Jesus answered, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can't enter into the Kingdom of God!
Others have suggested that the "water" could be a reference to the repentance present in those who underwent John’s water baptism and the "spirit" an allusion to the Holy Spirit. [Note: F. Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of John, with a Critical Introduction, 2:49-52; Marcus Dods, The Gospel of St. John , 1:713; Westcott, 1:108-9; Blum, p. 281; Tenney, "John," p. 47.] In this case, repentance as a change of mind is necessary as a prerequisite for salvation. According to advocates of this view Jesus was urging Nicodemus to submit to John’s baptism as a sign of his repentance, or at least to repent. The weakness of this view is that the connection between water and repentance is distant enough to cause misunderstanding. Nicodemus’ response (John 3:9) expressed lack of understanding. If the connection between water and John’s baptism were that clear, he would not have responded this way. It would have been simpler for Jesus just to say "repentance" if that is what He meant. Repentance in the sense of the fruit of a mental change is not necessary for salvation since by that definition repentance is a meritorious work.