John 3:1-8
“Unless one has been reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Now there was a man among the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He went to Jesus at night, and he said to him: “Rabbi, we know that you have arrived as a teacher from God. For no one would be able to accomplish these signs, which you accomplish, unless God were with him.” Jesus responded and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one has been reborn anew, he is not able to see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him: “How could a man be born when he is old? Surely, he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be reborn?”
Jesus responded: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one has been reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
You should not be amazed that I said to you: You must be born anew. The Spirit inspires where he wills. And you hear his voice, but you do not know where he comes from, or where he is going. So it is with all who are born of the Spirit.”
What do the Fathers say?
St John Chrysostom
This man appears also in the middle of the Gospel, making defense for Christ; for he says, Our law judges no man before it hear him. Again after the crucifixion he bestowed great care upon the burial of the Lord’s body: and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
And even now he was disposed towards Christ, but not as he ought, nor with proper sentiments respecting Him, for he was as yet entangled in Jewish infirmity. Wherefore he came by night, because he feared to do so by day.
Yet not for this did the merciful God reject or rebuke him, or deprive him of His instruction, but even with much kindness conversed with him and disclosed to him very exalted doctrines, enigmatically indeed, but nevertheless He disclosed them. For far more deserving of pardon was he than those who acted thus through wickedness.
– Rabbi, we know that You are a Teacher come from God: for no man can do the miracles that You do, except God be with him.
Nicodemus yet lingers below, has yet human thoughts concerning Him, and speaks of Him as of a Prophet, imagining nothing great from His miracles. We know, he says, that You are a Teacher come from God.
(Why then do you come by night and secretly, to Him that speaks the things of God, to Him who comes from God? Why do you not converse with Him openly? )But Jesus said nothing like this to him, nor did He rebuke him; for, says the Prophet, A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; He shall not strive nor cry (Isaiah 42:2-3; as quoted Matthew 12:19-20): and again He says Himself, I came not to condemn the world, but to save the world. (John 12:47)
-No man can do these miracles, except God be with him.
Still here Nicodemus speaks like the heretics, in saying, that He has a power working within Him, and has need of the aid of others to do as He did. What then says Christ? Observe His exceeding condescension. He refrained for a while from saying, I need not the help of others, but do all things with power, for I am the Very Son of God, and have the same power as My Father, because this would have been too hard for His hearer; for I say now what I am always saying, that what Christ desired was, not so much for a while to reveal His own Dignity, as to persuade men that He did nothing contrary to His Father.
And therefore in many places he appears in words confined by limits, but in His actions He does not so. For when He works a miracle, He does all with power, And everywhere we observe that His authority is great; for in His actions no one could find fault with what was done. How was it possible? Had His words not come to pass, nor been accomplished as He commanded, any one might have said that they were the commands of a madman; but since they did come to pass, the reality of their accomplishment stopped men’s mouths even against their will.
But with regard to His discourses, they might often in their insolence charge Him with madness. Wherefore now in the case of Nicodemus, He utters nothing openly, but by dark sayings leads him up from his low thoughts, teaching him, that He has sufficient power in Himself to show forth miracles; for that His Father begot Him Perfect and All-sufficient, and without any imperfection.
But let us see how He effects this. Nicodemus says, Rabbi, we know that You are a Teacher come from God, for no man can do the miracles that You do, except God be with him. He thought he had said something great when he had spoken thus of Christ. What then says Christ? To show that he had not yet set foot even on the threshold of right knowledge, nor stood in the porch, but was yet wandering somewhere without the palace, both he and whoever else should say the like, and that he had not so much as glanced towards true knowledge when he held such an opinion of the Only-Begotten, what says He?
-Verily, verily, I say unto you, Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.That is, Unless you are born again and receive the right doctrines, you are wandering somewhere outside, and are far from the Kingdom of heaven. But He does not speak so plainly as this. In order to make the saying less hard to bear, He does not plainly direct it at him, but speaks indefinitely, Unless a man be born again: all but saying, both you and any other, who may have such opinions concerning Me, are somewhere outside the Kingdom.
Now the Jews, if these words had been addressed to them, would have derided Him and departed; but Nicodemus shows here also his desire of instruction. And this is why in many places Christ speaks obscurely, because He wishes to rouse His hearers to ask questions, and to render them more attentive. For that which is said plainly often escapes the hearer, but what is obscure renders him more active and zealous. Now what He says, is something like this: If you are not born again, if you partake not of the Spirit which is by the washing of Regeneration, you can not have a right opinion of Me, for the opinion which you have is not spiritual, but carnal. Titus 3:5
But He did not speak thus, as refusing to confound one who had brought such as he had, and who had spoken to the best of his ability; and He leads him unsuspectedly up to greater knowledge, saying, Unless a man be born again. The word again, in this place, some understand to mean from heaven, others, from the beginning. It is impossible, says Christ, for one not so born to see the Kingdom of God; in this pointing to Himself, and declaring that there is another beside the natural sight, and that we have need of other eyes to behold Christ.
Therefore mark, my brethren, what answer this man who came to Jesus by night makes. Although he came to Jesus, yet because he came by night, he still speaks from the darkness of his own flesh. He understands not what he hears from the Lord, understands not what he hears from the Light, which lights every man that comes into this world. John 1:9 Already has the Lord said to him, Unless a man be born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus says unto Him, How can a man be born again when he is old? The Spirit speaks to him, and he thinks of the flesh. He thinks of his own flesh, because as yet he thinks not of Christ’s flesh.
St Augustine
Therefore mark, my brethren, what answer this man who came to Jesus by night makes. Although he came to Jesus, yet because he came by night, he still speaks from the darkness of his own flesh. He understands not what he hears from the Lord, understands not what he hears from the Light, which lights every man that comes into this world. John 1:9 Already has the Lord said to him, Unless a man be born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus says unto Him, How can a man be born again when he is old? The Spirit speaks to him, and he thinks of the flesh.
This man knew but one birth, that from Adam and Eve; that which is from God and the Church he knew not yet: he knew only those parents that bring forth to death, knew not yet the parents that bring forth to life;
Whilst there are two births, then, he understood only one. One is of the earth, the other of heaven; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit; one of mortality, the other of eternity; one of male and female, the other of God and the Church.
But these two are each single; there can be no repeating the one or the other. Rightly did Nicodemus understand the birth of the flesh; so understand also the birth of the Spirit. What did Nicodemus understand? Can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Thus, whosoever shall tell you to be spiritually born a second time, answer in the words of Nicodemus, Can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? I am already born of Adam, Adam cannot beget me a second time. I am already born of Christ, Christ cannot beget me again. As there is no repeating from the womb, so neither from baptism.