Jesus challenges on basic concept

“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” John 3:12.

Nicodemus was “the teacher of Israel.” He held prominence for his ability to communicate concepts of a spiritual nature to God’s people, and yet the fact that he came to Jesus by night tells us that he had a different heart than that of many of the other leaders in Jerusalem.

Scripture doesn’t tell us how old he was, but perhaps he would have been among the teachers who “were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47) eighteen years or so before when Jesus was twelve? Nevertheless, Nicodemus, who is representing like minded others, betrays what they cannot say publicly—that Jesus is a teacher from God.

That is a big admission, and so Jesus, never bowing to flattery, challenges Nicodemus on the very basic concept of the necessity of a believer needing to be born from above by water and the Spirit, baptism into Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-5), which is often misunderstood by many spiritual teachers even today.

What a job the Word Incarnate has to explain things that are spiritually discerned to him—to us!