Observations from the Greek text in John's Gospel: 3:1-21 Part 2

So, what was Jesus trying to tell Nicodemus?  There is no doubt that Jesus is referring to the long prophesied promise of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps the key to understanding where Jesus is coming from is to not necessarily to forward to Pentecost, but to look back at the Old Testament.  Why?  Because of the question that Jesus asked Nicodemus in verse 10: 

10 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις; 

10 Jesus replied and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you don’t understand these things?”

One thing to note is the use of the article with “the teacher of Israel” (ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ).  This may indicate that Nicodemus was not just a teacher, but a teacher par excellence.  Therefore, what Nicodemus should have known is rooted in the Old Testament in which he is “the teacher of Israel”.  

So, what are the closest passages from the OT that match Jesus’ statements?  The closest one is from Ezekiel 36: 25-27.

Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. NIV11

Another passage to look at would be Isaiah 44:3-5:

Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants.

4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,

like poplar trees by flowing streams.

5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’;

others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;

still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’

and will take the name Israel. NIV11

Of course, one must also look at John 3:5 from the Greek prospective.

ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος

unless someone is born out of water and Spirit...

In Greek, “water and Spirit” are objects in a prepositional phrase of one preposition.  Therefore, “water and Spirit” are probably referring to the same thing.  I would take that a little farther in saying that it is also quite possible that the καὶ (and) is putting both “water” and “Spirit” in apposition to each other.  This can be seen in John’s use of “water” as referring to the Holy Spirit throughout his gospel.

When Jesus goes into the be spirit/wind/breath word play, Ezekiel 37's "Valley of the Dry Bones" may be in play.

Of course, not everyone will agree, and that’s fine.  What is important here is to try to understand the passage from what’s going on in the passage and where Jesus is pointing Nicodemus as opposed to inferring that this passage has to do with baptism which is found no where in the context of the passage.