Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus? new. Conversation with Nicodemus Conversation with Nicodemus interpretation

Among the people amazed by the miracles of Jesus Christ and who believed in Him was a Pharisee Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews. He came to Jesus Christ at night, secretly from everyone, so that the Pharisees and Jewish leaders, who did not love Jesus Christ, would know about it.

Nicodemus wanted to find out whether Jesus Christ really is the expected Savior of the world, and who He will accept into His Kingdom: what a person needs to do to enter His Kingdom. He said to the Savior: “Rabbi (teacher), we know that You are a Teacher who came from God; because no one can do such miracles as You do unless God is with Him.”

The Savior, in a conversation with Nicodemus, said: “Truly I say to you, whoever is not born again cannot be in the Kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus was very surprised how a person could be born again.

But the Savior spoke to him not about an ordinary, physical birth, but about spiritual, that is, - that a person needs to change, to become completely different in his soul - completely kind and merciful, and that such a change in a person can only happen by the power of God.

The Savior said to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water (through baptism) and of the Spirit (which comes upon a person during baptism), he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”

The Savior explained to Nicodemus that a person, born only from earthly parents, remains as sinful as they are (which means, unworthy of the Kingdom of Heaven). Having been born of the Holy Spirit, a person becomes pure from sins, holy. But how such a change takes place in the human soul, people cannot understand this work of God.

Then the Savior told Nicodemus that He came to earth to suffer and die for people, not to ascend to the royal throne, but to cross: “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (i.e., he hung a copper serpent on a tree to save Jews bitten by poisonous snakes from death), so must the Son of Man be lifted up (i.e., Christ must also be lifted up on the tree of the cross) - Son of Man), so that everyone (everyone) who believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life. God loves the world so much that for the salvation of people He gave His only begotten Son (to suffer and die), and sent Him into the world not for this. not to judge people, but to save people.

This conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus took place more than two thousand years ago. However, many preachers and theologians constantly turn to the theme of this nightly communication between the two teachers of Israel. The Apostle John very vividly described this episode from the life of Jesus. Undoubtedly, this meeting left an indelible impression on Nicodemus and radically changed his future life.

What prompted me to get involved in this seemingly exhausted topic? Firstly, this famous and thoughtful conversation was pulled into separate quotes and pieces, which violates the whole picture. And this picture is very interesting.

Secondly, many preachers portray Nicodemus as such a slow-witted person. A too slow-hearted and too carnally minded person, unable to soar spiritually above the earthly. But this is far from true.

The entire conversation consists of seemingly illogical and inconsistent questions and answers. The reasoning of the night guest seems awkward and stupid. Such thoughts will naturally arise in us if we do not understand why Nicodemus came to Jesus? What did he need? What problem brought him to Christ?

When we understand what worried Nicodemus, we will not laugh at him. And we will see that he was not as stupid as it seems at first glance. We will see that this intelligent and thoughtful man was worried about a very important question that concerned not only him, but all of humanity.

With this article I want to intercede for the teacher of Israel, so that some preachers will no longer treat Nicodemus as a whipping boy. This wise old man is worthy of respect and praise.

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First, we need to remember how Israel lived. All Israel lived in anticipation of the coming of the promised Messiah. This was the whole meaning of the existence of the Jews as a nation. Everything rested on the appearance of Christ. All holidays, all services, all prophecies were geared towards the coming of the Messiah. He was the focus of all the aspirations, expectations and hopes of the chosen people.

When Jesus went out into public service, and miracles of healing rained down as if from a cornucopia, people who saw all this involuntarily had to wonder - was this not the Messiah?

“And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

And rumors about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all the weak, those possessed by various diseases and seizures, and the demon-possessed, and the lunatics, and the paralytic, and He healed them. And a great multitude followed him from Galilee, and from the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” (Matt.4:23-25)

After all, this is an extraordinary event in the life of Israel. Miracles accompanied Jesus constantly. They were not a one-time occurrence.

“And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man began to speak. And the people, amazed, said: Such a phenomenon has never happened in Israel.” (Matt.9:33)

This is a more than powerful claim to Messiahship.

“And they marveled exceedingly, and said: He does everything well, and makes the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.” (Mark 7:37)

The Christ promised by God was to bring an era of happiness and general prosperity. The Kingdom of the Messiah is not a society of the unfortunate, the lame, the blind and the possessed. The kingdom of the Messiah is a kingdom of special mercy from God, where joy, health, peace and tranquility reign. The ancient prophets also predicted this. It is not for nothing that Jesus answered the question of the disciples of John the Baptist: “Are you the one who should come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20). He answered with the fulfilling prophecies of Isaiah (chap. 35) about the Messiah: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are preached to the gospel; and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me!” (Luke 7:22-23)

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Now about Nicodemus... Have you ever had the opportunity to talk with an elder rabbi or witness a conversation with such a person? If yes, then you will never consider them foolish.

The elder teacher is the national pride of the Jews. His unhurried speech, full of inner dignity, makes a strong impression on the listener. Every word he says is polished and weighed. His sedate appearance alone is worth it! He is a representative of the greatest people in the world. Encyclopedic knowledge, vast life experience and intelligence make him not just an interesting conversationalist. For many people it is a blessing to communicate with such a sage. Their spiritual guidance is sought.

It was this gray-haired old man who came to the young thirty-year-old preacher under the cover of darkness. Nicodemus did not just come to “philosophize” on abstract topics. It was not idle curiosity or well-fed superiority that pushed the famous rabbi to this, as it turned out, historical meeting. One delicate problem brought him here. Which? Now we'll find out.

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“Among the Pharisees there was a certain man named Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews.” (John 3:1)

Do not think that all the Pharisees were notorious scoundrels. The word “Pharisee” meant “separate, separated.” At the heart of this religious movement was the idea of \u200b\u200bthe most accurate fulfillment of the Law of Moses in order to please God. Nicodemus was an exception from the crowd of hypocrites. By the way, the Apostle Paul is the former zealous Pharisee Saul.

“He came to Jesus by night...” (John 3:2)

Some believe that Nicodemus comes under cover of darkness for fear of being seen associating with the disgraced preacher. After all, he is an official representative of the government, which did not favor Jesus. We partly agree.

Others see a night hike as a solution to a different problem. During the day, Jesus was always surrounded by people; many came for healing from various illnesses. In such an environment, it is difficult to concentrate and calmly conduct a theological conversation. After all, Nicodemus is educated. In addition, he has a special status - he is one of the elders of Israel, and not a commoner. Jesus himself loved to retire to prayer in deserted places or at night. Therefore, this meeting format was optimal for them. We partly agree with this.

But still, the main reason for this nightly tete-a-tete meeting is different.

“He came to Jesus at night and said to Him: Rabbi! we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do such miracles as You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2)

Nicodemus calls Jesus Rabbi from the doorway. Rabbi from God! Such recognition from a member of the Sanhedrin is worth a lot. If the embittered enemies of Christ saw the hand of Beelzebub in His miracles, then for Nicodemus the miracles of healing human ailments are a sure sign of God’s presence.

It is no coincidence that Nicodemus starts talking about miracles. He, as a pious elder of Israel, looked forward in hope to the coming of the promised Messiah. After all, Christ will bring with him an era of prosperity and happiness. The future kingdom of Christ was desired by the Jews, who dreamed of getting there.

Jesus easily read the secrets of the human heart. He guessed what need Nicodemus came with and answers his personal problem.

It seems that Jesus answers inappropriately. But no, He was not wrong. The fact is that Nicodemus, as an educated and knowledgeable person in the Scriptures, knew very well the prophecies about the Messiah and His wonderful Kingdom. He kept in mind the prophecies of Isaiah:

“...behold your God, vengeance will come, God’s recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

Then the lame will leap up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing" (Isa. 35:4-6)

“And ye shall rejoice and rejoice forever in the things that I do: for behold, I make Jerusalem a joy, and her people a joy.

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying will no longer be heard in it.

There will no longer be a child or an old man who will not reach the fullness of his days; For a man who is a hundred years old will die a youth, but a sinner who is a hundred years old will be cursed.” (Isa.65:18-20)

There should be no lame, blind or dumb in the Kingdom of God. And this is logical. What kind of “happiness” is it to be blind or to be a leper? Is it happiness to be mute and moo like an animal, and not thank God with poetry and singing? Therefore, when Nicodemus saw that Jesus makes the blind see, the deaf hear, and heals the possessed and lepers with His one word, he understood that this is the finger of God.

Jesus himself said: “If I cast out demons with the finger of God, then, of course, the kingdom of God has come to you.” (Luke 11:20)

What did the respected member of the Sanhedrin need? He was not lame, nor was he blind. He was not a leper or possessed. So what's the deal? But the fact is that Nicodemus was... old. Yes Yes! In old age, my legs seem to be able to walk, but not as much as in my youth. What about vision? And vision leaves much to be desired. Both with hearing and with all other organs of the human body, things are, alas, not in the best way. It’s not for nothing that there is a saying: “Old age is not joy.” Nicodemus did not want to be a weak old man in the Kingdom of the Messiah. He realized that old age is a disease. He did not want to come to terms with this disease. Everyone will rejoice with joy in the long-awaited Kingdom, and he will shuffle with weak legs?! No, this won't happen! After all, the prophets said: “There will no longer be a young man or an old man who will not reach the fullness of his days; for one who is a hundred years old will die a youth.” (Isa.65:20) A man who is a hundred years old will be young and strong like a youth. That is why he, an elderly teacher, came to the God-sent miracle worker for healing from old age. If Jesus could banish any disease with one word, then He could solve his problem too. He couldn’t, like everyone else, approach Jesus during the day and ask people to heal him of his old age. Nicodemus would have been laughed at. For this reason, he came with his delicate problem at night, when he could communicate one-on-one with Christ.

Nicodemus came for the youth and strength of the primordial Adam. But he is shy, so he starts from afar, talking about the miracles of Jesus in general. Christ, the knower of the heart, immediately answers his unspoken question, speaking about the new birth:

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Maybe Nicodemus expected Jesus to touch him or say a word so that a miracle would happen, as He usually did, and this was observed by the old man more than once. But since the Rabbi from God spoke about a new birth, the old man is ready to obey. He agrees, but... But how?! How to do it?! How can this even be?!

If the elder had not come for what I wrote above, he would have behaved completely differently. At Jesus’ offer of a new birth, he would have waved his hands with the words: “What are you, my dear?! What are you speaking about?! That’s not what I came for!”

But Nicodemus is more serious than ever and begins to think and ponder the solution to his problem out loud.

“Nicodemus said to Him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he really enter his mother’s womb another time and be born?” (John 3:4)

Let us not judge the Elder of Israel harshly for his lack of understanding. Let us better remember the hundred-year-old Abraham and Sarah, who did not immediately believe God that they could have a child. Let us also remember the Virgin Mary, who, in response to the Angel’s speech that she would conceive and give birth to a son, first answered: “How will this be when I don’t know a husband?” (Luke 1:34) God was very lenient with them, for obvious reasons.

And our hero was a pioneer of his kind. That is why Jesus condescends to his advanced age and continues the lesson. After all, he is a Rabbi from God!

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)

Jesus, like a good teacher, rephrased his answer a little. Christ gives a hint. He says the same thing as in the first case, only he chewed his answer a little for the digestibility of the listener’s mind.

“Do not be surprised at what I said to you: you must be born again.

Jesus spoke openly about spiritual, not carnal birth and entry into His invisible Kingdom. It, like the wind, is invisible to the eye, but we hear its “voice,” which convinces us of its reality (apparently during this night conversation a light breeze was blowing, which Jesus used as a visual aid).

“Nicodemus answered Him, How can this be?” (John 3:9)

But Jesus had already reprimanded Nicodemus for this question, albeit in a mild form.

“Jesus answered and said to him: You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony.

If I told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” (John 3:10-12)

They were waiting for the earthly Kingdom, and Christ came to build a spiritual power in the hearts of believers. They were waiting for the liberation of their homeland from the occupiers, and Jesus came to free them from sinful slavery. They revered the stone tablets of the covenant, and God wanted to write the commandments on their hearts. They boasted about the temple, but God wanted to make them themselves the temple of the Spirit.

Nikodim is certainly smart! He guessed that old age is not normal, that it is a disease that all people suffer from. And this disease must be fought. With old age comes death. But people were not created by God for death.

However, the radical solution to this problem proposed by Jesus plunged the elderly Rabbi into bewilderment. God's plan for building a spiritual rather than an earthly Kingdom left him in a slight shock. Their entire theological doctrine that they had built in their heads was crumbling.

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Nicodemus went home the same old man as he had come. He went, squinting with his old eyes in the pre-dawn darkness. However, internally he became different. This night conversation had an indelible impression on his spirit. This night changed a lot in his worldview. This was his Penuel (Gen. 32:30-31). Nicodemus, like his ancestor Jacob once, walked inwardly inspired after this fateful night meeting. He walked and thought about how, when he came home, he would immediately sit down to read the Scriptures. How he will open the sacred scrolls of the prophets again and read in them, wiping away tears of tenderness, what was previously closed to him. The young preacher from Nazareth gave him more than youth. Jesus showed him a new path along which he, Nicodemus,

must go, and not only him.

Subsequently, it was Nicodemus, already during the day, in front of everyone, who courageously stood up for Jesus in the Sanhedrin, when they wanted to arrest Christ (John 7:50).

And when Jesus was killed, Nicodemus openly honored Him, bringing about a hundred liters of expensive incense (perhaps prepared for himself) for the burial of his Teacher (John 19:38-42).

Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, a member of the Sanhedrin, an expert in Scripture and, apparently, a teacher.

For his zeal for spiritual enlightenment, the Savior reveals to Nicodemus secrets about the Kingdom of Heaven:

· About being born again, from the Spirit

· About Himself as the Son of God, as the Redeemer (so-called objective reasons for salvation)

· About the conditions of salvation on the part of man and about the reasons for faith and disbelief in Him. (so-called subjective reasons for salvation).

Nicodemus was no stranger to false representatives about the Messiah. But at the same time he was one of the best Pharisees, he was kind and strived for the truth. Why did Nicodemus come to the Savior at night? It is unlikely that in this case he followed the custom of the rabbis to talk at night. Nicodemus was afraid of disclosing the fact of his conversation with Jesus.

St. Kirill of Alexandria : «… evil shame and human glory; motivations, convictions of conscience (miracles amazed). And remain in honor among your own people and please God.He confessed openly when Christ was taken down from the Cross.(John 5) : “How can you believe that you receive glory from one another, but do not seek glory from God?”

Ep. Mikhail (Luzin) : "In the position of Nicodemus it is excusable. Caution as a virtue"

Nicodemus, without having time to ask a question, receives an exact answer from the Lord. The Lord said exactly what worried Nicodemus, that is, He revealed His omniscience.

O necessity of being born again: "How can one be born again, enter the mother's womb when old, etc."Interpreters put forward different hypotheses about the reason for the repeated question:

1) In Aramaic the words over And again are used as synonyms. So Nicodemus asks again.

2) Spiritual primitiveness is determined by Nicodemus by the priority of sensory ideas. Nicodemus does not understand the Lord’s words about the second birth at all.

3) This is feigned misunderstanding in order to provoke the Lord into a more detailed explanation. This hypothesis seems to us the most plausible. Nicodemus was cunning, otherwise he would not have come at night.

Being born again is baptism. In the Greek text the word spirit here it is used without an article, i.e. this refers to the spiritual realm as a whole. The presence of the article would dictate a completely different meaning: it would mean the Holy Spirit Himself, the Third Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. Such texts (for example, a conversation with the Samaritan woman) require scrupulous philological analysis to clarify their true dogmatic content.

The analogy with the copper serpent makes us understand Jesus’ words about the ascension as about the ascension specifically to the cross. To teach heavenly things in the midst of the darkness of a corrupt world is the prerogative of the Son of Man.

John 3:12-15. If I told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, who is in heaven, who came down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life

St. John Chrysostom : Apparently, there is no connection with the previous word about baptism, however, about rebirth through baptism, he also indicated the reason for purification and rebirth - the cross, that is the connection. The Passion of Christ as a manifestation of God’s love for man, eternal life. Must be ascended to be saved. He suffers for slaves who are not grateful, which no one would do for a friend.

Modern biblical scholars argue about the identity of the words (John 16:21): are these the words of the Lord or is this an addition of John? The Ancient Fathers recognized this fragment as the words of Christ Himself. Why would the Evangelist finish and confirm the words of the Lord with his own words?

Blzh. Theophylact : What does it mean: he who believes in the Son is not condemned? Is it really not sued if his life is unclean? Very litigious. For even Paul does not call such people sincere believers. They show, he says (Titus 1:16), that they know God, but by their deeds they deny Him. However, here he says that he is not judged by the very fact that he believed: although he will give the strictest account of evil deeds, he is not punished for unbelief, because he believed for once. “And he who does not believe is already condemned.” How? Firstly, because unbelief itself is condemnation; for to be out of the light - this alone - is the greatest punishment. Then, although here it is not yet given over to Gehenna, here it has combined everything that leads to future punishment; just as a murderer, even if he was not sentenced to punishment by a judge’s verdict, was condemned by the essence of the case. And Adam died on the same day that he ate of the forbidden tree; although he was alive, according to the verdict and the merits of the case, he was dead. So, every unbeliever is already condemned here, as undoubtedly subject to punishment and not having to come to judgment, according to what has been said: the wicked will not rise to judgment (Ps. 1:5). For no account will be required from the wicked, any more than from the devil: they will rise not to judgment, but to condemnation. So in the Gospel the Lord says that the prince of this world has already been condemned (John 16:11), both because he himself did not believe, and because he made Judas a traitor and prepared destruction for others. If in parables (Matthew 23:14-32; Luke 19:11-27) the Lord introduces those who are subject to punishment as those who give an account, then do not be surprised, firstly, because what is said is a parable, and what is said in parables is not necessary accept everything as laws and rules. For on that day everyone, having an infallible judge in his conscience, will not require any other reproof, but will go away bound from himself; secondly, because the Lord introduces those who give account not of unbelievers, but of believers, but uncompassionate and unmerciful. We are talking about the wicked and unbelievers; and some - wicked and unbelieving, and others - unmerciful and sinful. - “The judgment is that light has come into the world.” Here the unbelievers are shown to be deprived of all justification. This, he says, is the judgment, that the light came to them, but they did not rush towards it. They sinned not only by not seeking the light themselves, but, worst of all, by the fact that it came to them, and yet they did not accept it. That is why they are condemned. If the light had not come, then people could plead ignorance of good. And when God the Word came and delivered His teaching to enlighten them, and they did not accept, then they were already deprived of all justification. - Lest anyone say that no one would prefer darkness to light, he also sets forth the reason why people turned to darkness: because, he says, their deeds were evil. Since Christianity requires not only a right way of thinking, but also an honest life, and they wanted to wallow in the mud of sin, therefore those who do evil deeds did not want to go to the light of Christianity and obey My laws. “But he who acts in truth,” that is, leading an honest and godly life, strives for Christianity as for light, in order to further succeed in goodness and so that his deeds according to God may be evident. For such a one, believing correctly and leading an honest life, shines for all people, and God is glorified in him. Therefore, the reason for the unbelief of the pagans was the uncleanness of their lives. Perhaps, another will say, well, aren’t there any vicious Christians and pagans who are approving in life? That there are vicious Christians, I will say this myself; but I cannot say decisively that good pagans will be found. Some may be found “by nature” to be meek and kind, but this is not a virtue, and no one is good “from deeds” and exercises in goodness. If some seemed good, then they did everything because of glory; he who does it for glory, and not for the good itself, will willingly indulge in an evil desire when he finds opportunities for it. For if with us the threat of Gehenna, and any other care, and the examples of countless saints barely keep people in virtue, then the nonsense and vileness of the pagans will keep them in goodness even less. It’s great if they don’t make them completely evil.

There is also confusion regarding (John 3:8) " The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit.". Different interpreters see in these words an indication either of the Third Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, or of the wind as an object mentioned in parables.

The expulsion of the merchants from the temple and the miracles performed by the Lord in Jerusalem had such a strong effect on the Jews that even one of the “princes” or leaders of the Jews, a member of the Sanhedrin (see John 7:50) Nicodemus came to Jesus. He came at night; obviously, he really wanted to hear His teaching, but was afraid of incurring the anger of his comrades who were hostile to the Lord. Nicodemus calls the Lord “Tavvi,” that is, teacher, thereby recognizing His right to teach, which, according to the view
scribes and Pharisees, Jesus could not have without graduating from rabbinical school. And this already shows Nicodemus’s disposition towards the Lord. He goes on to call Jesus “a teacher come from God,” acknowledging that He performs miracles with His inherent divine power. Nicodemus speaks not only on his own behalf, but also on behalf of all the Jews who believed in the Lord, and perhaps even on behalf of some members of the Sanhedrin, although, of course, for the most part these people were hostile to the Lord.
The entire subsequent conversation is remarkable in that it is aimed at defeating the false fantastic views of Pharisaism about the Kingdom of God and the conditions for man’s entry into this Kingdom. This conversation is divided into three parts: Spiritual rebirth as the main requirement for entry into the Kingdom of God; The redemption of humanity through the sufferings of the Son of God on the cross, without which it would be impossible for people to inherit the Kingdom of God; The essence of judgment over people who did not believe in the Son of God.
The type of Pharisee at that time was the personification of the narrowest and fanatical national particularism: they considered themselves completely different from all other people. The Pharisee believed that just because he was a Jew and, especially, a Pharisee, he was an indispensable and worthy member of the glorious Kingdom of the Messiah. The Messiah himself, according to the Pharisees, must be a Jew like them, who will free all Jews from the foreign yoke and create a world kingdom in which they, the Jews, will occupy a dominant position. Nicodemus, who obviously shared these views common to the Pharisees, in the depths of his soul, perhaps felt their falsity, and therefore came to Jesus, about whose remarkable personality so many rumors had spread, to find out whether He was the expected Messiah? And so he himself decided to go to the Lord to make sure of this. From the very first words, the Lord begins his conversation by destroying these false Pharisee claims to being chosen: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Or, in other words, it is not enough to be a Jew by birth; a complete moral rebirth is needed, which is given to a person from above, from God, and one must, as it were, be born again, become a new creature (which is the essence of Christianity). Since the Pharisees imagined the Kingdom of the Messiah as a physical, earthly kingdom, it is not surprising that Nicodemus understood these words of the Lord also in the physical sense, that is, that to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah a second carnal birth is necessary, and expressed his bewilderment, emphasizing the absurdity this requirement: “How can a person be born when he is old? Can he really enter his mother’s womb another time and be born?” Then Jesus explains that we are not talking about a carnal birth, but about a special spiritual birth, which differs from the carnal birth in both causes and fruits.
This is birth "of water and the Spirit." Water is a means or instrument, and the Holy Spirit is the Power that produces new birth, and the Author of new being: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” “What is born of the flesh is flesh,”- when a person is born from earthly parents, he inherits from them the original sin of Adam, which nests in the flesh, thinks carnally and pleases his carnal passions and lusts. These shortcomings of carnal birth can be corrected by spiritual birth: “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The one who has accepted rebirth from the Spirit himself enters into spiritual life, rising above everything carnal and sensual. Seeing that Nicodemus still does not understand, the Lord begins to explain to him what exactly this birth from the Spirit consists of, comparing the method of this birth with the wind: "Spirit[in this case the Lord means by in spirit wind] He breathes where he wants, and you hear his voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit.” In other words, in spiritual rebirth only a change is observable for a person, which
occurs within himself, but the regenerating power and the way in which it acts, as well as the paths along which it comes, are all mysterious and elusive to man. We also feel the action of the wind on ourselves: we hear “its voice,” but we do not see and do not know where it comes from and where it rushes, so free in its aspiration and in no way dependent on our will. Similar to this is the action of the Spirit of God, which revives us: obvious and tangible, but mysterious and inexplicable.
However, Nicodemus continues to remain in misunderstanding, and in his next question "How can it be?" both distrust of the words of Jesus and Pharisaic pride with a claim to understand everything and explain everything are expressed. It is this Pharisaic arrogance that the Lord strikes in His answer with such force that Nicodemus later does not dare to object to anything and in his moral self-abasement little by little begins to prepare the soil in his heart on which the Lord then sows the seeds of His saving teaching: "You - teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?” With these words, the Lord denounces not so much Nicodemus himself, but the entire arrogant Pharisaic teaching, which, having taken the key to understanding the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, neither entered into it itself nor allowed others to enter. How could the Pharisees not know the teaching about the need for spiritual rebirth, when in the Old Testament there was so often the idea of the need to renew a person, about God giving him a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone (Eze 36:26). After all, King David also prayed: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”(Ps 50:12).
Moving on to the revelation of the highest secrets about Himself and His Kingdom, the Lord, in the form of an introduction, notes to Nicodemus that, in contrast to the Pharisee teaching, He Himself and His disciples proclaim a new teaching, which is based directly on the knowledge and contemplation of the truth: “We speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony.”- that is, you Pharisees are the imaginary teachers of Israel.
Further, in words: “If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, - How will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”- under earthly The Lord implies the teaching of the need for rebirth, since both the need for rebirth and its consequences occur in man and are known by his inner experience. And speaking of heavenly, Jesus had in mind the sublime mysteries of the Divine, which are above all human observation and knowledge: About the eternal council of the Trinity God, about the taking upon Himself of the redemptive feat for the salvation of people by the Son of God, about the combination in this feat of Divine love with Divine justice. What happens in a person and with a person, perhaps the person himself knows partly about it. But which of the people can ascend to heaven and penetrate into the mysterious region of Divine life? No one except the Son of Man, Who, having descended to earth, left heaven: “No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, who is in heaven, who came down from heaven.” With these words, the Lord reveals the secret of His incarnation, convinces him that He is more than an ordinary messenger of God, like the Old Testament prophets, as Nicodemus considers Him, that His appearance on earth in the form of the Son of Man is a descent from a higher state to a lower, humiliated state , because His true, eternal existence is not on earth, but in heaven.
Then the Lord reveals to Nicodemus the secret of His redemptive deed: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Why must the Son of Man be lifted up on the cross to save mankind? This is exactly what it is heavenly, which cannot be comprehended by earthly thought. The Lord points to the copper serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert as a prototype of His deed on the cross. Moses erected a copper serpent before the Israelites, so that when they were slain by the serpents,
received healing by looking at this serpent. Likewise, the entire human race, stricken with the plague of sin living in the flesh, receives healing by looking with faith to Christ, who came in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3). At the heart of the feat of the cross of the Son of God is God’s love for people: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Eternal life is established in a person by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and people receive access to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16) through the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
The Pharisees thought that Christ's work would consist of judging the nations of other faiths. The Lord explains that He is now sent not for judgment, but for the salvation of the world. Unbelievers will condemn themselves, for with this unbelief their love for darkness and hatred for light, which stems from their love for dark deeds, will be revealed. Those who create the truth, honest, moral souls, themselves go to the light, without fear of exposure of their deeds.

In. III, 1-21:1 Among the Pharisees there was a certain man named Nicodemus, one of the rulers of Judah. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to Him: Rabbi! we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do such miracles as You do unless God is with him. 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Can he really enter his mother’s womb another time and be born? 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be surprised at what I said to you: you must be born again. 8 The Spirit breathes where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes: this is the case with everyone born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can this be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?” 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony. 12 If I told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, who is in heaven, who came down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 Now this is the judgment, that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil. 21 But he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they are done in God.

Guide to the study of the Four Gospels.

Prot. Seraphim Slobodskaya (1912-1971).
Based on the book “The Law of God”, 1957.

Conversation of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus

(John III, 1-21)

Among the people who were amazed by the miracles of Jesus Christ and believed in Him was the Pharisee Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews. He came to Jesus Christ at night, secretly from everyone, so that the Pharisees and Jewish leaders, who did not love Jesus Christ, would know about it.

Nicodemus wanted to find out whether Jesus Christ really is the expected Savior of the world, and who He will accept into His Kingdom: what a person needs to do to enter His Kingdom. He said to the Savior: “Rabbi (teacher)! we know that You are a Teacher who came from God; because no one can do such miracles as You do unless God is with Him.”

The Savior, in a conversation with Nicodemus, said: “Truly I say to you, whoever is not born again cannot be in the Kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus was very surprised how a person could be born again.

But the Savior told him not about an ordinary, physical birth, but about a spiritual one, that is, that a person needs to change, to become completely different in his soul - completely kind and merciful, and that such a change in a person can only happen by the power of God.

Then the Savior told Nicodemus that He came to earth to suffer and die for people, not to ascend to the royal throne, but to the cross: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (i.e., hung a copper serpent on a tree to save those bitten by poisonous snakes of the Jews), so the Son of Man must be lifted up (that is, Christ, the Son of Man, must also be lifted up on the tree of the cross), so that everyone (everyone) who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. God loves the world so much that to save people He gave His only begotten Son (to suffer and die), and sent Him into the world not to judge people, but to save people.

From that time on, Nicodemus became a secret disciple of Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Averky (Taushev) (1906-1976)
A Guide to Studying the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Four Gospels. Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, 1954.

2. Conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with Nicodemus

(John III, 1-21)

The type of Pharisee at that time was the personification of the narrowest and fanatical national particularism: “not like other men.” The Pharisee believed that he, simply because he was a Jew, and even more so a Pharisee, was thereby an indispensable and worthy member of the glorious Kingdom of the Messiah. The Messiah himself, according to the views of the Pharisees, will be a Jew like them, who will free the Jews from the foreign yoke and establish a world kingdom in which the Jews will occupy a dominant position. Nicodemus, obviously sharing these views common to the Pharisees, although perhaps in the depths of his soul he felt their falsity, came to the conclusion whether Jesus, about whose remarkable personality so many rumors had spread, was not in fact the expected Messiah. And he decided to go to Him himself to make sure of this. The Lord begins His conversation with him by immediately smashing this false Pharisee view.

“Amen, amen, I say to you,” He says to him: “unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God,” i.e. It is not enough to be a Jew by birth: one needs a complete moral rebirth, which is given to a person from above, from God; one must, as it were, be born again, become a new creature (which is the essence of Christianity). Since the Pharisees imagined the Kingdom of the Messiah as a sensual, earthly kingdom, it is not surprising that Nicodemus understood these words of the Lord also in a sensual sense, i.e. that to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah a second carnal birth is necessary and expressed his bewilderment, emphasizing the absurdity of this requirement: “How can a person be born, old? Can food enter its mother’s womb for the second time and be born?” Then Jesus explains to him that He is not talking about carnal birth, but about a special spiritual birth, which differs, both in causes and results, from carnal birth. This is birth by water and the Spirit. Water is here a means or an instrument, and the Holy Spirit is the Power that produces a new birth, as the Author of a new being: “Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” This new birth differs from the carnal one in its fruits. “What is born of the flesh is flesh” - when a person is born from carnal parents, he inherits from them the original sin of Adam, which nests in the flesh, thinks carnally and pleases carnal passions and lusts. These shortcomings of carnal birth are corrected by spiritual birth: “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” He who has accepted rebirth from the Spirit himself enters into spiritual life, rising above everything carnal and sensual. Seeing that Nicodemus still does not understand this, the Lord begins to explain to him what this birth from the Spirit consists of, comparing the method of this birth with the wind. “Spirit, in this case the Lord here calls the wind “spirit,” wherever it wants to breathe, and you hear its voice, but do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is every person born of the Spirit.” In other words, in the spiritual rebirth of a person, only the change that occurs in the person himself is observable, and the regenerating force, the ways in which it comes, the way in which it acts - all this is mysterious and elusive for a person. This is similar to how we feel the action of the wind on ourselves, hear “its voice,” i.e. noise, but where it comes from and where it rushes, so free in its aspiration and so little dependent on our will, we do not see and do not know. In the same way, the action of the Spirit of God, which regenerates us, is obvious and tangible, but mysterious and inexplicable. Nicodemus continues to not understand, and in his question: “how can these things be?” both distrust of the words of Jesus and his Pharisaic pride with a claim to understand and explain everything are expressed. This Pharisaic arrogance is what the Lord strikes with all his might in his answer, so that Nicodemus does not dare to object anymore, and in his moral self-abasement little by little prepares in his heart the soil on which the Lord then sows the seeds of His saving teaching: “ Thou art the teacher of Israel, and art thou not these? With these words, the Lord denounces not so much Nicodemus himself, but the entire arrogant Pharisee teaching, which, having taken the key to understanding the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, neither itself entered into it, nor did it allow others to enter. How could the Pharisees not know the teaching about the need for spiritual rebirth, when in the Old Testament so often the idea of the need to renew man, about God giving him a heart of flesh instead of stone (Ezek. 36:26). After all, King David also prayed: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb” (Ps. 50:12).

Turning then to the revelation of the highest secrets about Himself and His Kingdom, the Lord, as if in the form of an introductory remark, tells Nicodemus that, in contrast to the Pharisee teaching, He Himself and His disciples proclaim a new teaching, which is based on direct knowledge and contemplation of the truth: “ We know, we speak, and we see, we testify, but you do not accept our testimony,” i.e. you are Pharisees, pretended teachers of Israel.

Further in the words: “If the earthly river came to you and you do not believe, how will you believe if the heavenly river came to you?” The Lord means by “earthly” the doctrine of the need for rebirth, since both the need for rebirth and its consequences occur in man and are known by his inner experience, and by “heavenly” the sublime secrets of the Divine, which are above all human observation and knowledge: as about the eternal council of the Trinity God, about the Son of God taking upon Himself the redemptive feat for the salvation of people, about the combination in this feat of Divine love with Divine justice. What happens to a person and in a person, the person himself can partly know about this. But which of the people can ascend to heaven and penetrate into the mysterious region of Divine life? No one except the Son of Man, Who, having descended to earth, left heaven: “No one has ascended into heaven, except the Son of Man who came down from heaven, who is in heaven.” With these words, the Lord reveals to Nicodemus the secret of His incarnation; convinces him that He is more than an ordinary messenger of God, like the Old Testament prophets, as Nicodemus considers Him, that His appearance on earth in the form of the Son of Man is a descent from a higher state to a lower, humiliated one, because His eternal, everlasting existence is not on earth, but in heaven.

Then the Lord reveals to Nicodemus the secret of His redemptive deed. “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so it is fitting for the Son of Man to be lifted up.” Why must the Son of Man be lifted up on the cross to save people? This is precisely what is “heavenly”, which cannot be comprehended by earthly thought. As a prototype of His feat on the cross, the Lord points to the copper serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert. Moses erected a copper serpent in front of the Israelites so that when they were struck by snakes, they would receive healing by looking at the serpent. Likewise, the entire human race, stricken by the plague of sin living in the flesh, receives healing by looking with faith at Christ, who came in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3). The basis of the deed on the cross of the Son of God is God’s love for people: “For God so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life.” Eternal life is established in a person by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and people receive access to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16) through the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees thought that Christ's work would consist of judging the nations of other faiths. The Lord explains that He is now sent not for judgment, but for the salvation of the world. Unbelievers will condemn themselves, for in this unbelief their love for darkness and hatred for light, which stems from their love for evil deeds, will be revealed. Those who create the truth, honest, moral souls, themselves go to the light, without fear of exposure of their deeds.

New Testament

Conversation of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus

The Savior, in a conversation with Nicodemus, said: “Truly I say to you, whoever is not born again cannot be in the Kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus was very surprised how a person could be born again.