UBF Daily Bread

A CURIOUS MAN (YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN)

Passage: John 3:1~15

Key verse: 3

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus^(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.^(B) ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,^(C) we know^(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs^(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”^(F)

³Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”^(G)

⁴“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!”

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.^(H) ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit.^(I) ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]^(J)

⁹“How can this be?”^(K) Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,”^(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,^(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.^(N) ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven^(O) except the one who came from heaven^(P)—the Son of Man.^[e]^(Q) ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,^(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^[f]^(S) ¹⁵that everyone who believes^(T) may have eternal life in him.”^[g]^(U)

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Footnotes

John 3:3 The Greek for again also means from above; also in verse 7.
John 3:6 Or but spirit
John 3:7 The Greek is plural.
John 3:8 The Greek for Spirit is the same as that for wind.
John 3:13 Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven
John 3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
John 3:15 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and religious leader. He still had enough humility to acknowledge that Jesus' words spoke truth, even though it challenged his whole world view. His curiosity allowed him to come to Jesus, earnestly, cautiously. Jesus told him, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."

To experience the kingdom of God takes nothing less than a rebirth, a revolution of the mind and spirit. To be born of the spirit requires a heart that is open to the transformative power of the spirit. It comes to those who are ready and yearning for it, and in God's time. No one can force it on someone or convince someone; only God's spirit can intervene. This spiritual awakening may feel like a mid-life crisis or something that challenges the foundation of one's understanding, but it really is the greatest gift anyone can receive in life. Like the Israelites, surrounded by snakes in the wilderness, God sends his salvation to those who are looking to him for it.

Prayer: Lord, may your spirit dawn upon us in our humility and yearning. Give us salvation and new birth into your kingdom.

One Word: Be born again