John 3:14,15

John 3:14-15. And as Moses lifted on high the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted on high, that every one that believeth may in him have eternal life. These verses continue the revelation of the heavenly things. The first truth is, that He who was in heaven came down to earth to be the Son of man. The next is, that the Son of man must be exalted, but in no such manner as the eager hopes of Nicodemus imagined. The secret counsel of heaven was, that He who was with God should as Son of man be lifted on high, as the serpent was lifted on high by Moses in the wilderness. Thus, indeed, it must be, that He may become the Giver of eternal life. The word rendered ‘lifted on high' occurs fifteen times in other parts of the New Testament, sometimes in such proverbial sayings as Matthew 23:12, sometimes in reference to the exaltation of our Lord (Acts 2:33; Acts 5:31). In this Gospel we find it in three verses besides the present. The general usage of the word in the New Testament and the Old is sufficient to show that it cannot here signify merely raising or lifting up. And yet John's own explanation forbids us to exclude this thought. All the passages in his Gospel which connect the word with the Son of man must clearly be taken together; and chap. John 12:33 (see note there) declares that the word contains a reference to the mode of the Saviour's death the elevation on the cross. Nicodemus looked for the exaltation of the King in the coming kingdom of God. Exalted He shall be, not like me monarch sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, amid pomp and splendour, but receiving His true power and glory at the time when He hangs upon a tree an object of shame. The brazen serpent, made in the likeness of the destroyer, placed on a standard and held up to the gaze of all, might seem fitted only to call forth execration from those who were reminded of their peril, scorn and contempt from those who saw but a powerless symbol; but the dying Israelite looked thereon and lived. The looking was a type of faith nay, it was itself an act of faith in the promise of God. The serpent was raised on high that all might look on it; the exaltation of the Son of man, which begins with the shame of the cross, has for its object the giving of life to all (compare chap. John 12:32, and also Hebrews 2:9).

‘That every one that believeth.' At first our Lord closely follows the words spoken in John 3:12. As there we read, ‘Ye believe not,' so here, He that believeth as yet no qualifying word is added to deepen the significance of the ‘belief.' What is before us is the general thought of receiving the word of Jesus. In that all is in truth included; for he that truly receives His word finds that its first and chief requirement is faith in Jesus Himself. So here, the trust is first general, but the thought of fellowship and union, so characteristic of this Gospel, comes in immediately, ‘that every one that believeth may in Him have eternal life.' These verses which reveal the heavenly truths contain the very first mention of ‘eternal life,' the blessing of which John, echoing his Master's words, is ever speaking. ‘Eternal life' is a present possession for the believer (comp. John 3:36); its essence is union with God in Christ. See especially chap. John 17:3; 1Jn 1:2; 1 John 5:11.

The result of the interview with Nicodemus is not recorded, but the subsequent mention of him in the Gospel can leave no doubt upon our mind that, whether at this moment or not, he eventually embraced the truth. It would seem that, as the humiliation of Jesus deepened, he yielded the more to that truth against which at the beginning of this conversation he would most have rebelled. It is the persecution of Jesus that draws him forward in His defence (John 7:51); it is when Jesus has been lifted up on the cross that he comes to pay Him honour (John 19:39). He is thus a trophy, not of the power of signs alone, but of the power of the heavenly things taught by Jesus.

At this point an important question arises. Are the next five verses a continuation of the preceding discourse? Are they words of Jesus or a reflection by the Evangelist himself upon his Master's words? Most commentators have taken the former view. The latter was first suggested by Erasmus, and has found favour with many thoughtful writers on this Gospel. And with reason. The first suggestion of a sudden break in the discourse may be startling, but a close examination of the verses will show that they present distinct traces of belonging to John: (1) Their general style and character remind us of the Prologue. (2) The past tenses ‘loved' and ‘were' in John 3:19 at once recall chap. John 1:10-11; and are generally more in harmony with the tone of the Evangelist's later reflections than with that of the Redeemer's discourse. (3) In John 3:11 Jesus says, ‘ye receive not our testimony:' in John 3:19 the impression produced is not that of a present refusal, but rather of a past and continued rejection. (4) In no other place is the appellation' only begotten used by Jesus Himself in regard to the Son, though it is used by the Evangelist in chap. John 1:14; John 1:18, and 1 John 4:9. It cannot be fairly said that there is anything really strange in the introduction of these reflections. It is altogether in the manner of this writer to comment on what he has related (see especially John 12:37-41); and in at least one instance he passes suddenly, without any mark of transition, from the words of another to his own, for very few will Suppose chap. John 1:16 to be a continuation of the Baptist's testimony (John 3:15). The view now advocated will receive strong confirmation if we convince the reader that there is a similar break after John 3:30 in this chapter, the last six verses belonging to the author of the Gospel and not to the Baptist.