The story of Nicodemus is a story of how easily things can be misunderstood. It follows naturally from the changing of water into wine at the Wedding in Cana. That brought to our attention that Jesus would replace the temporary Hebrew rituals with the permanent sacrifice of himself. The clearing of the temple was the next step in the process where Jesus again places himself as a replacement for the temple.
Nicodemus is a Pharisee and comes as a representative of the Hebrew law. The key to this story is Jesus statement, “If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” Nicodemus tries to understand everything in earthly categories. Jesus means them as truths come from heaven.
Nicodemus begins by recognizing that Jesus comes from God. Nicodemus is thinking that Jesus is like Elijah, a prophet that God called to do God’s work. Jesus has come from God but also is God. Jesus has always been God even before creation. Jesus is God come in the flesh to Nicodemus.
Nicodemus hears that life comes from God going us breath. Nicodemus would recall that God breathed into the dust and Adam came to life. The prophet, Ezekiel, also refers to this during his vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. Israel comes to life when God calls to the four winds and places his breath in the dried bones. Jesus means something more than breath. In both Hebrew and Greek the word for breath is the same as the word for spirit. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that God will place his Holy Spirit in us. It is more that air that we receive, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Nicodemus is also thinking that life is limited to this earth. The breath of God makes us alive only on this earth. Jesus is saying that the Spirit gives eternal life.
The last misunderstanding has to do with how we are born. Nicodemus thinks that it is something we must do, “How can I be born again?” The word that Nicodemus uses as again also means above. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that this life is a gift from God not a reward for works. Back in chapter one of John we are told this very thing in verse 12 & 13, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” This life comes to those who are born from God. That is a gift that Jesus comes to make possible for all.