Let's take a step back and see who Jesus was talking to.
Luke 17:20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the Kingdom of God come?"
So Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. The vast majority of Pharisees rejected Jesus and his teachings.
The Pharisees could not see that the Kingdom was already in their midst.
Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You won't be able to say 'Here it is! or 'It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God is already among you.
Jesus taught another Pharisee who came to find Him at night time. It would appear that he did not feel safe going and seeing Jesus during the daytime. He was curious but also wanting to protect himself due to his status
John 3:1-3 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus, "Rabbi" he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."
Naturally Nicodemus was horrified by this as he could only 'see' or have knowledge of the physical form of birth.
John 3:4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"
Nicodemus could not make the jump from a physical reality to a spiritual one. Jesus wanted him and us to understand that the Kingdom of God is an open state of mind, one that is immersed in the Holy Spirit.
John 3:5 Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.'
By being born again, by allowing God's Spirit to be released in us for God's purposes, the Kingdom of God will dwell among us, just as it did in Jesus' day.
Lord may our eyes see your Kingdom here on earth. May they be open to the heavenly things that you spoke of through Jesus Christ. May we want to be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, so that Your Kingdom may come. May our minds be open to your realities, Heavenly realities, that know no bounds and can break through the chains of man's knowledge that keeps him from being born again.
God bless
