Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
News Flash: $1 Million Challenge to Replicate Shroud of Turin - Press Release.
Thanks for joining us on Super Bowl Sunday. So, munch a bag of Doritos and down a few non-alcoholic beers to get you in the mood for a topic suggested by a California Bible study “fan” named Sarina Smith. In an email, she wrote, “I so enjoyed the AMEN lesson Sunday. While reading, I had a thought that we need to know what ‘born again’ truly is, as Jesus spoke of it. If you please.”
Yes, I aim to please! My Bible study “fans” won’t fill a stadium, but your faith and love for the Word of God please Him more than Super Bowl parties, where 1.45 billion chicken wings are consumed.
Understanding the meaning of “born again” does not take a Bible scholar. All you need is John 3:1-21 — the tutorial between Nicodemus and Jesus, where the circumstances enhance one of the most profound discussions in the New Testament.
Nicodemus was a prominent Jewish power player — a Pharisee who, as a group, separated themselves from society to study and teach the law. Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin, which ruled over the Jewish people by enforcing the laws of Moses. Neither the Sanhedrin nor Pharisees were fans of Jesus. Although Nicodemus was intrigued by Jesus’s teachings, he could not pursue a student-teacher relationship around the falafel stand in the marketplace at noon — explaining why Nicodemus stealthily visited Jesus “at night.”
Let’s read John 3:1-21 in snack-sized pieces between commentary:
“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’”
Yikes! Our friend “Nico” kicks off with statements that his Sanhedrin comrades would consider semi-blasphemous. Who are the “we” in “we know”? Are they closeted members of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees who believe Jesus is with God? If Nico had repeated his thoughts at the Sanhedrin clubhouse, he would have been shoveling camel dung at a leper colony. We continue:
“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’ ‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit.’”
Such theology was foreign to Nico. When Jesus said, “born of water,” He referred to purification from baptism. But combining “born of water and the spirit,” Jesus speaks of a new beginning. With this rebirth, one can be redeemed after turning away from sin in the mind and body while trusting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Belief in Jesus connects the physical world, represented by water, to the heavenly world where the Spirit dwells.
Jews in Jesus’s time (and today) ask God for forgiveness of sin. However, that act is neither transformative nor grants eternal life. The belief that Jesus is the bridge between man and God in heaven was challenging to accept then AND now. Jesus tells Nico:
“You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’ ‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things?’”
Jesus is teaching Nico that the Spirit, like the wind, can’t be tamed or predicted, as the Spirit works its way to renew the human heart and mind in the process of being born again. Then Jesus scored a touchdown when he said:
“‘Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things, and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’”
Oy vey! I wish we had an instant replay of Nico gasping after Jesus implied that He was the Messiah encoded as the “Son of Man” — a Hebrew Bible phrase familiar to Nico. For extra points, Jesus cited the story of Moses and the snake. In Numbers 21:4-9 the Israelites suffered from snake bites while wandering in the desert. The Lord told Moses to “lift up” a bronze snake on a pole so that when bitten, the people would look up, see the bronze snake, and live. (See Vol. 74.)
Then Jesus catches a “Hail Mary pass” with John 3:16 (often seen in crowds at football games) telling Nico:
“‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’”
Now, we better understand the context of this familiar verse. Jesus told a Jewish authority who He was, why He would die, and the purpose of His death for those who believe in Him. Jesus trusts Nico and tells him the whole truth, but later, Nico’s associates will say that Jesus’s words are blasphemous:
“‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.’” Jesus continues:
“‘This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.’”
When you are “born again,” you are changed by God's grace. You strive to be sinless and spiritually alive with Christ in you. And when reborn, even though you will pass from earth, you await eternal life with Him. Amen to that!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. She is also the Executive Director of SignFromGod.org and the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. Both are educational donor-supported ministries dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. Contact: MyraAdams01@gmail.com