A human question, and its answer

How Can a Man Be Born Again?

When Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could see the kingdom of God without being born again, the learned teacher answered with a bewildered question. "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" It is the question of a religious man confronted with his need for an entirely new beginning.

“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”John 3:4

Who asked, and why

Who asked, and why. Nicodemus asked this, "a man of the Pharisees" and "a ruler of the Jews" who came to Jesus "by night" (John 3:1-2). He was a respected teacher, learned in the law, cautious enough to come under cover of darkness. He opened with respect: "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2). Then Jesus cut past the pleasantries to the heart of the matter: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). This staggered Nicodemus. As a religious leader he had assumed his standing before God rested on his knowledge, his heritage, and his careful obedience. Now he was told he must start over entirely, as helpless as a newborn. His question, "How can a man be born when he is old?" reveals a mind trapped in the literal, unable to imagine a rebirth that is not physical. It is the honest confusion of a good, religious person told that his goodness and religion are not enough.

The answer

The answer. Jesus explained that the birth he meant was spiritual, not physical. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:5-6). This new birth is the work of God's Spirit, not something a person achieves. Jesus compared it to the wind: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). It is real yet beyond our control or manufacture, a sovereign act of God renewing the heart. When Nicodemus still marveled, "How can these things be?" (John 3:9), Jesus pointed him to himself, lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:15). The new birth comes not by human effort but by the Spirit, through faith in the Son.