Born Again
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. John 3:1 · Berean Standard Bible
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and an important leader among the Jewish people.
Nicodemus had everything — education, status, religious authority. But something was missing, and he knew it.
John introduces a respected religious leader who's about to have his world turned upside down.
He had all the credentials, all the respect, all the religious knowledge. But deep down, Nicodemus knew there was something more. So he went looking for it.
A Pharisee named Nicodemus, described as a ruler (Greek: archōn, 'member of the ruling council') of the Jews, is introduced.
Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council. His name (Greek: 'victor over the people') is ironically fitting for one who will struggle to understand Jesus' message of spiritual rebirth.
The narrator introduces Nicodemus and his religious and political credentials.
Nicodemus represents the Jewish religious elite — learned, powerful, and sincere — yet standing at the threshold of a truth his entire framework has not prepared him for.
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”
3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Read all of John 3 — A religious leader comes at night with questions he can't ask in daylight. The conversation contains the most quoted verse in history.
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