Being born again from above

Among Evangelical Christians no Bible verse is more honored and loved than John 3:16. A few years ago, I attended a baseball game. One of the teams had a very large first baseman, whose name was John. He wore a jersey with the number 316. He was identifying himself to the whole world as a “born again” Christian. Most everyone understood.

“Truly, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again (or born from above.}” These are the words that Jesus is reported to say to a man named Nicodemus. They are found in verse 5 of chapter 3 of the John gospel. Few scholars believe the incident ever happened or that Jesus ever spoke these words. As I have contended in earlier columns, the John gospel was written two to three generations after the death of Jesus by an unknown author who used the name John to give his narrative standing in the Christian communities. It was written in Ephesus in Asia Minor some 700 to 800 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Ephesus was dominated by Greek culture rather than the Jewish culture in which Jesus lived and taught.

The John gospel tells several stories that are quite good and interesting. The story of the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus is one of those stories. I would argue that the John gospel survived and was included in the canon of the New Testament for good reasons. The John gospel says very important things. Whether the John writer records history or not makes no difference. We should all read, ponder and learn.

In his roots Jesus was thoroughly Jewish. The framework of his thinking was as Jewish as could be. Judaism was monistic. In other words, in Judaism there is only one ultimate and powerful force. That force was a good force. This is the witness of the first chapter of the book of Genesis. Everything that God touched or did was labeled “good.” Did some things go wrong? Yes, but never out of the control of the good God of the Israelites. In this understanding, the ultimate good is for the entire creation to be restored to full goodness.

There is not a single word in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that would even hint that Jesus ever deviated from that understanding of the created world and universe.

Paul, a Jewish persecutor of early Christians, had a dramatic conversion and became a follower of Jesus. Paul was an educated man who was tainted with Greek philosophy. In his missionary travels, Greek philosophy was the great enemy and Paul accepted its challenge. In the process he became somewhat infected with the Greek dualism that he combatted. Because of Paul, Christianity has been dogged by Greek dualism throughout its entire history.

Dualism has a very long history and can be traced not just to the Greeks but also to the much earlier culture of Mesopotamia. In dualism, there is not one but two great powers in the world. Those two powers are good and evil. They are in constant battle. While at times there appears to be a winner in this great struggle, the battle reemerges and the victims are the world and its inhabitants.

Early Christianity, when spread by eager missionaries, ran full force into the dominant Greek culture and philosophy. The city of Ephesus was one of the prime centers of Christian argument with Greek dualism. Ephesus was also the location of a monument to Roman mythology. Ephesus was a commercial crossroads and a center of Greek intellectualism. In understanding the John writings, Ephesus must always be kept in mind as the context of those writings.

In the Nicodemus story, Nicodemus is given a thorough Jewish identity. The story teller never gives words to Nicodemus’s query that brought him to Jesus. We can only surmise. I suspect his question was something like “How can we make things whole and healthy if we are not willing to fight?” Then the answer of Jesus makes sense. “It is a gift of God through rebirth.” This is the great Christian answer to violence and evil. At their best, Christians believe in the triumph of good, not through violence, but through new births.

In our own American history, Abraham Lincoln understood this dynamic. In his Gettysburg address he called for “a new birth of freedom” as the path to the healing of the nation. Lincoln often referenced Bible messages. His Gettysburg comment was a clear reference to Jesus’ response to Nicodemus.

Christians are believers in the power of new births. Moses was the product of a special birth. So also is Jesus. Christians often have found changed lives through an experience of new birth. Every Christian is called to be a midwife. We are not people of the sword. The sword is preparation for the next battle. Leave that approach to the Greeks, the Babylonians, the Romans, Napoleon and Hitler.

A focus on the third chapter of the John gospel is very important to us all. It makes no difference who first wrote or spoke the message of healing and wholeness through new birth. It is at the very heart of our Christian message.

The Rev. Howard Bess is retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.