John 3, verses 1-21

It's been a while (this passage is a tricky one to get a hold on) but I'm back. And a word to all of you (at present count, somewhere between none and 2) that read this, I would like some discussion on these matters, and the comments seem like the place to do so. Just click "leave a comment" and tell me how wrong I am. Or, y'know, how right I am. As you will. I aim to update this puppy at least twice a week for a while, so stay tuned.

On with the show:

John 3:1-21

¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

² the same came unto him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him.

Jesus, evidently has been successful in establishing His credentials. And so Nicodemus comes to Him. Comes by night, implying a stealthy visit. A man of high status in the religious community, he seems unwilling to be spotted conversing with a Galilean street preacher, especially one who recently stampeded the businessmen from the Temple. But in any case, he’s recognized that Jesus is for real, and want’s to know what’s up. Jesus tells him, and it totally blows Nicodemus’ mind. I can’t blame Nicodemus. I have a head start, since I’ve read this passage before, and heard many’s the Sunday school lesson on it (and of course it contains the most-quoted verse ever, though the least quoted-in-context), and it continues to blow my mind.

³ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

⁴ Nicodemus saith unto 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?

⁵ Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God!

⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born anew.

⁸ The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

So. As you are, you cannot enter. The only route is rebirth. This, certes, is a hard concept to grasp. Nicodemus jumps to the literal conception, a grown man emerging from the womb a second time (not unlike Kenny in that one episode of South Park). Jesus clarifies: water and the Spirit. We’re already born as human beings, which is to say: talking animals, pants-wearing monkeys, skin-bags, flesh-piles, or meat puppets. All well and good. But there’s something beyond that. Rebirth.

The birth of water, I admit I’m somewhat baffled by. A quick consultation with Google indicates that this one’s been a stumper for a while, and that some interpretations are: the birth of water is the first (or “meat puppet”) birth, the birth of water is the same thing as the birth of the spirit, it’s a spiritual cleansing, or it’s a reference to baptism (guess which interpretation got pushed hardest in my childhood as I heard this story in a Baptist Sunday school?). This issue is addressed over at this website here. They come down on the side of water baptism.

The birth of the Spirit, on the other hand, is rather more straightforward. This is where the breath of Almighty Jah comes down and fills you with an everlasting fire. Rebirth. Awakening. Becoming a new thing. Seeing with new eyes. Being purged, too, and refined.

These are wondrous things. They are Mysteries, as once we used the term. Nicodemus’ reaction is a natural one.

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

Jesus, as was His wont, answers this question with a question.

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?

¹¹ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

¹² If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?

I’m not sure, but I think this may boil down to “you think that’s a mind-bender…”

¹³ And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, [even] the Son of man, who is in heaven.

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;

¹⁵ that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.

Here John has Jesus announcing Himself for what He is. Descended from Heaven, soon to ascend to Heaven. He’s not done at that, though. Not nearly. More than that, He shall be lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness, which is to say, raised on a pole to relieve the suffering of the afflicted whose sins condemned them.

Exodus is vague on the subject of what was done with that snake. The Israelites at the time seemed rather more concerned with the fact that they weren’t suffering from snakebite any more. A similar cavalier attitude may be seen in regard to the lambs offered up as sacrifices. Just a thought.

In any case, this leads up to Jesus’ Big Line, the summation of all He said just as “to be or not to be” is the summation of Hamlet. At any rate, it’s the bit everyone remembers, especially the ones whose knowledge of the source material is entirely limited to that one quote. Of course, it’s our fortune now to see this gem in context. We’ve seen what comes before. Now let’s see what comes after.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁷ For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.

¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.

May I say that I find this bit interesting? “He that believeth not hath been judged already.” John is clear on the point, beyond question, that failure to believe on the Son (not in, even the devils below can claim that much, and being lost to salvation is part of what being a devil means) is a doom. Exactly what this means, however, is a topic much debated. I personally like the way C. S. Lewis envisions it in The Great Divorce and The Last Battle. Jesus is standing at the open door, and that door remains open. Going through it is up to you. The thing I like about it, I suppose, is that you get confronted with this open door at some point whether you’d ever heard of Him before breathing your last or not. But that’s a subject for another time.

¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.

²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved.

²¹ But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.

Detail on the judgment. When given a chance to embrace the light, you continue lurking in the dark. In this way, we damn ourselves. It’s not the Narrow Bridge of the fervent Calvinist. The light is not limited in scope. But it’s always possible to turn away from it. Turn your back on the light, and your face will be cast in shadow.

It’s early yet in the story of Jesus, but we’ve just come to the crux of things: we are lost. Moreover, deep down we know this. And given a chance to be found, some of us will prefer not to. For those, the darkness they choose is the darkness they will remain in.

Next: The return of John the Baptist!