JOHN 3:1-9 ENTERING THE KINGDOM

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’”

4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

Nicodemus entered the picture on the intellectual level. He had seen the miraculous signs and listened to the teachings of Jesus and come to the conclusion that this man had something from God to offer. One would think it natural for a religious leader of Israel to come and inquire of such a man. However, the fact that he actually does come to Jesus demonstrates his desire to know more and the absence of the Pharisees as a group shows their hostile prejudice.

Jesus sees that Nicodemus is coming with the sincere desire to obtain more information, but also recognizes that his underlying problem is spiritual rather than intellectual. As such, Jesus’ responses raise more questions than they answer. In his heart, Nicodemus is coming to ask what Jesus thinks is necessary for one to do to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus’ answer is that one can do nothing! The kingdom citizen has as little to do with entering the kingdom of heaven as a baby has to do with being born. All we can do is open ourselves up to the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the work of the Spirit to “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). The human response that opens us up to the possibility of rebirth is to repent and believe in Jesus.

By coming to Jesus, Nicodemus demonstrated that he was willing to go beyond his own understanding and entertain whatever Jesus might teach him. What he learn was not something that fit nicely into his preconceived categories but something that required a complete paradigm shift in his thinking. To become a kingdom citizen requires a complete transformation. The kingdom does not fit into our understanding, rather we are to come into the kingdom. The way into the kingdom is only available through the acceptance of the revelation. It requires a new way of thinking, a new way of being, a new birth.

Come, Holy Spirit and transform not just my thoughts, but my way of being. Drive from me the desire to make the kingdom conform to my way of understanding and fit into the boundaries of my comfort zone. Help me dare to be stretched by your inspiration and molded into the new child of God you have created me to be. Amen.