Nicodemus was impressed with the signs that Jesus performed and hence believed that Jesus was a teacher who came from God with divine power (3:2). In this sense, he represents those who believed in Jesus after seeing his signs (2:23). At the initial stage, Nicodemus had only partial understanding of Jesus (cf. 4:19; 9:30–32, 36).
Jesus knew Nicodemus’s imperfect knowledge and equally his inner thirst for heavenly reality. Therefore he tells him, by using the phrase “Truly, truly, I say to you,” that only those who are born from above can experience heavenly life under God’s rule (3:3). The Greek word anōthen used has two meanings: “again” and “from above” (3:31; 19:11, 23; cf. 8:23). Both meanings complement each other, for the experience of being born again (“new birth”) comes from God who is above (1:13). The idea of becoming children of God by a new birth (1:12–13) is developed in 3:3 as the prerequisite to enter the kingdom of God (cf. Matt 18:3). The new community of Jesus is a community that comes under God’s rule by experiencing new birth from above.
The same idea of being born from above is explained by Jesus in 3:5, after Nicodemus expressed his non-understanding of birth from above by his question, “How can a person be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” (3:4). John uses the literary technique of non-understanding so that the heavenly truth may be revealed clearly. John 3:3 and 3:5 are mutually interpreting. The word “seeing” in 3:3 is replaced by “entering” and the word “from above” by “of water and Spirit” in 3:5. “Seeing” in John means both physical sight and spiritual perception. It denotes “experiencing” or “tasting” (3:36; 8:51, 53) divine life by the power of God’s Spirit. Thus, “seeing” and “entering” are identical in meaning. However, “entering” emphasizes the act of coming into the realm of God’s reign and see God as King. What is the meaning of “water and spirit” which interprets “from above”?
The main issue of interpretation concerns whether the term “water” refers to a baptism of repentance or to the Jewish proselyte baptism or to Christian baptism. Almost all scholars agree that “spirit” here means the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which brings regeneration (see Ezek 36:25–27, where “water” symbolizes the Spirit of God). That water baptism is a prerequisite for entering the kingdom of God is found neither in the NT nor in any other Christian writings. Even the Baptist’s baptism is a symbol of repentance only and is superseded by the coming of Christ, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (1:26–27, 33). In John’s Gospel, “water” is mainly used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit, who will lead the receipient to eternal life (John 4:14–15; 7:37–39; cf. Ezek 47:9). One can say that in 3:5 water and Spirit are used synonymously, one being the symbol and the other reality. It is the Spirit that enables one to be reborn into the family of God and thus to come under the rule of God. The meaning of 3:3 and 3:5 finally is merged into the phrase “born of the Spirit” (3:8).3 Why, then, does John write “water and spirit” if both refer to the Holy Spirit as the source of rebirth? By placing both the terms together, John stresses the twofold function of the Holy Spirit: life-giving and empowering. Both are related experiences in the realm of God’s rule.
John introduces another dramatic dualism: a life controlled by the flesh against the life controlled by the Holy Spirit (3:6). Anyone who is not born of the Spirit lives still in the realm of flesh, that is, under the rule of the fallen human nature that is prone to sin, and therefore exhibits the deeds of the flesh (cf. Gal 5:19–21). In contrast, those who are born of God by the Spirit exhibit the works of the Spirit. They partake in the divine nature and show divine qualities (cf. Gal 5:22–23).
After exhorting Nicodemus not to marvel at his teaching on new birth (3:7), Jesus clarifies that the origin and work of the Spirit within a person is imperceptible to anyone who lives in the realm of flesh, just like the origin and direction of the blowing wind cannot be perceived (John 3:8; cf. Eccl 11:5), because spirit and flesh are opposed to each other (Gal 5:17). What a natural person can see is the fruit of new life manifested in a person who is born of the Spirit, but no one can comprehend the mode of the Spirit’s work within that person. With astonishment, Nicodemus questioned, “How can these things happen?” (3:9). Jesus rebuked him for his lack of understanding, although he was a teacher of the Law in Israel (3:10). Nicodemus must have known about regeneration by the Spirit from the OT itself, which speaks of the Spirit’s work that gives a new heart and life (Ps 51:10; Isa 44:3; Ezek 11:19–20; 36:26–27; Joel 2:28–29).
By using the phrase “truly, truly, I say to you,” Jesus affirms, “We speak what we know and testify to what we have seen but you do not receive our testimony” (3:11). The plural pronouns “we” and “you” show that Jesus is speaking as the representative of the new covenant community, by treating Nicodemus as the one among the Jewish authorities who rejected the church’s testimony to Jesus. First, the sharp conflict between Jesus’ community, which was testifying to Jesus, and the synagogue authorities, who did not accept their testimony, in the late first century was the re-enactment of the rejection of Jesus’ testimony by the same authorities in his lifetime. Secondly, Jesus’ affirmation betrays the dualistic tendency of the Gospel to divide people into two opposing groups: insiders (those who believe in Jesus) and outsiders (those who do not accept Jesus).
Jesus rebukes the unbelieving authorities by questioning how they can understand and believe in him if he speaks of heavenly things directly, while they do not understand his message of God’s kingdom spoken in earthly terms such as rebirth and wind (3:12). After this question, Nicodemus disappears from the scene until 7:45–52 and 19:38–42. However, the subjects of Jesus’ dialogue, such as believing, experiencing divine life, and a heaven-earth dualism, link 3:1–12 with 3:13–21, and therefore it seems more probable that 3:13–21 is a part of Jesus’ discourse to Nicodemus.
Jesus’ monologue (3:13–21)
Jesus now teaches, “No one has ascended to heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” (3:13).4 The statement that no human has ascended to heaven seems to be a polemic against the claims of some Jews, including some rabbis, that they had ascended to heaven and had seen God’s glory. However, the emphasis lies on the descent of the Son of Man, Jesus. The Son of Man was pre-existent with God in heaven before he descended by incarnation to earth (John 3:13; cf. Eph 4:9–10) with a mission of revealing God in his glory and to give heavenly life to all who believe in him (cf. John 1:50–51; 3:31; 6:32, 38, 42, 46, 50–51, 58, 62; 8:23; 9:33). At the time when John’s Gospel was written, the “Son of Man” was understood as a heavenly figure, the “Elect One” or Christ (see comment on 1:51 for a study on “the Son of Man”).
However, Jesus speaks of the divine necessity for the Son of Man to be lifted up (3:14). The verb “lifted up” (hupsaō) in John has a double meaning: to be exalted and to be glorified (cf. Isa 52:13 LXX). The verb is connected to the Servant’s glorification through his vicarious suffering and death (Isa 52:13—53:12). Similarly, both meanings in John refer to one event: Jesus’ death on the cross, which is an act of being lifted up and exalted/glorified (12:23–24, 32–33). In the glorification of the Son of Man on the cross the Father reveals his glory (13:31–32). Both Jesus’ death and ascension after resurrection are merged together in the verb “lifted up.”
In order to rectify the Israelites’ sin that caused poisonous snakes to bite them to death (Num 21:5–9), Moses made a fiery serpent with bronze and set it on a pole so that anyone bitten by a snake could look up to the bronze serpent and live. Similarly, the Johannine Jesus is the one who, in accordance with God’s plan, must be lifted up on a pole, the cross, so that everyone