Being Born of the Spirit: Jesus and Nicodemus by Night

Being Born of the Spirit: Jesus and Nicodemus by Night

Nicodemus was wealthy, elderly, and a member of the Sanhedrin. He had heard Jesus teach in the temple courts and wanted to hear more, but he could not afford to be seen with him. So he arranged through Andrew to come after nightfall, and Jesus received him at the home of Flavius.

The film follows that meeting from Paper 142, Section 6 of The Urantia Book. It runs under six minutes. The words of Jesus and Nicodemus come from the book, and the narration stays close to it.

A teacher who could not begin

Nicodemus opened with respect and a request:

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God, for no mere man could so teach unless God were with him. And I am desirous of knowing more about your teachings regarding the coming kingdom.” (142:6.3)

Jesus did not flatter him, and he did not push him away. He went straight to the point:

“Verily, verily, I say to you, Nicodemus, except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (142:6.4)

Nicodemus took it literally. How can an old man be born again? Jesus answered with the wind:

“When the wind blows, you hear the rustle of the leaves, but you do not see the wind—whence it comes or whither it goes—and so it is with everyone born of the spirit.” (142:6.5)

The wind is real. You see what it does, and you never see the wind. The spirit works the same way.

The question that matters

Nicodemus did not retreat into argument. He asked the practical question:

“But how can I begin to lay hold upon this spirit which is to remake me in preparation for entering into the kingdom?” (142:6.7)

Jesus answered:

“Already does the spirit of the Father in heaven indwell you.” (142:6.7)

The spirit is already there. Being born of the spirit is not a thing you fetch from far away. It starts with a choice about whose guidance you follow.

Why he went away bewildered

The book is honest about how the night ended:

“Nicodemus was thoroughly sincere. He was deeply impressed but went away bewildered.” (142:6.8)

It also says why:

“Nicodemus was accomplished in self-development, in self-restraint, and even in high moral qualities.” (142:6.8)

What he did not yet know was how to submit his will to the will of the divine Father. That is a hard thing to hear for anyone who is good at being good.

The rest of the story

The same section carries on:

“But Nicodemus did summon faith enough to lay hold of the kingdom.” (142:6.9)

“He faintly protested when his colleagues of the Sanhedrin sought to condemn Jesus without a hearing; and with Joseph of Arimathea, he later boldly acknowledged his faith and claimed the body of Jesus, even when most of the disciples had fled in fear from the scenes of their Master’s final suffering and death.” (142:6.9)

The man who came by night ended by acting in the open.

Watch it, then tell us what you think

The film is on the Sermons of Jesus channel. Watch it above, then read the full section for yourself: Paper 142 at urantia.org. When you finish, you might ask what the film asks at its close: what does being born of the spirit mean to you?

The visuals are an AI-assisted cinematic dramatization. The words are from the book.