What Was Jesus Saying In John 3:8?

Q.   I don’t quite understand what Jesus meant in John 3:8. The part where he says so it is with everyone born of the Spirit. This part I am not getting.  Can you help?

A.  John 3:8 says,

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

I think Jesus was using the wind to draw a distinction between the physical birth and the spiritual one.  We can hear the wind and we can feel it.  We can also see the effect it causes around us.  But in and of itself the wind is not visible.

So it is with people born of the Spirit. We can often hear it in their voice and sometimes even feel it when we’re in their presence.  We can also see the effect it has on their lives. But being born in the Spirit usually doesn’t cause any detectable change in a person’s physical appearance.