Here are the world famous words of John 3:5:
“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 had a hard time accepting this, and Jesus gave him a jolting rebuke, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?”
But where in the Old Testament was Nicodemus to understand these spiritual realities desperately needed for the Jewish people, passages crying out for the solution of an efficacious birth of water and spirit?
As one of the passages that intertwines the (1) spiritual washing for heart cleansing and (2) purging breath for life renewal in the Old Testament, please let me suggest also the study of Isaiah 4. Personally examine verses 3 and 4 of the chapter.
“And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”
I have never seen this connection of Isaiah 4 and John 3 proposed by any of the biblical commentaries in my possession. But that it is not to say that I am introducing something unique and never been proposed by true scholars. (Most everything that I find as new has already been discussed before.)
I am just excited that the Spirit has lead me this week to some interesting parallels between two chapters that are the central focus of my study and meditation. How does one enter the kingdom of God in John 3:5? There must be a supernatural birth of hudatos and pneumatos. How is one “written among the living” in Isaiah 4:3? There must be a divine work of rinsing and ruach.
Obviously, a scholar like R.C.H. Lenski would not accept my interpretation of hudatos in John 3:5 severed from literal water baptism, but all can see that his ecclesiology (not his doctrine of justification in soteriology) is heavily entrenched in the Lutheran’s sacramental baptism by sprinkling.
Jesus in Idaho Falls 
Todd, I think this is a great insight! I’ll have to look in some of my commentaries and see if anyone else mentions it.
Hi, Pastor Todd. This is my first time checking out your blog, and I see that it will be a great resourse for my family and I as we learn how to more completely understand our LDS community and reach out to them in love with the unbridled truth of Scripture (that which needs NO correction by man). So let me first thank you for your love for these people and your devotion to the truth.
On the referenced passage, while I had not considered this Isaiah parallel before, I did want to note what seems to be a more direct parallel in Ezekiel 36:25-26. I’ll include vv. 24-28 for a more complete context:
“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″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″You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” NASB
Interesting to note here is the direct reference to water sprinkled by God for cleansing (spritually speaking), followed immediately by God giving a NEW heart and a NEW spirit. Surely this speaks of new birth on both accounts, “of water and of the Spirit.”
Here is what MacArthur says about this, picking up on a discussion about what is meant by the “water” in John 3:5.
“You say, “Well, what water is it?” Well, it’s clearly the water that Nicodemus would understand, and for that you go back to Ezekiel chapter 36. If Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel and an authority on the Old Testament, he would’ve only thought of one passage, one familiar, famous, well-known passage, and that would’ve been the key to interpreting what Jesus said, and that’s why Jesus never went any further with His statement then to say water and Spirit and leave it there, because Nicodemus would’ve understood. In Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 24, we have the promise of God to the nation of Israel to be fulfilled when the Messiah comes. “I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, bring you into your own land…now watch…Then will I sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you.”
Now, notice, He says, “I will wash you with water and cleanse you of sin and place My Spirit in you.” That’s the water Nicodemus would’ve understood. It is the water of cleansing that occurs at salvation. If you wanna put it in Paul’s term, it is the washing of the water by the Word that occurs when you’re saved. It isn’t baptism. It isn’t physical birth. It is simply the concept of cleansing that occurs at the point of regeneration and salvation. You must have that promised cleansing and the implanting of the Spirit to enter into the Kingdom of God. That’s what he’s saying. So don’t confuse baptism or the water that we associate with physical birth with the concept that Nicodemus would’ve understood; and that’s a good point to remember. Whenever you are studying a Bible passage, remember that what is said will have its primary interpretation located at the point in time in which it was said to the people to whom it was said; and it’s important that you reconstruct that situation so that you’ll understand. Nicodemus clearly understood, “Oh, what You’re saying is there must be a purification of the inside, and there must be the planting of God’s Spirit within my heart to make me fit for His Kingdom.” That’s exactly right.”
Good stuff. I look forward to discussing more issues like this with you and gaining insight from you as we learn the truth of God’s holy Word together.
Grace and Peace,
–Brian
Ezekiel 36:25-26
A direct parallel to John 3?
Brian, you bet it is.
And welcome to HI4LDS.
There is lots to learn together in the days ahead. Delving into John’s Gospel has become one of the big adventures of my life. And we are just getting started.
Brian, you can read my connections of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John on this very topic here on Sharper Iron.