Verses one through twenty-one. It was on the night of the feast day, or a night shortly thereafter, that a fellow Rabbi came to Jesus and they had a long discussion, seemingly apart from the disciples. It is as if the first twenty-one verses wrap up the 'first segment' of the Jesus story. They seem more or less contiguous – presenting Jesus in a transition from his private life to his public life.
Question: did Jesus have a scribe who followed him, recording even his private talks?
So at the end of the first segment, Jesus converses with a fellow Rabbi who hails Jesus as a Rabbi. Their conversation seems relaxed, unhurried, and comfortably familiar. Perhaps Nicodemus had been a mentor of sorts and was now paying a final call in that station before Jesus launched his career.
The questions, statements, and responses of Nicodemus can be viewed as those of a man testing rather than seeking knowledge. One last practice round, as it were.
It is important to look closely at the wording. Speaking not just for himself, Nicodemus said, “we know that thou art a teacher come from God,” siting irrefutable proof. Who was the “we” that Nicodemus referred to? Was it the other Rabbis, the Sanhedrin?
When Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” did he really mean to say, 'a man cannot truly know the kingdom of God until he is born again?'
Was Jesus really telling Nicodemus things he did not know, or was the meeting more sociable, cordial, and conversational?
Was Jesus a close associate who was striking out in an unexpected direction? Was the entire posture of the priesthood something like, “are you really going to take such a contradictory stand? After all we've done for you?!”
Were the things that Jesus said to Nicodemus, in a nutshell, a model of his coming ministry?
These are the points that Jesus raised in his conversation with Nicodemus:
to see the kingdom of God, a man must be born again (born of the spirit.)
Meaning: To start over or take a new direction; to graduate to or add a new level to one's learning, abilities, personality, and character. Add a new level, tier, orientation to one's experience.
Thoughts: I think Jesus was saying we must be like him. He was, in fact, both of the flesh and the spirit but his orientation proved the greater of the two to be the spirit.
Jesus clarified, or fine-tuned, his first statement by saying a man must be born both of water and of the spirit.
Meaning: As the water breaks in physical birth, so must the spirit break in spiritual birth.
Thoughts: In setting the physical birth of a man in contrast with his spiritual birth, a natural symbolism was referred to. In human understanding, water has to do with physical birth in only two regards: they are, namely, the nourishing water sack that carries us to that point and the fact that the human body is composed of roughly 70% water. Certain parallels must be employed when attempting to visualize spiritual birth – these would be a spiritual medium that carries us to the point of our spiritual birth and a concept of our spiritual constitution.
Jesus supplied a basis for his statement by adding what is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.
Meaning: One life is comprised of two aspects that function in concert. Of the two aspects, only one may determine the overall quality and character of that life.
Thoughts: In speaking of physical and spiritual births, both of which the life of Jesus exemplified, this was said in Luke 1:35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Jesus indicated the importance of spirit over water by explaining that the spiritually born have an unseen power that the level of Nicodemus' understanding (the worldly and legalistic religious mindset of the Sanhedrin) did not completely fathom.
Meaning: There is a truth about spirituality and the spiritually-born that may be explained but which has no empirical evidence.
Thoughts: Those who, like Jesus, are born of the Holy Ghost and power of the Highest may be explained as a wind – a wind goes where it goes and does what it does; a wind is not tied to the ground but is freer, higher, even while in connection to and being a part of the whole. The wind may be heard and felt but one cannot see it. There is no physical evidence one may point to. The truth of it is the same truth as that of the spoken words of a message. One may hear it and receive it and explain it but they will never be able to draw a picture of it or take a photograph of it. The only proof of the invisible spiritual power and presence of God is, itself invisible, spiritual, powerful.
Jesus stated that a Master of Israel should know these things.
Meaning: The message of the Law and Prophets, which the Masters of Israel based their authority in, explained everything that Jesus purported to be true.
Thoughts: If a learned Master of the Law and Prophets was smart enough to read the scriptures, his understanding was open enough to see all of it's truths. He was, therefore, without excuse. If he said he could see it all, yet turned a blind eye to certain parts of it, his seeing was incomplete, his sight was blindness.
Jesus stated that the things the Masters of Israel should know were only the basics. They were “earthly things” – a foundation of worldly knowledge prerequisite to the acceptance of spiritual knowledge.
Meaning: A composite being, both spiritual and worldly, may become a Master of spiritual truths that apply only to the composite state. These truths are the basic tenets upon which are built higher spiritual truths. One must master the basics before one may graduate to the higher levels.
Thoughts: What we know of spirit and spiritual truths is at the basic level. We know the things that apply to us mortals and our physical condition. What we know of these truths must be couched in parables, illustrations, parallels, examples, visual aids, etc. Until we can fully grasp these basic truths, the higher spiritual truths will remain out of reach. In other words, if the Masters of “A” cannot fully fathom, receive and embrace “A”, there is no hope they will ever level up to “B”.
Jesus informed Nicodemus that he was not the only one to espouse such doctrine when he said, “We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.”
Meaning: The spiritual beliefs of Jesus were not limited to Jesus.
Thoughts: This verse may reference a faction to which Jesus aligned his thinking, or of which Jesus authored. He may have been speaking of other local or worldwide individuals. He may have been obliquely referencing other historical spiritual advocates, or he may have admitted that other spiritual leaders, like himself, walked the Earth.
Speaking on the points of the faction of Nicodemus believing that Jesus was a teacher who came from God, able to perform miracles, and of the basic tenets of the law which should have been fully understood and implemented by the religious leaders, Jesus explained to Nicodemus that, as one standing in the future and revealing the past, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
Meaning: Multiple items that express, in a nutshell, the purpose, truth, and mission of Jesus.
Thoughts: As Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, sitting physically before him, he was speaking from his position in Heaven. Jesus was there, is there, always has been and always will be at the right hand of God. That is the complete circuit of truth. No man ever has or ever will ascend to Heaven (and that must include Enoch), but when a man is born again – that is, born of the spirit – then that spirit that is in him is Jesus, and it is Jesus who ascends to Heaven. The sole purpose and mission of Jesus coming into the world and of men being born anew is that God should not lose what is his. When Moses made and erected the brass serpent, it was in response to the many deaths throughout the whole people. The brass serpent was a focal point for faith in God and also for the individual's choice for God. As Jesus often said, 'your faith has made you whole'. Jesus one-upped what Moses did – he took it to a higher-level where the flesh was not saved but the spirit was. Jesus' sole purpose was to bring the faith that saves into the world. This 'light in a dark world' was both the person and message of Christ. Eternal life is for the spirit. People are spinning in a vicious cycle that ends in both physical and spiritual death. The mission's aim is to set men on a new path whereby the spirit is saved. Faith or spiritual rebirth is the point where men hitch a ride on a different cycle – one that does not end but goes round and round. Men are already on the wheel that ends in death – there is no need for judgment or condemnation – their choice of wheel is their condemnation. They know the light has been proffered – but they must make a deliberate choice for it or continue to perish. Instead, men seek validation of the choices they have already made. They wish not to be shown up or proven wrong, rather, they desire a pat on the back. They will not bring their choices up against the light because they are not only harmful to other individuals, they are anti-spiritual, anti-Jesus, anti-God. A choice in favor of the light, of Jesus, of God – wipes clean the slate of wrong-doing and right deeds are chosen and practiced. These are spiritual deeds that do not validate the individual so much as Christ in the individual.
Verses twenty-two through thirty-six. These are important, though usually downplayed points. The first and most important point is that Jesus began his public ministry as a Baptist. For a while, Jesus and his disciples remained in the land of Judaea. Jesus tarried with 'them', and baptized those people who came to him.
The online Encyclopaedia Britannica has this to say about the land of Judaea: Judaea, also spelled Judea, or Judah, Hebrew Yehudaḥ, the southernmost of the three traditional divisions of ancient Palestine; the other two were Galilee in the north and Samaria in the center. No clearly marked boundary divided Judaea from Samaria, but the town of Beersheba was traditionally the southernmost limit. The region presents a variety of geographic features, but the real core of Judaea was the upper hill country, known as Har Yehuda (“Hills of Judaea”), extending south from the region of Bethel (at present-day Ramallah) to Beersheba and including the area of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron.
The second most important point is that John was still baptizing when Jesus was baptizing. John baptized in Aenon, near Salim.
Bibleatlas.org/aenon.htm offers this about the location of Aenon: Now from John 3:22, 23, it appears that both Jesus and John were baptizing in Judea and their proximity to each other gave occasion to the remarks recorded in the 25th verse.
The third important point is that both John and Jesus baptizing in the same general location was an issue for some. More precisely, the question arose between John's disciples and the Jews – the Jews referencing religious leaders and doctors of the law. This latter group may have included priests, Rabbis, and members of the Sanhedrin. What is more important than the conversation that brought them to question John is the fact that, as with Jesus, this esteemed latter group addressed John by the title 'Rabbi'.
The issue that came up between the disciples of John and the Jews was that of 'purifying'. The Jews were a clean people. They were obsessed with ceremonial purification. This obsession went as far as how much water could be used in a Mikvah and what water source was permissible. This might explain, somewhat, why there were so many 'Jews' in attendance at the baptisms of John. The Jews who brought up the purification issue with the disciples of John were the same group found questioning John earlier, before Jesus was baptized.
Finally, the arguments and language used in the answers John gave is clear evidence that John and Jesus had been in communication about the core mission. They were both Rabbis and of the same faction. John was satisfied in the part he had played and was resigned that his part was coming to an end. Many of the same elements found in John's answers to the ritual and ceremonial purification issue may be found in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, but there is one curious statement that stands out from the rest – it is “He that has the bride is the bridegroom.”
There is little doubt that people, in general, were turning to Jesus rather than John. Fewer people were found in John's camp – possibly fewer disciples. John had to 'decrease' and Jesus had to 'increase'. John knew that Jesus was the son of God. In verse four, he said, “God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” This is possibly an oblique hint that all the rest of us have the same Spirit but by measure. To take the logic one step further, all non-believers who deliberately reject God and Jesus (the light), do so by rejecting the light of the son of God that has been placed in them by measure.
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