John 3:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Those who raise such questions will neither learn the "how" nor remain within Orthodoxy. So Nicodemus, in perplexity, asks about the manner.

He understood that what was said applied to him also. Therefore he is troubled, wavers, and falls into difficulty.

He had come to Christ as to a man, but he hears something above man, something no one had ever heard before. On one side he is raised to the height of the teaching offered.

On the other, he is surrounded by darkness and does not know where to stand. He is pulled this way and that, and falls away from faith.

Therefore he continues to present it as impossible, so as to draw Him into a clearer explanation of the teaching. "Can he," he says, "enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

Do you see how ridiculously a man speaks when he subjects spiritual things to his own notions? He is as though in delirium and drunkenness as soon as he begins to examine what has been said beyond what is pleasing to God.

He does not receive it in the simplicity of faith. He hears of spiritual birth, but does not think spiritually.

He lowers what has been said to the humiliation of the flesh, and brings so great and lofty a teaching under the natural order of things. Therefore he devises ridiculous questions and perplexities.

For this reason Paul says that "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Cor 2:14). Nevertheless Nicodemus even after this preserves reverence for Christ.

He did not laugh at His words, but, considering the matter impossible, remained silent. Two things were incomprehensible to him: such a birth and the Kingdom.

Among the Jews even the name of such a birth and such a Kingdom had never been heard. For the present, however, Nicodemus pauses at the first, since this subject most struck his mind.

Knowing this, let us not test divine mysteries with our mind. Let us not bring them under the order of ordinary things among us, nor subject them to the laws of nature.

Rather, let us understand everything piously, believing what is said in the Scriptures. The overly curious investigator gains no benefit.

Besides failing to find what he seeks, he also falls under the gravest condemnation. You hear that the Father begot? Believe what you hear.

But do not investigate how He begot, lest by doing so you reject the begetting itself. That would be extreme folly.

Nicodemus heard of a birth, not that ineffable birth, but birth according to grace. Yet he fell into darkness and perplexity because he supposed nothing lofty in it, but thought only human and earthly things.

What punishment, then, do those deserve who examine and scrutinize the dread birth that surpasses every word and understanding? Nothing produces so much darkness as the human mind that reasons about everything in an earthly way and does not receive illumination from above.

Earthly thoughts contain much uncleanness. Therefore we need heavenly streams, so that when the mire has been removed, our spirit may rise upward according to its purity and partake of heavenly teaching.

This can happen when we show within ourselves both a well-disposed soul and an upright life. For our mind can truly be darkened not only by misplaced curiosity, but also by a corrupt way of life.

Therefore Paul said to the Corinthians: "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet able. Even now you are not able, for you are still carnal."

"For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal" (1 Cor 3:2-3)? Likewise in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in many other places, Paul sets this down as the cause of wrong teachings.

A soul surrendered to passions cannot grasp anything great and noble. Like one whose eyes are darkened by discharge, it suffers the heaviest blindness.

Therefore let us cleanse ourselves. Let us be enlightened by the light of knowledge, and let us not sow among thorns.

You know what these thorns mean, even if we do not speak of it. You have often heard that Christ calls by the name thorns the cares of life and the deceitfulness of riches.

And rightly so. As the first thorns are barren, so are the latter. As the first wound those who touch them, so do these passions.

As thorns are easily consumed by fire and are hateful to the farmer, so are worldly affairs. As wild beasts, vipers, and scorpions hide among thorns, so they hide in the deceitfulness of riches.

But let us receive the fire of the Spirit, so that we may consume the thorns, drive out the beasts, and cleanse the field for the Farmer.

After cleansing it, let us water it with spiritual streams. Let us plant the fruitful olive, the most tender plant, always flowering, light-bearing, nourishing, and strengthening health.

Mercy contains all this, and is as a seal for those who have acquired it. This plant does not wither even when death approaches, but always stands.

It enlightens the mind, nourishes the soul, and makes its powers stronger. If we continually possess it, we shall be able to behold the Bridegroom with boldness and enter the bridal chamber.

May we all be counted worthy of this, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ. With Him be glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

He came to Jesus by night, partly from fear of his unbelieving companions, who had already taken an openly hostile stance toward Christ. Perhaps he also wished to avoid making his visit public. He did not want to increase still further the growing fame of the prophet from Nazareth.

Received by Jesus, Nicodemus says: "We," that is, the Pharisees and scribes, "know that no one can do such signs as You do unless God is with him. Therefore we acknowledge that You are a teacher come from God."

Thus Nicodemus expressed his own view, and perhaps that of several other Pharisees. He regarded Jesus as a teacher, a rabbi, a man chosen by God, perhaps even a prophet, but not the Messiah.

Nicodemus knew that John the Baptist had pointed out Jesus to those sent from the Sanhedrin as the expected Messiah. John confirmed his indication by testifying that he had seen the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. He had also heard the voice of God Himself, bearing witness that Jesus was His beloved Son.

Nicodemus certainly saw how Jesus drove the merchants from the temple. He saw Him publicly call that temple the house of His Father, and thereby call Himself the Son of God. Nicodemus undoubtedly was present at the miracles in which Jesus manifested His divine authority and power.

After all this, he, a learned Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, calls Jesus simply Teacher. He believes neither John's testimony, nor His own words, nor even the miracles performed by Him.

Christ knew the cause of this false opinion about Him among the Pharisees. He knew that the Pharisees, and after them all the Jews guided by them, expected a different Messiah. In the Messiah they awaited a mighty earthly king. He would conquer the whole world and make the Jews, and especially the Pharisees, rulers over all nations.

He knew that, according to the teaching of the Pharisees, every Jew would enter the Kingdom of the Messiah as its necessary member. This was because he was a Jew, a descendant of Abraham. All the more did they believe this of every Pharisee.

Knowing all this, and wishing to turn Nicodemus from the false path on which he stood to the true path, Christ begins His conversation with him by proving that something else is necessary. To enter the Kingdom of the Messiah, it is not enough to be a Jew and a descendant of Abraham. Rebirth is necessary. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

To understand better the meaning of the Lord's conversation with Nicodemus, we must make a brief digression.

When God created the world, He did not limit Himself to creating soulless nature alone. He is the God of the living, not of the dead (Mt 22:32; Mk 12:27; Lk 20:38). Of course, He would not have ceased to be God even if there were no living beings at all.

Yet for the world created by Him to comprehend His greatness and the wisdom of His creative work, there had to be living rational beings in the world. A rational bond had to be established between the Creator and His creation. Such a being on earth is man.

God instructed the first people how they should live in order to be worthy sons of their Creator. He revealed to them His will, the eternal and unchangeable law written, as it were, in human hearts: Love God. Love your neighbor.

When He commanded them not only to keep but also to cultivate Paradise (Gen 2:15), He made labor their duty. This law of labor was not given as punishment for sin, since they had not yet sinned. It was given as a necessary condition of happiness.

Therefore: Love God. Love your neighbor. And labor. This is the will of God, which the people created by Him were to observe. By conforming all their actions to this law, they were to form the Kingdom of God on earth. That is, they were to become a society of happy people governed by God Himself.

In this lay the purpose of their creation. In this lay their calling. If they had truly fulfilled this law of the Supreme King, a kingdom of peace, love, and goodness would have been established on earth. It would have been the true Kingdom of God, an earthly Paradise.

But the first people disobeyed God and lost the right to be members of His Kingdom. Yet they were taught that this Kingdom, this earthly Paradise, was not lost to them forever. They could return it if they fulfilled the will of God in everything.

It seemed that living according to God was not difficult. God did not require anything impossible or unbearable from people: Love God. Love your neighbor. And labor. He required nothing more. Yet the first people could not fulfill even this little.

Soon enmity arose between them, and the earth was stained with the blood of a murdered man. Other crimes followed the first murder, and sinful people fell morally lower and lower. No calamities could bring them to reason. They began to forget not only the will of God, but God Himself.

It was necessary to remind them of this will. It was proclaimed through Moses on Mount Sinai in the Ten Commandments.

The great Moses had dreamed for forty years of freeing the Jews from Egyptian slavery. He wished to form from them the Kingdom of God, governed by God Himself. Yet he was forced to admit that morally corrupted people could not precisely fulfill God's will as declared in the Ten Commandments.

Recognizing this, he made many concessions and many departures from the Sinaitic commandments. Of course, he could have abolished all laws and customs that contradicted the Ten Commandments. He could have issued new ones in harmony with them. Yet even to him this seemed impossible.

He could indeed issue new laws and compel obedience to them by fear of severe punishments. But he could not transform the human heart, corrupted through the ages. He could not reeducate and regenerate man, and make him love.

Therefore he could not restore the Kingdom of free people who love God and one another. He could not return the lost Paradise to humanity.

For this, another Man had to appear. He would not only explain to people the will of God and the true calling of man. He would also regenerate them to a new life. By the example of His own life, He would prove that precise fulfillment of God's will is possible and even easy.

Moses understood this. Therefore, in his farewell before death, foretelling the coming of such a Man, he said: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among you, from your brethren. Him you shall hear" (Deut 18:15).

After the death of Moses, the Jews sometimes repented and turned to God, and sometimes crudely turned away from Him. Yet the moments of repentance did not last long. For this, many calamities befell them.

In vain did the inspired prophets call them to God. In vain did they wish to unite them under the headship of the Supreme King. The moral fall of humanity was so terrible that only God Himself could save it.

The prophets understood this and divinely foretold the imminent coming of the Deliverer, the Reconciler: "The Redeemer will come to Zion" (Isa 59:20). The Desired One will come (Hag 2:4-7). "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion. Your King is coming to you" (Zech 9:9).

Yes, they all understood that people first had to be reeducated and regenerated. Only then would the renewal of the Kingdom of God be possible, and the lost Paradise be returned to humanity. They understood that such rebirth could not take place without God's help. For this, God's Messenger had to come.

The desired Christ came and began with the reeducation of corrupted people. In His Sermon on the Mount, in the so-called Beatitudes, He taught people how they should reeducate themselves. He taught how they must be regenerated in order to be worthy sons of the Heavenly Father.

They were to form the Kingdom of God on earth, or that lost Paradise whose return the best people of the ancient world had desired. Yet in His Sermon on the Mount, after giving detailed rules for regeneration and self-correction, the Lord said that rebirth is impossible by human powers alone, without God's help. Therefore, pray to God for help. Ask, and it will be given you.

It was precisely about such self-correction and rebirth that Christ was now speaking with Nicodemus. Taken separately, without connection to the Sermon on the Mount, His conversation may seem incomprehensible to someone.

Yet if we consider that what was said in the Sermon on the Mount was probably also said during the Lord's first journey to Jerusalem, and that Nicodemus may have heard it before his night conversation, then the Lord's words become fully clear. They concerned the necessity of rebirth for entering the Kingdom of God.

Still more incomprehensible to him must have seemed Jesus' words about the conditions for participation in this Kingdom. Like his contemporaries, Nicodemus, because of distorted notions, made its sole condition bodily descent from Abraham. Perhaps he also added Pharisaic righteousness. Jesus Christ, however, speaks of a new birth from above.

A question from Nicodemus was natural. It could concern either the character of this Kingdom, or the conditions and means for knowing it and sharing in it. The condition had just been stated, and, as is clear, it especially struck Nicodemus. He did not understand Christ's words. They did not agree with his notions and were beyond his capacity. Yet his desire to know had been strongly awakened, and so he asks Christ this question: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Whence did this apparently strange question arise, and what meaning did it have? The idea of regeneration, or new birth, could not have been wholly new, alien, or extraordinary to Nicodemus. Among the Jews the expression to be born again was used in two cases. First, it was used when speaking of proselytes. If a pagan submitted to the religious laws and ordinances of the Jews, accepted the true religion, and was circumcised, he was called a newborn child. Second, it was used of an inward change in a person's life. This meant that a man changed his way of thinking about known religious and moral truths, or turned from impious life and impure thoughts to the true path.

Therefore, we say, Nicodemus could have known what is called new birth, and what is signified by this concept and expression. Nevertheless, it was difficult for him to understand Christ's words rightly, even in these senses. When people spoke of the new birth of proselytes, the outward act of circumcision served figuratively to express this idea. Jesus Christ, however, does not yet speak of any outward act that would bring the abstract idea of regeneration nearer to Nicodemus' sensible concepts. He used only the expression from above, or again, and nothing more.

The learned Pharisee knew no such regeneration without a sensible sign, and he was naturally perplexed. Besides, why should a Jew become, as it were, a proselyte in order to share in the Kingdom of the Messiah? His religion was true, and he was a descendant of Abraham. He hardly felt any need to change religious thoughts or views, or any need for moral change. He was a learned Pharisee, skilled in the Law, and a righteous man.

How could this concept of new birth apply to him? In his opinion, it could not. Thus a question naturally arose in Nicodemus' mind. What is this new birth of which Jesus speaks? It is not the regeneration of proselytes, and it is not a change in religious and moral life. This is the origin, in Nicodemus' mind, of the question about the manner of the new birth required by Jesus.

But how could the thought of the learned jurist incline toward an impossible act, entering a mother's womb a second time, that is, toward a second bodily birth? Nicodemus did not understand Christ's words. It was not proper to become some kind of proselyte, nor to renounce his beliefs and convictions in favor of others. In his opinion, it was likewise not proper to change the Pharisaic life.

What, then, finally, is this new birth, and without any sensible sign or symbol? Yet Christ says with special assurance, truly, truly, that one who is not born again cannot share in the Kingdom of God. This shows the immutable truth of His words and the necessity of new birth.

What kind of birth is this? There can be only one means of being born again, a second time, bodily, so as to be reborn spiritually. Otherwise, for a Jew such rebirth appears impossible to Nicodemus, especially when a man is already old. All beliefs, convictions, and rules of life have become so fixed in him, and possess such power, that he cannot change them. He is heartily and sincerely convinced of their truth.

This is the natural result of failing to understand the gracious, spiritual, inward regeneration of the natural man. It is also a failure to understand the basic foundations on which the Kingdom of the Messiah is established, and the conditions for sharing in it. But this second bodily birth is unrealizable, unnatural, and impossible. Yet how else can it be? "Teacher, You teach what is impossible," was Nicodemus' thought. How can a man be born when he is old?

"Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Saint Chrysostom observes about this: "Nothing brings such darkness as the human mind when it reasons about everything in an earthly way and does not receive illumination from above.

Earthly thoughts contain much impurity. Therefore we need the streams of heaven, so that after the mud has been driven out, whatever is pure in our mind may rise to the height and partake of heavenly teaching."