Commentary on John 3:1-17

“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.”

Context, conflict, conversation

This is a story about a conversation between two Jewish teachers in the first century. One community leader (Nicodemus) approaches the main protagonist of the story (Jesus) at “night,” which may suggest the privacy of the conversation—with only readers as witnesses—or it may indicate a more intentionally covert occasion. Following the public activity in the temple area (see John 2:13–25), the timing of this meeting needs to be calculated accordingly. In the fourth Gospel, Nicodemus is a leading voice within one of the dominant sectarian groups of the day, the Pharisees.

Within the fourth Gospel, the Pharisees are depicted as monitors of Jewish society, determining what is allowable in public life (see also 11:45–48). Historically, the fourth Gospel overstates their influence. Public baptizing activity troubles them—whether from John the Baptist (1:24) or Jesus’s group (4:1). By chapter 7, hearing of Jesus’s positive impact on the crowds, they seek to arrest him (7:32). They remain antagonistic when their “temple police” fail to do so, implying that none of the leaders have been convinced (7:45–48). When Jesus restores a man’s sight, the Pharisees momentarily divide (9:16) but soon reunite in opposition: “Surely, we are not blind, are we?” (9:40). 

Even so, their concerns—shared with the chief priests—extend beyond jealousy: “If we let him go on like this … the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation” (11:48). Their logic is evident: Jesus’s healings inspire the crowd’s trust, which, in turn, could draw Roman attention and trigger violence against Israel’s people and sacred spaces. If this is the case, the Pharisees’ concerns seem understandable. Authoritarian powers often shape local religious debates about proper public expressions of faith. By the end of chapter 11, the Pharisees have authorized a full search to arrest Jesus (11:57).

Nicodemus is an exception, even if the lectionary selection does not allow listeners to witness his full character development. Despite the Pharisees’ claim that none of them have believed the things Jesus taught (7:48), Nicodemus—who came “at night”—was seemingly moved by Jesus’s earlier teaching and indirectly defended him in daylight (7:50). The fourth Gospel’s final depiction of Nicodemus is as one who shows up one more time—in a tag-team effort with Joseph of Arimathea—to prepare Jesus’s body properly for burial (19:39). 

A Spirit-infused story

The purpose of this story is not to explain Jesus’s tension with the Pharisees, although that conflict is central to the narrative’s arc. Nor is it to explore the origins of Jesus’s authority to deliver “signs” (see 3:2), although that is implicitly addressed here. Rather, it is a story on how individuals are able to understand the signs that Jesus performs. This is an account on the nature of God’s Spirit (Greek pneuma). 

The pneuma’s mysterious movement—blowing “where it chooses”—balances the idea that believing activity all falls on human decision-making. Rather, there is both divine and human action merging in a confluence of activity so that Christ-followers can witness anew God’s activities through Jesus. Those actions—or “signs” in Johannine parlance—are activities not unto themselves (although physical bodies may be restored successfully) but deeds that point to God’s intervention into the world, a world God created and loved so much that God decided to intervene most significantly by sending God’s own Son (3:16). 

If nothing else, the narrative trajectory of Nicodemus’s story indirectly attests to how a Spirit-infused Nicodemus—although not explicitly labeled as such—will speak more boldly (John 7) and act more justly (John 19) in light of God’s active Spirit within his life.  

If readers take into account the full narrative arc of Nicodemus’s story, although it is absent from the lectionary’s isolated selection, this carefully crafted storyline exposes a reality for others (through the Greek plural pronouns [“you all”] of 3:11–12), that ancient readers can experience this journey with Jesus: from an initial interaction with probing questions (John 3), to a stance of advocating for fair treatment for the accused (John 7), to a final positive acceptance of the movement, even with its accompanying risks (John 19).  

While the fourth Gospel’s language of the pneuma speaks to God’s uninhibited activity in the world, the language of belief (pisteuō)—prominently featured throughout the fourth Gospel—speaks to human agency in relationship to God’s luring Spirit. Indeed, belief is the human way to witness clearly and participate fully in this divine story: “So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14–15). 

Implications for preaching

So what? What are the implications of this passage for preachers?

Reading this account during Lent serves as a reminder of the nature of discipleship and the desire for transformation, even for those longing to “see the kingdom of God” anew. In present-day society in which respectful dialogues across political and theological divides are difficult, minimal conversations are sometimes necessary if only so that family members may join one another at large family gatherings during holiday seasons. University students yearn to discover how to develop and manage nonthreatening, high-level dialogues with one another across divides for the success of a future civic society. Equally important, the creation of spaces within ecclesial communities is also necessary so that churchgoers can speak to each other across the pews in spaces in which they share from the common cup or hold to a common confession. 

In this Johannine biblical dialogue, however, Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus confronts us. Jesus calls for a transformation of the self, not of the world. Perhaps our political debates should be carefully calibrated to think about how they might shape us as human beings and not only to develop strategies for how to win arguments.

May God’s Spirit blow upon all who enter into those contested spaces with humility, curiosity, and longing for true relationships and more robust communities. May we—with Nicodemus—sense God’s presence so that we may see and testify to God’s activities in the world!