Born Of Water And The Spirit

John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesusa by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘Youd must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

QUESTION: Where are the things Jesus spoke about to Nicodemus, in the Old Testament?

ANSWER: Summary of main points

Jesus is not inventing a new idea in John 3. He is applying Old Testament new covenant and restoration promises that include cleansing (water), inner renewal (new heart), and Spirit-given life.
The single clearest Old Testament backdrop for “born of water and the Spirit” is Ezekiel 36:25-27 (cleansing water + Gods Spirit + new heart).
The “wind/Spirit” analogy in John 3:8 has a strong Old Testament anchor in Ecclesiastes 11:5 (and the broader OT use of ruach = wind/spirit), and Ezekiel 37 (breath/wind/Spirit giving life).
“Kingdom of God” is deeply Old Testament (God reigns; the coming kingdom in Daniel, Psalms, Prophets), but the prophets also teach that entry into Gods restored reign requires inner cleansing and heart change.

1) “Unless one is born again/from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3)

Greek control point

“Born again” in John 3:3 is gennao anothen.
anothen can mean “again” and also “from above.” In John, “from above” is a major theme (heavenly origin, divine initiative). In context, Nicodemus hears it as “again” (v4), while Jesus drives the “from above” meaning: a birth God must give.

Old Testament locations of the idea (new birth in OT categories)

The OT rarely speaks of “birth” language for individual regeneration in the later technical sense, but it repeatedly promises the reality Jesus describes: a divinely caused inner re-creation that enables covenant faithfulness.

Heart circumcision (inner conversion enabling obedience)

Deut 30:6 – the LORD will “circumcise your heart … so that you will love the LORD.”
This is a direct promise of an inward change God performs, resulting in love and obedience.

A new heart / new spirit (inner re-creation)

Ezek 11:19-20 – God gives “one heart” and puts a “new spirit” within.
Ezek 36:26 – God gives a “new heart” and a “new spirit.”
This is the closest OT conceptual equivalent to “birth from above”: God replacing the inner center.

New covenant internalization

Jer 31:31-34 – Gods law written on the heart; true covenant knowledge; forgiveness.
The new covenant promise assumes an internal transformation, not only external membership.

“Kingdom of God” in the Old Testament

Nicodemus likely expects kingdom in the sense of Israels restoration. Jesus agrees the kingdom is real, but insists you do not even “see” it without the inward renewal promised by the prophets.

Key OT kingdom texts:

Dan 2:44 – God sets up a kingdom that will not be destroyed.
Dan 7:13-14 – the Son of Man receives everlasting dominion and a kingdom.
Ps 145:11-13 – Gods kingdom language (His reign over all).
Zech 14:9 – “The LORD will be king over all the earth.”

2) “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5)

Greek control point

“Of water and Spirit” is ex hydatos kai pneumatos.
In the OT background, “water” most naturally signals cleansing/purification, and “Spirit” signals divine enlivening/empowering. Together they describe one integrated act of renewal.

The primary Old Testament source: Ezekiel 36:25-27

Ezek 36:25-27 is the most direct match because it explicitly pairs:

cleansing water: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean” (v25)
new heart/new spirit: “I will give you a new heart… and I will put my Spirit within you” (v26-27)

This is precisely the structure of John 3: cleansing + Spirit-produced new life as the entry condition for the restored people of God.

Supporting Old Testament streams (same complex of ideas)

Cleansing imagery tied to covenant restoration

Isa 1:16-18 – wash, cleanse, remove evil (covenantal moral cleansing).
Ps 51:10 – “Create in me a clean heart” (inner cleansing and re-creation).
Zech 13:1 – a “fountain” for cleansing (restoration era purification).

Spirit outpouring associated with renewal in the last days

Isa 44:3 – God pours water and Spirit in parallel on offspring (water imagery + Spirit gift).
Joel 2:28-29 – Spirit poured out broadly (restoration era empowerment).
Ezek 39:29 – God pours out His Spirit on the house of Israel.

Why Jesus can say Nicodemus should know this (John 3:10)

Because Ezekiel and Jeremiah present these as public restoration promises for Israel, and they directly explain why a teacher of Israel should expect that entry into the kingdom involves inner cleansing and Spirit renewal, not merely physical descent from Abraham or outward Torah identity.

3) “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6)

Old Testament grounding for “flesh” vs “Spirit”

The OT already frames humanity as “flesh” (frail, merely natural) over against Gods Spirit as the source of life and power.

Key anchor:

Gen 6:3 – “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.”
This establishes the basic contrast: human nature alone cannot produce the life God requires.

Other supportive lines:

Jer 17:5 – cursed is the one who trusts in man (mere flesh strength) instead of the LORD.
Isa 31:3 – Egyptians are man, not God; horses are flesh, not spirit (contrast of human vs divine power).

The point in John 3 is not that bodies are evil, but that mere natural generation cannot produce the covenant-faithful life needed for the kingdom. Only Gods Spirit can.

4) “The wind blows where it wishes … so it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8)

OT basis: ruach/pneuma means both wind and spirit

In Hebrew, ruach commonly means wind, breath, and spirit. This built-in OT overlap explains why Jesus can use “wind” as an analogy for the Spirits action.

The single closest OT parallel: Ecclesiastes 11:5

Ecc 11:5 says you do not know “the way of the wind/Spirit” (translations differ because ruach can mean either), and you do not know the work of God.
This maps tightly onto John 3:8:

you hear its sound
you do not know where it comes from or where it goes
the point is Gods hidden, sovereign mode of action

Ezekiel 37 as the large-scale backdrop

Ezek 37 (valley of dry bones) combines:

רוח as breath/wind/Spirit,
the giving of life to what is dead,
and the restoration of Gods people by divine action.
This is essentially a national-scale picture of what John 3 describes at the individual level: Spirit-given life where there was death.

One integrated map: what Jesus expected Nicodemus to recognize from the OT

If you put the OT strands together, you get a coherent “Nicodemus package”:

Gods kingdom is coming in power (Daniel, Psalms, Prophets).
Entry into that kingdom requires inner cleansing and inner re-creation (Ezek 36; Jer 31; Deut 30).
That change is accomplished by Gods Spirit, not by natural birth, religious status, or human effort (Gen 6:3; Ezek 36-37).
The Spirits work is real and knowable in its effects, but not mechanically controllable by humans (Ecc 11:5; wind/ruach imagery).

So when Jesus asks, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” (John 3:10), the strongest answer is: a teacher of Israel should have recognized the new covenant and restoration promises, especially Ezekiel 36-37 and Jeremiah 31, as the scriptural foundation for what Jesus is saying.