What was the emphasis of Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus?

Answer 1

In non-Greek-language communities, it is common to believe that the emphasis in Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus was on the need to be born again, but this is not what the author intended. The emphasis was really about misunderstanding.

There is a pattern in John's Gospel for Jesus to state something, which invariably was misunderstood, after which he must clarify his remark. Because the author knows more than the characters in a narrative, he can let the readers join in his special knowledge but withhold information from 'ignorant' narrative characters who do not deserve to be allowed to have access to inside information. The nuances of these passages work well in Greek but are sometimes lost in English translation, because of differences in the English language.

In Jesus' meeting with the Pharisee Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) he told him, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born anothen, he can not see the kingdom of heaven." The Greek word anothen can mean "again", but it can also mean "from above", the meaning Jesus intended. Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus, assuming this to mean "again" and asked, "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 invalidated this understanding in his response, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, 'You must be born anothen'." Nicodemus still lacked understanding.

The King James Version, like most English Bibles, has Jesus say, 'born again'. On the other hand, the New American Bible has Jesus say, 'born from above'. Either way, some of the meaning is lost. Even when translated into Aramaic, the language that Jesus would have spoken, the same dilemma exists. Most translators now recognise that the appropriate English equivalent for the second anothen is 'from above', since the preceding statement says, "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit". Consequently, Jesus would no doubt have meant 'from above' throughout the conversation.