Gaining Eternal Life

Scripture: John 3:1-20

 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹ Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

¹¹ “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet youdo not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

¹⁷ “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Questions

1. What does Jesus’ metaphor “born from above” mean?
2. Why was Nicodemus confused by Jesus’ words if he had been studying Scripture his whole life?
3. What does it mean to have eternal life and how do we take possession of it.

Background

Related Scriptures: Matthew 19:16-26; Romans 6:15-23

In English we use linear measurements as metaphors for time, “a long time” “a short time” but Greek uses metaphors based on volume. So, when John speaks of “eternal life” ζωὴν αἰώνιον he is not simply talking about day after in a never-ending pattern but an increased volume of life.

Nicodemus does not understand Jesus’ metaphor of being born from above (born again) because as a Jew he would have understood himself to have been born into God’s covenant at his natural birth.

John uses present tense verbs when talking about eternal life indicating that it is not simply a future reality but one that begins here and now.

Reflection

Death is one of the most painful parts of reality and one of humanity’s greatest fears. And this in many ways is completely understandable. All transitions in life can be frightening and death is the greatest transition we face. Yet even though death is the most startling transition we face, there is no need that even this transition should cause us undue fear or anxiety. Every American is probably familiar with John 3:16 and the promise of eternal life. Even those who are not believers find comfort in this fact that death is not the end and is only the transition to another life. There is comfort in the fact we will never cease to have one more day. Even when we die, we will awake to a new day.

However, as great as it is to know that I am going to wake up tomorrow whether in this life or the next, it misses the true magnitude of Jesus’ statement. Part of the reason we miss the magnitude of Jesus’ words is because language fails us when we talk of time. In English, we speak of time with linear 2D metaphors, we use phrases like “a long time”. Phrases like this influence our thinking, so that when we hear Jesus say “eternal life” we imagine a great day from our lives repeating over and over again. But other languages use other metaphors for time. When Jesus says “eternal life” he is using a 3D metaphor of volume. He is not simply talking about one day after another, he is talking about being more alive, being 3D people in a 2D world. One prayer for a funeral service I read expresses eternal life this way, “open to them the gates of larger life”.

The concept of eternal life follows from Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about being born from above. Nicodemus misunderstands Jesus’ words and thinks simply of being born a second time. Jesus though is not so simple, he is talking about being born through and into God’s Spirit. Nicodemus believes Jesus is talking about restarting a 2D life. He is not only asking how this is possible but why a faithful Jew like himself would need such a birth. He could not understand a 3D world where he would grow to be more than he ever thought possible. He could not wrap his head around what Jesus was calling him to, a life full of God’s presence and the character the Spirit brings. Nicodemus was raised in a tradition where he understood that being born as a Jew meant to be part of God’s people. I can imagine him saying, “why would I need to be born a second time when I was already born to be a part of God’s people?” This is a central question, what is the point of being born from above when I am already communing with the people of God? But this is the point Jesus wanted to make was that it was not simply enough to say one was born into God’s people, each of us should be looking forward to being born into God. Jesus is saying that being a child of God is not about who we associate with but having a genuine concern for living in God’s Spirit. Nicodemus was thinking because he was born into the right family he had the best life, but Jesus was telling him the best life (the life that matters) comes from being truly born into God’s family. Being born in the Spirit is about being willing to accept this new family, one joined to God’s Spirit, who moves us to be greater than we are naturally. And the best part is that this life is not limited to life after death. The greater life that Jesus talked about is life we can obtain right now. Yes, we look forward to the completion of this life with Jesus but we can begin that 3D life today.

Jesus wants us to recognize that the life with God that we will share with Jesus after death is open to us now. This life is one characterized by a bigger heart for creation and others. A life characterized by mercy, grace and forgiveness toward those who are hurting and who have hurt us. Eternal life is not simply about waking up in the morning, eternal life is about expanding ourselves in God’s Spirit. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection we have the opportunity to be born into this life and grow through the Spirit. When we accept this new birth larger life begins to grow in us and expand our own being into the world. Being born in the Spirit is about being more real than the rest of the world, being a 3D person living in a 2D world through the power of the Holy Spirit.