v.3-5 Jesus answered him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born again (from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Beloved in Christ, what a joyous day! An incredible and special day! For today not only do we celebrate the divine mystery of the triune nature of our loving God, but we are also blessed to see and hear and remember how this same Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—came to each one of us through water and the Word to give us the fullness of His grace and mercy, forgiving our sins and granting us live and salvation forever in His name. And this is no small feat. Nor is it something that we can easily comprehend. For the mighty work of God in Baptism whereby He creates faith in newborn babies and crotchety old men alike is as great a work as if He created heaven and earth all over again.
It is no wonder then that we marvel at Jesus’ words in our text. It is no wonder that even Nicodemus—a lifelong and learned student of the Holy Scriptures—a teacher of the children of Israel could not grasp what Jesus said concerning the need to be born again to see the kingdom of God. Indeed, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night—his mind clouded by the darkness of sin he came to He who is the Light of the world—seeking enlightenment. He had seen the signs and miracles that Jesus had performed among the people and had said to himself, “Here is a teacher come from God...for God is with Him.” Yet Jesus is so much more than teacher.
Jesus’ response to Nicodemus is profound. In effect, He says, “You think you’ve seen and heard some amazing things from me? You haven’t heard anything yet! For unless one is born again (from above—from God—through faith in the One who will be lifted up just as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness) you cannot see the kingdom of God.” To which Nicodemus responds with a hearty, “HUH? How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Now I know that all you moms out there love your children very dearly. But I am also certain that you would draw the line at having them enter your womb to be born a second time! You’re not doing that again any time soon are you?
So, then, beloved, we have ourselves a problem. For flesh can only give birth to flesh. That is, that we as sinful human beings can in no way produce in ourselves or our children faith in Christ to see the Kingdom of God. Our sinful nature passes down to our children only sin and death that we ourselves inherited from our parents all the way back to Adam and Eve. It is the Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son who alone can and does breathe new life and faith into the hearts of all believers. We receive perfect holiness in the forgiveness of sins that comes through the Holy Spirit working through the very means that He Himself established to save sinners—namely His blessed Word and Holy Sacraments—such as Baptism—which is, essentially the visible Word to which sinful people may cling to by faith.
Yet as great as God’s promises are to us in Holy Baptism to which He has attached His saving name and the entire work of Christ for our salvation—yet still we doubt. We are little Nicodemus’s who fail to comprehend the greatness of the work of God through simple water that has His Word of promise added to it. How can water do such great things? How can water wash away the sin of any person? How can water bring eternal life and comfort to those trapped by sin and facing death? Amen, amen I say to you, water cannot do such great things, but the Word of God in the water—which says to us, “Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.”
For Baptism is no ordinary water. It is a true washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit as St. Paul says in his letter to Titus. Baptism connects us to the saving work of Christ by baptizing us into His death and resurrection. We are buried with Christ in Baptism—His death for sin becoming our death—and His resurrection becomes our life and salvation. As the pastor pours water over us according to the command and promise of Christ in the Triune name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, all God’s work of redemption is poured out upon the sinner and given to them, working faith and life in their hearts where once only reigned sin and death.
Is this a mystery to us? Yes. Does it make sense to our human reason? Not at all. And really this shouldn’t surprise us, dear friends. How can finite human beings expect to understand the workings of the infinite and holy God? Isn’t it rather arrogant to assume that we ever truly could? Is it not much more appropriate and reasonable to confess that God’s ways are not our ways and His foolishness is greater than our wisdom? Should we not humbly accept God at His Word? The same Word that created the heavens and the earth is the same Word by which He creates and sustains saving faith in the hearts of people through His appointed Word and Sacraments.
No human being can truly understand how the wind works and moves and operates. It is the same with the working of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says. He works how and when and where He wills, according to His purpose. But so that we may not grow weak and despair in our faith He gives us gifts to cling to—solid and substantial things that we may hold onto in moments of doubt and affliction.
That is why the greatest and most precious gift we can ever receive is that of Holy Baptism. It is a treasure far above all others, which is why I am so when parents do not wait very long at all to bring their children before God and have Him bestow upon them the healing and life-giving water of Holy Baptism. For when the world attacks us—when Satan afflicts and tempts us to despair—when sin and our conscience oppress us—we draw strength from our Baptism and fervently reply, “But I am baptized! And if I am baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body.”
Dear friends, this promise is for you and me and all Christians each and every day. Come what may we may be confident in the sure work of Christ on the cross who gave His life as a ransom for many—pouring out His own innocent life’s blood so that you and I might be saved. The Holy Spirit has given us this faith through His Word and sealed it unto us in Holy Baptism and His Holy Supper.
Each day we live is a day of constant repentance of our sin before God and one another. Each day is a day constantly lived in the state of grace that as God’s Baptized children we are assured a place in His eternal Kingdom, confident in His mercy. We daily are to drown the old sinful flesh that resides within us and rise to new life through faith in Christ, the new man whom the Spirit has given us in our Baptism. For whoever believes the greatest of all divine mysteries—that of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen from the dead—has the Father and the Son and the Spirit and so has life. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Beloved in Christ, what a joyous day! An incredible and special day! For today not only do we celebrate the divine mystery of the triune nature of our loving God, but we are also blessed to see and hear and remember how this same Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—came to each one of us through water and the Word to give us the fullness of His grace and mercy, forgiving our sins and granting us live and salvation forever in His name. And this is no small feat. Nor is it something that we can easily comprehend. For the mighty work of God in Baptism whereby He creates faith in newborn babies and crotchety old men alike is as great a work as if He created heaven and earth all over again.
It is no wonder then that we marvel at Jesus’ words in our text. It is no wonder that even Nicodemus—a lifelong and learned student of the Holy Scriptures—a teacher of the children of Israel could not grasp what Jesus said concerning the need to be born again to see the kingdom of God. Indeed, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night—his mind clouded by the darkness of sin he came to He who is the Light of the world—seeking enlightenment. He had seen the signs and miracles that Jesus had performed among the people and had said to himself, “Here is a teacher come from God...for God is with Him.” Yet Jesus is so much more than teacher.
Jesus’ response to Nicodemus is profound. In effect, He says, “You think you’ve seen and heard some amazing things from me? You haven’t heard anything yet! For unless one is born again (from above—from God—through faith in the One who will be lifted up just as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness) you cannot see the kingdom of God.” To which Nicodemus responds with a hearty, “HUH? How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Now I know that all you moms out there love your children very dearly. But I am also certain that you would draw the line at having them enter your womb to be born a second time! You’re not doing that again any time soon are you?
So, then, beloved, we have ourselves a problem. For flesh can only give birth to flesh. That is, that we as sinful human beings can in no way produce in ourselves or our children faith in Christ to see the Kingdom of God. Our sinful nature passes down to our children only sin and death that we ourselves inherited from our parents all the way back to Adam and Eve. It is the Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son who alone can and does breathe new life and faith into the hearts of all believers. We receive perfect holiness in the forgiveness of sins that comes through the Holy Spirit working through the very means that He Himself established to save sinners—namely His blessed Word and Holy Sacraments—such as Baptism—which is, essentially the visible Word to which sinful people may cling to by faith.
Yet as great as God’s promises are to us in Holy Baptism to which He has attached His saving name and the entire work of Christ for our salvation—yet still we doubt. We are little Nicodemus’s who fail to comprehend the greatness of the work of God through simple water that has His Word of promise added to it. How can water do such great things? How can water wash away the sin of any person? How can water bring eternal life and comfort to those trapped by sin and facing death? Amen, amen I say to you, water cannot do such great things, but the Word of God in the water—which says to us, “Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.”
For Baptism is no ordinary water. It is a true washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit as St. Paul says in his letter to Titus. Baptism connects us to the saving work of Christ by baptizing us into His death and resurrection. We are buried with Christ in Baptism—His death for sin becoming our death—and His resurrection becomes our life and salvation. As the pastor pours water over us according to the command and promise of Christ in the Triune name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, all God’s work of redemption is poured out upon the sinner and given to them, working faith and life in their hearts where once only reigned sin and death.
Is this a mystery to us? Yes. Does it make sense to our human reason? Not at all. And really this shouldn’t surprise us, dear friends. How can finite human beings expect to understand the workings of the infinite and holy God? Isn’t it rather arrogant to assume that we ever truly could? Is it not much more appropriate and reasonable to confess that God’s ways are not our ways and His foolishness is greater than our wisdom? Should we not humbly accept God at His Word? The same Word that created the heavens and the earth is the same Word by which He creates and sustains saving faith in the hearts of people through His appointed Word and Sacraments.
No human being can truly understand how the wind works and moves and operates. It is the same with the working of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says. He works how and when and where He wills, according to His purpose. But so that we may not grow weak and despair in our faith He gives us gifts to cling to—solid and substantial things that we may hold onto in moments of doubt and affliction.
That is why the greatest and most precious gift we can ever receive is that of Holy Baptism. It is a treasure far above all others, which is why I am so when parents do not wait very long at all to bring their children before God and have Him bestow upon them the healing and life-giving water of Holy Baptism. For when the world attacks us—when Satan afflicts and tempts us to despair—when sin and our conscience oppress us—we draw strength from our Baptism and fervently reply, “But I am baptized! And if I am baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body.”
Dear friends, this promise is for you and me and all Christians each and every day. Come what may we may be confident in the sure work of Christ on the cross who gave His life as a ransom for many—pouring out His own innocent life’s blood so that you and I might be saved. The Holy Spirit has given us this faith through His Word and sealed it unto us in Holy Baptism and His Holy Supper.
Each day we live is a day of constant repentance of our sin before God and one another. Each day is a day constantly lived in the state of grace that as God’s Baptized children we are assured a place in His eternal Kingdom, confident in His mercy. We daily are to drown the old sinful flesh that resides within us and rise to new life through faith in Christ, the new man whom the Spirit has given us in our Baptism. For whoever believes the greatest of all divine mysteries—that of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen from the dead—has the Father and the Son and the Spirit and so has life. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.