John 3:7

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

These verses record Jesus' help of Nicodemus to believe and understand the invisible power of the new birth. To be sure, a baptismal ceremony can be seen; but the forgiveness, clean conscience, and receiving the Spirit cannot be seen. Like the powerful wind, though invisible, its power is nevertheless profound. As Barnes said:

Jesus tells him that he should not reject a doctrine merely because he could not understand it. Neither could the wind be seen, but its effects were well known, and no one doubted the existence or power of the agent.[13]

Nicodemus, schooled in all the Mosaic ritual, found the concept of a new birth difficult to accept; but he is not the only one who ever had trouble with these words of Jesus. Note this:

If the rite of baptism provided the moment and occasion of the spiritual result, we should know whence it came and whither it went. We might not know how, but we should know WHEN and WHENCE the spiritual change took place. But this knowledge is distinctly negatived by Christ who herein declares the moment of the spiritual birth to be lost or hidden to God.[14]

This interpretation (!) is typical of the gimmickry employed in vain efforts to talk the rite of baptism out of this passage and out of the whole New Testament. Note the play upon the words "whence" and "when," as if the similarity of these words interchanged their meaning. Can anyone believe that Jesus was here telling Nicodemus that he could not tell "when" the wind was blowing? But the words rhyme! So what? "P" stands for pool; and "P" rhymes with "T" and "T" stands for trouble, right here in River City! People do know WHEN the wind is blowing; and Christ also revealed the WHEN of the new birth; it is WHEN we are baptized into Christ. As Paul said, "Being THEN made free from sin" (Romans 6:17,18 KJV), that is, WHEN we have been baptized. Paul was discussing Christian baptism in that passage, and he did not hesitate to make the Christian's baptism the exact moment, the THEN of his being made free from sin and becoming a servant of righteousness. See my Commentary on Romans, p. 226.

[13] Alfred Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1954), Volumes on Luke and John, p. 203.

[14] H. R. Reynolds, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), Vol. 17, p. 118.