John 3:1-21 (3)

Now that we grasp that the text means “born again” and “born of God,” we must try to understand what that means. To be “born again,” to be “born from above,” is much more than to reform one’s habit and lifestyle. Above all–and this is the point that many professing Christians fail to grasp–it is not initiated or performed by the person’s own decision. The very idea of being “born” precludes this. Even with natural birth, one cannot give birth to himself, but someone else gives birth to him completely apart from his decision. In fact, that this person has any opportunity to decide anything at all is because someone has previously given birth to him.

That a person needs to be born “again” means that the first birth by which a person enters the world is insufficient for the purpose that Jesus has in mind. And that a person needs to be born “from above” further clarifies this. Jesus is referring to a different kind of birth altogether. Also, that the person is to be born “from above” again emphasizes the fact that this birth cannot be performed by another human person, and still less by the person himself. It is neither initiated nor accomplished by human relation or volition. A person reborn from above is “born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13, NASB). Even that verse in John 1 is often misread. The one who receives Him is the one who has been born of God, and not of human decision.

Moving on, Jesus says that unless a person is born again or born from above, he can neither “see the kingdom of God,” nor, from verse 5, “enter the kingdom of God.” To Nicodemus, this meant that no one can participate in the messianic kingdom that every Jew expected (and still expects today) to come. The message of Jesus is shocking and offensive. Jesus is explaining here how one may inherit eternal life and escape death and condemnation, and He gets more into it as we go along (verses 16-18). But He’s given the answer: Be born of God.

So what does Nicodemus say to this? Does he know what it means? He asks in verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Nicodemus takes what Jesus says only in a physical sense, and responds with a rhetorical question that assumes a negative answer. Because Nicodemus understands the term “born again” as referring to a second birth, and because it appears he takes this in a purely physical sense, his response is to wonder incredulously as to whether a person can enter into his mother’s womb, and then be physically born for a second time. Could Nicodemus really be so spiritually dull? Our response here would be based on speculation about the private thoughts and motives of Nicodemus, and not on something that is explicit or implicit in the passage, or for that matter, any other biblical passage.

Most people assume that Nicodemus is not so spiritually dull. In fact, from this and other passages found in this Gospel, it is more than likely that one of John's intentions for this text is precisely to challenge this assumption. Moreover, consider the possibility that many people make such an assumption about Nicodemus because they make the same assumption about themselves. Is it possible for us to be so spiritually dull that we would fail to grasp even the most basic and necessary truth? Rather than interpreting Scripture based on what we think we know about human nature, we must interpret Scripture based on what Scripture itself teaches about human nature. What is possible or impossible for a man to understand must be defined by the Bible, and not from what we think we know about man apart from the Bible.

It does not surprise me at all that Nicodemus sounds as spiritually dull as he does. In fact, given all the biblical passages on spiritual dullness, it is puzzling that so many people reject the possibility! The effects of sin on the mind cannot be overcome by education, even by seminary education, but they can be overcome only when God’s Spirit enlightens the mind through Scripture. In any case, some commentators are more honest with the text. D. A. Carson writes, "A more realistic view is that Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about at all."

Nevertheless, examples from personal experience cannot prove anything – at best they can only illustrate what the Bible already teaches. Thus for us to arrive at a proper understanding about spiritual dullness, we should look at some of the biblical passages on the subject. Now, Jesus says in Matthew 11:25-27, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure. All things have been committed to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” We must realize the force of these words. Jesus is saying that true knowledge and perception about the Father and the Son are jealously guarded by Them, and even deliberately hidden by Them, except to those whom They choose to reveal Themselves. So it does not matter how much natural intelligence a person seems to possess – to know God without divine revelation, one must first overcome God’s omnipotence to hide Himself, but if one could accomplish this, then it would not be omnipotence that we are talking about. This passage alone should eliminate all questions as to whether someone with the learning of Nicodemus could be as spiritually dull as he appears. His ability to understand anything about the spiritual operations of God depends on whether God has chosen to reveal himself to him, and whether he has chosen to reveal himself at that particular time. In fact, Jesus says in our passage, “You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned,” so that human wisdom and learning cannot penetrate the barrier between natural and spiritual wisdom.

Then, we read in Matthew 16:5-12: “When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ They discussed this among themselves and said, ‘It is because we didn’t bring any bread.’ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, ‘You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” When Jesus mentions the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” He is not referring to food but to their doctrine. If His own disciples could misunderstand something like this, why are we surprised that Nicodemus would fail to understand what Jesus means by “born again”? Certainly, here the disciples are not being sarcastic or clever – they really think that Jesus is talking about food. And what Jesus says in His rebuke confirms that the disciples are genuinely deficient in understanding.

Now comes the crucial point. Jesus does not attribute the misunderstanding to mere miscommunication. He does not say that His statement is too vague, and neither does He say that the disciples have a general deficiency in reasoning skills or in understanding language. Instead, He blames the misunderstanding on their lack of faith – He says that this is a spiritual problem. If they would have the faith to recall and realize that Jesus could multiply food, then they would not be saying among themselves that Jesus is concerned about food. Jesus says that it is precisely a lack of faith and not an abundance of faith that makes them irrational, prevents them from reasoning from true premises to their necessary conclusion, and hinders them from perceiving and understanding the truth.

This is one of the reasons why a person who lacks faith cannot reason correctly about spiritual things. He cannot employ the needed premises in his deductions as long as these premises are spiritual propositions. His mind cannot process them. It is not that spiritual things are irrational, but the problem is that his mind is defective. That’s why the spiritual man asks with Jesus, “Are you still so dull?” (Matthew 15:16), and exclaims in frustration, “O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” (Matthew 17:17).

Matthew 16:13-17 is also relevant, where Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus replies that God the Father revealed that truth to him. In Luke 18:31-34, we read: “Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.’ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” This is remarkable! And it proves the point that a person can be as dull about spiritual things as Nicodemus appears in John 3. He could even be a biblical scholar, but without the Spirit’s illumination, there can be no understanding. Here Jesus tells His disciples plainly and directly, without using figures of speech, about what would happen to Him. But “the disciples did not understand any of this.” Many people really do not understand the seemingly simple spiritual truths. Let’s look at one more and get back to John 3.

1 Corinthians 2:14 aptly summarizes the explanation concerning the unbeliever’s intellectual deficiency: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The verse says that the natural man, the man without the Spirit, “cannot understand.” The natural man rejects spiritual truths not because he is intellectually superior, but because he is intellectually inferior, and this intellectual inferiority has a spiritual cause as its root. As Paul says, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:25). This is why even the greatest natural intellect is still far too feeble to grasp the lowest spiritual truths. He is only wise according to human standards (v. 26) – that is, when compared to other unbelievers, to other fools. But the Christian has received wisdom from God.

If a person is surprised by the lack of understanding in Nicodemus, if he thinks that Nicodemus should surely be further down the road than he appears, then he is utterly out of touch with what Scripture teaches about man’s condition. But those who acknowledge what Scripture teaches realize that Nicodemus already represents the best of unregenerate humanity. In both learning and religion, he represents the best that man can attain apart from regeneration, from the new birth, and yet he is exactly as shallow and dull as he appears. At this point, Nicodemus is still a natural man, a man without the Spirit. This is why he fails to understand, and this is why he needs to be born again. And that’s exactly what Jesus tells him.

John 3:1-21 (2)

Keeping in mind that “He knew all men,” that “He knew what was in a man,” we read in verse 3 that “Jesus, in reply, declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” Isn’t that strange? Nicodemus says, “You are clearly a man of God.” And Jesus says, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless He is born again.” The statements seem, at first glance, unrelated. Perhaps John leaves out some of the chit-chat and gets right to the heart of the conversation. Perhaps Jesus just wanted to get to the heart of the matter. We don’t know.

But we do need to spend some time here with the theology of Jesus’ reply. “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Consider that Jesus is saying: “No one can see Me for who I really am unless he is born again.” The Kingdom of God has come with Jesus. Jesus is the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus claimed that he knew Jesus was a teacher from God. Jesus’ reply is that Nicodemus can not possibly know anything about Jesus’ true identity unless he is born again. That understanding unites Jesus’ reply with Nicodemus’ opening remarks.

Now, let’s move on to “born again.” The word translated “again” can convey three meanings. Commentators usually say that there can be two meanings because it is commonly agreed that one of these three does not apply in our context. So let me first offer the one that most commentators say definitely does not apply, and that is “from the first,” unless he is born from the first. The word here translated “again” appears in Luke 1:3, and there it is translated “from the beginning” (NIV) or “from the very first” (KJV). It also appears in Acts 26:5, “from the beginning,”(KJV), or “for a long time” (NIV). This possible meaning (born from the first, born from the beginning, born from long ago, or born from eternity past) seems inapplicable in the context; however, some commentators actually prefer it, because it describes so well the radical nature and sovereign act of God of the new birth, especially light of the Biblical doctrine of election.

The second meaning is “again,” and this is the translation usually selected. For example, Paul writes in Galatians 4:9, “Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” Then, the third meaning is “from above.” This third alternative is typical in John’s writing. Consider John 1:12-13, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent [or blood], nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Born of God and born from above are synonymous. Likewise, John 3:31 says, “The one who comes from above [again] is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven [again] is above all.”

Commentators acknowledge that John is fond of using words that can mean several different things when he intends to convey all those meanings at the same time. So, considering the context of this passage and other portions of the New Testament, it seems (agreed with by many) that both of these later two meanings are intended. The difficulty for us, as English readers, is that there are many English words available for one Greek word. That’s one reason for having notes in the margins of English Bibles, to let the reader know that other possibilities exist. There are several commentators who translate “born again” into “reborn from above,” so as to pack both meanings into one expression. So, acknowledging that both meanings are likely, we can read it, “…unless he is born again or born from above or born again from above or born of God.”

Now the response from Nicodemus in verse 4, as I mentioned, indicates that he took the word as meaning only “again,” although he fails to understand the term even from this perspective. Since, as we will see, there is a deficiency in his understanding about spiritual things and in what Jesus says in this verse, we cannot depend on his interpretation alone as an indication of what Jesus intended to convey by the word. It is certain that Jesus meant much more than what Nicodemus understood.

We can say that “again” is at least part of Jesus’ meaning, since this would be consistent with His own teaching elsewhere, as well as the teaching of the New Testament writers. For example, He says on another occasion, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Peter writes that “He has caused us to be born again [He has given us new birth]” (1 Peter 1:3, ESV [NIV]), and here He definitely refers to being born anew.

John 3:1-21 (1)

I want to look at the well-known story about the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus found in John 3, because it provides both incredibly simple and extremely complex understandings of how a person is saved. Let me note that a vast majority of this material comes from Vincent Cheung's blog. A link can be found under the links category of this blog. While I have made amendments, I am indebted to his exegesis in publishing this commentary. Now, in order to better appreciate what happens in the conversation, let’s first take a look at the verses that come immediately before chapter 3, since they give us the background against which John presents us with the story.

Starting with chapter 2:23-25: “Now while [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name [or in Him]. But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.”

Here John tells us that many people have seen the miracles that Jesus did in Jerusalem and so they believe in Him or trust His name. But Jesus does not trust them. He doesn’t entrust Himself to them. Why not? It was because “He knew all men…and He knew what was in a man.” It is with this background that John proceeds to recount several encounters that Jesus experiences with individuals and small groups, and John is showing that the Lord knew the circumstances and hearts and secrets of the people He encountered. He saw their motives and sins and, like a master physician of souls, He would deal with them in ways that precisely addressed each person’s unique condition.

In chapter 3, John gives us the first of these examples: the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. In chapter 4, John tells us about an encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman, practically the opposite of Nicodemus. After that, John goes on to relate other incidences to display how Jesus dealt differently with different people, fully aware of their inner-conditions. With that as the context, let’s pray first, and then read and study John 3.

Lord, guide us as we study Your Word, Your Word which became flesh and dwelt among us and dealt with His people with surgical skill to bring them to Himself. Guide us by Your Holy Spirit as we study Jesus, and be glorified by Your work in us. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

“1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs You are doing if God were not with him.’ 3In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again [or born from above].’ 4‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ 5Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You [plural] must be born again [or born from above].’ 8The 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.’ 9‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked. 10‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said Jesus, ‘and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life [or believes may have eternal life in Him].’ 16‘For God so loved the world that [or God loved the world in this way:] He gave His one and only Son, [or He sent His only begotten Son] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because He has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son [or God’s only begotten Son]. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Notice first that John makes a strong connection between 2:25 and 3:1. Right after stating that Jesus “knew what was in a man,” John introduces Nicodemus, and writes, “Now there was a man,” who came to Jesus. Although there is no way for us to know everything about the motives of Nicodemus and the circumstances surrounding his visit, the first verse of this chapter offers us several light-shedding details on the significance of the subsequent verses.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and we don’t need to go spend a lot of time recalling what it meant at that time to be a Pharisee. But from what we read here, and from his later appearances in John’s Gospel, let’s point out that Nicodemus is “better” than the typical Pharisee. But he still was a Pharisee nonetheless. We can also say that Nicodemus was well-respected and highly educated. From John 19:39, we can gather than Nicodemus was wealthy. Furthermore, he was a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, which was headed by the high priest, and had pretty much total jurisdiction over the people. Interestingly, among its powers and duties, the council was responsible to investigate and deal with those whom they suspect to be false prophets and heretics.

John says that Nicodemus came to Jesus… As he is himself a prominent teacher in Israel, surrounded by other prominent teachers and religious leaders, with his distinguished background, education, wealth, and power, it is remarkable that he would come to Jesus at all. What is his reason for coming? In Nicodemus’ two additional appearances in John, he stands on the side of Jesus, so while we cannot say for certain, it does seem that he comes to Jesus without mischievous intent, indeed with genuine respect to learn more about Him and His teaching. In fact, as we’ll see, Nicodemus, unlike many of the Pharisees, does not attribute Jesus’ miracles to the power of the devil. Clearly Nicodemus does not hold the same attitude as these malicious Pharisees. So he is clearly not out to destroy Jesus.

John says that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night… Why at night? Perhaps he, as a Pharisee, is afraid of being seen by others and being associated with Jesus. Although this is possible, it is not clear from the text. John does not give us his reason for coming at night, nor is this the necessary implication derived from anything else in the passage. There is another possible explanation. Rabbis thought that the best time to study and discuss theology was at night when they could read, think, and converse for hours undisturbed. So for one rabbi to visit another at night was apparently a common practice at the time. So we can’t say for sure.

What does Nicodemus say? First, he says, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher from God.” Because he uses the word “we,” some suggest that Nicodemus comes to Jesus as a representative of the Pharisees. But we shouldn’t speculate about the thoughts of other Pharisees toward Jesus. Some suggest a tone of condescending flattery in Nicodemus’ approach to Jesus. However, this is an inference from what the commentators assume about Nicodemus; the text offers no evidence that would support such an interpretation, and thus it is nothing more than speculation. The reality is that we simply don’t know his thoughts regarding or the tone he used in saying what he said. We do know that Nicodemus perceives Jesus’ miracles and says that no one could perform them if God were not with him.

His statement implies a generally positive view about Jesus but falls short of a full appreciation for who Jesus is. Not surprisingly to us, being early in Jesus’ ministry, Nicodemus’ statement fails to reflect an understanding of the heart of Jesus’ mission. From what John says at the end of chapter 2, we can be certain that Jesus knows exactly what is in the heart of Nicodemus, his concerns and motives, what he lacks and what he needs. So the exact condition of Nicodemus remains to be seen from how Jesus interacts with him, from what is coming up in this conversation.

A couple more thoughts...

As I announced yesterday, my missionary 3-year-old daughter recently asked the neighbor boy if he knew God in his heart. I am glad to say that the boy returned to play yesterday evening, and sure enough, my daughter again asked the question. She said, "____, I was wondering if you know God in your heart yet." The boy replied, I think so, but I'm not sure."

I was inside cleaning up the dishes (like any good husband would :)), but my wife was outside with the children. She asked if my daughter could share a Bible verse. So my daughter recited John 3:16, and the boy replied, "Wow, she has a really good vocabulary for a 3-year-old. You all must study the Bible a lot." Then my daughter said, "Oh! Let me go get my pink Bible and show him."

She ran inside franticly looking for her pink Precious Moments Bible, which couldn't be found, yet it was later located appropriately on her bedside nightstand. She came to me and asked if I knew where it was, and I gave her a tract and a Gospel of John to share with the boy. The "Evangelism Explosion" tract shared with the boy the reality that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.

This is a fine truth to many, but not necessarily life-changing. However, the tract importantly goes on to explain how the "decision" to trust Christ with saving faith is indeed the most important of one's life. Anyway, the children played hide-and-seek and rolled down the hill. Then it was time for bath and bed. So the neighbor boy headed home and left his tract and Gospel. But he didn't get far. My daughter reminded him, "Oh! _____, you forgot these. Here you go." And he snatched them from her hand and headed home. Lord, may this young boy be transformed by Your Word and Your Holy Spirit. May You, through him, tranform the lives of his parents. "From the lips of children and infants, You have ordained praise" (Psalm 8:2; Matthew 21:16).

A couple thoughts...

Yesterday, my 3-year-old daughter was playing on the front porch with my 2-year-old son. I was standing by enjoying their company. Our neighbor friend, an 11-year-old boy came over to chat and play for a few minutes. My daughter "boldly" asked him if he knew God. (My wife and I have made efforts to constantly remind our children about the Lord's presence in our lives - indwelt by His Holy Spirit in our heart of hearts.) The boy was obviously discomforted by the question - he pretended not to hear her and instead turned his attention to my son. My persistent daughter asked again, louder this time, and the boy turned to me and mumbled, "I don't know." It was clearly something that he had never considered. Do you know God? Do you fear God? Do you love God?

Who is God? Jesus said in Matthew 11:25-30: "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure. All things have been committed to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

What a blessing it is that our Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, has revealed Himself to little children - even my daughter!

Now, about the boy, I helped my daughter with her Gospel presentation and added: "She's asking you if Jesus lives in your heart. Do you know Jesus?" And the boy said, "I'm not sure. I think so." I added that the Bible tells us that we are sinful and deserving of death - and the boy interrupted me and acknowledged that "nobody's perfect, but that he had never really read the Bible and he never talks about that kind of stuff at his house" - I continued, "That's right; we are imperfect and unable to to earn our ticket to heaven, but we can know for sure that we have the free gift of eternal life if we have the Son, if we believe that Jesus came and lived a prefect life for us and died on the cross to pay the penalty price of our sins and rose again from the dead as evidence that we who believe in Him are decalred righteous before God." The boy turned and headed for home, but I asked him as he left, "Do you know Jesus?" He turned briefly and said, "I don't know; I think so."

Now I realize that's a lot of information for an 11-year-old boy who's never heard anything of the sort. But it's a seed. Perhaps he went home and chatted with his parents about it. I'm confident that, Lord willing, we'll enjoy his company again. And with my daughter's help, maybe we bring up the Gospel again (Deuteronomy 6:7; 11:19).

On a lighter note, much ado was made of last Tuesday being 06-06-06, because of the seeming signifigance of 6-6-6 from Revelation 13:18. Sam Storms wrote a humorous article on this. Read it here: http://justinchilders.blogspot.com/2006/06/number-of-beast-666.html

Storms mentions, "The name of the Son of God is said to be 888, the sum of the Greek letters of the name Jesus (Iesous). It has then been pointed out that 777 stands for completeness or perfection, 888 stands for more than perfection (i.e., Jesus), and thus 666 stands for imperfection, which is Antichrist." I learned today, as a novice fan of horse-racing - after all, I live in Derbyville, USA (Louisville, KY) - that the winners of this year's triple crown races (Barbaro - Derby, Bernardini - Preakness, and Jazil - Belmont) all wore the number 8, which meant that if you had wagered a pick 3 on the Triple Crown 8-8-8, you'd have won big.

Bet on 888, Jesus, especially when the world says watch out for 666.