What Old Testament teachings should Nicodemus have understood about being "born again"? Nicodemus’ Starting Point • John 3:10: “Jesus replied, ‘You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things?’” • As a respected rabbi, Nicodemus had memorized and taught the Law, Prophets, and Writings. Jesus therefore expected him to recognize that the promise of new birth had been embedded in the Scriptures all along. Key Old-Testament Streams That Point to Being “Born Again” 1. Cleansing Water + Renewing Spirit • Ezekiel 36:25-27: “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… I will put My Spirit within you.” • Isaiah 44:3: “I will pour water on the thirsty land… I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring.” • Takeaway Nicodemus should have seen: true purity and life can’t be achieved by ritual washings alone; God Himself promises an inner washing and Spirit-birth. 2. Circumcision of the Heart • Deuteronomy 30:6: “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” • Jeremiah 4:4 echoes the same call. • Takeaway: physical covenant signs were pictures pointing to an inward work only God could perform—an unmistakable hint of new birth. 3. A New Heart and New Covenant • Jeremiah 31:33: “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” • Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” • Takeaway: regeneration is portrayed as creation language—God starts over inside the believer. 4. Spirit-Generated Life from the Dead • Ezekiel 37:5, 14: “I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live… I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live.” • Isaiah 32:15: desolation ends “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high.” • Takeaway: if God can raise dry bones, He can surely breathe new life into dead hearts—another image of being born again. 5. Prophetic Promise of a Widespread Outpouring • Joel 2:28: “I will pour out My Spirit on all people.” • Takeaway: the new birth wouldn’t be limited to prophets or kings; it would be available to “whoever believes” (John 3:16). Water and Spirit—Why Jesus Linked Them • Jesus’ words, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5), marry Ezekiel’s water-Spirit cleansing with Isaiah’s and Joel’s Spirit outpourings. • Nicodemus, steeped in these passages, should have recognized that Jesus was claiming the time of fulfillment had arrived. Connecting the Dots Nicodemus had long taught: • Ritual washing pictures God’s promised inner cleansing (Ezekiel 36). • Circumcision of flesh points to circumcision of heart (Deuteronomy 30:6). • A new covenant would implant God’s law within (Jeremiah 31:33). • The Spirit’s breath would raise the dead to life (Ezekiel 37). When Jesus spoke of being “born again,” He gathered all these strands into one vivid, personal demand: “You must be born from above” (John 3:7). Take-Home Truths Nicodemus Should Have Seen • The Old Testament salvation promises center on God’s initiative, not human achievement. • Real entry into God’s kingdom requires radical inner transformation—depicted in Scripture as cleansing, heart surgery, resurrection, and new creation. • Those promises converge in the Messiah, who alone bestows the Spirit and guarantees the new birth for every believing heart. |
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