Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Nicodemus was a Pharisee — one of the most educated and respected religious leaders in first-century Jewish society, trained extensively in scripture and religious law. He came to Jesus at night, probably to avoid being seen associating with this controversial teacher. Jesus had just told him that no one can see the kingdom of God without being 'born again' — or 'born from above,' since the Greek word used can mean both. Nicodemus, thinking in concrete and physical terms, immediately hits a logical wall: a grown man cannot physically re-enter his mother's womb. His confused response is honest and deeply human — he is thinking biologically while Jesus is speaking about something spiritual and transformational. This exchange is the lead-up to John 3:16, perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible.
God, thank you for not turning away from confused people — for staying in the conversation with Nicodemus even when he didn't get it. I have questions too, some I barely know how to form. Meet me in my confusion, and be patient with how slowly I understand. Amen.
You have to feel something for Nicodemus in this moment. He is not a fool — he's one of the most theologically educated men in Jerusalem, someone who has spent his life studying sacred texts. He comes to Jesus earnestly, probably with questions that have been quietly forming for a long time. And Jesus says: you have to be born again. And Nicodemus does exactly what any honest, grounded person would do — he tries to make logical sense of it and immediately can't. A grown man can't climb back into the womb. He's not being dense. He's being real. He genuinely doesn't understand, and he says so out loud. What strikes me every time I read this exchange is what Jesus does *not* do. He doesn't sigh. He doesn't shame Nicodemus for asking the obvious, clumsy question. He engages. He goes deeper. He keeps talking. If you've ever sat with a spiritual concept that sounded beautiful but made no practical sense to you — if you've nodded along in a service while quietly thinking "I genuinely don't understand what that means" — Nicodemus is your patron saint. The questions you're too embarrassed to ask out loud are exactly the kind Jesus tends to take seriously.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night — what do you think motivated him, and what does the detail of nighttime suggest about where he was emotionally or spiritually?
Have you ever encountered a spiritual teaching that sounded meaningful but that you genuinely didn't understand? How did you handle that confusion — did you ask, or did you stay quiet?
Nicodemus' question sounds almost foolish on the surface, but it comes from taking Jesus completely literally — when is it valuable to press on a spiritual claim for concrete meaning, and when does that kind of thinking lead us astray?
How does the way Jesus responds to Nicodemus' confusion shape the way you think about welcoming doubt or confusion in others — in your family, your friendships, or your faith community?
What is one question about faith that you've been holding back, and who in your life might be safe enough to ask it to this week?
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
John 3:9
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
John 4:12
Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
John 14:22
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
John 6:53
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?"
AMP
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?”
ESV
Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?'
NASB
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
NIV
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?”
NKJV
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
NLT
"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?"
MSG