Chapter Three

1–21. The conversation of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus. – 22–36. The activity of Christ in Judea and the final testimony of the Baptist.

The conversation of Christ with Nicodemus is divided into two parts: in the first part (verses 3–12) the discourse is about the spiritual rebirth of man, which is necessary for man to become a member of the Kingdom of the Messiah, and in the second (verses 13–21) Christ proposes teaching about Himself and about His redemptive sacrifice for the sins of the world and points to the necessity of faith in Him as the Only-Begotten Son of God.

John 3:1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish council. The Lord, in all probability, had not yet left Jerusalem when the Pharisee Nicodemus came to Him. He was one of the Jewish leaders, that is, a member of the Sanhedrin (cf. John 7:26). A Pharisee could enter the Sanhedrin only if he belonged to the number of rabbis or scribes (οἱ γραμματεῖς), because the principal contingent of the Sanhedrin consisted of representatives of the priesthood, which, being filled with the spirit of Sadduceeism, would not have admitted to its number a simple representative of the hostile Pharisaic party. Thus one can affirm that Nicodemus became a member of the Sanhedrin as a rabbi. Christ Himself calls Nicodemus a “teacher” (verse 10). As a Pharisee and moreover a rabbi, Nicodemus could not remain indifferent to what was taking place before his eyes in Jerusalem: he observed the signs that Christ was performing, listened to His preaching, and came, like many others, to the conviction that Christ is a true messenger of God.

John 3:2. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night probably because it seemed to him inconvenient to go to Jesus openly: he was restricted in this by his position as a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin. Besides, the night hour gave a greater opportunity to speak extensively with Christ, who during the day was, of course, constantly surrounded by listeners. Like the disciples of Christ (John 1:38-49), Nicodemus calls Christ a teacher and moreover says that he recognizes Him together with some others (“we know”) precisely only as a teacher, though one sent by God. More precisely, his form of address to Christ can be conveyed thus: “we know that you have come from God as a teacher.” The fact that Christ came not of His own will but was sent by God convinced Nicodemus of those signs that Christ was performing in Jerusalem. Nicodemus apparently knows nothing of any special revelations of Christ regarding His Divine dignity, and from this one can conclude that at that time Christ had not yet communicated such teaching to the people and in general did not wish to increase the number of His immediate disciples.

John 3:3. Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus had not yet asked Christ anything, but Christ, who “Himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25), directly answers him the question that Nicodemus wished to ask Him. And why else could Nicodemus have come to Christ except to learn from Him, if possible, the way leading to the Kingdom of the Messiah? (Of course, by the Kingdom of God Christ understood the Kingdom of the Messiah, because it was to be the Messiah’s part to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, according to the belief of the Jews.) And Christ with particular solemnity (“truly, truly,” that is, truly) says to Nicodemus that only he who is born again (ἄνωθεν—from above; cf. Acts 26:5; Clement of Alexandria, “Pedagogue,” 56, 5; 7, 4, and most ancient translations—Latin, Coptic, Syrian, as well as Justin, Tertullian) can enter the Kingdom of the Messiah or God. “See”—means to enter, to participate, to enjoy the blessings of the new Kingdom (cf. John 3:36).

John 3:4. Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? From Christ’s words, Nicodemus should have concluded that He regards “renewal” and not “instruction” as necessary for entering the new Kingdom, such an internal change in man as can be compared only with natural birth. And Nicodemus indeed understood that Christ requires something entirely different from what John the Baptist required, who called for repentance (μετανοεῖσθαι). In repentance man himself, though not without the help of God, endeavored to change his life, but in that new birth of which Christ spoke to Nicodemus, man appeared as a passive being, wholly subject to the power of God, just as without any will of his own a child is born into the world (as to the conditions that are demanded of the man himself who seeks rebirth, Christ does not speak now; they will be discussed separately in verses 12–21). Nicodemus would have liked to live his life over again, so unsuccessfully already lived. But could he hope that in this new second life—if it were possible—he would be free from his natural weaknesses and sinful habits that made it impossible for him to achieve the ideal? Where is the guarantee that such a new life, life “anew” would indeed go differently? Such is the meaning of Nicodemus’s first question. By his second question he wishes to say that it is perfectly clear to him that the repetition of birth is impossible and that he, therefore, cannot satisfy Christ’s requirement (see verse 3).

John 3:5. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus did not understand how man could be born for new life, and Christ points to two factors under the action of which this new birth is possible. These are, first, “water,” that is, what is nearest, water, which in John’s baptism served as a symbol of cleansing from sins. Nicodemus needed to be baptized first by John’s baptism and confess his sins with complete sincerity. This would be the first step toward rebirth for him. Then he must receive the “Spirit” of the Holy One—this would be given to him by God in due course. Both are necessary for everyone who wishes to enter the Kingdom of God. And it was not too late for Nicodemus to fulfill the first condition, because John was still continuing to baptize, and besides, Christ Himself through His disciples was also performing baptism of repentance (John 3:22-4:2). The Holy Spirit he was to receive afterward. Thus, consequently, the first half of Nicodemus’s question found its resolution. Although he, Nicodemus, was old and because of that had grown accustomed to his prejudices and inclinations, nevertheless he must recognize and confess his sinfulness, and then the Holy Spirit would give him strength for new life.

John 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. In response to the second half of Nicodemus’s question, whether one can be born again by the flesh, Christ says that such a second birth by the flesh—which, of course, is impossible—would be of no use. Everything that is born of the flesh—this is a general rule applicable also to that second birth of which Nicodemus thinks—“is flesh,” that is, subject to sinful inclinations (Gen 6:3 and others). New spiritual, holy life can arise only under the action of the Spirit of God. This will indeed be true rebirth.

John 3:7. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ Christ sees that Nicodemus is astonished at such a decisive declaration of the necessity of rebirth, and therefore invites Nicodemus to move from astonishment to the speedy fulfillment of the requirement Christ has set before him.

John 3:8. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. Nicodemus apparently continued to marvel how it was possible for him, an old man, to rid himself of all sinful inclinations and habits. He wished to understand how this process of spiritual rebirth of man is accomplished. But Christ explains to him by parable that he cannot understand everything by his reason. Look, for example, at “wind” (in Russian translated imprecisely as “spirit”). Can Nicodemus explain to himself where the wind comes from and where it goes? In just the same way there is nothing astonishing in the fact that Nicodemus does not understand how the Spirit of God acts upon man. Let us examine, however, in detail the comparison used by Christ. First, He says about the wind that it has complete freedom of movement: man cannot calm the wind or force it to change its direction. Second, the action of the wind is felt even when one guards oneself from it in every way: it is heard even through closed doors. Third, one does not know the point from which the movement of the wind begins in each given case, nor the final point to which this movement extends. The action of the Spirit of God in man is similar to the action of the wind. First, the Spirit acts where He wishes (cf. 1 Cor 12:11), and He cannot be claimed by force, but can only be received as a gift (John 7:39). Second, the presence of the Spirit cannot fail to be noticed by one who is reborn by the Spirit: even others, not entirely deaf and blind, feel that in the reborn person the Spirit is present and acting (John 7:38). Third, neither the reborn person himself nor anyone else can determine where, when and how the Spirit began to exert His action upon him. Likewise, the reborn know little of their final state, to which the Spirit leads them (1 John 3:2). The origination and completion of the life of a reborn man is a mystery, and yet this does not prevent, or more precisely, should not prompt, man to doubt the truth of rebirth.

John 3:9. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be? Now Nicodemus asks how what Christ said (ταῦτα—“this,” plural) can come to pass. Here there is no doubt about the possibility of the fact of rebirth itself, but a desire to know the way by which one can come to rebirth. At this point Nicodemus does not ask: “What should I do?” He wishes to know what he should expect from God, since he understood that rebirth must be the work of God, not of man.

John 3:10. Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things? In a tone of gentle reproach, Christ says to Nicodemus that he, as a professional teacher of the Israeli nation, a rabbi (cf. verse 1), ought to have known what was said in the Old Testament about the very process of rebirth. The prophets said much about the pouring out of a new spirit, about the giving to people of new hearts, about fullness of knowledge of God and about awakening in man the inclination to fulfill God’s will. They also often spoke of man’s turning to God, calling upon God, as a necessary condition for receiving messianic salvation.

John 3:11. Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. Christ now begins to teach Nicodemus what he failed to learn from Scripture, though he could have. First of all, He complains about the lack of faith on the part of Nicodemus and all the learned class of rabbis. “We.” Christ nowhere in the Gospels speaks of Himself in the plural, therefore, here He, besides Himself, has in mind someone else. Whom? His disciples? No, His disciples had not yet come forward with Him as preachers. Most naturally here is seen a reference to John the Baptist, who at that time was successfully continuing his activity (John 3:23 and following). The activity of John and the activity of Christ are two stages of one divine revelation. Both of them are fully worthy of trust as witnesses, because they speak of what they saw (John, of course, in a state of prophetic inspiration—cf. John 1:34: “and I saw and have borne witness”—and Christ in virtue of His continuous communion with the Father, John 1:18). Nevertheless, Nicodemus and others like him “do not receive” the testimony of John and Christ. Thus, the faith that many at that time in Jerusalem at the Passover feast showed on account of the signs which Christ performed, Christ does not recognize as true faith—it is rather to be called unbelief!

John 3:12. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? But the activity of John is already coming to an end, whereas Christ is only beginning His. Therefore, casting a look at the near future, He speaks now only of how the Jewish rabbis will regard Him. This attitude is hardly likely to be benevolent. They do not believe Christ even now when He speaks to them about earthly things (τὰ ἐπίγεια), that is, about the Kingdom of God as it manifests itself in earthly relations. Christ under “earthly” could understand here all that He had so far (John 2-3) said to them about the temple and worship, about repentance and faith, about water baptism and rebirth. Can the rabbis with faith accept His teaching about “heavenly” (τὰ ἐπουράνια) things? Here Christ, of course, had in mind the higher, heavenly side of the Kingdom of God, about which He would necessarily have to speak to His listeners in time, otherwise His teaching would remain incomplete and thus truly only half true. But people like Nicodemus are hardly likely to accept with trust the testimony of Christ about such matters that are above their understanding and in general not subject to verification by experience.

John 3:13. No one has ascended to heaven except He who came down from heaven, the Son of Man. However, does Christ have the right to say that He knows and what is above the world, that which constitutes the mystery of heaven? Yes, He has such a right. Indeed, to speak about heavenly things can only he who has been in heaven, and Christ, and only He alone, was indeed in heaven and continues to remain in the heavens. He descended from heaven. Some interpreters (for example, Professor Bogoslovsky) understand the expression used here by Christ, “to ascend to heaven,” in a figurative sense, as denoting “complete and perfect knowledge of the mysteries of God.” But one cannot agree with such an interpretation, because in that case we would have to deprive the verb “to ascend” (ἀναβαίνειν) of its connection with the verb “to descend” (“He who came down from heaven”—καταβαίνειν), and yet between these two verbs here there is undoubtedly a close mutual relationship. If we understand the verb “to ascend” in a figurative sense, then in the same sense we must understand the verb “to descend.” But what would then the expression: “He who came down from heaven” mean? Would not this destroy the idea of the being of the Logos before His incarnation? Therefore, while not imagining the ascent and descent of Christ from heaven in a crudely spatial sense, one must still see in the passage under consideration teaching that Christ as a person existed already in God before His incarnation. And the sense of verse 13 can be conveyed thus: “no man (Angels are not here in view, since they ‘always see the face of their Heavenly Father’—Matt 18:10) has ascended into heaven—and thus was not in heaven before living on earth—except that Son of Man (see John 1:51) who came down from heaven and even now by the divine side of His existence abides in heaven” (the expression “abiding in the heavens” is not found in all codices, but modern critics are more inclined to recognize it as genuine than as inserted later; see, for example, Zahn, p. 197).

John 3:14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, John 3:15. so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. Christ has just spoken to Nicodemus of His eternal existence in Godhead and of His incarnation. Now He communicates to him another great mystery—the mystery of the salvation of all mankind by His crucifixion and subsequent glorification. Christ reveals this teaching through a comparison of the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses on a pole with Himself. There, in the wilderness, Moses set up a visible serpent made of bronze so that each serpent-bitten Hebrew could turn his eyes to this image and, with faith in Jehovah, expect healing. Christ also will be lifted up first on the cross and then into heaven (the expression ὑψωθῆναι—“to be lifted up” has here a twofold sense, to be “glorified” as it means here) so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him (“believing in Him”—the translation is imprecise, because the expression ἐν αὐτῷ, “in Him,” cannot be made dependent on the verb πιστεύειν; but the reading εἰς αὐτόν, “in Him,” is considered less well attested). But despite the similarity between the bronze serpent and Christ, there is an important difference. First, the saving action of the former extended only to one nation, whereas the saving action of the latter will extend to all mankind: “everyone” can be saved through Christ. Second, the serpent gave salvation only from temporary death and even then only in one case, whereas Christ grants “eternal” life, that is, one who believes in Christ will enter the Kingdom of God. It should be noted that all the fathers and teachers of the Church, based on these words of Christ, regard the bronze serpent as a prototype of the Messiah, and such a view has entirely adequate grounds (Zahn too narrowly restricts the significance of Christ’s reference to the bronze serpent, finding here “only a comparison”—p. 200).

John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The reason why the Only-Begotten Son of God (see John 1:14) must be lifted up—first on the shameful instrument of execution, and then on the glorious throne of heaven—is that God loves mankind to an extraordinary degree. “Loved.” The evangelist speaks of God’s love as a fact already known from history (therefore in the Greek text here the verb is in the form of the aorist), because the coming of the Son of God to earth for the salvation of mankind was at that time already an accomplished fact. “World.” By “world” here Christ means not nature in general, but conscious and responsible beings who populate the earth, that is, all mankind in a state of fallen condition (cf. verse 17). “Gave.” As one can conclude from what is said in verses 14–15, here Christ had in mind God’s giving of the Son to suffering and death (cf. Rom 8:32).

John 3:17. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Christ twice mentioned that He came to give people eternal life, or in other words, salvation. Such a declaration could seem to Nicodemus somewhat at odds with Christ’s recent coming forward in the temple, where He appeared as a denouncer and judge of those who desecrated the temple. Moreover, contemporary Judaism in general expected to see in the Messiah a Judge, and indeed, a Judge chiefly over the pagan world, which until then had oppressed the chosen Jewish nation. Therefore Christ says that the essential thing in His calling as Messiah is precisely the salvation of the world, not the judging of the world (though this, of course, does not exclude the future judgment which Christ will someday execute over the entire universe; see John 5:27-29).

John 3:18. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Nevertheless, judgment on the world, and especially on the Jews, is already taking place. This judgment, one might say, is executing itself: some accept the Messiah and do not and cannot be subjected to judgment in the sense of condemnation. Others have already clearly shown their disbelief in Christ, and therefore their fate has already been decided: they are condemned now for not believing in the name of the Son of God, that is, for not recognizing in Him the One who received such clear and definite testimony concerning Himself from the messenger of God, John, as the Only-Begotten Son of God, eternally existing in the bosom of the Father (John 1:15-18). The Final Judgment, strictly speaking, will not bring anything new in the determination of the fate of such people: it will only attest before all their guilt.

John 3:19. This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. Christ explains here what “judgment” He had in mind in the preceding verse. The essence of this judgment consists in the fact that “light,” that is, the light of Christ’s truth, shone forth in the world, existing in darkness of sin and all sorts of prejudices. “But men,” that is, those unbelievers of whom the previous verse spoke (besides such, there were also believers in Christ), turned away from this light; they found it pleasant to remain in the former darkness. Why? Because “their deeds,” that is, all their conduct, their moral character, did not allow them to go toward the light (πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα—deeds morally evil, crafty).

John 3:20. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:21. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed as having been accomplished in God. Christ just spoke of a certain circle of people from the Jewish nation who refused to go to the light of Christ’s truth. Now He first in relation to evil men, and then in relation to good men, clarifies the reason for the different attitude of all people toward the light of truth. An evil man does not want the light to illuminate his deeds, which do not deserve the respect that has until now been rendered them (such is the meaning of the expression used in verse 20, φαῦλα—deeds insignificant, bad, though perhaps not always harmful or crafty). Thus the apostle Paul also said: “all things that are revealed are made manifest by the light” (Eph 5:13). On the other hand, there are people who act “in truth” or, more precisely, do truth (ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν), that is, people who are honest, sincere, free from all hypocrisy (cf. John 1:47). Such people gladly go toward the light, strive to acquire the truth that has appeared in Christ—not, of course, so as to be glorified before other people, but so as to know themselves and properly evaluate their conduct. Then such people “are inspired with still greater zeal to attain the higher moral ideal” (Professor Bogoslovsky). And they do not fear the revelation of their deeds, because they know that they did them “in God,” that is, for God and with His help. It should be noted that in saying that a man who truly loves truth is not afraid to have “his deeds revealed,” Christ thereby makes a certain reproach to Nicodemus, who considered himself a man who treasures truth (cf. verse 2), and at the same time feared that his business—visiting Christ—would be discovered, which is why he came to Christ only at night. This reproach evidently had an effect on Nicodemus, because later he even began to defend Christ in the Sanhedrin (John 7:50) and took part in His burial (John 19:38-40). Tradition tells us that after Christ’s resurrection he was baptized by the apostles Peter and John and died a martyr’s death (his memory is celebrated on August 2). In the second half of the chapter is an account of Christ’s activity in Judea. This activity was extraordinarily successful, and the disciples of the Baptist even felt jealous of Christ (verses 22–26). Then comes the final testimony of the Baptist about Christ. First, the Baptist speaks about himself and his relation to Christ (verses 27–30), and then about the Divine dignity of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (verses 31–36).

John 3:22. After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. After the completion of the feast (“after these things”—μετὰ ταῦτα, that is, after all the events described from verse 13 of chapter 2), Christ departed from Jerusalem into the land of Judea. By “land of Judea” at that time was understood the region bounded on the north by the extreme limits of Samaria, on the south by the edge of the desert at Beer-sheba, on the west by the lowlands of the Philistine plain, and on the east by the line of the Jordan and the Dead Sea (Professor Bogoslovsky, p. 248). Jerusalem itself, as the capital city of the promised land, was distinguished from this region. It is very probable that Christ’s stay in the land of Judea was quite prolonged, so that He had time to preach the message of the approaching Kingdom of Heaven throughout all the region of Judea. He also performed the rite of baptism while preaching, like John, but between John’s baptism and Christ’s baptism there was considerable difference. First, Christ performed the baptism not Himself, but through His disciples (John 4:2), and second, His baptism was not merely an external sign of repentance for those baptized, but a special rite through which people entered the number of Christ’s followers (cf. John 4:1). Furthermore, John baptized, preaching the coming of the Messiah, while Christ baptized, preaching the Kingdom of Heaven. Of course, He pointed to Himself as the Founder of this Kingdom and began to gather around Himself a large society of believers (cf. John 7:3). He did not do this while He was in Jerusalem.

John 3:23. Now John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and being baptized— At this time John the Baptist was also continuing his activity, since he, having come forth to serve by the command of God (Luke 3:2), could not, without a new command of God, arbitrarily cease his activity. But where was Aenon, in whose waters John was baptizing at that time? “Near Salim,” remarks the evangelist. Yet we do not know where Salim was located. It is certain only that this place was located to the west of the Jordan, as the disciples of the Baptist, in their address to John, suggest that they are with their teacher on the western side of the Jordan (verse 26, where it should be read more precisely: “Rabbi, He who was with you on the other side of the Jordan,” in the Russian translation—“at the Jordan”). And the very dispute of John’s disciples about the comparative worth of the baptism of Christ and of John becomes understandable only under the supposition that Christ and John were at that time in one region, that is, in Judea (see verse 25). One cannot precisely indicate the location of Aenon. But it is probable that it was located at one of the streams that flowed into the Dead Sea from the west. In this stream there was much water, which attracted the Baptist here.

John 3:24. for John had not yet been cast into prison. The evangelist makes the remark that John had not yet been cast into prison in view of the fact that, according to the Synoptics, for example, Matthew, John was cast into prison almost immediately after the baptism of Christ (Matt 4:12), and consequently no time remained for his activity of which the evangelist John speaks in the passage under consideration. To prevent readers from being troubled by what appears to be a contradiction here, the evangelist hastens to correct the Synoptics’ indication of the time of the Baptist’s imprisonment.

John 3:25. Then there arose a dispute on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. Some Jews (or, according to another reading, a Jew) entered into a controversy with John’s disciples “about purification” (περὶ καθαρισμοῦ), that is, about Jewish customs of washing vessels and themselves bathing (cf. John 2:6), and from there they probably also moved on to a dispute about the comparative worth of the baptism performed by John and the baptism performed by Christ. Very possibly, the Jews pointed out to the Baptist’s disciples the uselessness of his activity when the One appeared to whom John himself was directing the eyes of his disciples. They also spoke, of course, of the extraordinary success that the new preacher was enjoying.

John 3:26. And they came to John and said, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him. Christ’s activity aroused envy in the disciples of the Baptist and at the same time zeal for the glory of their teacher, whose glory was now, it seemed, on the wane. They express their irritation to John, hoping that he would take measures to urge Christ to withdraw from the region which John had chosen as the place of his activity. After all, the Baptist had done so much for Christ by his testimony about Him as the Messiah!

John 3:27. John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. In response to his disciples, the Baptist first of all says that any success which anyone has in his work depends entirely on the will of God. This is a gift from God.

John 3:28. You yourselves are witnesses to me, that I said: I am not the Christ, but I am sent before Him. Then John reminds his disciples precisely of the words which he had said about Christ, words which, of course, were not unknown to his disciples either. And he had said (cf. John 1:15) that he, John, was not the Christ, but was sent before Him—that is, before Jesus as the Christ.

John 3:29. He that has a bride is the bridegroom, and the bridegroom’s friend, standing and listening to him, rejoices with joy, hearing the bridegroom’s voice. This joy of mine is now complete. Explaining his relationship to Christ, the Baptist compares himself with the “friend of the bridegroom,” a role of great importance among the Jews in the entire process of arranging a marriage. Of course, this friend was greatly pleased when he saw that his efforts in matchmaking had come to the desired end, and when he heard the conversation of the newlywed couple. The Baptist also prepared people for receiving Christ, Who now was gathering around Himself a community of believers, or the Church, for the Church was the Bride of this Heavenly Bridegroom (2 Cor 11:2). From these words of the Baptist we have reason to conclude that it was already known to him, even before his disciples reported it, that Christ was enjoying success in Judea, and this gave him joyful assurance that Christ’s work would come to the desired end.

John 3:30. He must increase, but I must decrease. If the Baptist’s activity is now coming to an end, while Christ’s activity keeps growing, then this is as it should be. An explanation of this statement is given below, in the discourse on the dignity of Christ.

John 3:31. He that comes from above is above all; he that is from the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth: He that comes from heaven is above all, The first advantage of the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ lies in His heavenly (“from above”) origin. The expression “he that comes from above” denotes precisely the unspeakable birth of the Word from God the Father, not the mission of Christ to serve (St. Cyril of Alexandria), because the Baptist himself was also sent from above (cf. John 1:6). Such an advantage of Christ excludes any thought of any rivalry with Him: He is above all. But whom does the Baptist further mean by “the earthly one” and “he that speaks from the earth”? Many interpreters suppose that he is speaking of himself, but such an opinion cannot be accepted. John was after all a prophet, deemed worthy of divine revelations, and spoke to the people as a messenger from Heaven (John 1:29-34). He testified before his disciples and the people concerning what he had heard and seen (John 1:34). It is better to see here a reference to other ordinary Jewish teachers, with whom, of course, Christ was compared as a new rabbi at that time.

John 3:32. And what He has seen and heard, to this He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. The second advantage of Christ is the incomparable superiority of His teaching. The Lord spoke only what He knew directly, what He had heard and seen in heaven (cf. verse 11). Therefore, the number of Christ’s followers, which seemed to John’s disciples to be far too great, appeared to John himself as very insignificant, in view of the high dignity of Christ’s teaching.

John 3:33. He that has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true, John hastens, however, to draw away his disciples’ eyes from the sad picture presented by those who did not believe in Christ’s preaching, and directs their attention to those results which are experienced by the believers in His word. The lives of these believers have been completely changed, and they, receiving God’s grace in Christ (John 1:16), thereby bear witness with all firmness (“set their seal”) that the promises which God gave them through John the Baptist (John 1:29) are indeed coming to fulfillment: they have become much better than they were before, and themselves are the “seal” that attests to the truth of God’s promises.

John 3:34. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God does not give the Spirit by measure. These promises, moreover, could not have remained unfulfilled, for they were uttered by God’s messengers—the prophets and, in particular, John the Baptist himself. They were given revelation from the Holy Spirit, and moreover not grudgingly (“not by measure”—οὐ ἐκ μέτρου). According to the best manuscripts, the whole verse should read: “the one sent from God” (or the messenger of God) speaks the words of God, for the Spirit gives (of course, His gifts) not by measure—that is, not grudgingly, but generously (cf. note 20).

John 3:35. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. The third and last advantage of Christ lies in the fact that God, by His particular love for the Son, has given all things to Him in His power. John calls Christ the Son of God here because this name was revealed to him at the time of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan (Matt 3:17).

John 3:36. He that believes in the Son has eternal life, but he that does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. Here John points to the high purpose which God had in giving such power to the Son (cf. verses 15-16), and thereby gives his disciples to understand how much they are losing by not entering into the ranks of Christ’s followers. * * * Notes Some of the Church Fathers saw in Christ’s words about water and the Spirit a prophecy or teaching concerning Christian baptism (Justin, Irenaeus, and others). According to the opinion of Edersheim, Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, although he acknowledged the necessity of rebirth, saw in this so-called second birth a consequence of entering the Kingdom of the Messiah, not the cause and condition of it (p. 486). The Greek word πνεῦμα occurring here can mean both “spirit” and “wind,” although properly the Greeks had a special word for wind—ἄνεμος. At least the seventy translators used the word πνεῦμα in both senses (cf. Isa 61:1 and Job 1:19). Here the word pneuma undoubtedly means “wind.” This is evident, first, from the fact that one could not say of Nicodemus, who had not yet believed, that he “hears” the voice of the Spirit (St. John Chrysostom). Second, one cannot say of the Spirit that He “blows” (more precisely, “moves”), that His voice can be heard. Third, it is known of the Spirit that He comes from God and goes to God (Ps 103:29; Eccl 12:7). The adverb “thus” (οὕτως), which begins the second half of the verse, shows that in this half the discourse concerns not the spirit (wind) mentioned in the first half, but the Holy Spirit. In this verse, thus, there is established the following thought: no one of those living on earth has eternal, heavenly, or divine existence, except the Son of Man, Who appeared on earth as descended from heaven and Who, while remaining on earth, does not cease to be the possessor of eternal divine nature. But with such an understanding of the passage under consideration, many scholars do not agree. For example, according to Beyschlag’s opinion, there is no mention here of the “real” eternal existence of the Son of Man and, consequently, of His Divine Nature, but only of the “ideal” pre-existence of Him “in the thoughts” of God the Father. But Beyschlag does not pay attention to the most important thing: he does not notice that Christ speaks of His descent from heaven as the deed of the Son of Man Himself, as the action of a Person Who already existed before performing this deed. This thought was expressed more clearly by the Apostle Paul, depicting the Messiah, the Son of God, speaking even before His incarnation: “Here I come to do Your will, O God” (Heb 10:9). Through this the support is removed from the representatives of the so-called kenotic theory, which supposes that with His incarnation Christ entered into purely human relations with God the Father, was stripped of His divine nature (see Znamensky, pp. 291-294). “Is not saving faith faith in Christ, glorified after and because He was crucified?” (Loisy, p. 323) Zahn and some other exegetes see here an indication only of Christ’s mission in the world, but after what Christ said concerning His exaltation on the cross (verses 14-15); such a thought would be a certain weakening of what was contained above. According to our received text, in this verse it is necessary to insert the word “God,” which becomes the subject, with “Spirit” becoming the object. But such a reading is rejected by biblical text critics (see Tischendorf, 8th ed.). Likewise, it is incorrect to refer this expression (gives) to Christ, because here the matter concerns the continual bestowal of the Holy Spirit (δίδωσιν—present tense), whereas of Christ it should be said that God gave (ἔδωκεν) him the Spirit. Further, in the reading accepted in modern editions, the verb “gives” remains without an object. But this is not important. Where the thought is clear, the object with this verb is sometimes omitted (Matt 10:6; Jas 1:5).