Jesus said to Nicodemus: “7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” John 3:7-13.
This is the second half of the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus. it reminds me of my own life when I see that sometimes I have not understood something because I was just too young and inexperienced to be able to understand it. Other times I was simply unwilling to understand it. I chose to ignore the truth as I had come to understand it. It is one thing simply to not have the sufficient knowledge or sense or maturity to understand something; it is however quite another thing to simply refuse to believe, to refuse to understand or accept a truth I have come to understand. Nicodemus was a very learned and wise individual who understood well what it meant to be “born from above.” Jews understood this concept, especially the Pharisees who were very educated and informed about such matters. But Nicodemus is challenged by Jesus who knows that Nicodemus understands how the Spirit — the wind — behaves. Jesus tells Nicodemus that the pneuma — the Greek word for wind and spirit — is not a concept that should “astonish Nicodemus.” In other words Jesus tells Nicodemus: You can certainly hear and see and feel the wind (pneuma) even though you may not know where it comes from or where it is going — and you may not understand how and why the wind blows — but you can certainly see what it does! Jesus goes on to say to Nicodemus that the Spirit (pneuma) of God is the same thing. You may not know how God’s Spirit works, but you can see the effect of God’s Spirit in human lives. You can’t deny that!
But Nicodemus who understands what Jesus is saying, Nicodemus who understands what the Spirit of God is doing in people’s lives, says to Jesus: “How can these things be” John 3:9? In other words, how can I know that what the Spirit does in people’s lives is true? How can I know that? 10 Jesus answers Nicodemus, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things” John 3:10-13?
In other words, Come on Nicodemus, you understand completely what the Spirit does in people’s lives, you just don’t accept it, you just don’t believe what is true! What I have told you is very simple to understand. If you cannot accept these simple things how are you ever going to accept the deeper truths?
Dear friends, Nicodemus is just flat out refusing to accept the truth of the Spirit of God. He simply cannot choose to accept what he understands. And that is a warning to all of us. We can study the Word of God about who Jesus is, but we have to accept Jesus Christ and experience His Spirit in our lives. That’s what Christianity is all about. It’s one thing to understand it and quite another things to accept it and to desire to love Jesus. And in the end John anticipates Nicodemus’ rebuttal — and all of our rebuttals to this conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus — when John says: Don’t tell me that you don’t know if these truths are real because Jesus came down from heaven to earth to tell us the truth about God: “13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” John 3:13. Jesus, the Son of Man, descended from heaven to tell us who God is! In Jesus we experienced the Son of man! And as we have already seen John say: This Jesus is the Word of God, the Divine Mind of God, the Logos of God who was from the beginning.
So take time today in prayer and sit in silence before God who is present. Say nothing. Just be present. Feel His presence. Feel His love for You. And His mercy. And then before breaking away express your heartfelt faith, your belief, your trust in Jesus Christ. Tell Him how much you love Him.
Oh dear Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner. Oh how I love You and wish to put my complete trust in You. May I always believe in You because I experience You and feel You and hear your voice in my life. I feel Your Spirit and give Your profound thanks for moving in my life at all time. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
From the Bible:
“And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” Acts 16:31.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life” John 6:47.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God” Hebrews 11:1-40.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” John 5:24.
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