Jesus stated that Nicodemus should have understood what being born of water and Spirit meant. (John 3:3-10) A study of the significance of Old Testament washings shines light on what Jesus was talking about.
Nicodemus should have been familiar with an OT washing that changed the status of a stranger (Gentile) into a Jewish child of God. The bible depicts such as proselytes. In order for an individual to be “born” into the Jewish community, the stranger/Gentile had to obey the OT law of circumcision and submit to a Mikveh/Mikvah. The Old Testament Mikveh/Mikvah parallels the New Testament water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Surely, Nicodemus was aware of John the Baptist’s message and Jesus approval of water baptism as evidenced by Jesus’ presence during baptisms. As a teacher of Jewish concepts, Nicodemus should have seen water and Spirit baptism (Acts 2:38) as the antitype that brings about an actual change of status in the NT believer as a born again child of God.
As Jesus stated everyone must be born of water and Spirit. The Spiritual rebirth is needful to both SEE (comprehend) the kingdom of God as well as ENTER into it. (John 3:3-5)
The following is an article about the Jewish Mikveh (Mikvah). The Mikveh was a construct that held a sufficient amount of water to accommodate total immersion. It is considered a “womb” according to
myjewishlearning.com. Consider the principles of this foreshadow of the NT water baptism.
“The water of the mikveh is designed to ritually cleanse a person from deeds of the past. The convert is considered by Jewish law to be like a newborn child. By spiritually cleansing the convert, the mikveh water prepares him or her to confront God, life, and people with a fresh spirit and new eyes--it washes away the past, leaving only the future…
In a sense, it is nothing short of the spiritual drama of death and rebirth cast onto the canvas of the convert's soul. Submerging into waters over his/her head, he/she enters into an environment in which one cannot breathe and cannot live for more than moments. It is the death of all that has gone before. As he/she emerges from the gagging waters into the clear air, he/she begins to breathe anew and live anew--as a baby struggling to be born. If we take this graphic metaphor a step further, we can sense that the mikveh is a spiritual womb. The human fetus is surrounded by water. It does not yet live. The water breaks in a split second and the child emerges into a new world. "As soon as the convert immerses and emerges he/she is a Jew in every respect… The newborn Jew takes on a Hebrew name, but a given name only is not sufficient to locate a person within the Jewish tradition. When Jews sign legal documents or are called up to the Torah, their parents' names are appended to their Hebrew names to locate them in Jewish spiritual space. A convert traditionally adopts Abraham and Sarah as spiritual parents and in legal situations is referred to as "ben Avraham Avinu," "son of our Father, Abraham," or "bat Sarah Imenu," "daughter of our Mother, Sarah.
The following applies as well:
"John 3:3 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.
Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus and thought in natural terms.
John 3:4 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?
Jesus did not agree with Nicodemus natural birth misunderstanding. 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Then Jesus made the distinction clear.
John 3:6 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.
Natural birth is “born of the flesh.” Jesus already identified it. If “born of water” meant natural birth, then Jesus would be saying,
𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐚
t𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.
No one needs to be told they must be born from their mother to enter the Kingdom. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, 𝐘𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
The issue in John 3 is not first birth. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡.
The womb interpretation fails because Jesus said “born of water and of the Spirit” is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God. Natural birth gets a person into the world. 𝐈𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦.
John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.
John already told us this birth is not natural lineage, bloodline, flesh, or human will. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.
That alone destroys the womb water doctrine.
John 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬?
Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand this from the Scriptures. What Scriptures would Nicodemus know? Not biology. Not a mother’s water breaking. He should have known the prophetic promise of cleansing water and a new Spirit.:
Ezekiel 36:25-27 Then will I sprinkle 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 also will I give you, and 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.
𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.
𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.
𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.
𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥.
This is why John the Baptist’s ministry was connected to water and repentance before Jesus spoke to Nicodemus.
Matthew 3:1-2 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐞: 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.
Matthew 3:5-6 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧, confessing their sins.
Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬.
Luke 3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬.
John 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.
So when John’s Gospel reaches chapter 3, water is already connected to baptism, repentance, cleansing,
and preparation for the Kingdom. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 “𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫” 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.
Even more, the very next chapter context continues with water baptism.
John 3:22-23 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞. And John also was 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧g 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐧 near to Salim, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: and they came, and were baptized.
John 4:1-2 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples.
The context around John 3 is water baptism, not childbirth.
John 3:5 says water
John 𝟑:𝟐𝟑 says much water
To force “water” in John 3:5 to mean womb water, while the surrounding context speaks of baptism, is not Bible interpretation. It is denomination escape.
Jesus later connected salvation, discipleship, and baptism in the Great Commission:
Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
Excerpt from: Apostolic Doctrine Today
