Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life

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, bur 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

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' cleansing of the temple. It is the first Passover recorded in John's Gospel. Jesus saw those who sold animals for sacrifice, and the money changers. He made a whip of cords and 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 a phrase from the Psalms: "Zeal for your house has eaten Me up." Some of the leadership in the temple asked 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." They thought He was speaking literally of the temple. But after His Resurrection, the disciples remembered Jesus' words, and knew He was speaking of the temple of His body. John's Gospel tells us, "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. This is quite an interesting little passage. We remember this is the first of three Passover festivals that John will report during Jesus' ministry. My study bible notes that scholars believe this is historically accurate. John tells us that there were many signs done by Jesus during the feast, but only reports the cleansing of the temple. Many believers followed Him because of the signs -- but Jesus doesn't trust this type of faith. He is looking for something different in His believers and disciples, not merely those who believe because of signs. This tells us something very important about our faith, what Christ wishes from us. My study bible says, "Jesus knew many were misreading His signs." But we recall His words about Nathanael, that he was "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit." The kind of faith Jesus wants has little to do with visible proofs or show, and everything to do with a kind of faith in the heart, in the depths of who we are.

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." It's important that John's Gospel tells us that there are those among the Pharisees who do believe in Jesus. Here, Nicodemus comes to Him by night, so that he won't be seen by others in the leadership. Much later in the Gospel, my study bible points out, Nicodemus will defend Jesus' legal rights before the Sanhedrin. Then together with Joseph of Arimathea, he will help prepare and entomb Jesus' body, which my study bible calls "a bold public expression of faith." It notes, "According to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter, and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to leave Jerusalem." Joseph of Arimathea's presence here tells us that faith is open to all, that those capable of the type of faith Jesus seeks are to be found everywhere. Poised right after the previous verses, it gives us to understand that faith takes us one by one, making its own community out of wherever we are -- the division of Jesus' "sword of truth" cuts through all nominal worldly groups or belonging.

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, bur cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Here we have an extremely powerful passage about baptism, and rebirth in Spirit. Jesus teaches of rebirth "in water and the Spirit" -- this is a clear description of baptism. Quite literally, the word we understand as "again" (in "born again") means "from above." While one may be tempted to read this passage in a purely "spiritual" vein, it's important, I think, that we note that Jesus speaks of both water and Spirit. Our faith, once again, is on display here. This isn't just about a mental conviction or understanding, and Christ is not in the world only in spiritual terms, but rather unites all things -- both "worldly" and spiritual. He is God and man, united as one, and so in baptism we have both the Holy Spirit and the element -- water -- that makes up the greater percentage of our world and our bodies. The world, created by God, is basically good, because it is God's creation. So the Holy Spirit, united to creation, is an image of God's kingdom on earth, united to creation. Our faith is incarnational; it is not separate in any way from who we are, just as Christ was one of us, not separate from who we are. But this mysterious reality takes place in a mystery, just as did the sign of water turned to wine inside the stone pots. It "cometh not with observation" -- but is truly the action of the Spirit within us. Jesus' analogy to the wind (in the Greek, the word for Spirit means wind, breath or spirit) teaches us something important about signs and the mystery of God's grace in the world: with us, in us, and yet still holy, beyond our full understanding.

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." Here, once again, is a passage packed with spiritual and theological meaning, upon which may rest the whole of our faith. Christ speaks of what He knows, of the place from which He comes. He is a witness to the reality of heavenly things. But here, in speaking of baptism and the action of Spirit, the rebirth through water and the Spirit, He speaks of "earthly things." Indeed, baptism is but the beginning of our lives in Christ.

"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 completes the picture of this fully incarnational power of His life and ministry in the world, by referring to the Cross. Jesus refers to the incident in which Moses lifted up his staff with a bronze serpent upon it, in order to cure the Israelites from the bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:9). My study bible has a powerful note: "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." Christ unites the history of Israel with the vision of what is to come: His death on the Cross. Thus, the Cross becomes the powerful symbol of the ultimate transformation of our lives in this world. Jesus is not here only for the moments on the mountain tops, of which there will be plenty. But His exaltation and glorification also come in the moments this world offers us of deepest despair and darkness. The transfiguration of our lives -- God's saving action -- will work through all things, including the struggles we undergo with the darkness of the world. And this is the great light that shines for all of us, this fully incarnational reality of Christ's greatest triumph, and the symbol of the Cross's meaning for all of us. This agonizing death as a criminal becomes for all of us a moment of transcendence and saving power through the work of God in the world. Let us also note the depth of the incarnational power here: Jesus clearly uses the title "Son of Man" - twice - as the title for a heavenly person.

So, let's think about these powerful words and teachings here in this Gospel. We understand it to be written during a time of terrible persecutions for the Christian community. John, perhaps the youngest disciple, is an old man at the time of its writing. He was Jesus' "beloved disciple" according to a traditional understanding. He also became a son for Mary after Jesus' death. In times of persecution and difficulty, whatever those difficulties may be in our lives, let us remember this fully incarnational Savior and His life in the world. Let us remember this talk with Nicodemus about "worldly things." Those "worldly things" are the action of the Spirit in the world, the grace with which we are graced in order to live our lives in this faith, with Him. Through all things, the action of the Spirit is there. Like the wind, we don't know where it comes from; we can't predict where it's going. We can only see its effects. But we can live our lives in the kind of faith that takes root in all of our lives, in each moment, even in the darkest and most difficult of times -- perhaps most especially then. John has written to us about this light, that "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Let us remember that to be born of water and Spirit is the beginning, that this faith is part of all of our lives, even the times that don't seem exalted and transcendent. The action of this wind, this Spirit, can work as God worked at the moment of triumph on the Cross, to turn our lives to witness, to something much more than we can see or know. The Cross defies all of our expectations and assumptions about God. Let us understand that the full effects of our faith are something we may never totally know in our lifetimes in the world -- and that a moment that seems neither like a triumph or exaltation may be just that!

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?