1. Farisayo Aja Usiku1. A Pharisee Comes by Night

Nikodemo alikuwa mtu mwangalifu. Alikuwa Farisayo, mjumbe wa baraza linalotawala, mwalimu wa Israeli. Katika Injili ya Yohana anaitwa mwalimu — si mwalimu wa kawaida tu bali mwenye mamlaka inayotambulika. Alizijua amri kwa moyo. Aliijua Torati kwa kuikariri. Kama kuna mtu aliyeyafahamu Maandiko vizuri, ni mtu huyu. Hata hivyo kulikuwa na kitu kilichokosekana. Pamoja na elimu yake yote, Nikodemo alimjia Yesu usiku. Alikuwa amesikia habari za yule rabi wa Galilaya, na alichokisikia kilikuwa kimepita zaidi ya vitabu vyake na kuingia katika chumba kitupu cha nafsi yake. Rabi, alianza kwa uangalifu, twajua ya kuwa u mwalimu umetoka kwa Mungu; kwa maana hakuna mtu awezaye kuzifanya ishara hizi uzifanyazo wewe, isipokuwa Mungu yu pamoja naye.Nicodemus was a careful man. He was a Pharisee, a member of the ruling council, a teacher of Israel. In John’s Gospel he is called the teacher — not merely a teacher but a recognized authority. He knew the commandments by heart. He knew the Torah by memorization. If anyone had a handle on the Scriptures, it was this man. Yet something was missing. With all of his learning, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. He had heard about the Galilean rabbi, and what he had heard had reached past his books and into the empty room of his soul. Rabbi, he began carefully, we know You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.

Yesu hamrudishii pongezi. Anakata hadi mfupani. Amin, amin, nakuambia, Mtu asipozaliwa mara ya pili, hawezi kuuona ufalme wa Mungu. Nikodemo anasita. Msemo huo umetua masikioni mwake, naye hawezi kuufanya ueleweke. Anajibu kwa mojawapo ya mifano inayonukuliwa zaidi ya mkanganyiko wa kifasiri katika Agano Jipya:Jesus does not return the compliment. He cuts to the bone. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus stops. The phrase has landed in his ear and he cannot make it fit. He answers with one of the most cited examples of interpretive confusion in the New Testament:

Hili ndilo swali linalofungua Sehemu ya 9. Nikodemo anayasoma maneno ya Yesu kwa maana halisi kupita kiasi — au, kwa usahihi zaidi, kwa uhalisia-finyu. Kuna tofauti kati ya hayo mawili, na tofauti hiyo ndiyo kanuni ya sehemu hii.This is the question that opens Unit 9. Nicodemus is reading Jesus’ words too literally — or, more accurately, too literalistically. There is a difference between the two, and that difference is the principle of this unit.

2. Halisi Si Sawa na Uhalisia-Finyu2. Literal Is Not the Same as Literalistic

Walimu wa hermeneutiki siku zote wamekitetea kile kinachoitwa maana halisi ya Maandiko. Maana halisi ni maana aliyoikusudia mwandishi — usomaji wa wazi na wa kawaida wa maneno yake. Biblia inaposema Daudi alimuua Goliathi kwa jiwe, maana halisi ni kwamba kijana halisi alirusha jiwe halisi kwa jitu halisi. Mwanzo inaposema Mungu aliumba mbingu na nchi, maana halisi ni uumbaji. Maana halisi ndiyo msingi wa ufasiri sahihi. Wanamatengenezo waliipigania. Mimbari inaihitaji.Hermeneutics teachers have always defended what is called the literal sense of Scripture. The literal sense means the sense the author intended — the plain, natural reading of his words. When the Bible says David killed Goliath with a stone, the literal sense is that a real boy threw a real stone at a real giant. When Genesis says God created the heavens and the earth, the literal sense is creation. The literal sense is the foundation of sound interpretation. The Reformers fought for it. The pulpit needs it.

Lakini maana halisi si siku zote maana bapa ya kimwili. Yesu anaposema Mimi ndimi mlango, maana halisi ni kwamba Yeye ndiye njia ya kuingia katika zizi la kondoo la Mungu. Hatuambii kwamba ametengenezwa kwa mbao na ana bawaba. Daudi anapoandika BWANA ndiye mchungaji wangu, maana halisi ni kwamba Bwana anamtunza kwa uangalifu wa mchungaji. Daudi hatuambii kwamba yeye ni kondoo. Yesu anapomwambia Nikodemo hamna budi kuzaliwa mara ya pili, maana halisi ni kwamba kuzaliwa upya kiroho kunahitajika ili kuingia katika ufalme wa Mungu. Hamwambii Nikodemo arudi tumboni mwa mama yake. Halisi maana yake ni kile mwandishi alichokusudia. Uhalisia-finyu maana yake ni usomaji bapa wa kimwili, iwe mwandishi alikusudia hivyo au la. Maneno hayo mawili si visawe. Nikodemo alilichanganya la kwanza na la pili kana kwamba ni kitu kimoja, na ndiyo sababu alijikwaa.But the literal sense is not always the flat physical sense. When Jesus says I am the door, the literal sense is that He is the entrance into the sheepfold of God. He is not telling us He is made of wood and has hinges. When David writes The LORD is my shepherd, the literal sense is that the Lord cares for him with the watchfulness of a shepherd. David is not telling us he is a sheep. When Jesus tells Nicodemus you must be born again, the literal sense is that a spiritual rebirth is required to enter the kingdom of God. He is not telling Nicodemus to climb back into his mother. Literal means what the author meant. Literalistic means the flat physical reading whether the author meant it that way or not. The two are not synonyms. Nicodemus collapsed the first into the second, and that is why he stumbled.

3. Mahali Nikodemo Alipojikwaa3. Where Nicodemus Stumbled

Nikodemo alikuja usiku, jambo ambalo lenyewe ni mojawapo ya vidokezo vya upole vya Yohana kwamba mtu huyu alikuwa bado gizani. Yesu alisema kuzaliwa mara ya pili, akitumia neno la Kigiriki linaloweza pia kutafsiriwa kuzaliwa kutoka juu. Tafsiri zote mbili zinaelekeza kwenye uhalisia ule ule — mwanzo mpya wa kiroho unaotoka kwa Mungu. Rabi yeyote wa karne ya kwanza aliyewafahamu manabii angepaswa kusikia mwangwi wake. Ezekieli alikuwa ameahidi moyo mpya na roho mpya. Yeremia alikuwa ametangaza nitaiandika sheria yangu mioyoni mwao. Manabii wa agano walikuwa wakisema kwa karne nyingi kwamba ufalme wa Mungu ulihitaji badiliko lenye kina zaidi kuliko kushika sheria.Nicodemus came at night, which is itself one of John’s gentle clues that this man was still in the dark. Jesus said born again, using a Greek word that can also be rendered born from above. Either translation points to the same reality — a new spiritual beginning that comes from God. Any first-century rabbi familiar with the prophets should have heard the echo. Ezekiel had promised a new heart and a new spirit. Jeremiah had announced I will write My law upon their hearts. The covenant prophets had been saying for centuries that the kingdom of God required a transformation deeper than law-keeping.

Lakini Nikodemo anaangukia usomaji wa kimwili: Aweza kuingia tumboni mwa mama yake mara ya pili? Picha hiyo ni ya kipuuzi, na hilo ndilo hasa jambo la msingi. Amechanganya ufasiri halisi na ufasiri bapa wa kimwili, na upuuzi huo unaufichua mkanganyiko wake. Yesu hamcheki. Hadhihaki swali lake. Analijibu — kwa upole, lakini kwa wazi. Kilichozaliwa kwa mwili ni mwili; na kilichozaliwa kwa Roho ni roho. Usistaajabu kwa kuwa nilikuambia, Hamna budi kuzaliwa mara ya pili. Nyanja mbili. Aina mbili za kuzaliwa. Kuzaliwa kimwili kutoka kwa mama yake Nikodemo kulileta mwili. Kuzaliwa kiroho kutoka juu kunaleta nafsi. Kuzaliwa kwa kwanza hakuwezi kutimiza kile ambacho kuzaliwa kwa pili peke yake kunaweza. Yesu anamfundisha Nikodemo — na kupitia yeye kila mhubiri mwenye uhalisia-finyu atakayekuja baadaye — kwamba mara nyingi maana halisi ndiyo maana ya kiroho, kwa sababu msemaji alikusudia hivyo.But Nicodemus drops into a physical reading: Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb? The picture is absurd, and that is exactly the point. He has confused literal interpretation with flat physical interpretation, and the absurdity exposes the confusion. Jesus does not laugh at him. He does not mock the question. He answers it — gently, but plainly. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. Two domains. Two kinds of birth. The physical birth from Nicodemus’s mother delivered a body. The spiritual birth from above delivers a soul. The first cannot accomplish what only the second can. Jesus is teaching Nicodemus — and through him every literalist preacher who would come after — that the literal sense often is the spiritual sense, because the speaker meant it that way.

4. Upepo4. The Wind

Kisha Yesu anachukua kielelezo ili kumfungua Nikodemo. Upepo huvuma upendapo, na sauti yake waisikia, lakini hujui unakotoka wala unakokwenda; kadhalika na kila mtu aliyezaliwa kwa Roho. Neno la Kigiriki pneuma lina maana ya upepo na pia roho — neno lile lile kwa pumzi usiyoweza kuiona na kwa Roho usiyeweza kumchorea ramani. Yesu anafanya zaidi ya kumpa Nikodemo sitiari. Anamfundisha jinsi ya kusoma. Upepo hauonekani. Chanzo chake kimefichika. Unakokwenda kumefichika. Lakini matokeo yake yanaonekana. Majani yanatikisika. Matanga yanajaa. Nywele zinainuka. Huwezi kuuona upepo, lakini unaweza kuona unachokifanya. Ndivyo ilivyo kwa Roho. Huwezi kuona kuzaliwa upya, lakini unaweza kuona kunachokifanya. Swali bapa la kimwili aliloliuliza Nikodemo — mtu aweza kuingia tumboni mwa mama yake? — ni swali la aina isiyo sahihi. Swali la aina sahihi ni je, unaweza kuona kile Roho alichokifanya?Then Jesus reaches for an illustration to break Nicodemus open. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. The Greek word pneuma means both wind and spirit — the same word for the breath you cannot see and the Spirit you cannot map. Jesus is doing more than telling Nicodemus a metaphor. He is teaching him how to read. The wind is invisible. Its origin is hidden. Its destination is hidden. But its effect is visible. Leaves move. Sails fill. Hair lifts. You cannot see the wind, but you can see what it does. So with the Spirit. You cannot see the new birth, but you can see what it does. The flat physical question Nicodemus asked — can a man enter his mother’s womb? — is the wrong category. The right category is can you see what the Spirit has done?

Ukikielewa kifungu hiki, umeielewa sehemu hii. Maana halisi ya kuzaliwa mara ya pili ni kuzaliwa upya kiroho — hicho ndicho Yesu alichokusudia, na maana iliyokusudiwa ndiyo ufasiri halisi unayoitafuta. Maana ya uhalisia-finyu ni kuzaliwa upya kimwili, jambo la kipuuzi kwa sababu Yesu hakulikusudia kamwe. Kumsoma Yesu kwa maana halisi ni kumsoma kiroho. Kumsoma kwa uhalisia-finyu ni kumkosa.If you understand this passage, you have grasped the unit. The literal sense of born again is spiritual rebirth — that is what Jesus meant, and meaning is what literal interpretation seeks. The literalistic sense is physical rebirth, which is absurd because Jesus never meant it. To read Jesus literally is to read Him spiritually. To read Him literalistically is to miss Him.

5. Kosa Lile Lile Kisimani5. The Same Mistake at the Well

Yohana anatuonyesha mtindo huo huo tena katika sura inayofuata moja kwa moja. Yesu ameketi kisimani huko Sikari mwanamke Msamaria anapokuja kuteka maji adhuhuri — saa yenye joto kali zaidi ya mchana, wakati ambao wanawake wenye heshima hawangekuja, jambo ambalo lenyewe ni kidokezo kingine cha upole cha Yohana kuhusu maisha yake. Yesu anamwomba maji ya kunywa. Mazungumzo yanageuka. Anamwambia, Kama ungelijua karama ya Mungu, na yeye akuambiaye, ‘Nipe maji ninywe,’ ungalimwomba yeye, naye angekupa maji yaliyo hai. Jibu lake lina umbo sawa kabisa na la Nikodemo. Bwana, huna chombo cha kutekea, na kisima ni kirefu; basi umepata wapi hayo maji yaliyo hai? Amesikia maji yaliyo hai kama H₂O bapa tu. Yeye alimaanisha Roho anayekata kiu iliyo ndani zaidi ya nafsi.John shows us the same pattern again in the very next chapter. Jesus is sitting at the well of Sychar when a Samaritan woman comes to draw water at noon — the hottest part of the day, when respectable women would not come, which is itself another of John’s gentle clues about her life. Jesus asks her for a drink. The conversation turns. He tells her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. Her response is identical in shape to Nicodemus’s. Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? She has heard living water as flat H₂O. He meant the Spirit who quenches the deeper thirst of the soul.

Sura mbili. Wasomaji wawili wa uhalisia-finyu. Mmoja ni Farisayo tajiri mwenye mafunzo ya theolojia. Mwingine ni mwanamke Msamaria maskini mwenye ndoa tano zilizovunjika. Wote wawili wanakosa jambo lile lile. Yesu anazungumza kwa tamathali kuhusu mambo halisi ya kiroho, nao wanamchukua kibapa. Yohana hakupanga hadithi hizi kwa bahati. Anatufundisha kwamba kosa la uhalisia-finyu si suala la tabaka, si suala la elimu, si suala la malezi ya kidini. Ni suala la kibinadamu. Sikio la asili litachukua maneno ya kiroho na kudai maji, tumbo la uzazi, mkate, ngazi, mlango. Bwana anasahihisha kwa uvumilivu katika visa vyote viwili. Kufikia mwisho wa Yohana 4 mwanamke anaamini, mji wa Sikari unaamini, na Roho yule yule aliyeelezwa na Yesu ameanza kufanya sawasawa na alivyosema angefanya.Two chapters. Two literalists. One a wealthy Pharisee with theological training. The other a poor Samaritan woman with five failed marriages. Both miss the same thing. Jesus speaks figuratively about spiritual realities, and they take Him flatly. John has not arranged these stories by accident. He is teaching us that the literalist mistake is not a class issue, not an education issue, not a religious-background issue. It is a human issue. The natural ear will take spiritual words and demand water, womb, bread, ladder, door. The Lord patiently corrects in both cases. By the end of John 4 the woman believes, the city of Sychar believes, and the same Spirit Jesus described has begun to do exactly what He said He would do.

6. Kauli za “Mimi Ndimi”6. The “I Am” Sayings

Injili ya Yohana imejaa kauli zinazohitaji tofauti hii. Yesu anajiita mlango, mzabibu, mkate, nuru, njia, ufufuo, mchungaji. Yeye si kipande cha mbao. Yeye si mche wa mzabibu. Yeye si mkate wa kuoka. Yeye si taa. Yeye si barabara. Yeye si maiti inayorudi uhai. Yeye si mtu mwenye fimbo na kondoo. Yeye ni kile ambacho kila mojawapo ya picha hizo inafanya. Anaruhusu kuingia. Anatoa uzima kwa kuungana naye. Anashibisha njaa. Anafukuza giza. Anaongoza kwa Baba. Anawafufua wafu. Anawalinda na kuwalisha watu wake. Kuzisoma kauli hizi kwa maana halisi ni kuzisoma kitamathali, kwa sababu tamathali ndiyo Yesu aliyoikusudia. Kuzisoma kwa uhalisia-finyu ni kuuliza kama ana bawaba na kitasa cha mlango, na kuikosa injili aliyokuwa akiihubiri kwa picha hiyo.John’s Gospel is full of statements that require this distinction. Jesus calls Himself a door, a vine, bread, light, the way, the resurrection, a shepherd. He is not a slab of wood. He is not a grapevine. He is not a loaf. He is not a lamp. He is not a road. He is not a corpse coming back to life. He is not a man with a staff and sheep. He is what each of those images does. He admits entrance. He gives life through union. He satisfies hunger. He drives away darkness. He leads to the Father. He raises the dead. He keeps and feeds His people. To read these statements literally is to read them figuratively, because figure is what Jesus meant. To read them literalistically is to ask whether He has hinges and a doorknob, and to miss the gospel He was preaching with the image.

Kipimo rahisi kitakuokoa na makosa mengi ya uhalisia-finyu. Nikichukua maneno ya msemaji kwa thamani yake bapa ya kimwili, je, ninabaki na upuuzi? Kama ndiyo, msemaji anatumia tamathali, na kazi yako ni kutafuta uhalisia wa kiroho ambao tamathali hiyo iliundwa kuuleta. Mlango huruhusu kuingia au huzuia. Ndivyo afanyavyo Yesu. Mzabibu huyategemeza matawi. Ndivyo afanyavyo Yesu. Mkate hukuweka hai. Ndivyo afanyavyo Yesu. Tamathali ndiyo maana halisi, kwa sababu tamathali ndiyo iliyokusudiwa.A simple test will save you from most literalist mistakes. If I take the speaker’s words at face flat-physical value, am I left with absurdity? If yes, the speaker is using figure, and your job is to find the spiritual reality the figure was made to deliver. A door admits or excludes. So does Jesus. A vine sustains the branches. So does Jesus. Bread keeps you alive. So does Jesus. The figure is the literal meaning, because figure is what was meant.

7. Bill wa Zamani, Bill Mpya7. Old Bill, New Bill

Mtu mmoja aitwaye Bill aliishi Evansville, Indiana. Alianza kunywa pombe akiwa na umri mdogo na akaishi katika vilindi vya dhambi. Watu walimwita Bill wa Zamani. Usiku mmoja katika ugomvi wa walevi, mtu fulani alimpiga kwa nguvu sana hivi kwamba tangu hapo wengi walimjua kama Bill Chongo. Kisha jambo fulani likatokea. Bill aliambiwa habari za Mwokozi aliyeweza kumwokoa na kumpa maisha mapya. Kwa imani rahisi alimpokea Mwokozi, na maisha yake yakabadilika kabisa. Kwa miaka mingi baadaye Bill alihudumu katika kituo cha uokoaji (rescue mission) huko Evansville. Badiliko hilo lilionekana wazi kwa marafiki zake wa zamani hata wakaacha kumwita Bill wa Zamani. Wakaanza kumwita Bill Mpya. Aliendelea kuitwa jina hilo maisha yake yote yaliyosalia.A man named Bill lived in Evansville, Indiana. He began drinking at an early age and lived in the depths of sin. People called him Old Bill. One night in a drunken brawl, a man hit him so hard that he was thereafter known to many as One-Eyed Bill. Then something happened. Bill was told about a Savior who could save him and give him a new life. In simple faith he accepted the Savior, and his life was completely changed. For many years afterward Bill worked around the rescue mission in Evansville. The change was so visible to his old friends that they stopped calling him Old Bill. They began calling him New Bill. He went by that name for the rest of his life.

Hiyo ndiyo maana halisi ya kuzaliwa mara ya pili. Bill wa Zamani hakurudi tumboni mwa mama yake. Alizaliwa kwa Roho, na upepo ukaanza kuvuma katika maisha yake kwa njia ambazo kila rafiki yake wa zamani wa ulevi mjini angeweza kuziona. Miti iliinama. Matanga yalijaa. Nywele ziliinuka. Alikuwa mtu yule yule mwenye chanzo kipya. Hilo ndilo Yesu alilomwambia Nikodemo, na hilo ndilo mahubiri yako juu ya Yohana 3 yanakusudiwa kuwaletea watu wako. Si kitendawili. Kuzaliwa upya. Maana halisi ndiyo maana ya injili, na maana ya injili huzaa akina Bill Mpya kila mahali inapohubiriwa bila upotoshaji wa uhalisia-finyu.There is the literal meaning of born again. Old Bill did not climb back into his mother’s womb. He was born of the Spirit, and the wind began to move through his life in ways every old drinking buddy in town could see. The trees bent. The sails filled. The hair lifted. He was the same man with a new origin. That is what Jesus told Nicodemus, and that is what your sermons on John 3 are meant to deliver to your people. Not a riddle. A rebirth. The literal meaning is the gospel meaning, and the gospel meaning produces New Bills wherever it is preached without the literalist distortion.

8. Kosa la Upande Mwingine8. The Mistake in the Other Direction

Mwenye uhalisia-finyu hukosea upande mmoja. Anayeyafanya Maandiko kuwa ya kiroho kupita kiasi hukosea upande mwingine. Yeye hugeuza kauli za wazi kuwa istiari (mafumbo) zilizofichika. Bahari ya Shamu inakuwa ishara ya ubatizo kwa namna ambayo Musa hakuikusudia kamwe. Damu ya mafahali na mbuzi inakuwa rejeo la siri la Meza ya Bwana kwa namna inayoliondolea andiko la Kilawi uzito wake wa kihistoria. Mawe halisi ya Goliathi yanakuwa fadhila tano unazopaswa kuzikuza ili kuyashinda majitu yako. Makosa yote mawili yanashindwa kwa njia ile ile. Kila moja linapuuza kile mwandishi alichokusudia. Mwenye uhalisia-finyu anadai usomaji bapa pale mwandishi alipotumia tamathali; anayefanya kila kitu kuwa cha kiroho kupita kiasi anadai tamathali pale mwandishi alipokuwa akisimulia historia.The literalist errs in one direction. The over-spiritualizer errs in the other. He turns straightforward statements into hidden allegories. The Red Sea becomes a symbol of baptism in a way Moses never intended. The blood of bulls and goats becomes a coded reference to communion in a way that strips the Levitical text of its historical weight. The literal stones of Goliath become five virtues you should cultivate to defeat your giants. Both errors fail in the same way. Each ignores what the author meant. The literalist demands a flat reading where the author used figure; the over-spiritualizer demands figure where the author was telling history.

Kanuni inayolinda dhidi ya pande zote mbili zilizokithiri ni kanuni ya Sehemu ya 8 ikisemwa kwa namna nyingine. Tambua aina ya lugha kabla hujaamua utakavyoishughulikia. Je, hii ni simulizi inayoripoti tukio la kihistoria? Basi isome hivyo. Je, huyu ni Yesu akifundisha kwa tamathali ya usemi? Basi isome hivyo. Je, huu ni unabii unaotoa tendo la kiishara? Basi usome hivyo. Aina ya fasihi inakuambia unashughulika na aina gani ya maana halisi. Iheshimu aina ya fasihi, nawe utaiheshimu maana ya mwandishi.The rule that protects from both extremes is the rule from Unit 8 said another way. Identify the kind of language before you decide what to do with it. Is this narrative reporting a historical event? Then read it that way. Is this Jesus teaching with a figure of speech? Then read it that way. Is this prophecy giving a symbolic action? Then read it that way. Genre tells you which kind of literal you are dealing with. Honor the genre, and you will honor the author’s meaning.

9. Maswali Matatu Ambayo Mchungaji Anapaswa Kuuliza9. Three Questions the Pastor Should Ask

Maswali matatu yataulinda usomaji wako upande sahihi wa mstari kati ya halisi na uhalisia-finyu. Kwanza, msemaji alimaanisha nini? Si neno linasema nini katika kamusi; bali alimaanisha nini alipochagua neno hili? Kusudi la mwandishi ndilo maana halisi. Nikodemo aliuliza swali lisilo sahihi kwa sababu aliuliza kuhusu kamusi, si kuhusu msemaji. Pili, je, usomaji bapa wa kimwili ungezaa upuuzi? Kama ndiyo, unaitazama tamathali, na maana halisi ni maana ya tamathali hiyo. Mlango usio na bawaba, kondoo mwenye fimbo, mtu anayeingia tena tumboni mwa mama yake — upuuzi huu ndio njia ya andiko lenyewe ya kukuambia utafute tamathali. Tatu, tamathali hiyo inaleta uhalisia gani wa kiroho? Ukishaitaja tamathali, itaje kweli yake. Kuzaliwa upya. Maji yaliyo hai. Mkate wa uzima. Kuona kiroho. Maana halisi ndiyo maana ya kiroho, kwa sababu msemaji alikusudia tamathali ibebe uhalisia huo hasa.Three questions will keep your reading on the right side of the literal-literalistic line. First, what did the speaker mean? Not what does the word say in the dictionary; what did he mean when he chose this word? The author’s intent is the literal sense. Nicodemus asked the wrong question because he asked about the dictionary, not the speaker. Second, would a flat physical reading produce absurdity? If yes, you are looking at a figure, and the literal sense is the figure’s meaning. A door without hinges, a sheep with a staff, a man re-entering his mother — these absurdities are the text’s own way of telling you to look for the figure. Third, what spiritual reality does the figure deliver? Once you have named the figure, name the truth. New birth. Living water. Bread of life. Spiritual sight. The literal meaning is the spiritual meaning, because the speaker meant the figure to carry exactly that reality.

10. Nikodemo Msalabani10. Nicodemus at the Cross

Yohana hamwachi Nikodemo katika mkanganyiko wake. Mtu yule yule aliyekuja usiku katika sura ya tatu anajitokeza tena katika sura ya kumi na tisa. Baada ya Yesu kufa msalabani, Yusufu wa Arimathaya anaomba mwili wake. Haji peke yake. Akaja pia Nikodemo, yule aliyemjia usiku hapo kwanza, akaleta mchanganyiko wa manemane na udi, kama ratli mia. Ratli mia za manukato ya maziko ni maandalizi ya aina inayohifadhiwa kwa ajili ya mfalme. Farisayo ambaye hakuweza kuuona ufalme katika sura ya tatu anamwandaa Mfalme kwa maziko katika sura ya kumi na tisa. Upepo ulikuwa umevuma ndani yake. Hakuwa mtu yule yule tena. Kuzaliwa upya ambako hakuweza kukuelewa mwanzoni kulikuwa tayari kukitokea ndani yake wakati aliposimama pale gizani katika Yohana 3.John does not leave Nicodemus in his confusion. The same man who came by night in chapter three reappears in chapter nineteen. After Jesus has died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea asks for the body. He does not come alone. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. A hundred pounds of burial spices is the kind of preparation reserved for a king. The Pharisee who could not see the kingdom in chapter three is preparing the King for burial in chapter nineteen. The wind had blown through him. He was not the same man. The new birth he could not understand at first was already happening inside him while he stood there in the dark of John 3.

Mchungaji, watu wako wataketi mbele yako Jumapili asubuhi wakiwa na silika ile ile ya uhalisia-finyu ambayo Nikodemo aliileta kwa Yesu usiku. Watasikia kuzaliwa mara ya pili na kukimbilia kamusi. Watasikia maji yaliyo hai na kukimbilia mtungi. Watasikia Mimi ndimi mlango na kutafuta bawaba. Kazi yako ni kuwafanyia kile Yesu alichomfanyia Nikodemo. Iheshimu maana halisi. Kataa usomaji bapa wa uhalisia-finyu. Fundisha tofauti hiyo kwa uvumilivu. Waonyeshe kile msemaji alichokimaanisha. Upepo utafanya kile ambacho upepo hufanya. Nikodemo fulani katika safu ya tatu ataondoka usiku akiwa amechanganyikiwa na kurudi adhuhuri akibeba ratli mia za manemane. Hivyo ndivyo injili halisi inayohubiriwa bila upotoshaji wa uhalisia-finyu inavyozaa akina Bill Mpya, wanawake Wasamaria wapya, na akina Nikodemo wapya hata leo.Pastor, your people will sit in front of you on Sunday morning with the same literalist instinct Nicodemus brought to Jesus by night. They will hear born again and reach for the dictionary. They will hear living water and reach for a jar. They will hear I am the door and look for hinges. Your task is to do for them what Jesus did for Nicodemus. Honor the literal sense. Reject the literalistic flattening. Teach the difference patiently. Show them what the speaker meant. The wind will do what the wind does. Some Nicodemus in the third row will leave at night confused and return at noon carrying a hundred pounds of myrrh. That is how the literal gospel preached without literalist distortion produces New Bills, new Samaritan women, and new Nicodemuses to this day.