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On Saturday, we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
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
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. Jesus is making an impression. People recognize the signs He does. But He is also the Judge; He discerns what is in everyone, without needing testimony. This word for "commit" is the same word in the New Testament for faith. Christ asks us for our faith or trust in Him, to believe in Him. But He did not put His faith in these who are impressed by the signs, even to believe in His name. He is looking for something more than that!
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." Nicodemus is a Pharisee, and he comes to Jesus by night. Jesus is not sanctioned nor recognized by the ruling parties, but Nicodemus is one of those who has seen Jesus' signs. He has the beginning of faith.
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The words for "born again" can also be translated "born from above." It's interesting the ponder all the possible meanings for "see the kingdom of God." Is this about the future life? Eternal life? Or is it about the ability to perceive the presence of the Kingdom in this world?
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?" Again we see the "device" used by John's Gospel to draw us into the meaning of Jesus' words. What does He mean by being born again, or born from above? Nicodemus asks Him quite literally about birth. Jesus here clearly refers to Baptism, being born of water and the Spirit. And He emphasizes the need for the Spirit -- the One who sanctifies and gives life. Jesus' words about the wind are actually a play on words. Pneuma is the word in Greek meaning spirit, wind, and breath. My study bible says, "The working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious as the source and destination of the blowing wind. Likewise, the Spirit moves where He wills and cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas." Nicodemus is still quite puzzled, and asks, "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?" Jesus, in His turn, marvels that Nicodemus is a teacher of Israel, and does not know these things about the Spirit. And again there is language about testimony. Jesus is the One who witnesses of God, of the Kingdom. He calls these "earthly things" (meaning baptism, and the grace given to man in the working of the Spirit with "earthly things" like water). "Heavenly things" would be the great mysteries that are ungraspable for we human beings, says my study bible. That which relates to Christ's eternal existence before time, or the immensity of God's plan of salvation for the world are things beyond us. My study bible says, "A person first must grasp the ways in which God works among mankind before he can even begin to understand things that pertain to God Himself."
"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 speaks of Himself as Son of Man, the One who came down from heaven. It's important to understand the way the Greek is used in the phrase "who is in heaven." That phrase begins with the Greek version of the name of the Eternal, the One who is (Ο ΩΝ). It speaks of the Son's eternal presence in heaven, as the I AM. Jesus refers back to the Old Testament to give us an image of the Crucifixion, when He will be raised on the Cross, just as Moses lifted up the bronze image of the serpent so that those who focused on it would not die by the bites by the serpents at the feet of the Israelites (see Numbers 21:4-9).
From this early teaching directly about Baptism we see its essential nature to the ministry of Christ, to the understanding of the early church and our identity as followers of Christ. Jesus clearly refers to the Baptism as something much more than a "ceremony" or initiation rite. Baptism has the effect of rebirth, and a particular kind of rebirth -- being born into an ability to "see," a perception of spiritual things. Water and Spirit is an image that gives us a "taste" also of the image He gives us of salvation: the Son who will be raised up on the Cross, and who will defeat death, for all of us. In the Crucifixion, the dreaded instrument of death is transformed into the instruction of Resurrection. Jesus contrasts being "born again" with the birth that is merely "of the flesh." This is not a contrast of spiritual things vs. worldly things. It is something quite different. It is a contrast of the world viewed purely on material terms or the world viewed with the understanding of how the Spirit is at work, in and through all things, and how spiritual life permeates our life in this world and even the things of this world. The water of Baptism and Chrismation, imbued with the Spirit, is one such example. Christ's Resurrection isn't a one-time event; somehow the Resurrection is present in everything -- the sanctified waters of Baptism are those which bring the Resurrection to us so that it lives in us and may bear fruit through the nurturing of this life in which the Spirit is at work in the world and through the things and people of the world. What is born of "the flesh" then is the perception that doesn't enable one to "see" the kingdom of heaven. But this sight is a gift of grace, and may be active in us in the world by the kindling of the Spirit. All of these ideas are introduced to us by Christ's teachings here to Nicodemus. Jesus is the One who will be lifted up, bringing salvation to us all. In the same way, Baptism brings us this salvation plan and its unfolding, the capacity to have sins "let go" the way that the bites of the serpents did not kill the Israelites. It is a question of the wholeness of life, the fullness of Resurrection in which His Resurrection lives in us and is alive in the world, even in the things of the world, redeemed and sanctified by grace. This is what we keep our eyes on, this fullness of what it means to be really human, a child of God, claimed and redeemed, washed and quickened by grace. We must keep alive our baptism by faith and nurturing, so that we bear the fruits of the grace with which we are endowed and is at work in us. In the eternal day of Christ, His Resurrection is always present and with us. This is the promise of our Baptism.
