Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
March 1, 2026
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras

Lent 2A
Nicodemus 2.0

Now there was a man one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus by name, a Ruler of the Jews; who came to him at night and said to him, “Rabbi! We know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one could do the signs that you do unless God were with him.” Jesus answered and said, “Amen Amen! I say to you unless one is begotten from above, he is unable to see in the Kingdom of God.” (John 1:1-3)

—
When you consider the entire Bible, the gospels occupy the place of highest honor, and among those the gospel of Saint John reigns supreme. Whenever we engage Chapter Three of this Spirit-drenched gospel we encounter the mother lode of God’s love for sinners. In it we find out how Nicodemus 1.0 became Nicodemus 2.0. And, glory be to Jesus Christ, whatever we can say about Nicodemus at the gracious hands of Jesus, we can confess of ourselves as well.

Nicodemus had some things going for him. He was a rich and powerful man who exercised his authority for the good of his people. He was probably the Jewish Council’s all-star player. We think this because the council sent him to meet with Jesus and learn what he could about this up and coming Rabbi who was leaving them in the dust. This Rabbi who confirmed his divine doctrine with dazzling miracles, so that the Jewish religion was losing its following. They were very, very nervous, and so Nicodemus undertakes his mission to visit Jesus by night.

Although Nicodemus is a respected Rabbi in Jerusalem he approaches Jesus with deference. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God, for no one could do the things you do, unless God were with him.” To which Jesus gives this strange reply: “Amen Amen! say to you unless one is begotten from above, he is unable to have a share in the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born again?” Though Nicodemus doesn’t know it Jesus was answering his real question; but one that can only be comprehended by a person who is begotten by the Holy Spirit of God.

Yes, the Lord was answering the real question, because the hope of all religions is to learn how to commune with a good and gracious God. To find relief from the daily drama of this mortal coil where everything sinful man touches, crumbles. Where cruelty reigns supreme, and human folly is evident for as far as the eye can see. Where people glorify dirty things. Where we soil ourselves with our own sins, and like dogs return to our own vomit. And … do you fear the oceans will run dry? You need not worry because there are enough tears to supply them ad infinitum.

One of the things that baffled Nicodemus is the fact that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ was the author of the Old Testament sacrificial system, designed by him to reconcile a world of prodigal sons to himself. But this very God-given religion of which Nicodemus was a minister, Jesus was now shutting down; this Lamb of God who offered himself to suffer the consequences of sin, and atone form them with his Holy flesh and blood. And atone he did! Thus the Lord’s “Amen Amen I say to you.” Whenever you hear a double Amen coming from the lips of Jesus, what follows will always be brilliant and unassailable truth which indicates the fulfillment of all previous plans. And so Jesus says as we have it in our English Bible, “Amen! Amen! I say to you, unless a man is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” But there is a problem, Houston!

That translation from the original Greek Bible to the English is not accurate. What Jesus is actually saying to Nicodemus is this: Unless a man is BEGOTTEN FROM ABOVE HE HAS NO SHARE IN the Kingdom of God. To explain … there is a difference between being “born” and being “begotten.” A person is “born” of his mother. But a person is “begotten” by his father. Hear that again. One is born of his mother, but begotten by his father. And so contrary to Nicodemus’ silly solution, a person need not re-enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time.

It would not help! You would get the same results over and over again. Because whatever is Begotten of FLESH remains FLESH with its inherent corruption due to sin, death and devil. But the person who is 1) begotten from above 2) by water and the Holy Spirit of God (i.e. sacramental baptism) … that person will most assuredly enjoy his full share in the Kingdom of God where every hope and dream will come true!

Nicodemus now in utter confusion, asks the Lord, “how can these things be?” (v. 9) Probably the best answer is the Lord’s own conception in the Holy Womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We read in Luke 1:35 “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy the Son of God.”

This is what happens to us when we enter into Baptism. We too are begotten by God the Holy Spirit, and born from the womb of Mother Church into the Kingdom of God.

Though the details are not given in the gospel we know that Nicodemus 1.0 came to believe all that Jesus said, was baptized and became a New Man.

Nicodemus 2.0.

And we find the best evidence of Nicodemus’s faith at work in John Chapter Seven. By this time the Jewish Council could take no more of Jesus and were formulating plans to be rid of him. But one of the council members, Nicodemus by name, stood up and defended the Lord, and would not let them act hastily which threw a monkey wrench into their plans – and for which Nicodemus suffered their scorn and became known among them as “the Galilean.” Following this incident we have one last Biblical reference to Nicodemus; when he, along with another Pharisee, Joseph of Arimathea, took down the Lord’s body from the cross and prepared it for burial with:

“… a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight … then they wrapped the Lord’s earthly frame in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.”

Here the one time seeker of truth plays a major role in the salvation of the whole world. Because after our Lord handed himself over into death for the sins of the world, he then needed to be taken down from the cross and buried. Without which there would be no resurrection from the grave. And in which case Saint Paul says: we would still be in our sins, and the most pitied of all men.

But we are not that!

Instead we too are Nicodemus 2.0 who give all glory, laud and honor to our Redeemer King unto the ages of ages. Amen.