Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ” (NIV)

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (NLT)

Dive Deeper:

Jesus said some strange things.

Have you ever considered the fact that Jesus said some strange things? Please don’t misunderstand what I mean. It’s clear from the biographies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that Jesus was unlike any other person in history. But still… He did say some strange things.

In today’s verse, Jesus also says something a bit strange. It happens in the middle of a conversation with a man named Nicodemus, who was one of the religious leaders in Israel.

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, presumably because he didn’t want to get caught by the

Pharisees talking to Jesus. He said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him” (John 3:2). In other words, it was clear to both the crowds and the religious leaders that Jesus was no ordinary teacher — He was God in the flesh. 

What happens next, however, is completely unexpected. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). 

Think about how odd that would have sounded to Nicodemus. “Wait. You’re telling me I need to do what in order to see the kingdom of God? No thanks, I’ll pass.”

Birth is incredible but rebirth is better.

It’s important to understand that Jesus was not trying to be confusing. Instead, He was trying to help Nicodemus see the miraculous reality of what He came to do. You see Jesus wasn’t talking about a physical rebirth (as you have no doubt guessed by now). He’s talking about new life that we receive by faith.

In other words, birth is incredible, but rebirth is even better.

• Birth is the beginning of life. Rebirth is the beginning of eternal life.
• Birth typically results in being joined to a physical family. Rebirth always means adoption

into God’s family.

• At birth you’re given a name. Rebirth gives you a new name and a new identity—“Son or

daughter of God.”

You see the wonderful message of the Gospel is this: Jesus was born once so that we could be born twice. So this week let me encourage you to be amazed once again at the miracle of salvation. Birth is incredible but rebirth is better.

Written by Nick Harsh