In evangelical Christianity, you often hear people asking whether you are “born again.” For those of us who are a part of that world, we know more or less what is being asked. But for some people, it might be quite confusing or even abrasive. If you have watched The Chosen series, there is an excellent episode where Jesus meets with Nicodemus in the quiet of the night and discusses what this truly means. Some of the most dramatic encounters with Jesus are those that happen in the quiet. I want to invite you into such an encounter with Jesus as we explore this enigmatic expression in John 3:1–17.

An Encounter with Jesus in the Night

The New Testament often portrays the Pharisees as legalistic, hypocritical, and prideful, who frequently opposed Jesus. But not all Pharisees were like that. Some of them were quite sincere. Think of Gamaliel in the book of Acts (Acts 5:34–39), and the Pharisees who warned Jesus that Herod wanted to kill him (Luke 13:31).

And then we have the Pharisee Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was no doubt a respected and pious man with distinguished authority as the teacher of Israel. In other words, he was a big shot in his circles.

Nicodemus meets with Jesus at night—which tells you a lot. It symbolizes the darkness before the inbreaking of the light, which is a typical theme in John’s gospel. Practically, he chose to meet Jesus in the evening probably because he was afraid of being found out by his peers; that he was meeting with a “rogue” religious figure who was causing quite a stir among the religious elite.

Nicodemus calls Jesus “Rabbi,” meaning “Teacher,” which was an honorific title that carried spiritual authority. Nicodemus was a senior teacher and scholar of the law, yet he shows extraordinary humility when he calls Jesus “Rabbi,” recognizing that he is an excellent teacher of Scripture, he has authority when interpreting Scripture, and he has disciples of his own.

As if speaking for others, Nicodemus says, “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God.” (John 3:2b; NIV). Notice the third-person plural, “we know.” Nicodemus probably wasn’t the only one who recognized that Jesus was sent from God, and he may not have been the only Pharisee to do so either. After all, no one can perform such signs or miracles unless God is truly with them. Nicodemus doesn’t fully understand yet, and he doesn’t yet have faith, but he is noticing the right things and making the right connections.

Born from Above: A Spiritual Rebirth

Jesus responds (quite abruptly, I might add), “Unless you are ‘born again,’ you cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3; paraphrase). Never mind entering the kingdom; no, you can’t even see it if you are not born again, Jesus says. You and I have heard the expression “born again” many times. But imagine someone like Nicodemus hearing it for the first time. It sounds ridiculous! And he is quite right to ask, “How can someone be born again when they are old? … Surely, they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (v. 4; NIV). Nicodemus was relieved when he heard Jesus’s response (and I’m sure his mother would have been too).

Considering the Greek phrase in John 3:3, γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, it could mean either “born again” or “born from above.” This is how I understand it: Jesus likely spoke Aramaic with Nicodemus, and the phrase he used would have been “born again” because that’s how Nicodemus responds, although we don’t have an Aramaic record. Think of the word “spring”—it can mean a source of water or to leap. Something like this is going on in Greek. John, who is writing, is taking advantage of the dual meaning to bring across a theological message. Later in the same chapter, in verse 31, Jesus uses “above” in “He who comes from above (ἄνωθεν) is above all.” (John 3:31; NIV). Given the literary context, it seems that Nicodemus understands it as “born again,” but Jesus means “born from above.” Either way, the point is the same. It’s a spiritual rebirth.

Jesus responds to Nicodemus’s initial concern: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” In verse 5, Jesus moves from seeing the Kingdom of God to entering it. I once heard a preacher say, “See, the water refers to your first birth when your mother’s water broke, and the reference to the Spirit is your second birth.” Well, it’s certainly creative, I’ll give him that, but Jesus is referencing Ezekiel 36:25–27 which reads, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities …  And I will put my Spirit in you…”

Now it begins to make sense. It’s not about being born again; it’s about being born from above or born from the Spirit. It’s a supernatural act of God—it’s not a work of man. Think of it as a spiritual birth, where God places His Spirit within you and washes you clean from all your sins. This is about transformation!

There is a physical birth where flesh gives birth to flesh—Jesus says that’s when your mother gives birth to you—and there is a spiritual birth, where the Spirit gives birth to spirit. This is when you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit—only the Spirit can produce spirit (John 3:6).

Nicodemus is still confused. Yet Jesus is surprised: “Surely you should understand—you are Israel’s master teacher!” (Verses 9–10; paraphrase). One would have expected Nicodemus to have recognized the themes in the prophet Ezekiel. However, there is a much deeper problem, and it’s not an intellectual one—his ignorance reveals that he and his fellow religious leaders fail to believe Jesus’s words. They were difficult to accept. Jesus used very earthly language (like birth) and yet they did not believe. Imagine if Jesus spoke of heavenly things—the deep counsels of God—how would Nicodemus understand those?!

Jesus makes a striking statement: He says that no one has ascended into heaven except the one who comes from there, referring to himself. By this, Jesus was demonstrating that his testimony is authoritative, true and can be trusted. Most scholars understand this to mean that no one has gone to heaven and returned with full, authoritative revelation about it. Jesus provided the bridge between heaven and earth because he is the God-man.

Concluding Thoughts

While some might use the expression “born again,” and others, like me, prefer “born from above,” the real issue is not terminology but transformation by the Holy Spirit. Whatever words we choose, the point of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus is clear: we must be reborn by the Spirit. Like Nicodemus, no matter how learned we are, we need one-on-one meetings with Jesus in the quiet of the night, so to speak—moments where we have a life-changing encounter with Him. It is in those quiet encounters that we discover not only who Jesus is—but that we truly are born of the Spirit.

Notes

*Image from The Chosen, directed by Dallas Jenkins.

**This blog has been edited for grammar, clarity, and readability using AI-assisted tools. The core content, theological insights, and personal reflections remain my original work.

Disclaimer: The views presented in this blog are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of SATS.