So, since Nick was in this strata of religious society, what clues are there to possibly determine what might have been going on in his heart compelling him to approach this teacher?  Had his heart been moved by the truth through Jesus’ teaching about the Heavenly Father?  (Once the work of the Holy Spirit of God begins in a man’s heart, he is always left searching for more and more truth).  Is that why Nicodemus was seeking out Jesus?  Was he, a teacher himself, coming to Jesus to be taught?  Was all of this a part of God’s plan to draw Nicodemus to Himself?  Or was he, as some think, sent by the Pharisees to probe Jesus to get a feel of who He really was, to find out His motives and agenda, or to perhaps look for a weakness in Jesus that the Pharisees could capitalize upon?  Or could it be that Jesus’ teachings were resounding with truth to His heart, and the reason he wanted this meeting was to see if there was a place where he could follow Christ without compromising his position as a Pharisee?  It is possible that the answer is all of the above.  The fact that he went at night might lends some speculation that he was sincerely concerned that Jesus might be the Messiah and the darkness covered his being seen with this suspicious Rabbi.  He certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be labeled a “secret disciple” by his friends.  We know that at some time later there was a discussion of this proportion in John’s gospel:

“No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? [49] "But this multitude which does not know the Law is accursed.” [50] Nicodemus said to them (he who came to Him before, being one of them), [51] ‘Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?’ [52] They answered and said to him, ‘You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.’” (John 7:48-52)

There would have been extreme pressure, possible expulsion or even worse for any within the ranks of the ruling leaders who might move their allegiance Jesus’ way.  So whatever Nick’s reason for being with Jesus that evening there would have been an unusual amount of pressure. 

Notice he beings with the third personal pronoun “we know.”  The problem was that he didn’t know how to begin the conversation other than in terms other than that of a Pharisaical mindset.  To have begun with “I know” would have left him terribly vulnerable. 

Jesus’ answer must have blown him away.  No one had ever talked in “born again” terms before.  John the Baptist never used the term “born again”.  Jesus knew the answer would blow him away.  He needed Nick to be intellectually naked.  Jesus forced the stripping away of all the structures that Nick clung to that explained his understanding of what it meant to have a relationship to God.  Nick had always believed that his standing with God depended upon what he did in relation to the Law.  The fact is the Pharisees did not understand the concept of “relationship with the God.”  They did not have the capacity to see God as their Father until Jesus referred Him that way.  There are 120 references to God as “Father” in the Bible.  You will only find six of them in the Old Testament, and one of those is a prophetic soliloquy of Jesus speaking to the Father. The Pharisees were keen on declaring Abraham as their “father.”  Jesus completely upset his theological cart by saying that no one can “know” God or anything about His works unless you know Him as one’s heavenly Father, which can only be accomplished through a born again experience. 

It is like Nick was insinuating to Jesus that he and his cronies could really tell that Jesus was from God.  Rather than replying to Nicodemus, “Nick, you don’t know nuttin,’” Jesus replied very graciously by telling him that if he was not born again he could not truly see or know anything about the kingdom.  Jesus made it very clear that human, intellectual knowledge cannot fathom, even in the nth degree, Who God is, what He is about and who we are in relationship to Him. 

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, [13] which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. [14] But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

The only way that we can ever come to as clear an understanding is humanly possible about who Jesus is and why He came is to first be born again.  Even when a person has been born again, the capacity to understand the significance of the Kingdom is process.  Growth in the knowledge of God is almost at the “need to know” level.

No matter how intelligent or well educated a person may be, there must be a change in a person’s heart and mind about the way one thinks of God.  The old ways of thinking about who He is have to be shelved in favor of who God declares Himself to be.  And that change of heart is worked out through the inner working of the Holy Spirit in a person’s heart.  At that point, God always provides the faith to believe: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10.17)  Even when a person begins to be moved by the Lord, it does not mean that he is going to have a completed “picture” or understanding right away.  The process of the Christian life is a process in totality.  Everything is process.  One man’s process is not another’s.  Each will progress according to the working of Christ in their hearts.  We will see this to be true throughout our study of Christ’s encounters with people. 

It is very possible that Nick was shocked by Jesus’ use of that term since there are references to proselytes who entered the Jewish faith as being like children new born.  Nicodemus may have felt that the term appropriate to the Gentile as he entered the ranks of the chosen people was the last word that should be applied to one who was not only a Jew, but a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin.  He probably knows that he is out of his league.  Since he cannot figure out what Jesus is talking about, he plays dumb and speaks in a ridiculous way.   

Jesus’ response of “truly, truly”, demonstrates the most powerful way of saying something.  So Jesus says, “I will tell you the truth.  You must be born of water and spirit.”  This differentiates mankind for all other life.  One must be born of water – this is not baptism as some have interpreted it – but of a person being born of a woman.  The fetus is essentially protected by nothing more than a sack of water.  Without the birth out of a woman’s womb and the “rebirth” by the work of the Spirit in one’s heart, a person cannot enter in the kingdom of God.  The flesh births flesh.  The Spirit births the spirit.  “Do not marvel that I said to you (Nicodemus), you must be born again.” (v. 7)  Jesus parallels the mystery of the new birth with the wind.  Did Jesus create a gust of wind to begin the analogy?  Jesus said that the wind blows where it will, but man does not know where it comes from or its final destination.  So is the Spirit.  The presence of any knowledge of God is initiated by the Spirit.   

Nicodemus shows his total confusion in this and is totally baffled.  Jesus reminded him of his position as “the teacher” of Israel.  He must have had some very special roll as a teacher because the definite article “the” is used in the Greek.  Jesus suggested that he should have known about these things.  Recognizing his position he should have known that no man is able to come to God in his own strength or righteousness.   Why should he not have marveled?  Was it not God who spoke the universe into existence?  Was it not God who formed Adam and Eve from dust and breathed into them the breath of life and they became living beings?  Was it not God who brought eight members of your ancient ancestral linage through the flood in an ark?  Was it not God who promised one, who would be the father of a nation of whom would outnumber the sands of the seas, would be born to a woman 90 years old?  Was it not God who provided a sacrifice for Isaac on Mt. Moriah?  Was it not God who delivered the nation of some 2 million Israelites from a hardened Pharaoh?  Was it not God who caused the walls of Jericho to collapse?  Didn’t he cause a donkey to speak?  Couldn’t He have caused the rocks to cry out?  Didn’t he feed five thousand with nothing more than five loaves and two fish?  Didn’t He speak and the winds and the waves obeyed His voice?  Didn’t he cause a man born blind to see?  Didn’t he command the lame to walk?  Didn’t Jesus say that all things are possible with God?  Didn’t Jeremiah say, “There is nothing too difficult for You, oh God?” 

To one who had not “known of God, or who did not know about God” Jesus may not have included the “do not marvel” phrase.  But Nick did know about God.  He was a Pharisee.  He was raised in the Law.  He would have been an expert in the Law, to the letter.  He would have been a faithful reader of the Law, the Prophets and the Poetry.  He would have known about the prophesies of the Messiah, who was promised to come.  He should have seen the correlation between what Jesus taught and the power behind His miraculous deeds.  Which points us to one conclusion about this “marveling issue”: the ability to comprehend the Personhood of Christ; the ability to grasp that the God of meager understanding was completely and perfectly revealed in Christ; the reality that life is not about what I do, think, say, or believe, but the reality of life and its substance is all about God…this understanding, the comprehension, the grasp of reality has nothing to do with my stature, my class, my rank, my fame, who my grand dad or dad was, etc., etc., etc. (as per the King of Siam).  Jesus said to Nick that unless a person is born again by the Spirit, that he could never get a clear understanding of what the Kingdom of God is like.

In verse 11, we have the third “truly truly” in this short passage.  In a short summary, Jesus puts Nicodemus in a precarious place.  He turns the tables on him.  Nicodemus came declaring, from a point of weakness, pride and presumption, who Jesus was.  Jesus, from a point of absolute truth, knowledge and sovereignty, revealed the heart of Nicodemus.  First, he had not believed God’s witness about Himself.  Second, in his finite mind and unregenerate spirit, there is not way he could believe heavenly things.  Third, the One with whom he was speaking is the only One who can tell about heavenly things because He is the only One who has been there to tell us about it.  Fourth, the witness can only be received by faith.  As the serpent was lifted up by Moses to bring healing and life to those Israelites who had been bitten by the serpents in the wilderness, so the Son of Man is the substance of that picture.  Eternal life becomes   

There are four apparent things that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about.  These four things apply to you and me, as well.  First, one will not know the ways of God through their own intellect, study or heredity.  Second, you must be born again.  Third, this rebirth cannot be anticipated or even sought, because it is all the work of the Lord.  Fourth, the only place where the understanding of life with God can come from is from God Himself.  If the Spirit does not awaken, quicken, give birth to this understanding by His work in the heart of man, it will never come.