You Must Be Born Again
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
Given that Nicodenus has such an important role in the third chapter of John’s gospel, it is curious that the synoptic gospels do not mention him at all, not even once.
Most scholars believe that John’s gospel was probably written at least thirty-five years after the synoptics. We might assume that God’s intention was that these very important issues should not be circulated until after Paul’s missions were well established.
The gospels and Paul’s epistles were circulated during those decades after Christ’s resurrection. It was only after the churches were established that John’s gospel made its first appearance.
The synoptic gospels lent credibility to believers because of the unity of the messages and Paul’s epistles built upon those united messages.
Now John’s message comes along and supplements those other gospels with confirming words and only heightens what was already believed. The message of being born again would make more sense relating to Paul’s messages about growing faith and maturity.
There is a sense that if John’s message had been delivered at the same time as Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s that the Jews receiving his message would have been just as confused as Nicodemus, if not more so. The timing of John’s message makes sense from that point of view.
What can we learn from the other differences between John’s gospel and the synoptics?
I am glad you asked.