Difference between revisions of "John 3:6-10"

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The New Testament > John > Chapter 3

Questions

Verse 6

• How can we relate John 1:14 to what Jesus says here? What about John 6:63? Does Gen 2:7 have anything to do with what Jesus is teaching here? 2 Cor 4:18? (See also Job 10:9-12 and Job 33:4.)

Verses 7-8

• Thou vs. y'all. Why does Jesus use the plural of “you” rather than its singular in verse 7? (We don’t distinguish the two, but Greek does.) Why does he switch back to the singular “you” in verse 8? How are the ideas of these two verses connected?

• New lineage? We can understand the phrase “be born again” to mean “get a new lineage or genealogy.” What is the genealogy of one born of the Spirit?

• Spirit and wind. In both Aramaic (the everyday language of Palestine during Jesus’ time) and Greek (the language in which the gospel of John was written), the word translated “Spirit” can also be translated “breath” or “wind.” It can refer to the breath of God, given to Adam (Gen 2:7). What does it mean to say that the wind/Spirit/breath goes where it desires or wills? How does the desire of the Spirit differ from the desire of the flesh? How is the nature of the Spirit’s desire relevant to the rebirth that Jesus says must occur?

• Nicodemus' beliefs. What is Jesus teaching Nicodemus? How does that teaching compare to what Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, believed? How does that teaching apply to us? Compare what Jesus says in verse 8 with Eccl 11:5.

Verses 9-10

• "How can these things be?" When Nicodemus says “How can these things be?” he is asking “How can this happen?” or “How are these things possible?” What does he find astonishing?

• Teacher and teachee. The word translated “master” might be better translated “teacher.” It is a form of the same word translated “disciple.” The relation between the two words in Greek is comparable to “teacher” and “teachee” in English. Nicodemus has addressed Jesus as a teacher, taking the part of a disciple. Is Jesus doing the same thing here? If not, why does he point out that Nicodemus is a teacher? If he is, why and what does he mean? Where does Jesus suppose that Nicodemus would have learned the things that Jesus is teaching? Does Jesus believe that the teachings he has just rehearsed to Nicodemus are hidden or new? What criticism is Jesus making of Nicodemus by calling him a teacher and asking the question of verse 10? To what does “these things” refer?

• New birth. The idea that the metaphor of birth describes conversion seems to have been part of Jewish thinking at the time of Jesus, as these two sayings from first- or second-century Judaism show: “When someone brings a man under the wings of the Shekinah [i.e., converts him to Judaism], it is counted as though he had created and fashioned and formed him” (from Midrash on the Song of Solomon); also: “A proselyte just converted is like a child just born” (from the Babylonian Talmud; see Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 1:666.) Nicodemus would surely have known this. So what would he have found surprising in Jesus’ teaching? Is it the same thing that the Pharisees who went to John the Baptist found surprising (Matt 3:7, Luke 3:8, Luke 3:8)?

• Astonished at miracles. We can infer from verse 2 that Nicodemus marveled at—was astonished at—the miracles that Jesus performed (cf. Matt 8:27; Matt 9:8, 33; Matt 15:31; Matt 21:20; Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26, Luke 9:43), but Jesus said nothing about that. Here, however, he tells Nicodemus not to marvel: "don’t marvel at the teaching that you must be born again." Why shouldn’t he be astonished at that teaching? Does the story of the tempation of Christ (Matthew 4) perhaps help explain why Jesus has nothing to say about Nicodemus’s astonishment at the miracles but responds to his astonishment at the teaching about spiritual rebirth?

Lexical notes

Verse 6

• "Flesh is flesh." This may just mean "don't set your heart on the world," or this may refer to genealogical superiority as expressed in Matt 3:9 and Luke 3:8. (See also the cross-references in the questions above.)

Verse 8

• Spirit and wind. The word-play between "spirit" and "wind" (see question above) also seems to be used in Eccl 11:4ff, Isa 44:3-4, and Ezek 37:1-14. The passage in Ecclesiastes seems to emphasize the necessity of faith in the face of uncertainty: a farmer who waits for the perfect moment to plant so the wind won't blow away the seed, may never plant the seed because he is always waiting for the perfect moment!

Exegesis

Verse 8

The wind-spirit word play here may be emphasizing the unpredictability of the Spirit, the idea that no matter how much we study and think and plan, if we are truly to be born again, we must be responsive in the very moment the Spirit calls us, to whatever it calls us to do, no matter how absurd that call may be (e.g. to sacrifice our favorite son like Abraham, or to cut off someone’s head like Nephi, etc.). This seems to complement nicely Paul’s phrase “the law/letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life” in 2 Cor 3:6. There may also be significance to the fact that the Spirit is heard and not seen, since looking for signs is usually set in contrast to those who hearken to the Spirit and exercise faith (see, for example, Alma 32:17ff).

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