Things That Only Jesus Can Give YouSýnishorn

Only Jesus can give you a brand new start

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless

one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The phrase born again has become well known in our culture. It comes from a conversation one night between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was one of seventy rulers of Israel and a prominent teacher in the land. One night, under the cover of darkness so no one would see him, Nicodemus came to Jesus and simply said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).

Though the Pharisees opposed Jesus, Nicodemus could not deny that Jesus was a teacher sent from God. Jesus ignores the statements of Nicodemus and goes to the motive for his visit. He goes to the question that is buried deep in Nicodemus’s heart—too deep, perhaps, for even Nicodemus to be aware of it. Jesus declared, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is saying: Nicodemus, you must be born again, born anew, born from above. You need a new birth. If any person is going to see God’s kingdom, if any person is going to be saved and go to heaven, then that person must be born again. Nicodemus, you may be quite religious. You may be a member of the Sanhedrin. You may be the teacher of Israel. You may have great theological training. But, you must be born again.

With one simple statement, Jesus swept away all that Nicodemus stood for, all of his learning and religious efforts. He did not need religion, reformation, or knowledge—Nicodemus needed to be born again. Two verses later, Jesus clarified what it means to be born again when he said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus is simply reiterating what he just said about being born again. We must be born again—that is, born of water and the Spirit. We must have a new birth, a new spiritual birth. It is the work of the Spirit. Think about how much you contributed to your physical birth. That’s the precise amount that you contribute to your spiritual birth. It is the work of God for you.