John 3:3-6 Exegesis

The Gospel of John, also known as the Fourth Gospel, has no distinct author but is presumed to be written by John the beloved disciple. The author writes in several different forms and styles depending on the context in this book. In chapter three verses three through six the author writes in narrative consisting mostly of dialogue that recounts the meeting between Jesus and the Pharisee Nicodemus. Chapter three relates to the other chapters surrounding it in that Jesus uses talking about being born in the spirit to link the chapter before talking of men to the next chapter where he references himself as the way to eternal living. This passage links man to eternal living and divinity. The passage of chapter three verses three through six correlates with the thesis of John in that it exemplifies the importance of having spiritual birth and allowing the entrance of the Holy Spirit which was to descend later. This links Jesus to eternal life and to the thesis so people will believe in Him and have eternal life. These verses also support and point to validity in the rest of the Gospel; Jesus’ pre-ministry time, His time of works and signs and ministry teaching, and in His death followed by resurrection

In verse three there is a first in that there is an intimate moment between Jesus and a Pharisee in a one on one situation. The reference to it being night serves two purposes. The first is quite logical, the Pharisees study at night which would make sense. The second is in reference to the darkness that clouds Nicodemus in his actual understanding of God and how to live. In speaking with Jesus at night Nicodemus is seeking instruction in the way of life (Morris 188).

Verse three of John chapter three goes as follows, “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (ESV Study Bible). Jesus was intending for Nicodemus that even though he was a religious leader and Pharisee that Nicodemus need to experience being born again, showing he hadn’t yet (Borchert 171). Morris states this in a very clear way: “Anyone who would enter the kingdom of God must be born in a radically new fashion, and this second birth is from heaven” (189). There is some discrepancy as to the words “born again” and the intended meaning it has. The two translations that “born again” come from are to be born again or to be born from above. John liked to use words throughout his writing with double meanings and this seems to fit that style as well (Morris 188). While one reference would seem to make perfect sense as to being born again in the Spirit, or the other in that we need to be born again from heaven which references the Spirit as well; this ties the two different possible meanings together, making very good sense.

Moving on to verse four of chapter three John writes this, “Nicodemus said to him, ‘how can a man be born when he is old’? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (ESV Study Bible). There are several possibilities as to why Nicodemus asks this question. One is that he is indeed blind to what Jesus is referring to and can only ask what seems logical. Nicodemus shows that he does not understand the spiritual intent Jesus had in his response. His thought process was so narrow-minded that he could only focus on the literal. This also would have been the usual or normal and expected response from most people in this time (Borchert 172). With Nicodemus’ extensive knowledge in the Old Testament he should have been able to understand what Jesus was referencing (Barton, Comfort and Veerman 55). A second possibility as to why Nicodemus asks this question is because he did so intentionally. He very well could have done this because of his loss in dignity realizing what Jesus was referring to and Nicodemus not following how he could fulfill what Jesus is speaking about. While this is the less likely of the two it is still a possibility. Nicodemus could have been one of the Pharisees who believed in Jesus but kept it to himself so not to bring a stir to the group of Pharisees (Morris 190).

In verse five there is a repetition of how Jesus starts off verse three in chapter three of the Gospel of John which says, “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (ESV Study Bible). This verse is one of some great controversy and debate among theologians and scholars. One part that does not have much controversy though is at the end when Jesus mentions the kingdom of God. This is the only time in the Gospel of John that these words are used, referencing the kingdom in a way that describes and shows that God’s kingdom involves the current reign than a distant or separate realm (Morris 189).

The controversy comes in during the middle section (“…unless one is born of water and the Spirit…”. There are four different ways that scholars interpret this section. The first possible meaning of this section is that Jesus was using the word “water” in reference to a literal birth and human flesh through amniotic fluid or even possibly semen. While this is possible it is quite a stretch since throughout the Bible water is associated with the Spirit and not with human flesh or humanly birth. The water and Spirit correlation leads to the second possible meaning of this section of verse five. Some say that the two words are used to complement each other and are used as a metaphor to mean spiritual seed. This also is a possibility but once again not the most accurate with the normal usages of the words. The third possibility of this passage is that the water is referring to baptism accompanied by the Spirit in spiritual regeneration. While at the time of John’s writing of this Gospel there was a decent amount of baptisms going on, there weren’t really many at all during the time this occurred between Jesus and Nicodemus. The fourth and final accepted possibility is that the words “water and Spirit” form a unified concept to “express the eschatological renewal that was promised back in the Old Testament” (Burge 115-116). This seems like the most complete and holistic response to the possible intended meaning of this passage but it still remains unclear and of little certainty.

The controversy clears up in verse six of chapter three in John’s Gospel for it is quite direction. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (ESV Study Bible). Verse six wraps up this section by emphasizing the divine nature of the Spirit with the human nature of the flesh. This can also link back to verse five to help with its decoding and create a more complete understanding of what is being said.

The two words chosen for my word study are water and spirit. The word water’s transliterated word is “hudor”. There are six different ways this word is used. They are: of water in rivers, in fountains, in pools; of the water of the deluge; of water in any of the earth's repositories; of water as the primary element, out of and through which the world that was before the deluge, arose and was compacted; of the waves of the sea; and figuratively used to mean of many peoples. Of all of these definitions the one(s) that fit best with the possibilities for John 3:5 are the ones that refer to water in its normal form scientifically known as H₂O. This is probably why this passage is so highly scrutinized because this type of definition seems to have no reference to what Jesus was referring to.

The second word I did a word study on is the word “spirit. The word spirit’s transliterated word is “pneuma”. There are a plethora of definitions for this word. The ones of greatest use are in reference to the Holy Spirit, part of the Trinity, a spirit in general referencing something that brings animation to a body, a spirit higher than man but below God (angels, demons, etc.), or in reference to wind or the movement of air. The most common form used is in reference to the Holy Spirit which is the case for this set of verses as well (both verse 5 and verse 6). This seems to make most sense because Jesus shows through his speech the difference between what is normal here on earth such as water or flesh and what the difference is in the spiritual realm.

The things found most interesting or significant were on two different extremes. The first extremes involve the lack of knowledge of Nicodemus. While he more than likely could not have expected to receive the types of answers he did. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and very knowledgeable in the Scriptures. It would have seemed that he would be the one that could have figured out who Jesus was and the things he was referencing among prophesies and the descriptions the Old Testament has in regards to God as well as the coming Messiah, Jesus. The second extreme is the boldness of Jesus’ answers. To go into a setting and give those types of in-depth and metaphoric answers was not easy as it can be assumed Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand what He was saying while not weakening the content in which He was sharing.

Some practical information that comes from this text involves taking it to heart first before putting it into practice. It is not an easy and simple commitment to be born again although it sounds like it. This takes a renewal of self and a complete one-hundred and eighty degree turn in lifestyle and commitment. Once born of the Spirit no longer are you your own person, but now a child and servant of God, doing His will for your life.

Works Cited

Barton, Bruce B., et al. Life Application Bible Commentary: John. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Borchert, Gerald L. The New American Commentary: John 1-11. Unknown-United States of America: Broadmand & Holman Publishers, 1996.

Burge, Gary M. The NIV Application Commentary: John. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

ESV Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008.

Kysar, Robert. Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: John. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John Revised. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.