Again everyone, read the ENTIRE passage. Those of you that say you are born again, do you fit the description Yeshua gave of those that are born again? If you say you do, then please explain how you fit it...
John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 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.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Let’s stop there for moment:
Nicodemus would be extremely well versed in scripture (Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin), one that spent all day everyday discussing and debating the OT and what their teachers said about the OT. At this time a hot topic would have been John the Baptist (everyone knew about him and the masses had gone out to be baptized by him). Members of the Sanhedrin did not submit to John’s Baptism, but knew what he said was true:
John 1: 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
Matt. 3: 7 But when he (John) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
The Pharisees would not be baptized by John without admitting to their hypocrisy, so they looked upon John as an “enemy” even though they “knew” he was a messenger of God.
You need to go throughout the gospels and see how Jesus addresses those that come to Him: Jesus does not answer their verbalized questions or comments, but hits them directly where they are spiritually. He does not talk philosophically, but pointedly at the place they are at in their Spiritual growth. To understand Jesus’ first comment to Nicodemus, you can forget what Nicodemus said and focus on where Nicodemus would be spiritually. What next step did Nicodemus need to take in his spiritual life? The first step for anyone life is to do what you already “know” you should do.
Nicodemus coming the Christ, whom he may not be sure about, would have already “known” John’s Baptism was from God and thus was something he had to have done and yet did not do, yet.
Jesus at that time was in the “Kingdom”, so in a sense Nicodemus was coming to the edge of the Kingdom physically, but far from it spiritually, since he was not doing what he knew to do.
Jesus goes on to say: 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
This being “born again” is an earthly thing, so what earthly thing at the time would fit being born again, which Jesus felt (knew) Nicodemus would fully understand and know about?