ARE YOU BORN AGAIN?
“Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, 2 who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” (John 3:1-4)
Yeshua’s words were sometimes subtle yet always direct and profoundly simple. What many people struggled to comprehend was that He established His greatest miracle from the inside out. He called it being ‘born again.’
The concept of being ‘born again’ was an entirely Jewish one that became embedded in various areas of life. People used the term ‘born again’ in six different ways:
1. When a Gentile converted to Judaism and was baptised: “The baptismal water (Mikveh) was referred to as the womb of the world, and as a convert came out of the water it was considered a new birth separating him from the pagan world. As the convert came out of these waters his status was changed and he was referred to as “a little child just born” or “a child of one day.” (Yeb. 22a; 48b; 97b)
2. When an individual was crowned king.
3. At age 13 when a Jewish boy embraced God’s covenant at his Bar Mitzvah.
4. When an individual married.
5. When an individual became a rabbi.
6. When an individual became the head of a rabbinical school.
The fact that Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was saying, a member of the Sanhedrin who came to Him at night under cover of darkness, is at first glance and that Jesus was introducing another layer to the existing six references just mentioned, a category that was entirely new and radical. It qualified entry into the Kingdom of Heaven for the ‘whosoever’, for all those who would embrace Yeshua as their Messiah and Lord; the One who claimed to be the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Yeshua introduced Nicodemus to a revolutionary concept:
“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved (born again) through Him. 18 Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation];” (John 3:16-18)
No wonder Nicodemus was initially confused! Scripture reveals how he later became a follower of Yeshua and entered into the fullness of a new life with new beginnings. (John 19:39; Luke 23:40 – 24:35)
Yeshua alone can change our lives from the inside-out and make all things new. This was His radical declaration to Nicodemus in their earnest discussion together. No-one can become half born again, it is all or nothing, ‘lock, stock and barrel.’
Raphael ben Levi
www.rogerlenk.co.za
