“In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”” (John 3:3–8)
Nicodemus came asking a question, even if he may not have known that he had a question. Jesus answered it by talking about being born again. When Nicodemus asked what that meant, Jesus talked about being born of water and the Spirit. I’m convinced he was talking about baptism.
Later in the same chapter, we find the next reference to water. It’s the water of baptism. John often connects teachings with actions in his gospel; the healing of a blind man is connected with teaching about spiritual blindness, for example. Here we have a discussion of entering the kingdom followed by examples of baptisms, both by John and his disciples and by the disciples of Jesus.
The Jews were very familiar with ceremonial washing. It was nothing new to them. Proselytes would be immersed. Worshipers would wash before going to the temple. Priests engaged in ritual washings.
We’ll dig deeper into what this text means, but I think Jesus is saying much what Paul said when he described the new life that beings with baptism. (Romans 6) New life… born again. Similar concepts. Much like what is said in Titus 3 about the “washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
Some argue that the water to which Jesus refers is a synecdoche for natural childbirth.
I’ve never heard (remember that that is not a claim that the evidence doesn’t exist — just that no one has ever been able to deliver it to me) anyone show that “born of water” was anything like a common way to refer to childbirth in the ancient Jewish world. But that’s the main counter-argument that I hear… until someone can prove otherwise, it will remain unconvincing for me.
I’m more than willing to accept that there are such things as spiritual breech births and spiritual C-sections (where people’s spiritual births don’t follow the norm), but I think that Jesus is saying here what Peter and Paul will say later — that the normative way to be born from above is to be born of water and the Spirit.
I’m familiar with the argument about childbirth, but agree with you… I’ve seen nothing to suggest that this phrase was known as a shorthand for childbirth.
As for exceptions, well, our God seems to be a God of exceptions, despite what some people would say. We get in trouble when we make hard and fast rules and try to force God to follow them.
Like the men who confronted LaGard Smith because they thought his book, “Baptism: The Believer’s Wedding Ceremony” taught baptism isn’t for the forgiveness of sins. LaGard said that even if God chose to save some one without baptism, that was His prerogative. One of the blustered, “God has no prerogatives.”