The Radical Message: You Must Be Born Again

GOSPEL OF JOHN SERIES • DAY 5 OF 32 • LENT 2026

A respected religious leader comes to Jesus at night with questions. What he learns changes everything about how we understand salvation

📖 John 3:1-21 | ⏱️ 6 min read | 💡 Born from Above | ✝️ The Most Famous Verse

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.' Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?' Jesus answered, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.'" (John 3:3-5, NABRE)

The Man Who Came at Night

Nicodemus is not your average seeker. He's a Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council, a teacher of Israel. He knows the law inside and out. He's spent his whole life studying Scripture, following the rules, teaching others.

And he comes to Jesus at night.

John doesn't tell us why he came at night. Maybe he didn't want to be seen with Jesus publicly. Maybe he wanted privacy for a real conversation. Maybe the darkness is symbolic (he's coming out of spiritual darkness into the light).

Whatever the reason, he starts with flattery: "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."

It sounds like he's building up to a question. But Jesus doesn't wait for it. He cuts straight to what Nicodemus really needs to hear:

"Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

"How Can This Be?"

Nicodemus is confused. "How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?"

He's thinking physically. Literally. He's a concrete thinker, and Jesus is speaking about something spiritual.

Jesus pushes deeper: "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, 'You must be born from above.'"

Then Jesus gives him an illustration: "The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

The word for "wind" and "spirit" in Greek is the same: pneuma. You can't see the wind. You can't control it. You can only see its effects. That's what the Spirit is like.

Nicodemus is still confused: "How can this happen?"

And Jesus responds with something that must have stung: "You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?"

KEY INSIGHT: When Jesus says you must be "born of water and Spirit," he's pointing to baptism. But this isn't just about the ritual. It's about transformation. Being born physically makes you a human being. Being born spiritually makes you a child of God. The first birth happens to you. The second birth happens in you. You can't earn it, achieve it, or work your way into it. It's a gift. It's grace. It's God doing in you what you could never do for yourself.

What Jesus Is Really Saying

Here's what Nicodemus is struggling with: he's built his whole life on the assumption that if he follows the law perfectly, keeps all the rules, studies hard enough, teaches others well enough, he'll be righteous before God.

And Jesus is telling him: that's not how this works.

You don't need better behavior. You need a new birth.

You don't need to try harder. You need to be remade.

You don't need religion. You need regeneration.

This is offensive to someone like Nicodemus. He's done everything right. He's a Pharisee. A teacher. A member of the ruling council. If anyone should be able to earn God's favor, it's him.

But Jesus says: you must be born again. Not reformed. Not improved. Not educated. Born again. From above. By the Spirit.

It's not about what you do. It's about what God does in you.

"For God So Loved the World"

Then comes the most famous verse in the Bible. John 3:16. If you grew up in church, you probably memorized it. If you've been to a football game, you've probably seen it on a sign.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."

We've heard this verse so many times it's easy to miss how radical it is.

God loved the world. Not just Israel. Not just the religious. Not just the good people. The world. The whole messy, broken, rebellious world.

And because of that love, he gave his only Son. This is the heart of the gospel. God didn't just send information. He didn't just send a teacher or a prophet. He sent his Son. And he gave him up to death so that we might have life.

"So that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."

Not everyone who earns it. Not everyone who deserves it. Not everyone who follows all the rules. Everyone who believes.

This is grace. This is the new birth. This is what Nicodemus needs to understand.

Light and Darkness

Jesus continues: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

God's intention is salvation, not condemnation. Jesus didn't come to point fingers or condemn people. He came to save.

But there's a choice involved. "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil."

This is the tragedy. The light came. God himself showed up. But people loved darkness more than light.

Why? "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed."

When you're doing something wrong, you don't want the lights on. You want to stay in the shadows. You want to hide.

But "whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God."

The person who's honest, who's seeking truth, who's willing to be exposed, comes to the light. Not because they're perfect, but because they want to be transformed.

YOUR LENTEN PRACTICE THIS WEEK: Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born again." Have you been? Not "were you baptized as a baby" (though that's important), but has there been a moment when you said yes to Jesus for yourself? When you moved from secondhand faith to personal faith? This Lent, if you've never done it, pray a simple prayer: "Jesus, I believe you died for me and rose again. I turn from my sin and turn to you. Make me new." If you prayed that prayer long ago, pray it again. Renew your yes to Jesus.

What Does This Mean for You?

Nicodemus came to Jesus with his credentials. His education. His position. His good works. And Jesus told him: none of that gets you into the kingdom of God.

You must be born again.

This is both humbling and liberating. Humbling because it means you can't save yourself. You can't earn it. You can't achieve it. You're dependent on God's grace from start to finish.

But it's also liberating because it means you don't have to save yourself. The pressure is off. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to have it all together. You just have to come to Jesus and let him do in you what only he can do.

Being born again isn't about trying harder. It's about trusting Jesus. It's about believing that God loves you enough to give his Son for you. It's about coming into the light and letting God transform you from the inside out.

Nicodemus's Journey

Here's something beautiful: John mentions Nicodemus three times in his Gospel.

First, here in chapter 3, he comes to Jesus at night, confused and questioning.

Then in chapter 7, when the Jewish leaders want to arrest Jesus, Nicodemus speaks up (timidly, but he speaks): "Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?"

Finally, in chapter 19, after Jesus is crucified, Nicodemus shows up with Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus' body. He brings seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes, an extravagant amount. The man who came at night in chapter 3 is now publicly identifying with Jesus in his death.

The new birth happened. The man who came in darkness moved into the light. The teacher who didn't understand became a disciple who believed.

That's what Jesus does. He takes people who come to him confused, questioning, in the dark, and he brings them into the light. He gives them new birth. He makes them new.

He can do the same for you.

For Reflection

Nicodemus came to Jesus with questions. What questions do you need to bring to Jesus? What parts of your faith confuse you? What keeps you in the dark?

And have you been born again? Not just religiously, but really. Has there been a turning point where you moved from knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus? From following rules to following a person?

Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born again." That invitation is for you too.