97. Note also Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4. See chapter 5 in this book.
4
Rebirth
Historical perspectives
The pattern which is recognizable in the Prologue—a movement from the universal to the specifically Christian—reappears in a number of other episodes throughout the Gospel.98 An obvious example is the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus (3:1–21). The figure of Nicodemus can be interpreted in two ways: On the one hand he symbolizes “man as he is”; cf. the use of “man” (Greek: anthrōpos) in v. 1. On the other hand he is a communal symbolic figure representing those Jews who have some sympathy for Jesus but who nevertheless hesitate to join him.99
The Figure of Nicodemus
a. Nicodemus—a symbol of “man as he is.” The first of these interpretations puts the emphasis on the existential and individual aspect. Nicodemus is described as the thoughtful seeker of truth. He symbolizes “man as he is,” in need of an entirely new origin for his salvation and yet unable to see the possibility of it.100 In this view, Nicodemus’ need, and the transformation that is offered to him, is essentially an inner and individual one.
Two things are characteristic for religious seekers. First, they are living “at night,” a term that has a double meaning. It has a literal aspect denoting the fearfulness and insecurity of Nicodemus, and it has a symbolic aspect denoting his lack of understanding. The discourse in John 3 is held together by an inclusion, beginning with Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night and ending on the theme that people have to leave the darkness and come into the light (vv. 19–21)—probably a reference to 1:5. The note that Nicodemus comes “at night” is repeated in 19:39. This suggests that he does not walk in the light.
Second, a religious seeker will often be content with a “teacher.” In v. 2 Nicodemus addresses Jesus as follows: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God.” A teacher is a person who helps us to a better understanding of our existence and guides us to the way we should follow.
b. Nicodemus as representing a group. Recent studies have opened up the possibility of seeing in Nicodemus something more than just “man as he is.” Various aspects of the text support the interpretation that he occupies the role of a communal symbolic figure. First, Nicodemus speaks to Jesus in the plural, and Jesus likewise addresses him in the plural, e.g., “We know . . .” (3:2), “You people must be born again . . .” (3:7; NRSV: “You must . . .”). In vv.11–12 there is an abrupt switching from the dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus to the writer/reader relationship. Here it is even more evident that the Johannine community is speaking to its opponents, e.g., “We speak of what we know and testify to what we have sent and you do not receive our testimony” (3:11).
Second, most scholars agree that Nicodemus also stands for a specific group, though they disagree on its character. Nicodemus is known from two other scenes: 7:45–52 and 19:38–42. But there are contradictory signals in John’s description. Some interpreters emphasize his characterization as one who comes to Jesus “at night” (3:2 and 19:39). “Nicodemus appears as a man of inadequate faith and inadequate courage, and as such represents a group that the author wishes to characterize in this way.”101
Others think that Nicodemus develops as a character. When he first meets Jesus he is afraid and does not understand at all (3:11), but later we see him speaking up indirectly for Jesus to the Pharisees (7:50). His final appearance might be seen as an illustration of the words of Jesus in 12:33–34: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself . . .” Nicodemus comes forward publicly after the crucifixion to bury Jesus (19:39). He is linked to Joseph of Arimathea, who has been a secret disciple of Jesus “for fear of the Jews,” but who in asking for the body of Jesus, is now making his faith public, 19:38.102
Whether or not Nicodemus represents the “secret Christian Jews” or the “Crypto-Christians,” there is little doubt that we are dealing here with a borderline group. And it is interesting to notice that the stories in John 2:14—4:42 are all about just such socially important groups in the Johannine community: first the unbelieving Jews (2:14–22), then Jews who had some sympathy for Jesus or “secret Christian Jews” (2:23—3:21), then followers of John the Baptist (3:22–26) and finally the Samaritans (4:1–42).
The Dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus
The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus illustrates the interplay between the human religious quest and the response of the Gospel. The dialogue focuses on the meaning of “begetting” from on high, as can be seen from the context. Here we must look at the structure of 3:1–21, which may be divided in two parts.
In the first part it is argued that begetting from above through the Spirit is necessary for entrance into the Kingdom of God—natural birth is insufficient (vv. 2–8). In vv. 2–3 the fact of begetting is illustrated. In the second part the point is that the begetting is made possible only when the Son has ascended to the Father—and it is offered only to those who believe in Jesus (vv. 9–21). This is another way of saying that begetting through the Spirit can come about only as a result of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.103 The structure of the text is as follows:
1. Introduction (v. 1)
2. The first question and answer: the fact of begetting (vv. 2–3)
3. The second question and answer: the how of begetting (vv. 4–8)
4. The third question and answer: Rebirth is only possible due to the ascension of Christ on the cross—which at the same is the sacrifice of love (vv. 9–21).
Nicodemus’ opening statement looks like an assertion: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God” (v. 2). But it is more than this; it is Nicodemus’ quest for salvation. The following dialogue indicates that Jesus takes Nicodemus seriously in his honest search for the truth, even when he is correcting him at certain decisive points.
In his first response Jesus states the conditions for entering into the Kingdom of God: “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (v. 3).This statement shows that Jesus does not settle for merely fulfilling Nicodemus’ expectations. He is not like any other rabbi; he is the teacher who reveals the true character of God. And his message, the good news about the Kingdom of God, is not just a fulfilling of the religious quest. God’s kingdom is not a prolongation of human longings, it is about a totally new beginning.
Understandably, Nicodemus is unable to make sense of how “man can be born again,” so Jesus elaborates his response by using metaphors. His point is that an existence based on that which belongs to this world—“what is born of the flesh is flesh. . . .”—is fundamentally alien to itself and is contrasted with an existence that has its origin in God and his word: “What is born of the Spirit is spirit” (v. 6). Flesh and spirit are contrasted in v.6, just as begetting in an earthly sense is contrasted with begetting from above. But the contrast between flesh and spirit has nothing to do with a contrast between material and spiritual, as presupposed in the gnostic distrust of the material world as such. “Flesh refers to man as he is born into the world, and in this state he has something both of the material and of the spiritual, as Gen ii 7 insists. The contrast between flesh and Spirit is that . . . between man as he is and man as Jesus can make him by giving him a holy Spirit.”104
According to John 3 participation in God’s new order is not possible through ancestry and circumcision; it is made possible only through the Spirit. In v. 8 John uses an analogy which involves a play on words. Both in Aramaic and Greek the same word means “spirit,” “breath,” and “wind.” And who can control the wind or say whence it comes and whither it goes? The breath of life is sovereign and supremely free. Spirit moves among us like the wind, entirely free of human control.