The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 252

prot the motive or mind of Nioodemus show being probably, not necessarily, nn old mani almost ns much misunderilte.nding of the and belonging to a society of grave, reverend tta£tiet,! 0f his o.mazoment, &e Nicodemus did elders, with the inveterate ho.bite, practices, of the deepest significance of this solemn traditions, of long lives behind them, how uttero.noe of the Lord. Two things are per- impraotionble und impossible docs the notion footly clear: (1) Nicodemus saw a g:iuve nud of so complete n change appear to him I amazing difficulty in the i<lca of n second Hence his question. Westcott says admir- birth of a man old, like himself, in ye:irs, pre- ably, "The great roystory of religion is not possessions, habits of thought. ways of noting, the punishment, but the forgiveness of sius: socinl ties, nncestml nnd trnditionnl customs, not the uaturnl permanence of chamcter, nnd in venerable ideas consecrated by long but spil'itual regencmtion." uroge. He might have known the language v~r. 5.-Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I of the prophets <'Onccrning circumcision of say unto thee, Except a m&n (any one) have heart (Dout. xu. 6; J er. iv. 4) nnd concern- been bom (out) of water and the Spidt, he ing n new heart an<l right spirit (Ezek. xxxvi. oa.nnot enter into the kingdom of God. 'l'hie 26, 27; Ps. li. 10; huvi. 4); but the full memorable utterance has been the occasion bearing of these prophetic ideas were beyonu of much controversy, arising from the con- and different to the ulmost drastic form of tested sanction thus supposed to be given te Christ's ('.!l,11 for spiritual change and'' birth the opus operatam of baptism, o.nd to the from the beginning." There is no necessity identification of water-baptism with Spi,rit- for us to accuse him either of" narrowness" baptism. Expositors have o.sserted that the (Meyei:) or of imbecility (Reuss, Lucke), or rito of water-baptism is not mel'ely regarded to make such a charge reaot upon the spirit as the expressive symbol and propheoy of the or temper of the evangelist in delineating spiritual change whi.ch is declared to be in- him. It is enough that Nicodemus should dispensable to o.d1nission into the kingdom, have seen a grave difficulty; and Thoma here but the veritable,means by which that bap- is justified in referring to the language of the tism of the Spirit is effected. Now, i.n the apostles, when the narrow entrance into the first place, we obse1·ve that the sentence is B kingdom WllS set forth under the image of reply to Nicodemus, who had just exp1·essed the camel and the needle's eye; and to lllary, his blo.nk astonishment o.t the idea that a when she cried, "How c.an this thing be?" fundamental change must pass over a man, Moreover, the same perplexity, after eighteen in any sense equivalent to o. second birth, hundred years of Christian experience, still before he can see the kingdom of God, Our encumbers this utterance of the Master. (2) Lord modifies the last clause,an<l speaks.of Nicodemus did not, by the foDD. of his ques- entering into the kingdom of God rather than tion, put such query to the Lord in any perceiving or discerning the features of the literal baldness or insolent worldliness. Surely kingdom. Some h&ve lll'ged. that l6e,v of ver. such a view ignores all the tropical methods 3 is equivalent to ElueJ\6ew eis of ver. 5. The of speech current in the rabbinical schools. vision, say they, is only possible to those who He virtually said," Birth such as you speak partake of the privileges of. the kingdom. of is a~ impossible as the second physical But the latter phrase does certainly express birth of an ol<l man., as prepobterons as would a further idea.-o. richer and fuller apprecia- be re-entrance into the womb of his mother tion of the authority and· glory of the King.; for the purpose of a seoond birth," Chrii!t just as the "bhth of water ,and of the had spoken of a fundamental change-one Spirit" conveys deeper and farther thought going right down to the very BOlll"ces and to Nicodemus, than did the p1·eviously beginnings of life. The Lord had used this used expression, 'l'•""7J6fi /zvo,6ev. The first difficult iwage, and propounded his view in expression was dark in the extreme : the a term capable of various interpretation. latter poura light upon it. "Birth of water" Nicodemus simply expresses his alarm and points at once to the method so frequently acredulity in terms of the image itself, It is adopted in Jewish ceremonial, by which a little more than the language of the prophet, complete change of state and right before " Co.n an Ethiopian change his skin, or a God was instituted by water. Thus, a man leopard his spolll ? " ~e you not proposing who had not gone through the o.pproprio.tp a natural impossibility? Must not the king- and commanded luetrations was unfit to .pre- dom of God, which we thought we saw in thy sent his offering, to receive the benediptio11 advent and mighty deeds, be on this nuder- sought by his sacrificial presentment; the standing hopelet1sly veiled from human priest was not in a fit state to carry the blood vision ? The " being old" shows that N ioo- of the covenant into the holy plo.ce without demus had gone through the metaphor to the frequent washings, which indico.ted the e.~- condition of miud of which it was the sub- tent and defilement of his birth-stain. Nico- ject. There waa no greater physical dilll• demus for probably -thirty ye1ns hau seen culty in an old man 1e-entering Lis mother',s priests a.nd men thus qualifying themselves woll!I., th!&.ll fur a boy of twelve to do so; but for .solelllll fu11etions. So groo.t wo.s tbe OH, Ill. 1-36.] '!'HE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S'l'. JOHN. llfJ