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The other three Gospels are called "synoptic," that is, "of one eye." They reproduce many of the same stories and events, as if seen from the same vantage point in time. John's gospel is quite different; it is highly literary and symbolic, written two generations later, when Christianity was already well established. It does not follow the same order or reproduce the same narratives as the synoptics. It contains many details about Jesus not found in the synoptics, one of which being that Jesus engaged in a baptizing ministry (John 3:22) before he changed to one of preaching and signs, and that his public ministry lasted for several years, meeting serious opposition long before his death (John 2:14-25). Although there is strong evidence that the writer was an eyewitness, it is less clear precisely who he was, or how many contributors to his record there actually were. Tradition identifies the author as John the Apostle, the brother of James and the son of Zebedee, but this identification is far from certain. The author himself seems to take great pains to remain anonymous. He recalls events out of sequence, switches from quotation to commentary and back again without warning, and interprets the significance of events without fully explaining what actually happened. One gets the impression of an frail old man recalling the experiences of his youth in light of their subsequent social impact. Much of the theological division between Christians can be traced to conflicting interpretations of John's Gospel!
One of the more significant events reported therein is Jesus' discussion with the Pharisee Nicodemus, "a ruler of the Jews," most likely a member of the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin. Its placement is revealing; John's Prologue (1:1-14) identifies Jesus as being the Son of God (1:14), as declared by John the Baptist (1:34) and again by Nathaniel (1:49). Jesus reveals his power at the wedding feast at Cana (2:1-11) and exercises his authority in the temple in Jerusalem (2:13-16) so that many "believed in his name" (2:23). John thus presents background for Nicodemus' assertion that "no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
We know precious little about Nicodemus himself, and nothing at all about his introduction to Jesus or the prelude to this discussion. He is mentioned again in John 7:50 when he defended Jesus before the other Pharisees and in John 19:39 when he provided a large quantity of perfume for Jesus' embalming. The Pharisees as a group believed in spirit and afterlife (Acts 23:8), but the fact that Nicodemus "came by night" suggests that he was uneasy about being associated directly with Jesus or his teaching.
Whoever John was, he jumps right into the middle of the conversation and, writing in Greek, immediately presents a problem (John 3:3). The Greek "anothen" means "from above" or, alternately, "again." The Vulgate, the official Catholic Bible, uses the term "denuo," which means "anew," "again" (as in the KJV), "a second time," or "afresh," so that Jesus appears to be saying that a person must be born a second time, which is clearly what Nicodemus understood. However, Jesus might have simply said that one must be born "from above," where the "Kingdom of God" is, to be a natural born citizen thereof, which makes more sense.
Nevertheless, Jesus' statement and Nicodemus' response presents an opportunity for Jesus to explain that human beings exist on two planes, flesh and spirit. Obviously, anything born only on the physical plane, that is, in the flesh, dies and decays away. The Kingdom of God, being spiritual, requires its entrants to be born of the spirit as well. Being a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have been familiar with the concept of "spirit," the mysterious, unseen world in which God and the angels live.
Jesus makes clear that the spirit world, although unseen, is very real. The Greek word "pneuma," as well as the Hebrew "ruah" and Latin "spiritus," mean both "wind," "breath" and "spirit." Jesus points out that, although you can't see it or tell where it comes from or where it goes, there is absolutely no doubt that the wind exists. Nicodemus is taken aback; the idea of the spirit world making itself felt in the physical (John 3:9) is unexpected. Jesus, in turn, finds his lack of appreciation of spiritual reality surprising, especially for a Pharisee scholar.
Jesus mentions another essential ingredient for birth "from above" or "again:" water. And to understand this reference, we have to examine both the physical process of birth and the religious significance of water as a means of spiritual purification. "Washing" is mentioned 138 times in the KJV (specifically, Genesis 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24, 31; 49:11, Exodus 2:5; 19:10, 14; 29:4, 17; 30:18-19; 30:20-21; 40:12, 30-32, Leviticus 1:9, 13; 6:27; 8:6, 21; 9:14; 11:25, 28, 40; 13:6, 34, 54-56, 58; 14:8-9, 47; 15:5-8, 10-11, 13, 16-17, 21-22, 27; 16:4, 24-26, 28; 17:15-16; 22:6, Numbers 8:7, 21; 19:7-8, 10, 19, 21; 31:24, Deuteronomy 21:6; 23:11, Judges 19:21, Ruth 3:3, 1 Samuel 25:41, 2 Samuel 11:3, 8; 12:20, 24, 1 Kings 22:38, 2 Kings 5:10, 12-13, 2 Chronicles 4:6, Nehemiah 4:23, Job 9:30; 14:19; 29:6, Psalms 26:5-6; 51:2, 7; 58:10; 60:8; 73:13; 108:9, Proverbs 30:12, Songs 4:2; 5:3, 12; 6:6, Isaiah 1:16; 4:4, Jeremiah 2:22; 4:14, Ezekiel 16:4, 9; 23:40; 40:38, Matthew 6:17; 15:2, 20; 27:24, Mark 7:2-5, 8, Luke 5:2; 7:38, 44; 11:38, John 9:7, 11, 15; 13:5-6, 8, 10, 12; 13:14, Acts 9:37; 16:33; 22:16, I Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 5:26, I Timothy 5:10, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 9:10; 10:22, II Peter 2:22, Revelation 1:5 and 7:14). In a region of the world with precious little fresh water, where people bathed infrequently if, in fact, at all, cleanliness was considered truly next to godliness. Mark 7:4 notes the Jewish practice of washing before eating, a practice which kept Jews almost magically free of disease later on during the Dark Ages when virtually every Christian was chronically ill.
The idea of washing specifically for spiritual purification evolved into the practice of baptism, a ritual specifically for that purpose. Baptism appears only in the New Testament, and is mentioned 58 times (in Matthew 3:6, 11, 13, 14, 16; 20:22, 23; 28:19, Mark 1:4, 5, 8, 9; 10:38, 39; 16:16, Luke 3:7, 12, 16, 21; 7:29, 30; 12:50, John 1:25, 26, 28, 31, 33; 3:22, 23, 26; 4:1, 2; 10:40 Acts 1:5; 2:38, 41; 8:12, 13, 16, 36, 38; 9:18; 10:47, 48; 11:16; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:3-5; 22:16, Romans 6:3, I Corinthians 1:13-17, I Corinthians 10:2; 12:13; 15:29, and Galatians 3:27). The synoptics tell us that Jesus himself was baptized by his kinsman John the Baptist (Matthew 3:15, Mark 1:9 and Luke 3:21). John the Gospel writer assumes the reader already knows this, but adds some of the Baptist's testimony about Jesus (John 1:15; 26-27, 3:27-30) and notes that Jesus' disciples (John 3:22, 26, 4:1-2) imitated this practice during the early days of his ministry.
Of course, everyone of Jesus' time would know about the association of water with the process of birth, too. It is only a small step, therefore, from the symbolism of baptism as spiritual purification to the analogy of the same baptism as an indication of spiritual birth. This appears to be the point being made in John 3:5.
In any case, it is clear that Jesus considered baptism to be important enough that he submitted to it himself (Matthew 3:15, Mark 1:9, and Luke 3:21) and gave strict instructions to his disciples to "baptize all nations." (Matthew 28:19). It is really difficult to reach any other conclusion than that Jesus considered baptism to be a process of birth on the spiritual plane by which human beings become natural-born citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the view of the Catholic Church, which "does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude." Unfortunately this belief separates us from many of our other Christian brothers and sisters, who believe in alternate requirements for salvation, such as taking Jesus as one's savior.
The argument can be made that Jesus Christ came to earth to save all mankind, as John plainly states in John 3:16, perhaps his most often quoted verse. Catholics believe this too, of course. We maintain that God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, that salvation itself is a free gift available to all, and that nobody is predestined to be condemned. On the other hand, we also believe that God desires our acceptance of and participation in this gift. For little children, too young to make choices of faith, this acceptance and participation is provided by the parents, their direct personal representatives of God. The parents thus become instruments of the child's redemption and sanctification, as well as his creation, by presenting the child to be baptized as a Christian and raising him in the the faith they themselves profess. Baptism is therefore not so much a blessing as it is a ceremony of initiation by which the child (or adult pagan), already blessed, is initiated into the community of Christian believers, hopefully to work out his or her salvation along with, among, and in concert with, them.
Many Christians believe that one is saved by taking Jesus Christ as his personal savior. Catholics would agree with that for adult baptized Christians, because otherwise Christianity makes no sense at all. Sometimes it is really difficult, because we maintain that we do that by doing what he told us, by being "born (again) from above" through "water and the spirit," as he himself prescribed. To suggest otherwise questions Jesus' own commandment to his disciples in Matthew 28:19 to make disciples specifically by baptizing them.
Others suggest that infants and others too young (or perhaps mentally unable) to commit sin are saved by their innocence. Catholics agree that such persons are innocent of personal sin, but are nevertheless born into a condition wounded by the Sin of Adam. In our funeral rites for infants who, unfortunately, die without baptism, we entrust them to the mercy of God because for of such is the kingdom of God. We note, however, that Jesus himself did not exempt even them from the necessity of being "born (again) from above." The argument that children are automatically "saved" because of their innocence leads Catholics to the obvious conclusion that the way to guarantee their salvation (if that were so) would be to kill them (preferably before they are born, to keep from running afoul of the law), which is why we absolutely reject that assertion.
Finally, there are those who maintain that baptism is a sign of one's internal conversion through faith. Catholics agree with that, too, for adults. Otherwise baptism of adults for the purpose of salvation which they themselves do not desire would be a fundamental contradiction. We believe, however, that the doing of the deed, washing with water in the name of Jesus and saying the words prescribed by him, achieves the salvation desired by the believing recipient through faith in Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the most fundamental lack of agreement between Catholics and other Christians is the meaning of John 3:18 and following, In the Protestant Bibles I have seen where the purported words of Jesus are printed in red, this statement appears as an apparent quotation by Jesus, from verse 3:10 through 3:21. But John's characteristic style of writing does not make this assumption persuasive. A good case can be made for the end of the quotation with 3:12, and the beginning of John's own commentary at 3:13. This makes 3:18 not a quotation from Jesus, during his lifetime, but a parenthetical remark by John, some 60 years later, when all the other Apostles were dead and thus would not have known about it. Catholics note that God loved the world, not just Christians, which makes "everyone who believes in him" among those who "might not parish but might have eternal life," not to the exclusion of others (in the world), to whom He also gave His only Son."
Indeed, Catholics note that "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world," which would surely have been the case if He would have suddenly and unexpectedly damned even the most devout practitioners of the religion He Himself had previously given to Moses to hell because of the arrival of Jesus. We note that the "condemnation" being talked about is specifically "that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Precisely what this means is explained in the following two verses, John 20, 21. Thus, those works "clearly seen as done in God" are not so much by "whosoever believeth in him," as they are by "he that doeth truth [and] cometh to the light." Those people are not necessarily Christians, and, in fact, exclude quite a few who aggressively claim that distinction.
This is why we maintain that for those who have never heard the Gospel and do not know about, or in good conscience reject, redemption through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit offers the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known only to God, of the salvation for which God gave the entire world "His only begotten Son." We maintain that "he that doeth truth" honestly seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, is saved in accordance with the will of God. We call this "baptism of desire," or, for the ultimate sacrifice, "baptism of blood." But to those who have heard the Word of God, and yet argue that some kind of baptism is not necessary for salvation, we simply ask, "What did Jesus say?" "What did he command?"
Catholics see salvation not as an event, but as a process, which is why we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. There is only one way to heaven. For some, the journey is easy; for others, really difficult. Catholics believe that everybody can make the trip, but the sacrament of baptism gets you a ticket for the train and a reservation when you get there.
We maintain that "one baptism for the forgiveness of sins" unites Christians, whatever their individual beliefs, as "one body" with the other People of God, living and dead, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, who as Revelation seems to imply, might well greatly outnumber us. Furthermore, we believe that the reception of this sacrament gives us the strength to proclaim and live our unique Christian faith,
...because sometimes it is really difficult!