How Can a Person Be Born When They Are Old?
A study of John 3:4
"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?""
John 3:4 ESV
Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:
-A Man: "anthrōpos", "ἄνθρωπος"; masculine noun - a human being, whether male or female.
-Be Born (v.4): "gennaō", "γεννάω"; verb - to be begotten, to be born.
-A Second Time: "deuteros", "δεύτερος"; adjective - in the second place, a second time.
-Womb: "koilia", "κοιλία"; feminine noun - the place where the fetus is conceived and nourished until birth.
Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):
After being told a person must be born again to see the Kingdom of God, Nicodemus asked Jesus how it could be possible for a person to be born again.
Implication (what does this mean to us):
After coming to speak to Jesus at night and in secret, and being told he must be born again to see the Kingdom of God, Nicodemus asks how it can be possible for a man to be born again when he is old. The word Jesus used for "again" is "anothen", and in addition to meaning "again", it also can mean "from above". Jesus did mean "again", but I think the dual meaning of "from above" is intended to be communicated here as well, because Jesus is talking about being born of the Spirit of God, in other words, born again to new life in God's Kingdom in Heaven.
The response of Nicodemus is not one of ignorance. While he did not fully understand, I do not think the dual meaning of "born again" was completely lost on him. It was not uncommon for Rabbis to refer to new converts as "children", in reference to the moral rebirth undergone in becoming a worshiper of the one true God. Nicodemus was confused because he considered himself to already have undergone such a birth. He was a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin, a religious leader of Israel and now this Man, Jesus, tells him even he must be born again. This poses a two fold predicament for Nicodemus' understanding. How can someone like him, who "has it together" religiously speaking, possibly be improved upon or in need of improvement in the form of moral/spiritual rebirth? And 2. How can other people who are older and set in their ways be morally/spiritually reborn?
The understanding of the Jewish people as a whole at this time will shed even more light on what must have been going through the mind of the learned Nicodemus. The Old Testament is full of promises of the New Covenant that would one day be established. In his commentary of this passage, David Guzik (enduringword.com) helpfully compiled a list of passages about the New Covenant which would have shaped Nicodemus and the other Jews of his day's perception of what was coming next on the prophetic timeline: Deut. 30:1-6, Jer. 23:1-8, 31:31-34, 32:37-41, and Ezekiel 11:16-20, 36:16-28, 37:11-14, 37:21-28. From these passages Jews like Nicodemus would have been aware of at least 3 things:
1. Israel, who had been scattered in centuries previous because of the Babylonian conquest as a result of God's judgment, would be gathered together again one day.
2. Israel, the people of God, would be cleansed and spiritually transformed.
3. A Messiah would come to deliver Israel from her oppressors and rule the whole world with Israel at the center.
Because of these passages and the events that had already taken place in Jesus' time, it was a commonly held, but incorrect or at least incomplete, belief in Israel that the first two parts of the New Covenant had been fulfilled. Although Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire, the nation that had been scattered in the Babylonian exile had been at least partially re-gathered. This led to religious groups such as the Pharisees to believe spiritual cleansing and transformation had taken place. The people, at least at a national level, no longer went after other false gods in the same brazen manner they did before the Babylonian conquest, ensuing exile and scattering of the nation. The Pharisees and others like them, while legalistic and guilty of adding many rules for people to follow that God did not command, also served a good purpose in policing the nation to keep them from spiritually going astray like they had in previous generations. Yes that is right, the Pharisees , though by and large guilty of legalism, religiosity and hypocrisy, also served a good purpose in Israel in teaching the Law and keeping the nation back from pagan worship. This was a good thing they did, and for this reason the people thought the cleansing and transformation they needed had already taken place.
The final piece of the puzzle, or so they thought, was the coming of the Messiah who would reign over Israel and set up a world wide Kingdom with Israel at the center. Because of this understanding they did not understand their great need for the cleansing of sin remained. They thought that as Israelites they were already a part of God's Kingdom. Because they did not understand their need for cleansing and transformation, Nicodemus was confused when Jesus told him that not only all the peoples of the world, but also Israel, and even Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader of the people, must be born again. This is also why many would reject Jesus. They wanted and thought they needed a conquering general king to free them from the oppression of Rome. But while Jesus will return one day to establish His kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, what they and all of us today need most is to be set free from the tyranny of sin. For this reason Jesus came the first time to live the perfect life we never could, and die the death we deserve, bearing the wrath of God for the sin of the whole world.
Nicodemus probably would not have been surprised to hear the Gentiles, sinners, tax collectors etc. needed to be born again from above, but to hear Jews and even leading Jews such as himself were in need of rebirth astounded him and challenged his world view. Whatever it was though that Nicodemus did not understand, it is clear he did not understand what Jesus was telling him about all of mankind's need to be born again (John 3:9-10).
Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):
The message for us here is that if a man like Nicodemus, a wise, ruling man of Israel, God's chosen people, needs to be born again, so do we. And also, that we must set aside cultural understandings that contradict God's Word. The people in Israel who could not set aside their incorrect understanding or opinions of who the Messiah would be and what He would do, would be the ones to never even see the Kingdom of God. Jesus the Messiah, is the Messiah He has revealed himself to be. He is not the Messiah or God we think He should be. We must humbly set aside cultural understandings and ideas that contradict who Jesus is revealed to be in His Word, the Bible. We should be humble in our understanding of as of yet unfulfilled prophecy, and cling to and unify around Jesus our Messiah, accepting and rejoicing in the rebirth through which He has borne us into His Heavenly Kingdom.
Self Reflection:
Do I take my questions about things that do not make sense to Jesus like Nicodemus did?
Am I willing to receive answers from Jesus through His Word that contradict my fallible understanding of reality?
Have I been born again?
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