Born of the Spirit

John 7: 50 - 51

50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

Some passages of the Bible are too relevant to be preached just one time. John 3, the story of the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, is one of these.  The tradition says that Nicodemus died as a Jesus and as a martyr due to his faith, and the tradition mentions that Nicodemus was baptised in Pentecost. There is an apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus that appeared around the 4th or 5th century. The internal evidence of the Bible in John 7:50-51 shows Nicodemus defending Jesus against the pharisees and in John 19:39-42, Nicodemus participated in the preparation of Jesus' body previous be buried according to Jewish tradition.

When we think about being born of the Spirit, we must consider that it isn't something supranatural as reincarnation, nor is it something physical like an operation of the human body, nor is it a magical thing like a rabbit emerging from a top hat. It is necessary to avoid any misinterpretation about this important aspect of the Christian faith. Born of the Spirit is about spirituality, it's an expression of the spiritual life, which transcends the feeling and thoughts and connects with the divinity, it's also a deep seeking for the human being traying to achieve the communion with God and finally it's a journey, which means it's a pathway through which sanctification happens as a result of the actions of the Holy Spirit in us.

Nicodemus represents a tradition in the historical Jewish faith based on the accomplishment of rules and rituals with a devoted discipline. Also, Nicodemus represents the general believer's crisis in term of uncertainty and doubts about the reality and life, even crisis is useful for our lives because due it we eventually become seekers, and also Nicodemus represents all truth's seekers, people who needs find, needs verify, need to explore, needs check the world around looking for confirmation of the facts and the essence of the truth because the only way to find something is seeking it. The bible says: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When we see the passage in the gospel of John, we find the Jesus' attitude confronting to Nicodemus and through him to everyone who acts in the same way, it means with a spiritual crisis about the truth... no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit, says Jesus as a confrontation related with the evidence about His divine identity. In response to Nicodemus anguish and confusion, Jesus adds a strong argument saying: "You are Israel's teacher," ..." and do you not understand these things? And Jesus closed His allegation with Nicodemus showing him all the insufficiency of the human effort trying to understand God....how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things, even Nicodemus didn't respond to this allegation, we can infer his reaction and potential answer coming from inside of Nicodemus.

The consequence of the dialogue was a deeper connection between Jesus and Nicodemus in such a way that this passage was included in the Gospel. In the passage, Nicodemus looks confused, for example, when he affirms: Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him... Considering Nicodemus was an expert in the Jew religion and an authority for the Pharisees, his expression looks like a recognition of the authority of someone without the same erudition but with a divine power beyond his comprehension. Then, Nicodemus asks again, saying... How can someone be born when they are old? And, at that time, he looks totally confused; nevertheless, with all his experience and religious formation, he can not capture the essence of Jesus message.

Finally, Nicodemus concludes his interactions in the passage with a new confused question: How can this be? and through this question Nicodemus reflects all his feelings in terms of inability to interpreter the God's will in a different way than the rules. The passage closes with the Jesus' speech in which, and in a marvellous brief manner, Jesus develops the key essence of the Gospel pointing out specific powerful aspect of the Christian faith as the next: No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man, in here, Jesus is reinterpreting the scriptures in opposite to the pharisees tradition and proclaiming his own authority based in the accomplishment of the Old Testament promises. Also add the expression: So, the Son of Man must be lifted, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him...connecting the Jews traditions with his role as a mediator. Finally, Jesus closes saying: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, which is a reminder of the connection between the Father and the Son to deliver the salvation plan for humanity.

​Being a believer is an attitude; every time we face a crisis, we must keep our commitment to our deeper values, we must keep ourselves still believing, amid our personal faith's crisis and tribulations. Also, we can become truth seekers, people who read the bible, who explore the faith to find evidence of God's truth, not just to be informed, or to experience comfort, but to find the truth in its deeper expression. Doing that, we can help others, truth seekers,s to come to the Scriptures and to find the answer to their more personal concerns. This is also evangelism; it's about how to find and spread the truth of the gospel around us with the conviction and passion to inspire people around. In this way, we can renovate our mutual commitment as a congregation, believing in each other and disciples, we can keep ourselves as continuous learners and as people of faith who can celebrate the signs of the Holy Spirit in us.