Jesus Asks Nicodemus About Being a Teacherby CBPepper
3:9John 3:9
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
In His private night interview with Nicodemus, after teaching that a man must be born again of water and of the Spirit to see and enter the kingdom of God, like the wind heard but with unknown origin and destination, Nicodemus answered in astonished unbelief asking how these things could be. He was more puzzled by the manner of the new birth than convinced of its necessity, for as a righteous ruler and teacher he thought his self-righteousness, good deeds, and exalted position entitled him to heaven and took the new birth in a literal instead of a spiritual sense. The new birth is the cleansing and transforming work of the Spirit upon the unregenerate heart, necessary to discern God's kingdom, invisible in itself like the wind yet evident in a changed life of love, peace, and humility. Jesus rebuked his ignorance as a master of Israel and pointed him to faith in the Son of Man lifted up, that eternal life comes through believing in Him and looking to the crucified and risen Savior and living. All must enter life in the same way, renouncing personal righteousness and self-reliance and relying wholly on Christ whose righteousness is credited to the believer, a lesson Nicodemus remembered at the cross and which became the beginning of steadfast faith.
Setting and Occasion
The question belongs to Jesus' private night interview with Nicodemus, an honored rabbi, in which He gave precious individual instruction explaining the plan of salvation and the work needed in the hearts of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven. That questioning did not mean the teaching was lost, for he remembered it when Jesus was lifted up on the cross and recognized Him as the world's Redeemer.
It comes from Jesus' meeting with a wealthy and cultured Pharisee. While He ministered to the poor, He also studied to find ways of reaching the rich, seeking the acquaintance of such men, accepting their invitations, attending their feasts, and making Himself familiar with their interests and occupations, that He might gain access to their hearts and reveal to them imperishable riches.
The question follows Jesus' teaching that a man must be born again to see the kingdom of God, must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God, that what is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of Spirit is spirit, and that everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind blowing where it wishes, heard but with unknown origin and destination. It records Nicodemus asking how these things can be after being told he must be born again and that everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind whose sound is heard but whose coming and going cannot be traced. It shows him asking how a person can be born again after Jesus teaches that a man must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God and compares one born of the Spirit to the wind. He is amazed because he cannot see how he could enter a kingdom so pure without this new birth, after Jesus has explained that everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind, whose movement can be heard but whose origin and destination cannot be known.
The verse belongs to Jesus' secret interview with Nicodemus, whose testimony about Jesus corresponds to John the Baptist's testimony about Christ's superiority.
Question's Meaning and Attitude
Nicodemus asks how these things can be, voicing his struggle to grasp what Jesus has just taught him about the new birth. Learned and high-standing as he is, he still does not understand, and he needs to learn more of the truths set before him. He is more puzzled by the manner in which the new birth occurs than convinced of its necessity. That failure to comprehend the work of grace in the heart also keeps him from understanding Christ's heavenly kingdom and mission.
His question comes in amazement, for he cannot see how anyone can enter so pure a kingdom without being born again. Gleams of truth are beginning to penetrate his mind, and Christ's words fill him with awe as he asks how this can happen. His asking in awe and earnestness shows truth dawning upon him, though he has not yet fully grasped its spiritual meaning.
He whispers the question in astonished, startled unbelief. As a righteous ruler and teacher in Israel praised by men, he has supposed he needs no spiritual work, imagining that self-righteousness, benevolence, many good deeds, and exalted position entitle him to heaven. He comes with the mistaken confidence that his upright life and moral character exempt him from humbling himself before God like an ordinary sinner. His comprehension is dull, taking being born again in a literal rather than a spiritual sense.
His stumbling comes from spiritual ignorance and from reliance on forms and precise ceremonies instead of the deep work of the Spirit. Though a teacher in Israel, he is unwilling to admit truth he cannot fully explain, even while he accepts facts of nature that he cannot explain or comprehend. His answer is that of one awakened and convicted yet held back by outside influences, speaking in puzzled unbelief and doubt. It marks a change from irritation toward earnest inquiry, though he still does not fully understand the spiritual meaning.
Nature of New Birth
The new birth Jesus taught is necessary for a person to see the kingdom of heaven and to enter it, for it is the change of heart needed to discern God's kingdom, and one who has not been reconverted cannot see it. That birth concerns the Spirit cleansing and transforming the unregenerate heart, not the bodily resurrection nor a nation being born in a day. It removes sin and gives new life, holiness, and fitness for God's kingdom, with God's truth bringing real change and sanctifying power in life and character.
Its divine work is beyond human understanding and cannot be reconciled with mere human ideas of religion nor explained by precise human methods, which is why Nicodemus could not understand how God's power works. Though a teacher in Israel, he stumbled over conversion because he was unwilling to admit truth he could not fully explain, even while he accepted facts of nature he could not explain or comprehend, and his difficulty reflected reliance on forms and precise ceremonies rather than the deep work of the Spirit. Jesus explained it by the wind, whose sound is heard but whose coming and going cannot be traced, teaching that the Spirit's work is invisible in itself yet its effects are evident in a changed life and actions.
The Spirit renews the mind and transforms the life, putting away wicked thoughts and deeds and producing love, peace, and humility, so that the inward change becomes visible in the person's actions. What seemed mysterious to Nicodemus is thus answered by the unseen wind known by its effects, replacing evil with good in thought and deed.
Christ's Answer and Salvation
Jesus met the question with a rebuke spoken in deep earnestness, asking how a master of Israel could be ignorant of these things when one entrusted with the religious instruction and interests of the people ought to know this essential condition of divine life and entrance into the kingdom of heaven. The rebuke exposed spiritual ignorance in a learned counselor who did not understand the change wrought by the Spirit, and it called for humility rather than irritation over plain truth or indulgence in irony. It was uttered with solemn dignity and with earnest love in look and tone, so that Nicodemus, realizing his humiliating position, was not offended.
The change from irritation toward earnest inquiry showed gleams of truth penetrating his mind as Christ's words filled him with awe, yet he still had not fully grasped the spiritual meaning. Christ did not answer with controversy but with new light intended to give practical truth and a new heart rather than mere learning or argument. Until the heart is changed, reasoning about points of difference brings no saving result and only strengthens resistance, so God's workers are to keep to the affirmative and refuse to be drawn into controversy over false theories.
He directed Nicodemus to His own testimony of what He knew and had seen, though that witness was not received, and warned that if earthly things were told and not believed, heavenly things would not be believed. He pointed him to faith in the Son of Man lifted up and to eternal life through belief in Him. His words about being lifted up pointed to His crucifixion, which His disciples did not understand beforehand but after His resurrection proclaimed as Christ crucified and risen.
The answer to how these things can be is to look to the lifted-up Christ and live. Like Nicodemus, many cannot see how salvation can come through looking to Jesus and trusting His grace rather than relying on obedience to earn God's favor, yet they must receive life as sinners through Christ. Faith earns nothing but takes hold of Christ and His merits, and even repentance comes through the aid of God's Spirit, whose work draws souls to the cross, brings repentance, creates new life, and writes God's law in the heart.
All must enter into life in the same way as even the chief of sinners, for moral character and upright life may tempt a man to think he need not humble himself before God like an ordinary sinner. He must renounce personal righteousness and self-reliance, rely wholly on Christ, plead for Christ's righteousness to be credited to him, depend wholly on Him for strength, and give God the glory for His mercy and truth. Human strength must give way to dependence on divine grace, for Christ's light exposes impurity, selfish motives, and enmity against God within every person, and seeing Christ's purity makes sin and the defects of human character painfully clear. Human righteousness cannot cleanse this defilement; only Christ's blood can cleanse from sin and renew the heart in His likeness.
Salvation is a living connection with God and a faith that lays hold of the merits of Christ, the crucified and risen Savior, as our righteousness, with God's truth bringing real change and sanctifying power in life and character. Persistent unbelief in those holding positions of truth yet failing to recognize truth God has sent keeps them from understanding justification by faith, while taking sin to Jesus for forgiveness brings that understanding and peace with God. The question also expresses wonder at the possibility of God's love abiding in believers and of salvation through Christ. That love is received by faith in the Son of God, and union with Christ makes believers one with Him and recipients of the Father's love, which strengthens and reshapes the character.
Nicodemus's Later Belief
His questioning in John 3:9 did not mean the instruction of that night interview on the plan of salvation and the work needed in hearts to inherit the kingdom was lost. He had come to learn the way of life, and the truths taught in that conversation afterward became the beginning of a faith that made him steadfast in supporting the followers of Christ. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross he remembered that teaching and recognized Him as the Redeemer of the world. He received the lesson about the new birth and the kingdom and became a true believer, and the daily work of the Holy Spirit in the heart gives insight to perceive the character of God's kingdom.
Warning to Teachers and Workers
How can these things be reveals that even a learned teacher in Israel holding an honorable position lacked a true understanding of the first principles of Christian experience. He had not learned the alphabet of true Christian experience and needed instruction in the very first principles of the divine life, the conditions of divine life and conversion itself. His question proves he had no true conception of what a teacher in Israel should be, lacking the spiritual understanding needed to grasp conversion and the beginning of the knowledge a true teacher needs. That same ignorance and lack of preparatory experience disqualifies many holding positions of responsibility as teachers who have neglected the work essential to be done before they were qualified to teach. They are left without the higher intelligence and deeper spiritual knowledge of what constitutes a disciple and sincere follower of Christ, and they must first do that work, for receiving Christ's words brings deeper spiritual understanding of discipleship and God's transforming grace gives insight to follow Him.
His ignorance of the most essential part of education, that which fits a person to deal with human minds in a Christlike manner, drew Christ's rebuke. The same rebuke belongs to teachers, physicians, and ministers of the gospel in responsible positions today who have neglected that education. The question exposes spiritual ignorance in one handling sacred truth, and it stands as a direct rebuke to those in the most responsible positions managing sacred work who have put a misshapen mold upon the cause. They have perverted principles, held back in unbelief and fear from opening new territory, and misappropriated means raised for neglected fields, and like Nicodemus they must be broken as a potter's vessel is broken and reconstructed, and be converted in heart, soul, and body.
The verse shows the ignorance of spiritual things by learned men even when truth is stated clearly and distinctly with appropriate arguments and illustrations and earnest hope to save them. Their carnal mind is as dark as midnight, unable to distinguish sacred, eternal interests from common things and treating sacred things as merchandise, for spiritual things are spiritually discerned and illumination must come from the Holy Spirit, not by might nor by power. The failure to arouse their benumbed senses grieves and astonishes God's worker and tempts him to discouragement and to ask what is the use of working, but discouragement must not win. The most simple representation will be most effective, and every believing child of God is to keep on working without failing whatever ignorance learned men show. The question applies to people who hold positions of truth yet fail to recognize truth God has sent, whose persistent unbelief keeps them from understanding justification by faith, while taking sin to Jesus for forgiveness brings that understanding and peace with God. It is greatly needed also by men who calculate just how religious exercises should be conducted and are very precise and methodical in diffusing the light and grace they hold. Such precision proves they have little of the Holy Spirit, and with more of the Spirit they would meddle less with the experiences of those who have received this divine gift in large abundance.
In His private night interview with Nicodemus, after teaching that a man must be born again of water and of the Spirit to see and enter the kingdom of God, like the wind heard but with unknown origin and destination, Nicodemus answered in astonished unbelief asking how these things could be. He was more puzzled by the manner of the new birth than convinced of its necessity, for as a righteous ruler and teacher he thought his self-righteousness, good deeds, and exalted position entitled him to heaven and took the new birth in a literal instead of a spiritual sense. The new birth is the cleansing and transforming work of the Spirit upon the unregenerate heart, necessary to discern God's kingdom, invisible in itself like the wind yet evident in a changed life of love, peace, and humility. Jesus rebuked his ignorance as a master of Israel and pointed him to faith in the Son of Man lifted up, that eternal life comes through believing in Him and looking to the crucified and risen Savior and living. All must enter life in the same way, renouncing personal righteousness and self-reliance and relying wholly on Christ whose righteousness is credited to the believer, a lesson Nicodemus remembered at the cross and which became the beginning of steadfast faith.
Setting and Occasion
The question belongs to Jesus' private night interview with Nicodemus, an honored rabbi, in which He gave precious individual instruction explaining the plan of salvation and the work needed in the hearts of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven. That questioning did not mean the teaching was lost, for he remembered it when Jesus was lifted up on the cross and recognized Him as the world's Redeemer.
It comes from Jesus' meeting with a wealthy and cultured Pharisee. While He ministered to the poor, He also studied to find ways of reaching the rich, seeking the acquaintance of such men, accepting their invitations, attending their feasts, and making Himself familiar with their interests and occupations, that He might gain access to their hearts and reveal to them imperishable riches.
The question follows Jesus' teaching that a man must be born again to see the kingdom of God, must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God, that what is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of Spirit is spirit, and that everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind blowing where it wishes, heard but with unknown origin and destination. It records Nicodemus asking how these things can be after being told he must be born again and that everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind whose sound is heard but whose coming and going cannot be traced. It shows him asking how a person can be born again after Jesus teaches that a man must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God and compares one born of the Spirit to the wind. He is amazed because he cannot see how he could enter a kingdom so pure without this new birth, after Jesus has explained that everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind, whose movement can be heard but whose origin and destination cannot be known.
The verse belongs to Jesus' secret interview with Nicodemus, whose testimony about Jesus corresponds to John the Baptist's testimony about Christ's superiority.
Question's Meaning and Attitude
Nicodemus asks how these things can be, voicing his struggle to grasp what Jesus has just taught him about the new birth. Learned and high-standing as he is, he still does not understand, and he needs to learn more of the truths set before him. He is more puzzled by the manner in which the new birth occurs than convinced of its necessity. That failure to comprehend the work of grace in the heart also keeps him from understanding Christ's heavenly kingdom and mission.
His question comes in amazement, for he cannot see how anyone can enter so pure a kingdom without being born again. Gleams of truth are beginning to penetrate his mind, and Christ's words fill him with awe as he asks how this can happen. His asking in awe and earnestness shows truth dawning upon him, though he has not yet fully grasped its spiritual meaning.
He whispers the question in astonished, startled unbelief. As a righteous ruler and teacher in Israel praised by men, he has supposed he needs no spiritual work, imagining that self-righteousness, benevolence, many good deeds, and exalted position entitle him to heaven. He comes with the mistaken confidence that his upright life and moral character exempt him from humbling himself before God like an ordinary sinner. His comprehension is dull, taking being born again in a literal rather than a spiritual sense.
His stumbling comes from spiritual ignorance and from reliance on forms and precise ceremonies instead of the deep work of the Spirit. Though a teacher in Israel, he is unwilling to admit truth he cannot fully explain, even while he accepts facts of nature that he cannot explain or comprehend. His answer is that of one awakened and convicted yet held back by outside influences, speaking in puzzled unbelief and doubt. It marks a change from irritation toward earnest inquiry, though he still does not fully understand the spiritual meaning.
Nature of New Birth
The new birth Jesus taught is necessary for a person to see the kingdom of heaven and to enter it, for it is the change of heart needed to discern God's kingdom, and one who has not been reconverted cannot see it. That birth concerns the Spirit cleansing and transforming the unregenerate heart, not the bodily resurrection nor a nation being born in a day. It removes sin and gives new life, holiness, and fitness for God's kingdom, with God's truth bringing real change and sanctifying power in life and character.
Its divine work is beyond human understanding and cannot be reconciled with mere human ideas of religion nor explained by precise human methods, which is why Nicodemus could not understand how God's power works. Though a teacher in Israel, he stumbled over conversion because he was unwilling to admit truth he could not fully explain, even while he accepted facts of nature he could not explain or comprehend, and his difficulty reflected reliance on forms and precise ceremonies rather than the deep work of the Spirit. Jesus explained it by the wind, whose sound is heard but whose coming and going cannot be traced, teaching that the Spirit's work is invisible in itself yet its effects are evident in a changed life and actions.
The Spirit renews the mind and transforms the life, putting away wicked thoughts and deeds and producing love, peace, and humility, so that the inward change becomes visible in the person's actions. What seemed mysterious to Nicodemus is thus answered by the unseen wind known by its effects, replacing evil with good in thought and deed.
Christ's Answer and Salvation
Jesus met the question with a rebuke spoken in deep earnestness, asking how a master of Israel could be ignorant of these things when one entrusted with the religious instruction and interests of the people ought to know this essential condition of divine life and entrance into the kingdom of heaven. The rebuke exposed spiritual ignorance in a learned counselor who did not understand the change wrought by the Spirit, and it called for humility rather than irritation over plain truth or indulgence in irony. It was uttered with solemn dignity and with earnest love in look and tone, so that Nicodemus, realizing his humiliating position, was not offended.
The change from irritation toward earnest inquiry showed gleams of truth penetrating his mind as Christ's words filled him with awe, yet he still had not fully grasped the spiritual meaning. Christ did not answer with controversy but with new light intended to give practical truth and a new heart rather than mere learning or argument. Until the heart is changed, reasoning about points of difference brings no saving result and only strengthens resistance, so God's workers are to keep to the affirmative and refuse to be drawn into controversy over false theories.
He directed Nicodemus to His own testimony of what He knew and had seen, though that witness was not received, and warned that if earthly things were told and not believed, heavenly things would not be believed. He pointed him to faith in the Son of Man lifted up and to eternal life through belief in Him. His words about being lifted up pointed to His crucifixion, which His disciples did not understand beforehand but after His resurrection proclaimed as Christ crucified and risen.
The answer to how these things can be is to look to the lifted-up Christ and live. Like Nicodemus, many cannot see how salvation can come through looking to Jesus and trusting His grace rather than relying on obedience to earn God's favor, yet they must receive life as sinners through Christ. Faith earns nothing but takes hold of Christ and His merits, and even repentance comes through the aid of God's Spirit, whose work draws souls to the cross, brings repentance, creates new life, and writes God's law in the heart.
All must enter into life in the same way as even the chief of sinners, for moral character and upright life may tempt a man to think he need not humble himself before God like an ordinary sinner. He must renounce personal righteousness and self-reliance, rely wholly on Christ, plead for Christ's righteousness to be credited to him, depend wholly on Him for strength, and give God the glory for His mercy and truth. Human strength must give way to dependence on divine grace, for Christ's light exposes impurity, selfish motives, and enmity against God within every person, and seeing Christ's purity makes sin and the defects of human character painfully clear. Human righteousness cannot cleanse this defilement; only Christ's blood can cleanse from sin and renew the heart in His likeness.
Salvation is a living connection with God and a faith that lays hold of the merits of Christ, the crucified and risen Savior, as our righteousness, with God's truth bringing real change and sanctifying power in life and character. Persistent unbelief in those holding positions of truth yet failing to recognize truth God has sent keeps them from understanding justification by faith, while taking sin to Jesus for forgiveness brings that understanding and peace with God. The question also expresses wonder at the possibility of God's love abiding in believers and of salvation through Christ. That love is received by faith in the Son of God, and union with Christ makes believers one with Him and recipients of the Father's love, which strengthens and reshapes the character.
Nicodemus's Later Belief
His questioning in John 3:9 did not mean the instruction of that night interview on the plan of salvation and the work needed in hearts to inherit the kingdom was lost. He had come to learn the way of life, and the truths taught in that conversation afterward became the beginning of a faith that made him steadfast in supporting the followers of Christ. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross he remembered that teaching and recognized Him as the Redeemer of the world. He received the lesson about the new birth and the kingdom and became a true believer, and the daily work of the Holy Spirit in the heart gives insight to perceive the character of God's kingdom.
Warning to Teachers and Workers
How can these things be reveals that even a learned teacher in Israel holding an honorable position lacked a true understanding of the first principles of Christian experience. He had not learned the alphabet of true Christian experience and needed instruction in the very first principles of the divine life, the conditions of divine life and conversion itself. His question proves he had no true conception of what a teacher in Israel should be, lacking the spiritual understanding needed to grasp conversion and the beginning of the knowledge a true teacher needs. That same ignorance and lack of preparatory experience disqualifies many holding positions of responsibility as teachers who have neglected the work essential to be done before they were qualified to teach. They are left without the higher intelligence and deeper spiritual knowledge of what constitutes a disciple and sincere follower of Christ, and they must first do that work, for receiving Christ's words brings deeper spiritual understanding of discipleship and God's transforming grace gives insight to follow Him.
His ignorance of the most essential part of education, that which fits a person to deal with human minds in a Christlike manner, drew Christ's rebuke. The same rebuke belongs to teachers, physicians, and ministers of the gospel in responsible positions today who have neglected that education. The question exposes spiritual ignorance in one handling sacred truth, and it stands as a direct rebuke to those in the most responsible positions managing sacred work who have put a misshapen mold upon the cause. They have perverted principles, held back in unbelief and fear from opening new territory, and misappropriated means raised for neglected fields, and like Nicodemus they must be broken as a potter's vessel is broken and reconstructed, and be converted in heart, soul, and body.
The verse shows the ignorance of spiritual things by learned men even when truth is stated clearly and distinctly with appropriate arguments and illustrations and earnest hope to save them. Their carnal mind is as dark as midnight, unable to distinguish sacred, eternal interests from common things and treating sacred things as merchandise, for spiritual things are spiritually discerned and illumination must come from the Holy Spirit, not by might nor by power. The failure to arouse their benumbed senses grieves and astonishes God's worker and tempts him to discouragement and to ask what is the use of working, but discouragement must not win. The most simple representation will be most effective, and every believing child of God is to keep on working without failing whatever ignorance learned men show. The question applies to people who hold positions of truth yet fail to recognize truth God has sent, whose persistent unbelief keeps them from understanding justification by faith, while taking sin to Jesus for forgiveness brings that understanding and peace with God. It is greatly needed also by men who calculate just how religious exercises should be conducted and are very precise and methodical in diffusing the light and grace they hold. Such precision proves they have little of the Holy Spirit, and with more of the Spirit they would meddle less with the experiences of those who have received this divine gift in large abundance.