Unremarkable Births

Although the world was made through him, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and accepted him he gave the right to become children of God. They are children born not from human desire and plan. They are born of God. John1:10-13

Born of God. That’s a sweet picture isn’t it? What does it mean?

In the Gospel of John, “Born of God,” “born again,” and “born from above” are used interchangeably. They are different ways of saying the same thing. What do they mean?

Consider the story of Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. That means he believed in angels and miracles. He believed in the resurrection of the dead at the last day. He believed in sexual purity and the careful instruction of children in the way of holiness.

Nicodemus was not just a run-of-the-mill Pharisee. He was the leading conservative Jewish Bible scholar of the time. People referred to him as “the teacher of Israel.”

He visited Jesus one night fairly early in Jesus’ ministry. Because he came at night, we know he was not there to show off his erudition to the crowd. He wasn’t coming to try to trip Jesus up with clever questions. Nicodemus was there on a personal mission.

“Rabbi,” he said to Jesus, “we know you are a teacher from God because no one could do the miracles you’ve been doing except by the power of God.”

Jesus responded very curiously, “Unless you are born again (or “born from above,” the Greek allows for either or both translations) you cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Most Bible scholars understand these words of Jesus to be a challenge. Nicodemus was a Bible expert. He was a sincere religious man. He had probably been devout his entire life. Still he craved something more. He came to see Jesus and before he could even get into a discussion, Jesus pinpointed his deepest hunger, his greatest need. It was something so fundamental the best way to describe it was “new birth” or “birth from above.” “You need to be born again.” Jesus said. “You need to be converted.”

If you were going to make a movie about Nicodemus “rebirth” what would it look like?

When Paul was born again, he quit killing Christians.
When Erwin McMannus, a famous preacher in Los Angeles was born again, he gave up gang banging and became a preacher.
When Zaccheaus was born again, he gave away half his wealth and he quit ripping people off.

You could easily show those kinds of changes in a movie. How would you show Nicodemus’ new birth? What would change?

He already went to church every week.
He studied the Bible every day.
He told the truth.
He was generous with his money.
He was faithful to his wife.
What would change if Nicodemus was “born again?”


Nicodemus responded to Jesus’ words about being born again by asking, “How can this be? How can a man reenter his mother’s womb?”

Nicodemus knew Jesus was not talking literally, but he could not see how to experience what Jesus was talking about.

In reply, Jesus said a few words about the work of the Holy Spirit. Still Nicodemus didn’t get it. “How can this be?” he asked again. And that’s the last we know that Nicodemus said in this interview.

Jesus went on to talk about dying for the sins of the world, about saving the world instead of condemning it. But there is no record of any other comment by Nicodemus. We cannot even tell for sure that Jesus is still talking to Nicodemus or if John is inserting here things he heard Jesus say in another context. Nicodemus just disappears.

As far as we can tell nothing external changed in Nicodemus' life after that evening he visited Jesus. If that evening marked his "rebirth," it was a very unremarkable birth.

The next time Nicodemus shows up in John’s story is in chapter 7. The chief priests have sent police officers to arrest Jesus. The officers head off to the temple where Jesus is teaching. After a long while they come back empty-handed.

The chief priests are surprised and angry. “Why didn’t you bring him in?” they demanded.

The guards answered, “No one every spoke like this man.”

“You mean he has deceived you, too? Look, has any of the rulers or Bible scholars believed in him? No! The only people taken in by him are the gullible crowd. They know nothing of the Bible. They are under a curse!”

All of this back and forth is happening in the chamber of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council. It was kind of a combination Congress and Supreme Court. The chief priests made it clear they had already made up their minds about this guy, Jesus. They were against him.

Nicodemus was a member of the council. Apparently, an influential member. After all this negative talk about Jesus, he finally spoke up. “Does our law condemn someone before first hearing him? Shouldn’t we reserve judgment until we have had the chance to hear from him directly?”

The chief priests turn on Nicodemus with scorn. “Are you one of those ignorant Galileans, too? Come on, you know the Messiah does not come from Galilee.”

Nicodemus was still a member of the Sanhedrin. He was still a Pharisee. As far as we know, he did not go hear Jesus preach. He did not travel around with Jesus. He was not a Christian.

He just spoke up, when Jesus was being condemned in absentia. And then disappears again from the story.

Is this "rebirth?" If so, it is still rather unremarkable.

The last time Nicodemus is mentioned in Jesus’ story, Jesus is dead. Late in the afternoon he was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea, another member of the Sanhedrin, had secured special permission from the Roman governor to bury Jesus. Then together, these two wealthy, powerful men, Nicodemus and Joseph, buried Jesus with the honors befitting a great man.

Is this proof Nicodemus was born again?

The fact is, there is no particular event in Nicodemus life that would count as a “conversion,” as an a “born again event.”

John wrote his book many years after Jesus had died and risen. The fact that he mentions Nicodemus by name three times in his story shows his high regard for the old Pharisee. John regarded Nicodemus as part of Jesus’ story, part of the church’s story.

Nicodemus story can help us understand what it means to be “born again.” For some people, being born again, is a dramatic, one time event. For others it is a life-long habit of turning toward God.

For Nicodemus, being born again was like a plant that slowly reorients itself toward the sun that streams through a south window. From one day to the next you can hardly tell the difference. But if you notice the plant in November, then look at it again in February, the turning is obvious.

Dramatic conversions do happen. And the church rightly celebrates them.

The church also rightly honors converted people whose conversions are not dramatic events, people whose conversions are as natural and gradual as the plant turning toward the sun.

What does it mean to be born again? It means to orient my life toward Jesus.

Our birth gives us our identity. I am the son of a southern gentleman and a California girl. A few decades ago I had a college roommate named Ebenezer Nwanko. His birth made him a Nigerian.
Another of my roommates was Finnish, another an Indian from Uganda.

When we are born again, born from above, we take on a new identity. We become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We become sons and daughters of God.

Even if you experienced a dramatic event in your life with God, living into the fullness of this new birth, this new identity, takes the entirety of our lives.

No matter where you are today, you can experience being born from above by turning toward Jesus. If you are facing some other direction, then your experience will be marked by change, maybe even great change. If you are already oriented toward Jesus, conversion means renewing your attention. It means deliberately, intentionally focusing your mind on the teachings, the example of Jesus. It means inviting Jesus, again, to fill you with his Spirit, to employ you in his service. It means appreciating afresh God’s warmth and glory as revealed in the person of Jesus and available to you through his Spirit.

When Nicodemus went to see Jesus at night, he was experiencing new birth. He was turning toward the light.

When Nicodemus spoke up in the council, he was experiencing new birth. He was acting out of new identity that made him more than merely a guardian of the religious traditions of his people–as good as those were. He was acting as an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven.

When Nicodemus showed up to bury Jesus, he was moving still more fully into the new identity he was receiving from above. He stubbornly asserted his solidarity with Jesus even in the face of the blackness of death.

We, too, no matter what our present position, can point our faces toward the glory of God and experience for today, birth a second time, birth from above.