February 8 I Wednesday

Leviticus 4-5

Matthew 24:29-51

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’ ‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked.”     —John 3:3-4

In the middle of the night, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, met with Jesus because he saw something in Him, where the only explanation was that God was with Him. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Nicodemus then followed by questioning, “How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus was talking in spiritual, divine, supernatural terms, but Nicodemus was thinking in human, physical, natural terms.

       Jesus answered him, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:3-7). For all of us, when we were conceived in our mother’s womb, we spent the first nine months of our existence in a gestational sac of water. The first cry that a mother makes when she realizes that her baby is on the way is: “My water has broken!” We are all physically born of water, as flesh gives birth to flesh, but Jesus’s talk about “Spirit gives birth to spirit” is about a spiritual birth.

       We find this in the Old Testament with God saying, “And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws” (Ezekiel 36:27). Also in Paul’s letters in the New Testament, he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Romans 6:13 says, “…offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life...” Ephesians 2:4-5 reminds us, “...God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” All of these verses in Scripture speak about receiving the life of God.

       In his honest moment, Nicodemus knew the deadness of his own heart. He knew what it was to have laws but no life, principles but no power. Although Nicodemus had zeal for God in his heart, there was a deadness in his soul. Nicodemus was probably sick and tired of a religion which offered much but delivered little. Now Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus, you can come into a relationship where you are born again and become the recipient of new life.”

       Some of us may be like Nicodemus, lacking a new life and a new power. May we accept the invitation from Jesus and be born again.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, only Spirit gives birth to spirit. Thank You for Your invitation to a relationship that gives the life of God.