“The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8
This statement in these two sentences in the exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus, used to confuse me. I didn’t understand the reason the wind was being brought up here. I think I get it now…
Background Info
Let’s catch you up. Nicodemus, (we’ll call him Nic), was a big shot in the Jewish community. Nic was highly educated in the Law and Prophets. That is to say he knew the Old Testament and Jewish customs and rules derived from them. So much that he was a policy maker on the ruling board, called the Sanhedrin. This is a big deal, because Nic’s fellow policy makers sought to bury Jesus and His followers. Even so, we read in John 3, that Nic admits to Jesus that Nic knows Jesus is from God.
With Nic’s admission, Jesus tells Nic that even the Sanhedrin, as educators in the Law of God, are not immune to the effect of sin in the world and the ways of human pride and ignorance. (I see this parallel in higher education today, but that is another post.) So Jesus has to school Nic on the basics of being born again in the Spirit and what that means.
What’s wind got to do with it?
So that is the theme for this overall discussion. But then Jesus makes this one statement. Two sentences that threw me for a while. I had pondered on this for quite some time.
“The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. …”
John 3:8
What does the WIND have to do with the Spirit. And WHY are we talking about the wind when five seconds ago we were talking about bing reborn. I could just see the look on Nic’s face. I imagine him fully confused as he blurts out in , “What’s the deal JC?” Then Jesus would respond:
“So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8
Then Nic would say something like, “That clears EVERYTHING up…”
No? Is it just me? Well that is how I felt the first few times I read this.
Being like the Wind
I finally realized, after some extra reading and coaching in Greek, that this is a play on words. Not only that, but it’s also a reference to how one filled with the spirit should be.
It is a play on words, since the word in Greek, used for “Spirit”, means a “gust of air”. It is quite literally “wind” or breath. However, it is also a reference to how we are to be like the wind.
Like the wind which we can’t see, we can’t tell who is moved by spirit. But we don’t need to see the wind to feel its presence. We may not see which way it came from before it arrives. But we surely know where it comes from and what it’s affect is, as he world it passes through changes.
The wind can be a breeze
The effect of the wind can be felt in a calm breeze. On a hot and humid day, a breeze can mean all the difference between baking and basking in the sun. In the middle of a vast ocean, a breeze is the catalyst for movement, in an otherwise dire situation. A breeze means the difference between being trapped at sea, or calmly sailing towards your destination, with hope and excitement.
So it is with the spirit filled person. One who prays for others, who shows kindness, or minsters to others with an encouraging word. These small and powerful things make all the difference to one who is burdened and suffering.
The wind can be a storm
The wind can also be strongly felt in a storm. It actively reshapes the landscape as it sweeps over and through it.
Those who put their lives on the line, their freedom, the trail-blazers and policy changers storm through their world. Those who commit their lives to doing good. Missionaries, pastors, doctors, nurses, prayer warriors, and first responders. Like the driving wind, they push the landscape and change the world through sacrifice, and actions powered in the spirit. Their actions are constant and can be seen changing lives every day. They change the landscape of the world by serving others as Christ served those he ministered.
The point
The point is, the wind, and the spirit filled, move about changing the world. T these are all acts born out of Love and not obligation. We do not do good works to earn a place in heaven, ( see Eph 2:8-9, Rom 3:23-24, 28 ) We do good, as a response to the Love and Grace that Jesus has already poured out on us. ( like in Matt 14:32-33 ) And we do good because that is what it means to be reborn ( Eph 2:10, Phil 2:13 )
Afterthought
Like the wind, sometimes we THINK we know where the Spirit is headed. But as any meteorologist watching the “polar vortex” can tell you, the “Wind” is an unpredictable thing. Sometimes we need to take a queue from the sailors. Let us be still and see where the Spirit is blowing. And like them, adjust our sails in order to allow it to move us in the same direction.
May Jesus have His way with your day
He is Founder and consultant for Tek Management,
Founder of the Men’s Leadership site: CalebStrong.org,
Co-Founder of the online Bible study app: BibleCounts
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