Chapter 3 flows out of the last few verses of ch.2 (reprinted here).
2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast [day],
many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
believed...when they saw- Faith based on evidence (or 'evidential faith')
and involving no consciousness of sin, or of the need for the Savior, is worthless faith. [GWms]
Some wanted to capitalize on His miracles & popularity for political gain (cp. 6:15,26,27),
but gave no thought to their real needs or to Jesus' purpose for coming into the world.
2:24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men],
2:25 And needed not that any should testify of {a} man: for he knew what was in man.
commit- GK= pisteuo, believe (so translated in v.23 above).
They believed in Him (with inadequate faith).
He, knowing their hearts, did not believe in them.
a Pharisee- ie., a very religious man, with knowledge of the scriptures.
a ruler of the Jews- probably a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin,
a council of 70 men who had civil & spiritual authority over the people.
(The Sanhedrin was originally established under Moses. Num 11:16,17)
3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him,
Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God:
for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
we know- he may have been speaking in an official capacity.
Some suggest that his purpose in approaching Jesus was to further the Pharisee's goal of breaking the rule of Rome over Israel, and to establish the Messianic Kingdom. Perhaps he wanted to ask Jesus to join forces with them for political change.
these miracles- No one, not even His enemies, could deny them. (7:31; 11:47,48)
Nicodemus, impressed by miracles (cp. 2:23), had evidential faith.
He regarded Jesus, as he regarded himself, as a teacher with God's blessing (cp. v.10).
He was not prepared for Jesus' response:
3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
cannot see the kingdom- Jesus reveals to Nicodemus the contents of his heart:
his unspoken purpose in coming to Jesus (re: the Messianic Kingdom).
3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?
can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
How can...- Nicodemus' carnal (fleshly) mind could not grasp Jesus' meaning. (1Cor 2:14)
3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Ye must be born again- ie., This prerequisite, for access to God's Kingdom, is without exception.
Jesus' repetition and careful explanation of this requirement are emphatic.
that which is born...
of the flesh is flesh- ie., fallen (sinful) human nature has no place in God's Kingdom.
of the Spirit is spirit- ie., a new spiritual nature, which is suited for God's presence,
because it is made alive and energized by God's Holy Spirit. This is not a reformation of the fleshly nature, but the creation of a new godly nature within the believer. Eph 2:1; 2Cor 5:17; Gal 5:16,17; 6:15
ye must- even you, Nicodemus,
although you are religious from head to toe, you need this new nature.
born of water and... spirit- (v.5) Several possible meanings have been suggested:
Water refers to water baptism. -
Spiritual birth may be symbolic of acceptance before God (by means of baptism).
[This view is not correct.]
No external acts of righteousness can make one acceptable before God.
The righteousness God requires goes far deeper than the cleansing of the flesh.
ie., Spiritual birth results from God's Word, applied by God's Spirit. (cp. Rom 10:14,17).
Water refers to the repentance ministry of John. (Mat 3:1-6)
ie., When a man turns from sin to Christ, he is regenerated by the Spirit. Eph 2:1-5; 1The 1:9,10
Water refers to the Holy Spirit.
A possible translation of v.5 is: '...born of water even of spirit...'
In the GK, there is no article before 'water' or 'spirit', which may imply that they refer to the same thing. cp. 4:10; 7:38,39; Isa 44:3; Eze 36:25-27
Views 2-5 are combined in "the waters" promised in Isa 55:1-13:
The natural (born) man must hear & respond (Isa55 v.1-3)...
to the Word of God (written/spoken, v.3; the Son, v.4)...
repenting of sin (v.7).
The Lord Himself (the Spirit) will perform His Word and conform such persons to His ways, thoughts & purposes (v.8-13).
3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:
so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
wind... spirit- There is a play on words here.
The GK word 'pneuma' is translated as 'wind' or 'spirit' depending on the context.
so is...one...born of the Spirit- People who are born of God's Spirit are mysteries.
You can see the effects of the Spirit in their changed lives.
But you cannot understand how He made them into new creatures. Mark 4:26-29; 1Cor 2:11
3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him,
Art thou a master {lit., the teacher} of Israel, and knowest not these things?
how can these things be?- Nicodemus' self-confidence ('we know', v.2) gives way to
admission of ignorance (v.4,9) as flesh meets Spirit, as earthly meets heavenly.
the teacher of Israel- Nicodemus apparently held pre-eminence among Israel's scholars.
Yet, he was confounded by basic spiritual truth which was clearly taught in the OT. (eg. Eze 36:25-27)
3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen;
and ye receive not our witness.
we...know...- in contrast to Nicodemus' confusion,
His words are 'amen' and 'amen', ie., absolute truth. cp. Rev 1:18; 2Cor 1:20
ye receive not-
"Jesus told this most religious man and professed believer (v.1,10) that he was so sinful and fallen as to be incapable of reformation, and so darkened morally that he could neither recognize nor experience spiritual phenomena [the ways of God's Spirit, v.3,5] unless he was to become born from above.
- - "This fundamental truth is obnoxious to man for it humbles him. The sinner is spiritually dead. He can find pardon and life only in Christ." (Eph 2:1,2) [GWms]
- - Here is both the foundation and the offense of the Gospel. (1Pet 2:6-8; Rom 9:33; Joh 1:12)
3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not,
how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?
earthly things- may include:
His miracles- which identified Him, but which could not transform the natural man.
An 'evidential faith' (2:23; 3:2) has no power to conquer man's will or to alter his nature.
Such faith fails when tested. (eg., the 'believing' crowds turned away from Him. 6:66; 19:15)
His illustrations, from the natural realm, of spiritual truth (eg., v.8,14).
His description of the condition of natural men vs. 'born from above' men.
Even the natural man may observe that the lives of Spirit controlled men are different. (cp. Php 2:15; 3:17-19)
heavenly things-
things that are spiritually discerned (1Cor 2:9-14),
He is uniquely qualified to speak of Heavenly things.
[Enoch & Elijah did not 'ascend' (ie., by their own merits or powers), they were "taken up" by God.]
3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
On one occasion, God sent poisonous snakes into the camp of Israel as judgment for their sin. Moses prayed for God to extend mercy. God told him to make a brass serpent and to hang it on a pole. It was a symbol of their sin and of God's righteous judgment. If a person, who was bitten, looked at the serpent on the pole (thereby acknowledging his sin & God's righteousness in judgment), God healed him from the deadly venom.
so must the Son of man be lifted up- ie., on the cross to die for sin (Joh 12:32,33; 2Cor 5:21)
The 'evidential faith' of the natural man can see no reason to look & live.
To him, God's merciful provision is foolishness. (1Cor 1:18)
so must...- there is no other way, there is no other provision for sin. cp. v.7 and v.14
The dying sinner must look - -
in faith to the crucified Messiah,
not with admiration at a miracle worker. [GWms]
3:16 For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God... loved the world... that whosoever... should not perish -
It is evident that - -
All were perishing-
perish- GK= apollumi, to be utterly destroyed, to be lost. (cp. this word in Mat 18:11; Luk 15:4,6; 2Pet 3:7,9)
His love extends to everyone (1:9). But not everyone is saved (1:12).
God so loved... that He gave...- Apart from that gift, God's love cannot save anyone.
His only begotten Son- ie., unique, one of a kind. cp. 1:14,18
that whosoever believeth in Him...- each person who individually accepts God's gift,
by resting {his legal case before God} upon God's Son, is saved. Rom 6:23
Salvation flows out of God's love, but it is accomplished by His grace (mercy, undeserved favor - offered to us in Christ, cp. Rom 3:23,24), and it must be appropriated by faith (Eph 2:8,9).
have eternal life- The new life received and possessed by the believer is 'eternal',
both in its duration (10:28) and in its quality (17:3).
3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
condemned already- ie., like guilty prisoners on death row, already sentenced,
awaiting the execution of judgment.
not condemned- Christ offers a full pardon to whoever will receive it.
3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, {1:4,9-11} and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
3:22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea;
and there he tarried with them, and baptized. {cp. 4:2} 3:23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim,
because there was much water there: {or, there were many springs there [GWms]} and they came {or, kept on coming in a steady procession [Wuest]}, and were baptized. 3:24 For John was not yet cast into prison. {cp. Mat 4:12}
John's imprisonment is not explained here because the writer assumes the reader is familiar with the other gospel accounts. (Mat 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 3:19-20)
3:25 Then there arose a question
between [some] of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
Apparently, the Pharisees supposed that rivalry existed between John & Jesus (cp. 4:1).
They used this as -
an excuse not to submit to either baptism (of John or of Jesus).
a point of exploitation to foment doubt & jealousy among John's disciples.
3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto him,
Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness,
behold, the same baptizeth, and all [men] come to him.
all men come to him- Attention had once been on John's ministry (Mark 1:4,5).
But the focus had suddenly shifted to Jesus.
John's disciples were concerned about the competition.
3:27 John answered and said,
A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ,
but that I am sent before him.
John knew his place in relation to Christ. cp. 1:15-27
3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom:
but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice:
this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
The Bridegroom- (ie., the Christ, v.28) is the One to whom the bride belongs.
The bride- represents the people espoused to Christ
(ie., the church consisting of jewish & gentile believers).
is consistent with what a 'teacher of Israel' should have been teaching (cp. 3:10).
further describes the distinction between John & Jesus. (vs.31-35)
declares the consequences of believing or disbelieving (v.36).
This is consistent with the message of John, who -
-- pointed to the Lamb of God (1:29), and
-- warned of the lake of fire (Mat 3:7,10,12)
3:31 He that cometh from above is above all:
he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth:
he that cometh from heaven is above all.
he that is of the earth is earthly...- even John, a prophet called & used by God,
declares God's truth with full understanding (v. 32), (whereas John's knowledge was limited, 1:31).
declares God's word in the full authority & power of God's Spirit (v.34),
(wheras John received only limited instruction from the Spirit, 1:32-33)
3:32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; {1:18}
and no man receiveth his testimony. {cp. 1:10,11; Rom 3:3,4} 3:33 He that hath received his testimony
hath set to his seal {or, hath set his seal to this: } that God is true.
3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God:
for God giveth not the Spirit by measure [unto him].
3:35 The Father loveth the Son,
and hath given all things into his hand. {cp. Mat 11:27}
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
has everlasting life- (present tense).
Everlasting life is the present & continuing possesion of the believer. (Joh 5:24)
believeth- GK= pisteuo, to place confidence in, to trust.
This trust must be placed in God the Son and His blood shed for sin (1:29; 3:14,15).
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him.
believeth not- GK= apeitho, to refuse to be persuaded, to be disobedient to the truth.
'Apathy' (the English word) is rooted in this word.
wrath- GK= orge, deep seated steady anger.
(as opposed to GK 'thumos', anger which may flare hot and then cool down)
abideth- remains, continues.
The unbeliever is not annihilated, but is under God's wrath eternally. 'Everlasting life' stands in awful contrast with 'everlasting destruction'. 2Thes 1:8-10 cp. Jesus' description of hell fire: Mark 9:43,44.
The way of access to God's kingdom is narrow. 3:3,14,15; 14:6
The consequences of ignoring the way are severe. Luk 13:23-29