Jesus expressed the need for a new birth to Nicodemus by giving him two illustrations. The first illustration concerned different worlds. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that he needed a spiritual birth. He had been born of a woman, but needed to be born again, this time, of the Holy Spirit. Jesus employed a sound teaching method by relating to something Nicodemus knew in order to teach him about something he did not know.

Jesus’ second illustration involved the wind. Interestingly, the same Greek word is used for spirit and wind. It is the word “pneuma.”

The Holy Spirit, like the wind, is unpredictable to man. He blows into the hearts of people who seem unworthy. He prompts people to do the unfathomable because with God, all things are possible. This same spirit was blowing into the heart of Nicodemus. Whether it would continue to blow or not was unknown to John. Sometimes it blows gently, but other times it blows with gale force. It can bring rain, tempest, or storm, or it can blow the clouds away.

With these two illustrations, Jesus impressed the need for a transformation into the heart of Nicodemus. While the initial phrase “born again” may have been foreign to him, with Christ’s explanation, Nicodemus had no excuse to disbelieve any longer. It was made painfully clear to him that he needed more than a new opinion or to turn over a new leaf. He needed a new life through Jesus Christ and this could only be obtained by being born again.