John 3:9

9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can these [things] be?"

John 3:9 Meaning and Commentary

John 3:9

Nicodemus answered and said unto him
Remaining still as ignorant as ever, though Christ had explained the phrase "born again", at which he stumbled, by a being "born of water and of the Spirit", or of the grace of the Spirit of God; and had illustrated this by the free, powerful, and invisible blowing of the wind:

how can these things be?
The Arabic version reads, "how can this be?" referring either to the last thing said, that a man's being born of the Spirit, is like the blowing of the wind; or to the explanation of the first expression, that a man should be born of water, and of the Spirit; or to the first assertion itself, that a man should be born again; which notwithstanding the explanation and illustration, seemed as impossible, and as impracticable as ever; or rather to them all, and so the Persic version reads, "how can all these things be?"

John 3:9 In-Context

7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'It is necessary for you to be born from above.'
8 The wind blows wherever it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can these [things] be?"
10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these [things]?
11 Truly, truly I say to you, we speak what we know, and we testify [about] what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony!
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.