ADDITIONAL NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. XII. CHAPTER III. The first twenty-one verses of the third chapter contain the account of the interview between Jesus and Nicodemus. This interview occurred during the visit to Jerusalem at the Passover, and, when viewed in its close connection with John 2:... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 1. “ _There was a man of the Pharisees, whose name was Nicodemus, one of the rulers of the Jews._ ” The name Nicodemus, though of Greek origin, was not unusual among the Jews. The Talmud mentions several times a person of this name (_Nakedimon_), called also _Bounai_, reckoned in the number of... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 2. “ _He came to him by night and said: Master, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these miracles which thou doest, except God be with him._ ” What was the purpose of this visit? These first words of Nicodemus are only a preamble; it would be idle to seek here the... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 3. “ _Jesus answered and said unto him: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God._ ” The relation of this answer to the words of Nicodemus has been differently understood, for the very reason that He was not able to finish the expression of Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 4. “ _Nicodemus says to him: How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time, can he, into his mother's womb and be born?_ ” This saying, to the view of several modern critics, is a master-piece of improbability. _Reuss_ thinks that “it is indeed, wrong to try to give to th... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 5. “ _Jesus answered: Verily, verily, I say unto thee that except a man is born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God._ ” The words, _of water and spirit_, substituted for ἄνωθεν (_from the beginning_) indicate to Nicodemus the new factors, and consequently the totall... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 6. “ _That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit._ ” The logical transition from John 3:5 to John 3:6 is this understood idea: “The Kingdom of God can only be of a spiritual nature, as God is Himself.” In order to enter it, therefore, there must be,... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Marvel not at that which I have said unto thee: ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh nor whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit._ By the expression: “ _Ye_ must _be born_,” Jesus exempt... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Nicodemus answered and said unto him: How can these things be?_ 10. _Jesus answered and said unto him: Thou art the teacher of Israel, and thou knowest not these things!_ ” Nicodemus does not deny; but he acknowledges himself a stranger to all experience of the action of the Spirit. It is Jesus'... [ Continue Reading ]
ADDITIONAL NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. XIII. 1. At John 3:11, Jesus makes a step in advance in the discourse, and now assumes in a more formal way the position of the teacher of this teacher. He declares to him, first of all, that He is qualified to make known to him the truth, because He has se... [ Continue Reading ]
In opposition to the doctorate of the letter, devoid of all spiritual intuition, Jesus announces to him the coming of a teaching, which will rest on the immediate knowledge of the truth (John 3:11). In order that Nicodemus may profit by this higher teaching, Jesus invites him to faith (John 3:12). F... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 11. “ _Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know and bear testimony of that we have seen; and ye receive not our testimony._ ” The formula _amen, amen_ (“ _in truth_ ”), declares, as always, a truth which Jesus is about to draw from the depths of His consciousness, and which, pr... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 12. “ _If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?_ ” When a teacher says to his pupil: “If you do not understand me on this point, how will you understand me on that?” we must suppose that the disciple expects to be instructed r... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 13. “ _And no one hath ascended up to heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven._ ” The question, “ _how will you believe?_ ” (John 3:12) implied, in the thought of Him who proposed it, the necessity of faith. John 3:13 justifies this necessity. The intermediat... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up_, 15, _that whosoever believeth on him_, _may have eternal life._ ” The commentators give more or less forced explanations of καί (_and_). Lucke _:_ “I _can_ reveal (John 3:11-13), and I _must_ do so” (John... [ Continue Reading ]
VV. 15 finishes the application of the type. To the look of the dying Israelite the faith of the sinner in the crucified one corresponds; to the life restored to the wounded one, the salvation granted to the believer. Πᾶς, _whosoever_ extends to the whole of humanity the application of the Israeliti... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 16. “ _For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but should have eternal life._ ” Here is the ἐπουράνιον, the heavenly mystery, _par excellence;_ Jesus displays the source of the redemptive work, which He has just described... [ Continue Reading ]
ADDITIONAL NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. XIV. The passage from John 3:16 to John 3:21 is supposed by Westcott, and by Milligan and Moulton, among the most recent writers on this Gospel, as well as by the writers whom Godet mentions, to contain reflections of the evangelist on the words of Jesus al... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 17. “ _For God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him._ ” _ For:_ the purpose of the mission of the Son, as it is indicated in this verse, proves that this mission is indeed a work of love (John 3:16). The word, _world_, is repeated thr... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 18. “ _He that believeth on him is not judged; but he that believeth not is judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only- begotten Son of God._ ” The idea of this verse is as follows: “I do not judge any one, for the reason that he who believes is not judged, and he who... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 19. “ _Now this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil._ ” In rejecting Jesus, man judges himself. The strictest inquiry into his whole life would not _prove_ his disposition, as opposed to what is goo... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 20. “ _For, every one who practiseth evil hateth the light and doth not come to the light_, _that his works may not be condemned._ ” Night was reigning at the moment when Jesus was speaking thus. How many evil-doers were taking advantage of the darkness, to pursue their criminal designs! And it... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 21. “ _But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest because they are wrought in God._ ” Sincere love of moral good predisposes to faith; for Jesus is the good personified. There are in humanity, even before the appearance of Christ, men who, although like... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 22. “ _After this Jesus came with his disciples into the country of Judea; and he tarried there with them and baptized._ ” Μετὰ ταῦτα (_after this_), connects this passage, in a general way, with John 2:23-25: “ _Following upon_ this activity of Jesus at Jerusalem.” ᾿Ιουδαία γῆ (_the land of Ju... [ Continue Reading ]
III. JESUS IN THE COUNTRY OF JUDEA: 3:22-36. The previous testimonies of John the Baptist were appeals to faith. That which is to follow assumes the character of a threatening protest against the generally hostile attitude and the rising unbelief of Israel. This discourse appertains, therefore, to... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 23. _“Now John also was baptizing in AEnon, near to Salim, because there was abundance of water there; and they came and were baptized.” _ AEn, from which _AEnon_, denotes a _fountain._ We may also, with _Meyer_, make of the termination _on_ an abridgment of the word _jona, dove;_ this word wo... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 24. “ _For John had not yet been cast into prison._ ” This remark of the evangelist is surprising, because there is nothing in what precedes which is adapted to occasion it. The fact of the incarceration of John the Baptist, as already accomplished, was not, in any way, implied in the precedin... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 25. “ _There arose therefore a dispute on the part of John's disciples with a Jew_, _touching purification._ ” The occasion of the following discourse was a discussion provoked by the competition of the two neighboring baptisms. Οὖν, _therefore_, marks this relation. The expression _on the par... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 26. “ _And they came to John and said to him: Master, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, he baptizeth, and all men come to him._ ” There is something of bitterness in these words. The words: “ _to whom thou hast borne witness_ ” make prominent the... [ Continue Reading ]
2. JOHN 3:27-36. John does not solve the difficulty raised by the Jew or the Jews. He goes directly to the foundation of things. After having characterized the relation between the two personages of whom it is desired to make rivals, he shows that all opposition, even all comparison between them, is... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 27. “ _John answered and said: A man can receive nothing except that which hath been given him from heaven._ ” As far as John 3:30, which is the centre of this discourse, the dominant idea is that of the person and mission of the forerunner. Accordingly, it seems natural to apply the general s... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 28. “ _Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said: I am not the Christ, but I am sent before him._ ” John expressly applies to himself the maxim of John 3:26. He has informed his disciples, from the beginning, of the fact of which they are complaining. He has always said to them, that it was not... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 29. “ _He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice; this, my joy, therefore, is now perfect._ ” His position is subordinate to that of Jesus, but it has also its privileges and its... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 30. “ _He must increase, but I must decrease._ ” Here is the expression which forms the connecting link between the two parts of the discourse, announcing the second and summing up the first. The friend of the bridegroom had, at the beginning of the relation, the principal part; it was he alone... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 31. “ _He that cometh from above is above all;he that is of the earth_, _is of the earth, and speaketh as being of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is above all._ ” With his own earthly nature John contrasts the heavenly origin of Jesus. ῎Ανωθεν, _from above_, is applied here, not to the m... [ Continue Reading ]
VV. 31-36. “HE.” The bridegroom, He must increase, while the friend decreases, for He is superior to him, first, through His origin (John 3:31), then, through the perfection of His teaching (John 3:32-34), finally, through His dignity as Son, and the absolute sovereignty which belongs to Him as suc... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 32. “ _What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness._ ” The καί, _and_, is omitted by the Alexandrian authorities, and no doubt rightly; _asyndeta_ are frequent in this discourse. From the heavenly origin of Jesus follows the perfection of His teach... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _He that hath received his testimony hath set his seal that God is true;_ 34, _for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for he giveth not the Spirit by measure._ ” There are, nevertheless, some believers, and what is the grandeur and beauty of the part which they act! Σφραγίζειν, _to s... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 35. “ _The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand._ ” The _asyndeton_ between this verse and the preceding may be rendered by this emphatic form: “Because also the Father loveth...” This absolute communication of the Spirit results from the incomparable love which the Fat... [ Continue Reading ]
VER. 36. “ _He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him._ ” This is the practical consequence to be drawn from the supreme greatness of the Son. These last words present a great similarity to the close of Psa... [ Continue Reading ]