Re-birthed in Love
Christopher B. Harbin
John 3:1-17
We like easy answers. We like simple responses. We want the most complex issues of life distilled onto a bumper sticker. Not only do we want it simplified, we want there to be one right way to express and talk about it. Often, it does not really matter to us whether we understand something. What matters is that we know the proper words and phrases to use in our discussions and conversations. Don't try to explain to me how and why my smart phone works. I know it does, and that's enough. When you tell me the moon exerts enough gravity on earth to cause ocean tides, it is easier to just accept the words without trying to understand their implications. Too often, we do the very same thing with Jesus' words. Do we really understand being born again any better than Nicodemus?
Nicodemus was no adversary to Jesus. He approached Jesus with a positive word. He declared there was no question whether or not Jesus had come from God. It was evident. Apparently, however, he was attempting to keep a low profile. Rather than engaging in any less important theme, Jesus seems to have gone straight to the topic Nicodemus needed. Jesus tells him one must be "brought forth" from above, if one is to see God's Reign.
Perhaps it's a bit of a strange term in the Greek here. It refers to being born, to be brought out of, or to come into being. While we are used to hearing it expressed as being born in today's passage, it has a broader meaning than simply what we conceive of as birthing. Nicodemus obviously understands that Jesus is speaking of the birth of a child. He is uncertain, however, what other sense Jesus intends by using this term. We are all born of water, as the amniotic sac bursts in the birthing process. Jesus adds an alternate birthing by which we emerge from above out of the breath, spirit, or wind.
If Nicodemus had been confused to start with, he suddenly had no ...
Christopher B. Harbin
John 3:1-17
We like easy answers. We like simple responses. We want the most complex issues of life distilled onto a bumper sticker. Not only do we want it simplified, we want there to be one right way to express and talk about it. Often, it does not really matter to us whether we understand something. What matters is that we know the proper words and phrases to use in our discussions and conversations. Don't try to explain to me how and why my smart phone works. I know it does, and that's enough. When you tell me the moon exerts enough gravity on earth to cause ocean tides, it is easier to just accept the words without trying to understand their implications. Too often, we do the very same thing with Jesus' words. Do we really understand being born again any better than Nicodemus?
Nicodemus was no adversary to Jesus. He approached Jesus with a positive word. He declared there was no question whether or not Jesus had come from God. It was evident. Apparently, however, he was attempting to keep a low profile. Rather than engaging in any less important theme, Jesus seems to have gone straight to the topic Nicodemus needed. Jesus tells him one must be "brought forth" from above, if one is to see God's Reign.
Perhaps it's a bit of a strange term in the Greek here. It refers to being born, to be brought out of, or to come into being. While we are used to hearing it expressed as being born in today's passage, it has a broader meaning than simply what we conceive of as birthing. Nicodemus obviously understands that Jesus is speaking of the birth of a child. He is uncertain, however, what other sense Jesus intends by using this term. We are all born of water, as the amniotic sac bursts in the birthing process. Jesus adds an alternate birthing by which we emerge from above out of the breath, spirit, or wind.
If Nicodemus had been confused to start with, he suddenly had no ...
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