As this series of articles looks at John 3:1-21, I think that we have a good example of rabbi student interaction in verse 4. As I understand it, rabbinical teaching in Jesus’ day tended to follow a “question-and-answer” format.
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
John 3:4 NIV
Nicodemus takes Jesus’ statement (from John 3:3) literally and questions his understanding of it as physical birth. His question doesn’t seem to be accusatory: I think that he’s just confused. The Lookout study guide (cited below) says, “Nicodemus was baffled by this. He believed that life came from obeying the Mosaic Law”.
Now, we might be inclined to criticize Nicodemus here, especially for those of us who have been Christians for a while and know (or think that we know) what being “born again” means. However, let’s not forget that this concept was probably pretty new to Nicodemus. Even if we believe that he should have understood spiritual concepts from what was found in the Scriptures (and Jesus commented on something like that later in this chapter), we should remember that Nicodemus lived in a culture that – like ours – was heavily entrenched in the physical world.
While the Mediterranean region in the first century certainly had plenty of religion and philosophy, there were groups like the Pharisees who were trying to win back God’s favor by following His rules carefully, and there were Jewish people who sought a political messiah that would free them from the Roman Empire.
In the same way, much of our culture today is focused on the material world, whether through “scientism” (a term I heard on the radio recently, when science becomes a religion, rather than a tool to understand God’s creation), for instance, or a focus on personal preferences and pleasure. As a result, we shouldn’t be surprised when others aren’t familiar with the realities of the spiritual world. This isn’t something for us to judge anyone else harshly about: their lack of familiarity with the spiritual world may simply be the product of honest ignorance, and not having anyone explain it to them before.
In fact, Jesus takes the time to explain what this means to Nicodemus. Let’s look at Jesus’ reply in the next article (or, you can read it right now in John 3:5-8).
In the meantime, let’s remember that those we talk with may not understand principles of the Christian faith. They might not know John 3:16, or what it means to be “born again”. They might think that Christianity is something totally different than what Jesus modeled, taught, and sought from His followers.
So, let’s lovingly and compassionately consider how we present Jesus Christ to other people, using terms that they can understand without a lifetime of Sunday School lessons and sermons, and being patient enough to explain the truth to them. For the Christian, who should be striving to be like Christ, this is just following in His footsteps, after all.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for December 10, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, December 10, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 