Michael-Grams: M-G: 5.11.20 // Some Comments on John 3:1-21, Vs. 9-13, Part 1 of 2

John 3:9, Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?

These are the last recorded words of Nicodemus to Jesus. This narrative will shift from a dialogue between two men to a discourse by Jesus to Nicodemus (vv.10-21). There is no reason not to believe this was addressed to Nicodemus in the presence of His disciples. Imagine if you will; these 13 men were the first to hear that great summit of truth known as John 3:16. In v9, we see the inability of the natural man to understand spiritual truth (cf. 1 Cor 2:14).

Even after this dialogue, Nick is still in the physical realm and had come to the intersection of an entrenched belief in a complex system of Judaic salvation by human effort and the simplicity of entering the kingdom of God by simply believing, How can these things be? Imagine the plausibility that Nicodemus entertained this thought, “How is it possible that the Jews have been so wrong about entering the kingdom of God for centuries!? Keep in mind that Jesus knows Nick’s heart, and is not surprised in the least that Nick is not getting this.

I am going to interject an opinion on the answer to that question. It all started centuries before when the rabbis started treating their traditions with equal authority to the Word of God to superseding the very Word of God by their interpretations of the Scripture that became traditional supposedly “based on the Scriptures” no less (cf. Mk 7:9)! This was not only foolish and dangerous, but such malpractice will never go away until Jesus returns to set up His literal kingdom.

Nick’s eyes had yet to be opened up to the fact that he is spiritually blind to the truth and spiritually bankrupt along with the spiritual leadership of Israel, even though he is of the Pharisees (v1), a ruler of the Jews (v1), and the teacher of Israel (v10). Lest we are empathetic, this man is ensnared in spiritual darkness brought on by personal unbelief.

Could it be that at this juncture, that he is so confused he doesn’t know what to believe? Should he stick with his roots or uproot and go with this Man who is doing incredible miracles that cannot be denied. However, for Nicodemus, there was way more involved to be able to enter into the kingdom of God than simply being born from above. He will choose to remain rooted in unbelief and leave in the night the same way he came to Jesus (cf. v11-12).

Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

So, what did Jesus mean by that? We must keep in mind that when Jesus asked of us a question, it is not for information; again, He knows Nick’s heart. He wanted Nick to know that as the teacher of Israel, he was missing a fundamental fact about the kingdom of God.

Are you the teacher of Israel

I’ve made mention of this previously, but the definite article is indicative of not just any teacher of Israel; God knows; there had to have been a bunch of teachers, but he was respected, renowned, accepted as the authority of a Master-teacher. Ah, if his colleagues, students, and fellow Jews could only see him now wrestling with what he does not know that salvation was spiritual in nature, not physical (cf. Jn 1:12-13)! It was about believing in the right One, not doing the right things.

If everyone was following the lead of the Sanhedrin, it would indicate that Nick was a spiritually blind and bankrupt as the Sanhedrin and the nation itself, the blind leading the blind kind of thing. So much for the Sanhedrin having all the answers. It is a pretty scary scenario when you think about the spiritual leadership of Israel that was misleading everyone in Judaism on the kingdom of God due to unbelief!

And do not know (Gk., ginosko, experiential, interactive knowledge as opposed to mere intellectual, academic knowledge)

Nick’s pharisaic theology made him spiritual-truth-proof like water on a duck’s back that ran contrary to the theology of Jesus. Robertson suggested that Nick was out of his “groove” because of the three terrible R’s of mere traditionalism: “rote, rut, and rot” (Word Pictures on John 3:10). You know what a rut is, yes? It is a grave with both ends knocked out. I would like to make an extended quote by R.C.H. Lenski that is simply splendid in capturing the moment,

“Jesus’ words regarding the new birth shatter once for all every supposed excellence of man’s attainment, all merit of human deeds, all prerogatives of natural birth or station. Spiritual birth is something one undergoes not something he produces. As our efforts had nothing to do with our natural conception and birth, so, in an analogous way but on a far higher plane, regeneration is not a work of ours.” He continues,

“What a blow for Nicodemus! His being a Jew gave him no part in the kingdom; his being a Pharisee, esteemed holier than other people, availed him nothing; his membership in the Sanhedrin and his fame as one of its scribes went for naught. This Rabbi from Galilee calmly tells him that he is not yet in the kingdom! All on which he had built his hopes throughout a long arduous life here sank into ruin and became a little worthless heap of ashes.”

Be careful what you “ash” for; you might just get it! Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, poof! The message is crystal clear; unless you are born from above, you will not enter the kingdom of God. This is some good stuff at base camp before tackling the summit of John 3:16, yes? Chuck Smith once said, “I was born once by blood, by the will of the flesh and by the will of man, here I am. That was my physical birth. But my spiritual birth can’t take place that way. The spiritual birth has to come from God. And so, I have been born by the Spirit of God, the new life.”

Our spiritual birth is never derived from biological or physical causes. Born of God means our spiritual birth is not in the being (not of blood, literally, “of the bloods,” Jn 1:13), doing (nor of the will of the flesh, Jn 1:13), or willing (nor of the will of man, Jn 1:13). What we have here is the emphatic negation of human origin in Who were born…but of God, no matter how we divvy up the meanings of these three negative accentuations in describing the spiritual birth (not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man).

From these three negatives emerge the truth of vanity, futility, and vexation of anything other than being born of the Spirit (v8). Nick’s credentials alone had him in a pickle! How does he unlearn all that he has learned over the years, saturated in Pharisaic doctrine? When we add unbelief to the mix, it is a crashed and burn scenario. A working-salvation is simply not going to fly according to Jesus. Speaking for himself and the Sanhedrin, Nick had 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 (v2).

Did you notice that Jesus didn’t even talk about signs? Why? Because according to the Scriptures the signs (miracles) speak for themselves. Nick spoke in terms of probability rather than a definite fact in v2. The signs spoke the language in more definitive terms; they corroborated that Jesus was indeed the One and only true Messiah prophesied by Isaiah (cf. Isa 35:5-6; 61:1; see Lk 7:21-22; Jn 11:47; Acts 10:38).

Christ’s death propitiated (satisfied) the wrath of God as suggested in Jn 3:36, though it had not happened yet since we are still in pre-passion (Rom 3:25; 1 Jn 4:10). If through the death of Christ, God is satisfied or propitiated, what can the sinner do to try to satisfy God for sin, through good works?

The answer is absolutely, unequivocally nothing except to be born from above; this was a stunning revelation to Nick! Everything has been done by and through God for salvation. The question remains; are you satisfied with the sacrifice that satisfied the just and holy demands of God? Perhaps you are still seeking other ways to satisfy Yahweh for salvation because you are unsatisfied knowing that salvation is that simple, not through blood, the will of the flesh, or the will of man? Unless one is born of the Spirit, he or she will not enter the kingdom of God, period!

I wanted to address the explanation given by good Bible teachers that Nicodemus should have known that salvation was spiritual in nature, using the question posed by Jesus to Nicodemus, Are you not the teacher of Israel? Why do people think that Nick should have known that the spiritual nature of salvation is not a novel concept in the OT (Deut 30:6; Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 11:18-20)?

Because he was the teacher of Israel (v10), but Nick was spiritually blind! Naturally, Jesus knew that, but his rebuke does not excuse his unbelief but holds him accountable to the truth of Scripture. You may not see yourself as condemned without Christ, but you are. Spiritual blindness is a voluntary spiritual condition (cf. Jn 3:18; 8:24), not a legitimate claim of victimhood.

Do you think a Jew who is spiritually blind has any advantage over a Gentile who is spiritually blind concerning spiritual truth? It wouldn’t matter if Nick could quote verbatim the entire Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings), comprising our Old Testament; spiritual blindness doesn’t discriminate over any differentiations pertaining to the sons of Adam.

Satan doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, young or old, Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free, intelligent or an ignoramus, educated or uneducated, likable or unlikable, physically healthy or in poor health, fat or skinny, tall or short, lost (2 Cor 4:4) or saved (1 Pet 5:8); it doesn’t matter because he hates all of humanity. Being able to kill untold numbers by war, pandemics, natural disasters, crimes against humanity, by whatever means possible; it makes no difference to Lucifer, our archenemy; the adversary of all the sons of Adam. He is delighted by the death of any. He will eventually betray the humans that follow him just as he betrayed his Creator. R.G. Lee said it in a colloquial manner, “The devil pays in counterfeit bills.” Metaphorically, he is a snake, after all (Gn 3:1).