“Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’” John 3:9-10.
The problem here is that what little the Pharisees were teaching the people emphasized works and tradition, not faith in God. The book of James tells us that faith without works is dead.
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” James 2:18-22.
The Pharisees were teaching, works without faith. True works come from a heart of faith because one loves God. Works without faith are a job to be done to please an angry God.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.
“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Hebrews 10:4.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statues which I command you today for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13.
The meaning of “…fear the Lord…” above, is to reverently trust, as a child would a parent. Fear (trust) Him for His goodness, kindness, and mercy.
The second requirement to, “…keep the commandments of the Lord and His statues…” are, “…for your good…” No adultery, no stealing, no bearing false witness, etc. is for our own good; not to make life less fun.
People need to wake up and see that the world is in such a mess because men choose to flaunt their sin and ignore God’s commandments.
“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” Psalm 130:1-4.
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:6-8.
“And he [Abraham] believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6.
Please read Genesis 15:1-6 for context.
“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” Romans 4:3.
“…just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Galatians 3:6-7.
“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” James 2:23.
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:10-12.
If the Israelites had studied Deuteronomy and the Psalms, with their hearts, they would never have lost sight of the fact that salvation comes from faith in God not from works.
Can there be any wonder why there is such an incredulous response to Nicodemus’ question, “How can these things be?” And Jesus replied, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?”
“Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” John 3:11-12.
What does Jesus mean when He says, We who speak, We who know, We who have seen, and whose witness is Our witness? As you already may know, the answer is the entire Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speaking through Christ.
This is important because it affirms that Jesus was not just a prophet, but God incarnate; God as a man, born of a woman, revealing God to us as He lived among us.
“…and you do not receive Our witness.” While Jesus is speaking directly to Nicodemus here, His reference is to the entire religious leadership, the elders, and the people because; the majority of Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah.
Yet Nicodemus has not walked out, because understanding or not, Jesus has touched his heart.
The Lord then tells him, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe…” Jesus had told him basic doctrine from the Old Testament, about faith, and the man did not understand.
Nicodemus knew his Scriptures inside and out, yet he missed the basics. Bear this in mind my friends; the Bible has everything we need to know for life, peace and salvation. It is our responsibility to study it.
“…how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Indeed, if a person does not know the basics, why should they expect to be told advanced things?
In spite of these words Jesus goes on to tell him heavenly things, for one cannot be around Jesus for long without learning something heavenly. First and foremost being the revelation of God Himself.
“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” John 3:13.
Jesus came down from His home in heaven, giving Him authority as an eyewitness when He tells men of heaven, and of God’s plan for mankind, which He continues to reveal in this chapter.
How can these things be? John 3:9-13 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 7-11-12, updated on 6-24-17.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version; copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.