You Must Be Born Again

John 3:1–13

A Cautionary Tale

Told to warn us and to shape our behavior.

Stories like The Boy Who Cried Wolf: A boy lies one too many times, and when he finally tells the truth, no one believes him, and disaster follows. We hear the moral: don’t play games with truth.

John 3 gives us a kind of cautionary tale. It’s not a fable, but a real encounter between a devout, moral, religious man named Nicodemus, and Jesus.

If ever there was someone who should have understood Jesus, it was Nicodemus. He comes with respect. He comes with curiosity. But he also comes with confusion.

Jesus doesn’t mess around. Instead, he says: “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

This passage is a cautionary tale for the religious: You can be devout, sincere, biblically literate, and still miss the Kingdom.

Nicodemus’ Visit

About Nicodemus: A Pharisee and a teacher of Israel.

Theologically orthodox, affirmed resurrection, angels, providence, and the authority of Scripture.

Morally upright, strictly observed the Law and oral tradition.

Biblically literate, knowing and teaching the Word of God.

Socially respected, a spiritual leader among the people.

A ruler (Sanhedrin), spiritually serious, intellectually capable, above reproach, and highly regarded.

“Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God…”

No question, just a bold statement of what they knew

His words are respectful but reveal reveal his heart. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a fellow teacher, a respected Rabbi, and were offering to let him in their circle.

They were amazed at his miracles, the signs he had performed, but like those win 2:23-25, their faith was shallow, they couldn’t see who was standing before them.

Jesus’ Reply: "To see the kingdom you must be born again!”

If anyone could claim entrance into the kingdom by resume, it was Nicodemus. Yet Jesus says to him, “Unless one is born again [or from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

He’s telling Nicodemus, “You cannot even see what’s standing before you. You must be born again!”

“How can I be born again? Shall I re-enter my mother’s womb?”

Nicodemus shows the source of his misunderstanding. He was thinking of a worldly kingdom, a physical birth.

For sure, the old covenant was rooted in the land, the throne, and the flesh, you were a part of the kingdom by birthright.

Jesus’ reply: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Water and Sprit is not a reference to Christian baptism, which hadn’t been instituted and would be foreign to Nicodemus’ understanding.

Jesus is referencing Ezekiel 36:25, 26, 27a familiar promise of spiritual cleansing and renewal: “I will sprinkle clean water on you… and I will put my Spirit within you.”

Water symbolizes cleansing from sin, Spirit refers to regeneration and renewal. Together, they describe the inward work of God purifying & transforming the heart.

Eph 5:26: Christ cleanses His bride “by the washing of water with the word.” It is the Word of God, applied by the Spirit of God, that washes and renews the soul.

Jesus goes on to say “That which is born of the flesh is flesh…”

No amount of religious effort or human striving can produce spiritual life. Not reform, not effort, but a complete spiritual rebirth. If a man like Nicodemus must be born again, then no one enters the kingdom apart from divine grace.

“The Wind Blows Where It Wishes “

The Spirit moves like the wind, unseen, uncontrollable, but unmistakable in its effects. What Jesus is saying, you hear the wind, you see what it does, but you cannot say where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with the Spirit: new birth is not a human decision, but a divine intervention.

“How can these things be?”

How is any of what you are saying possible? It overturned everything he thought he knew.

Jesus rebukes him gently but firmly: “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”

Nicodemus has Scripture, but not sight; he knows the word of God but not the power of God. This is not an intellectual problem; it’s a spiritual blindness that requires new birth.

Jesus says: “No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

Here Jesus declares that he is the authoritative revealer of God and the only mediator between God and man.

Christ is not speculating about heaven, He came from there.

Our Conversations with Jesus.

Nicodemus’ questions echo in our hearts; and Jesus’ answers are still what we need to hear.

“I know Jesus… I know a lot about Him…”

Nicodemus knew the Scriptures. He knew theology. He even had a category for God being “with” someone. He saw the signs Jesus performed, and admired him. But Jesus doesn’t call us to respect Him as a good teacher, He calls us to know Him as the sovereign and living Lord.

Many today carry a secondhand faith, they know about Jesus, but have never known Jesus, never encountered the living God.

“What must I do?”

Nicodemus assumes there’s something he can do, some religious obligation or moral duty to enter the Kingdom. We ask it too: “What prayer do I need to pray? What steps must I take? How can I change my life?”

But Jesus says: “You cannot do this. It is the Spirit who gives life.” Like makeup on a cadaver, it doesn’t really look right. What’s missing is life itself. We must be born again!

“Can anyone really change?”

Nicodemus doubted the possibility of transformation. So do we: “Can I really be different? Can my heart be made new?” If a man like Nicodemus can’t get there on his own, what hope do I have?

Jesus answers: “With man it is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.” What is impossible in the flesh is possible through the Son of God. He came to give you life.

Can these dry bones live? We need a heartfelt reliance upon the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our Church.

Encountering the King

Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, thinking he was speaking to a rabbi, an equal. But he didn’t yet see that he was speaking to the King, the One who brings the Kingdom of God with Him. This is the real tragedy of Nicodemus’ confusion: he stood in the presence of the King and didn’t recognize Him. And here is the danger for us: we can come to worship, prayer, devotions, even service, thinking we’re fulfilling religious obligations, when the King is inviting us to meet with Him.

Come to Meet with the King

When we gather for worship, open the Word, bow in prayer, we are not checking religious boxes, we are drawing near to the living Christ. We don’t come to church to merely learn about God. We come to meet with Him.

We should come expecting to encounter the One who sits on the throne of grace, who speaks by His Word, ministers by His Spirit, and communes with His people.

This is what revitalizes the Church, not clever strategies, not cultural relevance, not emotional hype, but the real presence of Christ among His people. And when Christ is truly present, hearts are born again.

You Must Be Born Again

We don’t enter the kingdom by religious credentials, moral effort, or theological clarity. Nicodemus had all of that, and Jesus told him it wasn’t enough.

You must be born again by the gracious work of God, washed clean and made new by the Spirit. The question is not “What do I believe?” or “What have I done?” but rather, “Has the Spirit made me new?” Has He taken your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh? Is there evidence of new birth in you, a love for Christ, a hunger for His Word, a sorrow over sin, a desire to follow Him?

This is not something you achieve. It is something God gives, and He gives it freely to those who come to Jesus in faith.

Live in the Power of the Spirit

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Religious flesh is still flesh. But the Spirit gives life. Our lives, our churches, our ministries must be shaped by the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is not a theological concept to affirm, but a divine Person to walk with, guiding, convicting, empowering, comforting. He moves where He wills, and we must learn to move with Him. To be born again is not merely a beginning, it is the life lived in the Spirit, moment by moment, step by step.

Final Words

The church does not need more gimmicks, more effort, more programs. What we need is more of Christ, His Word, His life His Spirit at work in us.

Nicodemus met Jesus in the dark and left in confusion. But later, we see him defending Jesus and honoring Him in His death. The Spirit was clearly at work.

Maybe that’s you today, searching, confused, religious but not reborn. Hear the words of Jesus: You must be born again. Come to Him. Trust Him. Be made new.