Born from Above: A Night Encounter with Eternal Truth
John 3:1- 21
Who is Nicodemus?
John 3:1
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
Today, as we study John 3, we encounter Jesus receiving a late-night visit from Nicodemus. The name Nicodemus (Νικόδημος) originates from Greek and carries significant meaning. "Nikos" (νῖκος) means "victory" and "Dēmos" (δῆμος) means "people" or "common people". Thus, the name Nicodemus means: "Victor of the people" or "Conqueror of the people." He was a Jew with a Greek name, and this name is fitting for the Nicodemus described in John 3, and only referred to in John three times, as he was a respected Pharisee and leader (ruler) among the Jews.
The term "Pharisee" derives from the Hebrew root פָּרַשׁ (parash) meaning "to separate," "to set apart," or "to distinguish." Pharisees were a religious group within Judaism during the Second Temple period, who emphasised strict adherence to the Law of Moses and additional oral traditions. Their name reflects their emphasis on maintaining ceremonial purity and separating themselves from anything or anyone they deemed impure or spiritually unclean.
The phrase "ruler of the Jews" indicates Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest ruling council and court among the Jewish people at that time. The Sanhedrin was composed of 70 elders plus the High Priest, forming a total of 71 members. It served as a religious, legislative, and judicial body for Jewish life under Roman authority. Members included priests, scribes, Pharisees, and respected community leaders. Thus, Nicodemus was a man with authority, who was a teacher as Jesus in John 3:10 calls him “the teacher of Israel”
His visit to Jesus was significant because it showed genuine curiosity and openness, despite his high rank and status.
Nicodemus is mentioned again in John's Gospel, reinforcing his influential position:
John 7:50-51
"Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 'Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?'"
(Here Nicodemus defends fair treatment for Jesus.)
John 19:39
"And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds."
(Nicodemus helps prepare Jesus’ body for burial.)
Nicodemus comes to Jesus confused
John 3:2-3
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 [a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus was confused, he goes to Jesus and call Jesus “Rabbi” acknowledging that Jesus is a teacher and he confesses that Jesus is from God as no one can do what He does unless He was sent by God.
Nicodemus as many people around the world today believes that Jesus was a good teacher who performed a lot of miracles. But is that enough? No, it is not enough.
This was where Nicodemus was when he came to Jesus. Jesus redirects the conversation to the essence of salvation, emphasizing the necessity of being spiritually born again to see God's kingdom, further stirring Nicodemus' curiosity and confusion.
Throughout the Gospels, we frequently see people misunderstanding Jesus’ spiritual teachings, interpreting them through a natural or physical lens. Examples include the woman at the well and even Jesus' own disciples. Nicodemus was no different; he struggled significantly to grasp Jesus' deeper spiritual teachings.
Jesus starts his statement with "Most assuredly", in Greek, "ἀμὴν ἀμὴν" (Amen, Amen) which is derived from Hebrew אָמֵן (’āmēn) meaning "truly," "surely," "verily," or "so be it”. It is a solemn declaration of truth and authority. It emphasizes that Jesus speaks from firsthand, divine knowledge. The repeated "Amen" underscores the certainty and weight of what follows.
Nicodemus gets curious
John 3:4-8
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 is confused and curious about how a man can be born again. He was thinking in the physical context of birth from a mother’s womb.
We all are born at least once, a physical birth, which was not a choice we make but it is God’s will and our parents’ choice. But to be saved we need another birth, a spiritual birth. God is a spirit and to enter God’s Kingdom we need to be born of water and Spirit.
Some denominations interpret this as Jesus saying that to be born again, you have to be water baptised. But this negates other scriptures, and if this were so, how did the man on the cross get into paradise with Jesus, without water baptism? John 3:16 is clear evidence that salvation requires belief and only that, no reference to water baptism. Also in Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Also, Paul in 1Corinthuans 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel,..”
Isn’t that amazing that Paul was not sent to baptise people; Jesus never did either. Salvation is not conditioned by water baptism but by belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and, consequently spiritual rebirth. Water baptism is only a public declaration of faith and believe.
Also, the next verse clarifies what is meant by born of water and Spirit. Jesus here clarifies that there are two births. The water birth, which is born of the flesh, the physical birth we all go through. Foetus grows inside a mother’s womb in water and to be born the mothers water needs to break. And there is spiritual birth which is of the Spirit. And to get into the kingdom of God, we must experience both.
Jesus anticipated that Nicodemus would ask how do you see a spiritual birth. So, he directly answers that spiritual birth is not seen just like the wind is not seen but you can see the effects, hear the sound and see things moving and pointing to where it came from and where it is going. Just like spiritual birth, you cannot observe it happening like physical birth, but you can see its fruits, the fruits of the spirit. The impact on a human’s life, the impact of Jesus on man’s heart.
Jesus reveals His deity
John 3:9-12
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
Nicodemus continues to struggle: “How can these things be? How could me an old man be born again in the spirit?”
Jesus responds with a question of His own: "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?" This highlights the irony that someone so educated in Scripture failed to grasp the spiritual truth it pointed to. As a respected teacher, Nicodemus should have understood the need for inward transformation prophesied in passages like Ezekiel 36:25–27.
"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."
Then Jesus says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness."
By using "We", Jesus alludes to the united testimony of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit—offering a glimpse into the divine relationship behind the revelation. Yet, despite this authoritative and truthful witness, many, including Nicodemus, do not receive it. This reflects a common biblical pattern: people rejecting divine truth, not due to lack of evidence, but unwillingness to believe. It is not an issue of evidence or clarity, but of the heart. Knowing the truth is different from submitting to it.
The Pharisees, including Nicodemus, were well-versed in Scripture but often refused to submit to Christ’s authority. Though Nicodemus acknowledged Jesus’ miracles as divine signs (John 3:2), he still struggled to comprehend the truth due to the weight of tradition and legalism.
Jesus revealed Himself in the Old Testament
John 3:13-15
"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 [c]not perish but have eternal life. "
Jesus now revealed more about Himself to Nicodemus. He discloses that He came down from heaven and shall ascend back to heaven. And refers to Himself as the Son of Man, referring to Daniel 7:13–14
"I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom..."
Here, the "Son of Man" is a heavenly, messianic figure who receives universal authority, an everlasting kingdom, and glory from God.
Then Jesus uses another Old Testament reference to reveal His deity. He referred to Numbers 21:5-8, where after the Israelites complain against God and Moses, God sent fiery serpents that bit and killed many of them. And when they repented, God did not directly take away the serpents and heal them. What did God do?
God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole, promising that anyone bitten who looked upon this serpent would be healed and live. This event is symbolic of salvation through faith. The serpent reminded the people of their sin; bronze in the Old Testament is a metal of judgment, and the pole represents the cross. Now Jesus reminds Nicodemus that just like Moses lifted up the pole with the serpent, so that everyone who looks at it is healed. Jesus will die on the cross and then be raised to heaven so that everyone who believes in him shall be saved. God’s remedy to what is killing humanity, which is sin, is the cross. We all have to look at the cross and believe to be saved from our sins. Even though we die physically, there is no condemnation.
Numbers 21:5-8
And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
God’s Love and the Light: Salvation Offered, Rejected, or Received
John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
John 3:16 is the most famous verse used when sharing the Good News of the Gospel. Because it is very familiar, we may tend to just skip over it instead of meditating and reflecting and be challenged by it.
1 John 2:1-2
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
Jesus died for everyone, not just those who believed in him eventually. Salvation is available for everyone, but not everyone accepts it and believes.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
The one and only Jesus is our way, the door to salvation, in Him there is no condemnation. We just have to receive God’s gift, we have to receive the good news. But how can we receive salvation if we did not understand that to start with, we needed to be saved. We need to be convicted of our sins. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, they were convicted of their sin and repented then they got their healing. We need to hear the bad news like Nicodemus had to hear that he won’t get into heaven just because he was religious. IF we do not get to that point, we will not have a need for God. We need to recognise that we are nothing and have nothing that can save us.
There is no other remedy for sin than the cross, believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection. other way to the Father except through the Son.
1 Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We encountered the phrase “Only begotten son” in John 1:18 “… The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” The Greek word for “only begotten Son” is μονογενοῦς (monogenous). From “monos” which means only, and “genos” which means kind or type. From this came the different English translations “only one of a kind”, “unique”, or “only begotten”. Jesus is not just one among many sons, but the only one of His kind, fully divine, from the Father.
The term and conditions of eternal, everlasting life, spiritual salvation, are believing in Him, Jesus. Putting our faith in Him and believing is the only way to avoid condemnation and judgment.
The light of the world is Jesus, also referred to in John 1:7-9; 8:12, 9:5. But why would anyone refuse light, refuse an offer for salvation?
People offer many excuses for not accepting Christ. Some cite the presence of hypocrisy in the church; others claim inability to believe some truths about Christ or the gospel. These are merely attempts to conceal a heart in rebellion against God. The ultimate reason people do not come to Christ is that they do not want to. It is an act of the will. Because man hardens his heart and holds on to their own strength, their pride.
Acts 19:8-9
And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
They refused to believe, it is an act of the will. And they are condemned because of their unbelieve. They love their sin, their way of living, their evil deeds.
On the other hand, the one who does the truth is a believer because his or her deeds are done in God. Therefore, “coming to the light” is more than exercising faith. A person who comes into the light not only believes but also openly identifies with the light so that his or her works can be seen as things done in union with God. Any goodness is from God, not man and the one who embraces the truth doesn't hide but steps into the light, not to boast in self-righteousness, but to display what God has done through them. A life born of the Spirit is marked by deeds that testify—not to man’s effort—but to God’s grace at work. This is the fruit of spiritual rebirth.
Finally
Nicodemus came seeking answers and left with a challenge: to be born again. Jesus pointed him to the cross before it happened—just as Moses lifted up the serpent, Jesus would be lifted for the healing of humanity.
This message is the same for us today. We must recognize our need, confess our sin, and look to Christ in faith. Salvation is not earned through ritual or religion, but by receiving the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
“There is no other remedy for sin than the cross.”
Believe, and you will not perish, but have everlasting life.
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