Why did Jesus rebuke Nicodemus for not knowing about being born of water?
A viewer asks why Jesus chided Nicodemus for not understanding that being born of water was necessary for salvation, when no such requirement existed in Judaism.
Answer
It does seem like Jesus is demanding a lot, but what He is most likely referring to are passages like Ezekiel 36:26, where God speaks of sprinkling clean water on the Israelites and cleansing them, which is a prophecy of New Testament baptism. A good prophet, a teacher of Israel, should have known that Ezekiel 36 was talking about the baptism to come, so when Jesus says unless you are born of water you cannot be saved, He expects Nicodemus to put two and two together. There is also 1 Corinthians 10:4, where Paul says the Israelites were all baptized in the sea, using the word baptized, when the Red Sea washed the Egyptians off them the way baptism washes off the filth of sin, as 1 Peter 3 says. Paul, a Pharisee, drew that connection, so why can Nicodemus, also a teacher of Israel, not get it, instead of playing dumb about entering his mother's womb again? Jesus is saying he should be up on these things. I bet Jesus felt like wringing his neck.