthly humiliation - the great sting of the "serpent" that crawls on the ground as is so symbolic of what it is to humiliate a person. Jesus will experience all of the sting that life offers to us, and all of its suffering. In so doing he will elevate us to his home, and offer us a gift of that eternal life. But he's looking for those to whom he can entrust himself!