born of water

[jfrog]

Originally Posted by Aquila

My point is that the phrase "born again" (Hebrew "born anew") along with the reference to water would immediately speak of mikveh (precursor to water baptism) in the mind of Nicodemus, a teacher of the Law.

John 3:1-5King James Version (KJV)
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus answers Christ's statement that a man must be born again with a question to clarify, "Can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Jesus then answers rightly to Nicodemus Jewish mind, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Nicodemus would have satisfactorily received Christ's clarification. Water and Spirit. Nicodemus would have also understood it's co-relation to the phrase "born again" when connected to mikveh (baptism), seeing that the mikveh was considered to be the "womb of the world" wherein men are "born anew" (all concepts predating the time of Jesus).

Not only that, but why would Jesus need to even speak of water in reference to amniotic fluid in natural birth? What man ISN'T "born of water" if this is so? So it causes a redundancy in Christ's clarification.

The only problem i have is that Christ mentions one 2nd birth but the water is baptism and spirit is Holy Ghost crowd forces 2 births into that one 2nd birth.