John 3:7 kjv
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
John 3:7 nkjv
Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
John 3:7 niv
You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
John 3:7 esv
Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
John 3:7 nlt
So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.'
John 3 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| John 3:3 | Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." | Direct preceding statement establishing the necessity. |
| John 3:5 | Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." | Expands on the nature of this spiritual birth. |
| John 3:8 | The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. | Illustrates the mysterious, divine origin of the new birth. |
| John 1:12-13 | But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. | Explains the divine source of new birth, contrasting with natural birth. |
| Tit 3:5 | he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, | Paul's teaching on salvation as regeneration, not human works. |
| 1 Pet 1:3 | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, | Peter's affirmation of new birth as God's mercy through Christ's resurrection. |
| 1 Pet 1:23 | since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; | The imperishable nature of the new birth and the Word's role. |
| 2 Cor 5:17 | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. | The outcome of new birth: becoming a completely new creation. |
| Eph 2:4-5 | But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— | Spiritual deadness overcome by God making us alive in Christ. |
| Rom 6:4 | We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. | Dying to sin and being raised to live a new life. |
| Rom 12:2 | Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. | Emphasizes internal transformation through mental renewal. |
| Col 3:9-10 | Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. | Shedding the old self and taking on a renewed, Christ-like nature. |
| Gal 6:15 | For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. | New creation, not rituals, is what truly matters in Christ. |
| Eze 36:26-27 | I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you... And I will put my Spirit within you... | Old Testament prophecy of internal spiritual transformation by God. |
| Jer 31:33 | For this is the covenant that I will make... I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. | Prophecy of the new covenant leading to internal spiritual change. |
| Mat 18:3 | and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." | The call for humility and transformation to enter the Kingdom. |
| Psa 51:10 | Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. | David's prayer for internal purification and spiritual renewal. |
| Phil 3:7-8 | But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ... I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. | Rejection of former merits for the true value found in Christ. |
| John 6:63 | It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. | The Spirit's role in imparting life versus the uselessness of the flesh. |
| Rom 8:7-8 | For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. | The incompatibility of the unregenerate human nature with God. |
| Gal 2:20 | I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. | A metaphor for the radical personal transformation in believers. |
| Eph 4:22-24 | to put off your old self... and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. | The practical outcome of regeneration in daily conduct. |
John 3 verses
John 3 7 Meaning
John 3:7 delivers Jesus' strong assertion that spiritual rebirth is an absolute necessity for entering God's Kingdom. It is a gentle rebuke to Nicodemus, a learned Pharisee, for his bewilderment at such a profound spiritual truth, emphasizing that this transformation is fundamental and not an optional spiritual experience.
John 3 7 Context
John 3:7 is nestled in Jesus’ nocturnal conversation with Nicodemus, a leading Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council. Nicodemus approaches Jesus, acknowledging His divine authority. In response, Jesus immediately declares the absolute necessity of being "born again" to see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus, a master of Israel's traditions, interprets this literally as a second physical birth, highlighting the profound chasm between human, earthly understanding and divine, spiritual truth. Verse 7 acts as Jesus' counter-challenge to Nicodemus’ incredulity, asserting that this radical spiritual transformation, originating "from above," is not surprising but essential. This passage serves as a direct polemic against the contemporary Jewish belief that one was assured of the Kingdom simply by birth into Abraham's lineage or by diligent adherence to the Law.
John 3 7 Word analysis
- Do not marvel (μὴ θαυμάσῃς, mē thaumasēs): This is a gentle but firm imperative. Jesus indicates that Nicodemus' astonishment reveals a spiritual blindness to a fundamental truth. The term thaumasēs conveys surprise and wonder, here used to highlight Nicodemus' lack of spiritual insight despite his religious prominence.
- that I said to you (ὅτι εἶπόν σοι, hoti eipon soi): Reinforces the authority of Jesus' preceding declaration. It underscores that this truth originates directly from Him, God's Messiah, and thus should be accepted without question.
- You must (δεῖ, dei): This is a crucial impersonal verb denoting divine necessity or obligation. It signifies that new birth is not optional or merely a good idea, but a mandatory divine requirement, essential for participation in God's Kingdom. It stresses a sovereign divine mandate rather than human choice.
- be born (γεννηθῆναι, gennēthēnai): This is an aorist passive infinitive. The passive voice indicates that this birth is not a human effort or something achieved by human will, but rather something performed by another – specifically, by God. It emphasizes divine agency in regeneration.
- again (ἄνωθεν, anōthen): This highly significant word has a double meaning in Greek, central to the Nicodemus discourse. It can mean "again," implying repetition, or "from above," implying divine origin. Nicodemus understood the former, leading to his confusion about re-entering the mother's womb. Jesus' intended meaning, as clarified in subsequent verses, is "from above" or "from heaven," pointing to a supernatural, divine origin of this new birth, mediated by the Spirit. This ambiguity perfectly illustrates the tension between earthly understanding and spiritual revelation.
Words-group analysis:
- "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’": This phrase combines a mild rebuke with an emphatic statement of divine requirement. The shock of the divine decree must not be surprising, as it is a core prerequisite for grasping spiritual reality and the Kingdom. Jesus is stating that this profound truth should have been evident to a teacher of Israel. The absolute "must" underscores the universal and non-negotiable nature of this spiritual experience for anyone seeking God's Kingdom.
John 3 7 Bonus section
- The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is foundational to Christian theology regarding salvation, highlighting God's sovereign initiative in spiritual regeneration.
- The surprise of Nicodemus, a "teacher of Israel," underlines that the concept of a radical personal, spiritual transformation beyond adherence to the Law was foreign even to the religious experts of that era.
- This verse, particularly the word anōthen, establishes the contrast between fleshly, earthly realities and spiritual, heavenly truths.
- It hints at the profound spiritual ignorance within religious institutions if they fail to grasp the Spirit's life-giving work, further elaborated in John 3:5, 6, and 8.
John 3 7 Commentary
John 3:7 encapsulates the transformative core of the Gospel message: spiritual rebirth is an absolute and divinely ordained necessity for all humanity, irrespective of their religious background, social status, or moral standing. Jesus, addressing Nicodemus' bewildered human logic, unequivocally declares that entry into God’s spiritual Kingdom requires a supernatural work of God. It's not a self-improvement program, adherence to laws, or lineage, but a radical internal recreation ("from above" by the Spirit) that constitutes a person's fundamental identity in relation to God. This verse dismisses human-centric paths to salvation, centering the hope of life and light firmly on God's initiative and power to impart new, spiritual life. It moves beyond the concept of "doing good" to the need for a radical "being new."