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.”

The Greek word “pneuma” translated here as “wind” in the first part of the verse and in the latter as “Spirit” is used 385 times in the NT and can mean spirit, wind, or breath. The Hebrew (and several other languages) hold the same multiplicity of meanings.  As Morris points out, “It was a matter of observation for men in early days that when the breath ceases the life ceases also.  What more natural, then, than to apply the same word to both?  And, since wind is nothing more than a lot of breath moving in a hurry, it was equally natural to use the word of the wind.” (p. 220)

It is possible that Jesus and Nicodemus both heard a gust of wind at this point which Jesus quickly used to advantage in His illustration.

Jesus said that the “The wind blows wherever it pleases.” and He goes on to say that this is the same way that it is with those who are born again. There is an incredible freedom that comes with being a Christian. New life makes us free from several things:

1. the Law which could only proclaim duty
2. the lusts and cravings of our old nature
3. human authority (we now have direct access to God and are individually responsible to do what He tells us to do.)

“hear the sound” = People don’t need us to tell them that we are different. They need us to show them that we are different. The wind can be of many different velocities, from a whisper to a hurricane, but no wind at all is stagnation. The stronger the wind, the greater are the consequences (the more visible is the fact that there is a wind). Which are you?