The passage
      v1-2. We are told Nicodemus is a member of the Sanhedrin, "the Jewish ruling council". He comes to Jesus, moving from darkness into the light. He addresses Jesus as "Rabbi", recognizing him as a new teacher of the Law.
      v3. Jesus pulls down the framework of Nicodemus' life. Even just to see the kingdom of God requires a radical spiritual rebirth from above. The term "kingdom" is not used much in this gospel. It is best understood as both the realm and reign of God.
      v4. The word-play between born from above and reborn has Nicodemus thinking Jesus has called for rebirth - the remaking of his person.
      v5-8. Jesus again repeats his proposition. This time he uses the word "enter" rather than "see" and describes the birth from above as a "washing with the Spirit." Of course, as with the breath of the "wind", we do not understand the dynamics of spiritual birth - it remains a mystery. We need to be very careful of any interpretation of this passage which tries to make the "water" refer to water baptism. Such is a special pleading.
      v9-13. Nicodemus is baffled, but Jesus assures him that he knows what he is talking about. In the discourse so far, Jesus has revealed heavenly mysteries, but Nicodemus has not understood this revelation. If a person like Nicodemus cannot understand an idea like "born from above", how will he even begin to understand the mysteries of the age to come? (Note possible addition "who is in heaven", possibly reinforcing the idea that Jesus retains his place in heaven while coming to earth.)
      v14-15. We are now given a glimpse into the substance of John's theology. In the same way as the bronze serpent was lifted up on a stake in the desert during the time of the forty years wandering of the children of Israel (Numbers chapter 21), so will Jesus be lifted up. All who looked at that snake were spared death. So too, all who look at Jesus will be spared. The lifting up obviously refers to the cross of Jesus, but it must be remembered that for John, Christ's lifting up on the cross is his lifting up to heavenly glory. So when someone looks to Jesus, trusts Jesus, they are caught up in both the humiliation and the glory of the cross. The point being made in verse 15 is that whoever looks to the crucified Christ, trusting him for their eternal standing before God, that person finds themselves "in" Christ, ie. identified with Christ on the cross. They are included in both the humiliation and glory of Christ. They die with him and rise with him.

By grace through faith
      The Son of Man has been lifted up on the cross so that whosoever believes, may, in him, be born from above and so possess eternal life.

      From the Church Fathers, through Martin Luther to John Wesley, preachers have stressed the sate of human loss. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We may be a descendent of Abraham, a faithful pious Jew, a teacher of Israel, but unless we are born from above, born spiritually, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, let alone even see it's coming. Entering the kingdom of God, possessing salvation, getting into God's presence and standing eternally approved before him, is not something gained by human effort or ingenuity.
      To stand accepted before God requires a conversion of one's whole being. It requires being born from above, washed new by the Spirit of God. Such a dynamic life-change demands a total renewal of our being. For our frail humanity, such a spiritual change is impossible. Our only hope lies in the hands of God. Only the Spirit of God can renew our beings, only he can give eternal life as a free gift.
      So, life eternal is a gift of God's grace. We apply that grace to ourselves by trusting Christ. It is when we reach out to him as the only ground for our eternal security, that we receive, as a gift of God, eternal salvation. "Ask and you shall receive."
      The basis of this salvation, freely offered in Christ, is found in his sacrificial death on the cross. He dies in our stead; he rises on our behalf. In the cross of Jesus we die and we rise. We look to the lifted up one, and in that looking we are lifted up to glory.

      The theology, encapsulated in our passage for study, has driven the Christian church to undertake mission, to become involved in evangelism. We recognize the essential need for personal conversion and so we preach for conversion. We proclaim the simple message that there is no way to get into the presence of the living God, other than by a spiritual birth from above. This spiritual birth is offered to humanity as a gift from a gracious God, on the basis of Jesus' death and resurrection, and is appropriated through the instrument of faith. So, a mark of the Christian church is a love of the "evangel" - the gospel, the message of God's grace in Christ.

      Nicodemus is a typically pious Jew, a Pharisee. For Nicodemus, entering the kingdom of God and standing approved and perfected in the sight of God, is obtained by obedience to the Law. Although a person's initial status before God was achieved by the grace of birth as a Jew, or the grace of association with Israel, a person's continued standing was dependant on their obedience to the Law. The Law progressed holiness, it sanctified - restraining evil and shaping perfection in the child of God. Jesus strikes at the very heart of this attitude. The way to stand approved before God requires a total spiritual rebirth by the power of God. No law-keeping can achieve this, rather it is only something God can do for us. Eternal life (life in all its fullness and perfection in the presence of God) is a gift of God's grace and it is appropriated by "everyone who believes."

v1
      anqrwpoV ek twn Fariaiwn "a man of the Pharisees" - An unusual designation, possibly prompted by the point made in v25.
      NikodhmoV "Nicodemus" - He represents those Jews of high office who hesitatingly followed Jesus.
      arcwn twn Ioudaiwn "a member of the Jewish ruling council" - a ruler of the Jews. "A member of the Sanhedrin."

v2
      nuktoV (nux toV) "at night" - night. John likes the symbolism of night and day, the realm of evil and the realm of light..... Judas leaves the light and goes out into the night, while Nicodemus comes out of the night into the light. "During the night."
      oidamen (oida) perf. "we know" - we know. The Pharisees often speak as one, "we know."
      elhluqaV (ercomai) perf. "who has come" - you have come. "We know that God has sent you", CEV.
      dunatai (dunamai) pres. pas. "could" - is able, can, powerful to do. This verb is used 6 time in the passage. Nicodemus confirms that Jesus is able to do signs and therefore God is with him. Jesus, in v3, says no one is able to enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. "You could not perform these miracles if God were not with you", CEV.
      ta shmeia (ov) "the miraculous signs" - the signs, miracles.

v3
      apekriqh (apokrinomai) aor. "declared" - answered. "Jesus replied", Moffatt.
      gennhqh/ (gennaw) pas. "is born" - is born. In the passive also, "begotten" identifying the function of the male in conception rather than the female in birth. Brown opts for "begotten" as the primary meaning here - eternal life is possessed by those who are begotten of the Spirit.
      anwqen "again" - again, anew....... but also "above" in the sense of heavenly in origin. Morris goes for both together, "reborn from above." "From above" fits best, but Nicodemus' response is based on the word meaning "reborn". A double meaning is most likely intended, with Nicodemus understanding the wrong meaning. It is the one who comes from above who gives life eternal, 3:31.
      idein (oJraw) aor. inf. "see" - to look at, see. Here in the sense of "experience", "encounter", "participate in". "Unless a person is born from above they cannot participate in the kingdom of God."
      thn basileian tou qeou "the kingdom of God" - The term, common in the synoptic gospels, is only used here in this passage by John. "The eternal reign of God over his gathered people."

v4
      gennhqhnai (gennaw) pas. inf. "be born" - Nicodemus has misunderstood Jesus to mean "born again" when he is saying "born from above." It is likely that John has employed this play on the meaning of the word to underline the truth that regeneration is a spiritual renewal from above, from God, and is not something achieved by human effort. "How can a grown man ever be born a second time?", CEV.

v5
      ex uJdatoV kai pneumatoV "[born] of water and the Spirit" - The explanations for this phrase are endless, eg. spiritual birth requires water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism, or natural birth and spiritual birth....... All seem unconvincing and move beyond the text. A meaning something like "washing of the Spirit" (born of water, even of the Spirit), although grammatically tenuous, is more likely the intended meaning. Note, there is some textual support that "water and" was added, so Brown, although Morris disputes this. "Born from the washing of the Spirit."

v6
      thV sarkoV "flesh" - [of] the flesh. For John it is not "sinful flesh" as with Paul, it is just "fleshly existence."
      to gegennhmenon (gennaw) perf. pas. part. "[flesh] gives birth to [flesh]" - that which having been born. This phrase is often aligned with "born of water", but it more likely addresses Nicodemus' confusion of "born again" with "born from above." "Spirit gives birth to spirit" further explains "birth from above." "What is begotten of flesh is flesh", Brown.

v7
      uh qaumashV (qaumazw) subj. "you should not be surprised at" - wonder at, marvel at. Bultman says the term is a typical Rabbinic statement. "Do not be surprised when I say", NJB.

v8
      to pneuma "the wind" - the wind, breath ..... 'ruach', the breath of God, Spirit. Either the word here means "wind" and is used to describe the experience of a person who is born from above by the Spirit of God (spiritual birth, birth from above, is mysterious and invisible as is the wind), or the word means Spirit. The vulgate (Latin Bible) translates the word here as "Spirit" and therefore, the verse directly describes spiritual birth. Brown argues that the blowing of the wind is used as a simile for born of the Spirit.
      pnei (pnew) pres. "blows" - blows
      pas oJ gegennhmenoV (gennaw) perf. pas. part. "everyone born" - everyone having been born. "Everyone who is born of the Spirit", NAB.

v9
      pwV dunatai tauta genesqai "how can this be?" - how is it possible for these things happen? "How can things like this happen?"

v10
      tauta ou ginwskeiV (ginwskw) "do you not understand these things?" - these things you do not understand? Bultmann argues that Jesus is not critical of Nicodemus' failure to understand something that was evident in the Old Testament, but rather he is critical the inability of Rabbinic scholarship to understand what he is talking about, yet note v12. "'Are you the famous teacher of the famous Israel,' Jesus said to him, 'and you do not understand this'", Barclay.

v11
      legw soi "I tell you" - I say. Note the change from singular "I say" to "we speak" ....
      laloumen (lalew) "we speak" - we speak. In common parlance it is a "have a chat" type word, but in the New Testament it is often used of communicating the gospel; "we proclaim."
      oJ eJwrakamen (oJraw) perf. "what we have seen" - that which we have looked at, seen. Nicodemus' words are based on ignorance, while Jesus' words are based on what he knows and has seen. Brown suggests the plural "we" is simply a counter to Nicodemus "we know", v2. Other suggestions are that it is trinitarian, or that Jesus and the disciples, even the church is speaking ......, but all move beyond the text.

v12
      ta epigeia pl. adj. "earthly things" - the things belonging to or on the earth, earthly. Obvously, the "earthly things" are Jesus' teachings about the birth from above which he has tried to explain to Nicodemus in earthly terms, but what are the "heavenly things"? Are they the "post-ascensional words of Jesus spoken through the Paraclete", Brown? Are they the "eschatological dimension of the salvation" yet to be revealed, Beasley-Murray? Are they the truths concerning the establishment of the kingdom on earth, Carson? At least we can say that the "heavenly things" are truths yet to be revealed.
      kai "and [you do not believe]" - Here taking the meaning "and yet."
      eipw (legw) aor. sub. "I have spoken" - I say, tell.
      ta epourania (oV) "heavenly things" - the heavenly things, belonging to heaven. "How will you believe if I tell you the strange things of heaven", Barclay.

v13
      anabebhken (anabainw) perf. "has gone" - has gone up, ascended. The perfect tense implies that Jesus has already ascended to heaven. This gospel seems to transcend time frames and so it is best to sit lightly with timing, rather than argue that the tense reflects post ascension preaching. "No one has entered into communion with God and possesses thereby an intuitive knowledge of divine things", Godet.
      katabaV (katabainw) aor. part. "came from" - having come down, descended. Scriptural references to the Son of Man are always to his coming to the Ancient of Days, his ascending, rather than descending. He comes/ascends to reign. Yet, the point being made here is of Jesus' origin, namely, heaven, cf. Eph.4:9. Some manuscripts add "who is in heaven"

v14
      uJywsen (uJyow) "lifted up" - lifted up, held up, made high. The lifting up of the serpent on a pole by Moses serves as a sign to the people, a symbol of salvation.
      uJywqhnai (uJyow) pas. inf. "be lifted up" - to be lifted up.