Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 3:9

"Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?" — John 3:9 (ASV)

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

He was puzzled and perplexed, like a man in a maze; the Saviour had given him something to think about; and I wish that when we preach to a congregation, or when we talk to individuals, we would not aim to dazzle them with our fine phrases, but would seek to set the truth before their minds, that it might lie there to be studied and thought about, and to be like seed which, in later days, would germinate and bring forth a harvest to God's praise and glory.

Our Saviour is an example to all of us who preach; and, in this instance, he shows us the wisdom of not withholding the mysteries of the kingdom. I greatly fear that many preachers would have begun by talking to Nicodemus about some point that was common to both Judaism and Christianity, and that they would have gone on to apologize for the peculiar mysteries of Christianity, all of which would have been a waste of breath, and worse than that. Do not do so, my brothers; but speak out the truth boldly, and leave the Eternal Spirit to make use of it as he pleases.

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? (John 3:9)

He did not deny that they might be; but he asked how they could be. Ah, many a man has asked the same question! "How may I be made anew? How may I become a new creature?" Only He who makes all things can make all things new. The new birth is as great a wonder as creation itself; and there is as much, and a great deal more, to be worked in you to make you a Christian, as has been worked in you to make you a human being.