The Pro-Baptism proponents often point to a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus as one of their favorite proof texts supporting the belief that baptism is necessary for salvation. I have to admit, I have not been completely comfortable with this conclusion, but I couldn’t tell you exactly why until now. After carefully researching this issue for this podcast, I am now confident this passage is not about New Testament baptism. By the end of this podcast, I suspect even the most ardent supporter of this view will change their mind too. Here are a couple of thoughts, just to whet your appetite.
First of all, the conversation happens long before Christian baptism ever exists and second, Jesus’ commands are directed specifically to Nicodemus. Let’s see if we can dissect the details and uncover the truth.
Nicodemus Meets Jesus
John 3:1-12
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is Born Again.’”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be Born Again.’ The 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.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony I have spoken to you about earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
Who is Nicodemus?
Nicodemus is a Pharisee. He is a religious leader for the Jewish people. We are first introduced to him here, in John 3. Later we meet him again in John 7, where he defends Jesus before some furious Pharisees. Next, we meet him again when he and Joseph of Arimathaea recover the body of Jesus from the cross and bury him in Joseph’s tomb. It is probably safe to say; most people believe Nicodemus is a pretty decent guy. He always seems to be trying to do the right thing.
In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at “night.” There is a lot of discussion about why Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness. Was this a top secret mission? Was Nicodemus uncomfortable? Did he want to avoid detection and do, whatever he was trying to do, without anyone seeing him? No one knows for sure but if we drop all the cloak and dagger, we might get another perspective, more consistent with his character. The Bible says it was night. This means it was the end of the day. Nicodemus probably just got off work! He doesn’t come to Jesus in any official capacity. He’s not hiding from his co-workers down at the temple and he’s not on some secret mission. He’s just a curious man with a passion for truth! Work is finished, he’s on his way home, he just drops in… no big deal. There is no indication of him watching over his shoulder, no hushed tones… in fact, he begins his visit with a sort of comfortable and kind recognition of Jesus’ ministry.
“Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Those are friendly, kind words! Those are not the words of a cranky, critical, Pharisee! The Pharisees were, after all, claiming that Jesus was in league with Beelzebub! We don’t see this attitude in Nicodemus.
What was the question?
Now, it’s interesting; right here, the Bible is a little rough in its transition from Nicodemus greeting to Jesus response. It says, “In reply Jesus declared…” Jesus response is a “reply?” Why a reply? A reply is generally thought of as a response to a question, not a statement. Now, an interrogative can be created by changing the tone of the voice right at the end of a statement. So maybe Nicodemus said “For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him?” We don’t know. But, let’s we read some more. Maybe we can find out about this supposed question.
John 3:3
” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is Born Again.’”
The Kingdom of God is the first focus.
There seems to be more here than we are shown at this juncture. It sounds like Nicodemus might have asked something about the Kingdom of God. That would certainly be in keeping with the hubbub of the day. Everyone wanted to know when the Kingdom of God would be restored to Israel. The Jew’s hatred of the Romans was at its zenith and a warrior redeemer was on everyone’s mind. Regardless of what was on Nicodemus’ mind, Jesus mind is the clearly on the Kingdom of God.
Jesus tells Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is Born Again.”
Wow, let’s unpack this line. Jesus explains that not one single person will ever see the Kingdom of God unless he has this experience… whatever it is, called “Born Again.” In other words, unless you are Born Again, you will have no part in this kingdom; you can’t see it, you can’t understand it, it is a foreign concept.
The Born Again experience is the second focus.
This is the first time, by the way, we see the term “Born Again” used in the Bible. This is a popular word in today’s religious circles and it is, pretty much, only used within those circles. It’s a strange phrase if you think about it, so we should probably take a minute to define it. The term “Born Again” means that a person has died to their old life and has begun a new and different life. The implication is that the experience, whatever it may be, leaves behind a life which was less desirable than the life which lies ahead. Obviously, nobody can be born a second time, physically; so this experience must be based on something other than the physical realm. In Christendom, “Born Again” means that someone has become a Christian. They have died to their old life and begun a new life with Christ. It is a spiritual event which forms a clear cut delineation between two separate and distinct realms of being… an old life of sin and a new life in Christ.
When I am teaching this John 3 passage, I always like to pause and point out the humorous fact that; to say that someone is a “Born Again Christian” is like saying, I am a white Caucasian. Those terms mean the same thing. It’s redundant. You might be a Christian, you might be Born Again, but you are not a Born Again Christian. Now, I’m not just having a little linguistic fun here. There is an important point to all this. Every person who calls themselves a Christian has been Born Again. Every person who has been Born Again is a Christian, right? A Christian is someone who is saved. A Christian is someone who will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they have this very specific experience He calls, “Born Again.” Because Jesus says “no one,” it applies to everyone and is therefore still true today. Basically Jesus just defined what a Christian is. A Christian is a person who will be part of the Kingdom of God. The word “Christian” means “follower of Christ” so, even though the word Christian would not be invented until Acts 11:26, during Paul’s visit to Antioch, Nicodemus could certainly become a follower of Christ if he chose to become one.
Nicodemus gets a little defensive?
Nicodemus seems to understand the importance of all this and presses on…
John 3:4-5
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Nicodemus you rascal. Why are you stating the obvious? Are you getting nervous? I suspect Jesus may be grinning at this point. It seems like Nicodemus is trying to be a little evasive!
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
Ok, so… you can not enter the Kingdom unless you have this experience; and this time, Jesus tells us the “Born Again” experience involves two components, water and the Spirit.
Jesus continues… John 3:6-7
“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be Born Again.’“
Jesus may be letting Nicodemus off the hook here. The physical world is one thing the spiritual world is another. If you want to be part of the spiritual world, you must be Born Again. Next, something really fascinating happens. Jesus challenges Nicodemus, “You should not be surprised by this!” Why would Jesus say that? What does he know about Nicodemus we don’t know? We’ll see shortly.
Nicodemus should know something…
Next, Jesus goes on to describe this spiritual realm thing…
John 3:8
“The 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.”
A spiritual person is like the wind, you see the effect of the Spirit but you don’t know where it comes from or how it’s happening. I guess that makes a spiritual person hard to pin down!
John 3:9-10
““How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked.
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
Now we’re learning why Nicodemus should not be surprised by what Jesus says. He is Israel’s teacher and there must be something he ought to understand!
As a teacher in Israel, Nicodemus would have absolutely understood the conversion process. The conversion process? What conversion process? The process of converting to Judaism! We don’t tend to think of Jews as being very evangelistic or converting anyone, but listen to these quick excerpts from Matthew and Acts…
Matthew 23:15
This is Jesus speaking to the Pharisees. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” Ouch!
Acts 13:43
“When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.”
Jewish Conversion
The Jews not only had converts, they had a process by which you could be converted to Judaism! Historians tell us this probably included a good bit of training and then three specific actions; circumcision for the male, a sacrifice at the temple and… a Mikveh.
The Mikeh was a baptism. There were only two ways you could become a Jew. You were either born a Jew or you were “Born Again” into Judaism. Now you understand why Jesus would have said to Nicodemus, “You are Israel’s teacher and you do not understand these things?” At issue is conversion and this is what the Born Again experience is all about!
In closing, Jesus goes on to establish some of his own credentials, pointing out the fact that he has come from heaven and will return to heaven.
For the purposes of our study, we are focused on the first part of this discussion. Two times, Jesus uses this term, “Born Again.” He tells us this experience contains two elements, water and the Spirit. He explains the absolute requirement for this experience if you want to be connected to the Kingdom of God. This is not an optional experience. It is a requirement.
This is not about New Testament baptism.
So, is Jesus teaching Nicodemus about New Testament Christian baptism? Can we use this passage as our perfect proof text? Well, not really. Christian baptism, as we know from previous studies is a participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and is required for the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit as Peter tells us in Act 2:38. This can’t be Christian baptism because Christ has not died, been buried and resurrected!
So what is this?
Could this be about John’s baptism?
Could Jesus be referring to the baptism of John the Baptist? After all, we have a really good illustration regarding the profound affect that John’s baptism had on the people who obeyed it. Listen…
Luke 7:29-30
All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
People who were baptized by John had the ability to see something and understand something and accept something which the unbaptized could not see, understand or accept. The only difference between the two classes of people was the fact that they had obeyed John’s teaching in baptism.
If you were baptized by John you saw thing differently. Even during this time in Biblical history, baptism was a command John delivered. If you did not accept John’s message, you would obviously not submit to his baptism. Baptism in-and-of itself is nothing special. You had to accept the message before you were baptized. What mattered for them, and for us, is whether or not we are going to have a Faith that Obeys the commands given to us by God through his various messengers.
So, is Jesus referring to John’s baptism? Maybe, but I think there is something else we tend to forget because it is mentioned so subtly in the scriptures.
What about Christ’s baptisms?
Let’s not forget about Christ’s baptisms! I think we forget that Jesus and his disciples practiced baptism in the Judaean countryside just as John the Baptist did. Remember?
John 3:22
“After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.” And…
John 3:26
“They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan–the one you testified about–well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
Baptism is the only obvious thing I can think of which contains two parts, water and the Spirit. This is consistent throughout the entire New Testament whether it is John’s baptism, Christ’s baptism or Christian Baptism. And, as we have seen, the baptism of John the Baptist had a profound spiritual effect on people who had obeyed him. They had an understanding and an enlightenment which people who had not been baptized by John did not have. They could acknowledge Jesus message about the Kingdom of God!
Jumping to conclusions!
So, is Jesus teaching Nicodemus about Christian baptism in John 3? Wow, there is a huge temptation to jump to that conclusion but… no, baptism is never mentioned directly. Why would we use a scripture that never mentions baptism and try to say it is all about baptism? It’s not. This passage is about being “Born Again.” That’s the subject of the discussion. So, why is it so easy to jump to the conclusion that John 3 is about baptism? Because the “Born Again” experience is something which happens during baptism! The born again experience involves water and the Spirit so we know that baptism is also involved.
The “Born Again” experience happened when obeying the baptism of John the Baptist and it happens for us when we obey New Testament baptism. The “Born Again” experience and baptism are so closely related we tend to see them as one thing; but in reality, one thing is the result of the other. Think about it this way. If Peter tells me to be baptized, I would know what to do. If he told me to be “Born Again,” I would have to ask him, “How?” This is the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. We are “Born Again” when we are baptized.
How about an analogy? If I told you to “Flip the switch to turn on the light.” Can the light be on if you don’t flip the switch? No. Is flipping the switch the same thing as the light being on? No. It’s a result of flipping the switch. You can’t have one without the other. Flipping the switch connects wires and electricity. When we connect wires and electricity by flipping the switch, we turn on the light. If you decide to obey my command to “turn on the light,” you must “flip the switch.” The two things are connected, pun intended.
The cool thing is, once you have obeyed this teaching from John 3, you will understand the Kingdom of God. And, just as in the days of Nicodemus, the only people who choose to do it are those, who have a Faith that Obeys!
Enjoy!
Dana Haynes