Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 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?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, 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 that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

"Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

- John 2:23-3:15

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem during Holy Week. He made a whip of cords, and drove out the animals for sale, poured out the changers' money, and overturned their tables. He said, "Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" When asked what sign He would give that He had the authority to do this, He replied, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. My study bible points out that John's Gospel records three feasts of the Passover during Jesus' ministry; this gives us a historical understanding of three years of His ministry. I find it significant that, within the very early chapters of John's Gospel, we are told of the many signs performed by Jesus. But right away, we are left with the understanding of discernment. Jesus knows what is in the hearts of people, He is the heart-knower, and He does not entrust Himself to them. The play on words is interesting: in the Greek, they trust or believe in Him because of the miracles, but He does not entrust Himself to them.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Here is an interesting juxtaposition in John's Gospel, and in its own form, another teaching on discernment. Although many in Jerusalem claim to believe, Jesus does not entrust Himself back to them. But here, a Pharisee comes to Jesus by night - most likely to avoid the scrutiny of the others who are against Him after the cleansing of the temple we read about yesterday. Nicodemus believes. He will play a great and openly heroic role later in the Gospel after Jesus' death.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This man, a Pharisee who comes by night to talk to Jesus, is in turn entrusted by Jesus with this important teaching. Nicodemus has said he believes that Jesus is from God, and Jesus in turn teaches him about seeing the kingdom of God.

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?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, 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 that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Nicodemus is drawn in to Jesus' teaching. What is on the surface a great mystery prompts him to ask more. This is a frequent "formula" in John's Gospel: just as the parables draw people into the riddles that seem to be posed, Nicodemus asks the obvious question, thinking only of the literal understanding of Jesus' words. Water and the Spirit, of course, refer to baptism. While baptism was already known (as we have read about through John the Baptist in the early chapter), the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Our rebirth, then, is a rebirth in spirit in order to enter into a spiritual kingdom. Spiritual rebirth is, in some sense, a passport, a beginning, the capacity to enter, as like meets like.

"Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." This brilliant metaphor that teaches us about the workings of the Spirit is also a play on words in the Greek. The word pneuma can mean either wind or Spirit. My study bible writes, "The working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious as the source or destination of the blowing wind." Even today, with all of our sophisticated understanding and technology for tracking weather, the metaphor holds true. As I am watching television, we are all paying attention to the reports of the winds in Japan, and there is still uncertainty, and I would like to ask all my readers to please pray for the people of Japan (and elsewhere) who may remain in harm's way. But Jesus' words also remind us of His teaching elsewhere on the true effects of faith and spiritual work: "By their fruits you shall know them." These spiritual fruits are the evidence of that pneuma and how we know where it has been, but not where it comes from nor where it is going. In our rebirth, we become a part of that mystery and participate in its reality. In this, we understand, rebirth is a beginning, a key.

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?" Because he is a Pharisee and rabbi, Jesus expects Nicodemus to understand or to have the capacity for such understanding. But still, He entrusts Himself to Nicodemus, and reveals the teaching.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" Nicodemus wonders at the possibility of all of this, how did it come to be so? But Jesus only testifies of Himself. What He has told Nicodemus is all about the workings of the Spirit in our world, and the rebirth that is possible through water and the Spirit. Jesus alludes here to heavenly mysteries that He cannot reveal. My study bible reports that St. John Chrysostom interpreted "earthly things" as being the mystery of new birth through baptism, and "heavenly things" as the eternal generation of the Son from the Father. It says, "The new birth is an incomparable spiritual gift, but compared to Christ's eternal birth from the Father, it is earthly." As a Pharisee trained in the Scriptures and Jewish spiritual history, Jesus expects that Nicodemus should understand baptism and rebirth in the Spirit.

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus begins by stating what He can about His origins, and the mysteries of spiritual reality in that kingdom. But He goes on to teach more, a prophetic witness about what is to come in His life and ministry. He will be raised on the Cross as a sign to all, another opening to the spiritual life and reality of the kingdom for all human beings. And, of course, the Cross remains our symbol for faith. As He teaches Nicodemus about baptism in order to enter the kingdom, so He also teaches that His uplifting on the Cross will also be so that we may live eternally that kingdom. My study bible has a note that is highly informative on this paragraph: "Moses lifted up a bronze serpent to cure the Israelites from the deadly bites of the poisonous snakes. Christ will be lifted up on the Cross. 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." Just as Moses' serpent-coiled rod was a powerful tool for healing, so is the image of the Cross and Jesus' Crucifixion. His death and sacrifice in order to inaugurate a kingdom of Resurrection remains for us the reality of catharsis or cleansing from what ails, whatever would keep us from full relatedness with God.

Let us consider then, Jesus' words to Nicodemus. Expanding on the Old Testament and Nicodemus' understanding as a rabbi, Jesus hints about what is to come -- after having explained rebirth through water and the Spirit. We enter into a kingdom through rebirth: a cleansing and regeneration, death and resurrection. Jesus gives us, finally, the symbol of the Cross and His Crucifixion - the ultimate symbol for hope and the defeat of death itself. Just as Moses used the image of the serpent to defeat the bites of the poisonous serpents that bit the Israelites, so Jesus will "trample death by death." In giving all to the Father, He will return the world, reborn and freed from enslavement to this deadly bite, to itself in Spirit. And the whole earth will be baptized in Spirit through Him. But first we must understand catharsis, a giving up. What do we lift up to God for our own healing? What do we give up, that we may be transformed through the action of grace? How are we reborn as we "die daily" as St. Paul said? In Lent, we offer our lives, and whatever ails us, to God, so that we too may be cleansed and healed, and reborn. What do you need to hold up to Him today? What does this act ask of you?