John 3:1–16 – Ye Must Be Born Again

Many people know the words “born again,” but few understand what Jesus actually meant. In John chapter 3, the Lord Jesus spoke these words not to a criminal or an immoral man, but to a deeply religious teacher. What He told Nicodemus reveals a truth every person must face: religion cannot give life — only God can.

This article is adapted from a message preached on September 20, 2025. Watch the full sermon on YouTube.

A very familiar chapter — and a vital truth

John chapter 3 is one of the most familiar portions of Scripture. If there is any chapter in the Bible that people recognize, it is this one. Yet sometimes the passages we know best are the ones where we overlook the most obvious truths.

The preacher’s burden was simple and direct. He drew our attention to a man named Nicodemus, and to one decisive moment in his life: he came to Jesus.

“He came to Jesus by night”

We read in John 3:1–2 that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. We are not told his age, the exact date, or how long he had been thinking about it. But we are told this — there was a moment when he came.

Nicodemus was no ordinary man. He was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, and a master teacher in Israel. He taught the Scriptures, instructed the people, and worked in the temple itself. Yet something troubled him.

At the Passover, he had seen the Lord Jesus perform miracles. Those works stirred his soul. He concluded something remarkable: “No man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

That realization led him to one conclusion — there was nowhere else to turn.

Why Jesus?

Nicodemus had the Scriptures. He knew the law. He had read Genesis through Deuteronomy and taught it to others. Yet he understood that none of that could answer his deepest need.

There was no one else to come to.

The message made this clear: we preach Christ not because He founded a religion, but because He is the only Saviour of sinners. Sin is our problem — Nicodemus’ problem, your problem, and mine. And only one Man can save from sin.

That is why Nicodemus came to Jesus.

Not waiting until tomorrow

He came by night, not because he was hiding, but because this matter was too important to delay. Tomorrow is the devil’s favourite word. Nicodemus was not willing to wait.

He wanted to hear directly from the Lord Jesus Himself — not rumours, not opinions, not religious talk. And that is exactly what he received.

“Ye must be born again”

The Lord Jesus immediately cut to the heart of the matter:

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus came to talk about miracles. The Lord Jesus spoke about life.

Being born again is not turning over a new leaf. It is not reforming your behaviour or becoming more religious. Just as physical birth brings physical life, the new birth brings life from God.

Without that life, no one can enter the kingdom of God.

Born for earth — not for heaven

The preacher illustrated this truth simply. We are born for this world, just as astronauts are born for Earth and require special equipment to survive in space. In the same way, a natural birth fits us for Earth — but not for heaven.

To live in God’s kingdom, we need a new birth. We need new life from God.

From the serpent to the Saviour

Rather than explaining the Passover — a truth Nicodemus already knew — the Lord Jesus pointed him to another Old Testament scene:

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

In the wilderness, sinners were told to look and live. The blood at Passover was for God’s eye; the lifted serpent was for the sinner’s eye.

So it is with Christ.

God has seen the blood shed at Calvary. What the sinner must do is look in faith. The Lord Jesus was lifted up so that “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

He came — and he left changed

Nicodemus could have walked away confused. He did not. He listened, he believed, and he was saved. Later, he would be found standing for Christ and finally at the cross itself.

He came to Jesus by night — and he left with God’s salvation.

You may have come to hear a sermon. But God’s message is this: Ye must be born again. And you can leave today with eternal life by trusting Christ.