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Examining the Greek: Emphatic Negations in Matthew 13 (part 3)

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[sws_blue_box box_size=”555″] This is the third post in a blog series on Emphatic Negations. In the first post, Justin introduced the text of Matthew 13:1-17 and passive verbs; he pointed out that God foreordained that Jesus’ disciples would have the ability to know the mysteries of the kingdom. Last week (the second post), Justin continued expounding on the text, explaining that one must be born again in order to accept the things of God.

He concluded by stating that “what Jesus is saying in Matthew 13:14 can now be better understood in the light of the Scripture we have looked at above in that apart from a person being born again, no matter how much religion he or she may ingest, HE OR SHE WILL NEVER BE ABLE OR CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!” [/sws_blue_box]

 

Jesus further confirmed this in His encounter with Nicodemus

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things? 11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and you do not receive our witness. 12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:1-12)

There are three very important things to see in this passage with regard to the spiritual re-birth:

The New Birth Is Not a New Concept

1) First of all, what Jesus was telling Nicodemus concerning the rebirth was not some “new thing”; rather, this was something that had been taught from the time of Moses. This is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things?” The following are some passages where the reference to “circumcise your heart” may be seen as an Old Testament synomym to the “spiritual rebirth,” and clearly the references in Ezekiel are referring to the “spiritual rebirth” Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about:

12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 “Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15 “Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 “Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. (Deuteronomy 10:12-16, emphasis added)

6 Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. 7 “And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. 9 “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. (Deuteronomy 30:6-12, emphasis added)

14 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the LORD; this land has been given us as a possession.’ 16 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”‘ 17 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I shall gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I shall give you the land of Israel.”‘ 18 “When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. 19 “And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God. 21 “But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I shall bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 11:14-21, emphasis added)

30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. 31 “Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live. ” (Ezekiel 18:30-32, emphasis added)

22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. 23 “And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. 24 “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28 “And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. 29 “Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. 30 “And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, that you may not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 “Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 “I am not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!” (Ezekiel 36:22-32, emphasis added)

Stay tuned for part 4 next week!

Comments

  1. My self with what has been written I am in agreement, but after being born again we don’t have to obey what law has to offer us wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Now to obey the law is to try to save yourself in stead of wanting to walk in obedience.

  2. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28

    Yes Mr. Justin this text describes God’s divine operation. Looking back at my conversion it is so clear now what God was doing to me when I was seated in the little metal folding chair as a boy. God’s revelation is progressive as well with other doctrines of the faith. This is very good stuff! FZ

  3. I find it interesting that Nicodemus was speaking with Jesus ,
    and the ‘anointing’ on the spoken words of Christ.
    Yet there was NO understanding/revelation in his spirit, the very thing Jesus is describing is happening to Nicodemus.
    This should make us all very thankful when we read the Bible and
    “a light blub goes off” or when receiving revelation via the
    Holy Spirit, for Nicodemus did NOT get it even though personally
    speaking with Christ Himself.

    • Yes , Nicodemus was a “natural man” at this point. dead in trespasses and sins. But he sure met the right person! Alot of good theology in this chapter for sure.

      • Mr. Justin, question, will you respond to questions when I have them concerning the texts we are looking at? FZ

        • Dear Frank:

          Unequivocally, I would be honored to answer your questions about the text. However, please be patiend and give me some time to respond, as I am “busier than a one-armed paper hanger in a wind storm!”

          God bless you,

          Justin T. Alfred

          • Ha, Ha Mr. Justin, I know how you feel it gets crazy sometimes but keep up the good work, yout labour is not in vain in the Lord. FZ

    • The Biblical story does not record the immediate results of Nicodemus conversation with Jesus. But, there are clear indications that Nicodemus became a follower of Jesus Christ. In John 7:50-52, Nicodemus told the ruling council that it should not condemn Jesus without hearing all the facts. And, John 19:39-40 tells of how Nicodemus and another prominent Jewish leader brought spices for
      Christ’s burial. Regardless of the certainty of Nicodemus conversion, his conversation with

  4. Robin, how true…indeed as the scripture says,may we pray that our hearts will be flooded with light so that we can understand the confident hope HE has given to those he called – his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance….Eph 1:18 NLT

  5. From these Scriptures I see that there are several things going on here. First, we are hard hearted people and cannot understand the spiritual things. Then God gives us a heart of flesh as we seek Him, but more as He is calling us, and we begin to turn these things over in our mind, like Nicodemus. God is the initiator of our circumcision, and puts His Spirit in us. And as we become more in tune with God, we then are enabled by the Spirit to walk in His ways and follow through obedience. Our sanctification is a process. What a glorious God and so gracious! The Father who gives good gifts and loves us with an everlasting love!

  6. Jesus marveled at Nicodemus ignorance concerning the workings of the Spirit (ruakh) along with Ezekiel’s prophecies. The (ruakh) has been at work from the Beginnings (re’shiyth). Nothing new about that, especially for a Hebrew teacher of the TNKH.

    I’m not making the connection between a hard and stubborn uncircumcised heart of stone verses a soft and yielded circumcised heart of flesh and the understanding of the mysteries of the Kingdom you say cannot happen before the giving of the Gift of the Spirit to reside within us Jhn. 20:22. The yielding of my will to that of Gods will shed light on the plans of service He has for me, but I’m not seeing what “Mystery of the Kingdom” is revealed. This theology leaves OT souls in the dark. It just doesn’t seem right to think they had no understanding of the promised Kingdom of God, ruled and reigned over by the Son of David, the Jewish Messiah from Jerusalem. It makes more sense that the Spirit of God has been at work from the Beginnings revealing the wonders of the Father. The wonders that will be clearly revealed when we see His face. Remember 1Cr 13:9-12, and this was well after Jhn 20:22.

    Maybe you understand the word “see” (eidō) in Jhn. 3:3 as a mental understanding of the Kingdom of God? I understand it to be a physical seeing or viewing with the eyes of the Kingdom, similar to verse 5’s “enter into the Kingdom”.

    Let me say again how much I appreciate this discourse. Ecc. 10:10 (NLT).

  7. John 3:5 Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus how to get to heaven. Being man must be cleanse and rebirth. This is reference to Acts 2:38 Peter and Nicodemus taught by Jesus this same principle. And Nicodemus became a believer as one of the disciples of Peter.

  8. On the subject of being born again, David hocking, in one of his studies on this passage pointed out that Nicodemus had already been,’Born Again’ five times.
    In the tradition Nicodemus was schooled in there were at least five levels of attainment. As one progressed from one level to the next, the individual would ‘baptize’ himself and as he emerged from the water, he was ‘Born Again’ into the next level. Evidently the fifth level was as high as you could get; now he was being told he needed to be ‘Born Again’ again! And that the previous five dunkings didn’t amount to ‘squat’ (my translation, not David Hockings’).
    One can appreciate the quandry poor old Nic found himself in! Luckily it appears he got it right. Clearly this young Rabbi was on a level none of Nicodemus’ other teachers had, or indeed, never could attain!
    “Born of water and of the Spirit!”