1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 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.
None of the other Gospels mention this night meeting, nor the miracle at Cana, nor His meeting with the Samaritan woman in the next chapter. One purpose of John’s Gospel seems to have been to supply some details that the other Gospels had not included.
Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, which was a council of men that composed the highest authority in Judaism. The Herods were civil rulers, kings under the control of Rome. The seventy men of the Sanhedrin were formally under Herod’s authority, but they held a lot of power. He apparently did become a Christian sometime after Jesus’ resurrection, and that is how John was able to include his testimony.
Like the Apostle Paul, Nicodemus was a sincere and righteous man, a Pharisee who was truly seeking to serve God. He acknowledged that it was impossible for a man to work miracles as Jesus did except by the power of God, and yet he balked at whole-heartedly accepting Jesus. He was just too controversial, too divisive, too radical. Things haven’t changed much, have they? Many are quite willing to acknowledge the Jesus of their making, but the real Jesus they cannot accept. The one who teaches the complete sacrifice of self, the importance of doing good, complete non-resistance, etc.
Nicodemus also appears to have been a cautious man, even to the point of being timid. He comes to Jesus by night, apparently so that nobody would know. He only indirectly defended Jesus when He was being discussed in the Sanhedrim, without revealing any of his own feelings or motives (John 7:50-52). Only after Jesus’ death did he show his real opinion of the Nazarene, when he and Joseph of Arimathea took care of His body (John 19:38-39). On the other hand, Nicodemus appears to have been the only Jewish leader who did not condemn Jesus, so his stance was certainly a difficult one.
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. 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 concise and clear! It is essential to be born again in order to enter the Kingdom. Nicodemus professed to not understand. Like the Jews of the previous chapter, he was unable to think spiritually. That should not have been the case, for the OT is filled with figurativisms and spiritualisms.
The NT uses the image of being born again (a new birth), on several occasions (Rom 6:4; 2Cor 5:17; 1Pet 1:23; 1John 4:7; 5:4,18). Being born again means to believe and trust in Jesus Christ (1John 5:1); not a false or man-made version of Him, but the true Savior of the world, Jesus the Nazarene. A man must be born again in order to enter the lineage of Christ, the second Adam. In the NT, believe and faith, are the same Greek word, and yet, study will prove that belief and faith is more than simple mouth profession. A true man of faith will obey the voice of his Master, and do whatever His revealed will asks. Being born again is a spiritual term which essentially means that the Spirit of God has entered that person, to live and direct his life, both by daily decisions and long-term commitments. That does not imply the Spirit takes complete control of the Christian’s life, for the flesh continues to war against the Spirit (Gal 5:17). But it does mean that the Christian has new wisdom and strength which will help him fulfill the will of God (1Cor 1:30; 2:7,13).
According to Barnes, the Jews would use the expression, “born again” in reference to Gentile proselytes to Judaism, and he concludes that Nicodemus was shocked that Jesus would say “every man”, including the Jews, must be born again. Yet I do not see this expressed in Nicodemus’ response. He rather seems confused by what Jesus means by being born again, and thinks He is speaking literally. The natural man cannot understand spiritual things because they must be discerned spiritually (1Cor 2:14), and here Nicodemus and his fellow Jews utterly failed.
He cannot see the Kingdom of God. The word “see” is often used to mean “to experience” (John 3:36; 8:51; Mat 5:8; Luke 3:6).
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.
Salvation must be of water and the Spirit. But what does Jesus mean by being born of water? The literal meaning makes no sense, so He was either speaking in metonymy (substituting water for baptism) or in symbolism (water is a well-known symbol of the Word of God). Perhaps both meanings are valid. The Scriptures are plain that baptism is a necessary act of submission to Christ’s body (Acts 2:38; 1Pet 3:21; Heb 10:22; 1Cor 10:1-2), yet the Church is purified and cleansed with the washing of water by the Word (Eph 5:26). James describes a sinner seeing himself in the mirror of God’s Word and washing himself (James 1:22-25). See also 1John 5:6-8, where the Word is Jesus Christ and water is the Word. Therefore, to be born again…of water signifies a spiritual cleansing or purification (John 15:3). A man must first recognize, by the Word, his sinfulness, and having done so repents and petitions forgiveness; then the Spirit will come and dwell with him. That man is born again and has gained entrance into the Kingdom of God. See also 1Peter 1:22.
The idea of being born again of water and Spirit was predicted by Ezekiel, although there is no indication that Nicodemus related Jesus’ words with Ezekiel’s famous prophecy of the Spirit making a valley filled with dry bones come to life (Eze 37). Immediately preceding that chapter, we read these prophetic words: Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them (Eze 36:25-27). Although this is an OT passage, the new birth cannot be more clearly described!
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The Apostle Paul expands on this theme in Rom 8:5-10. A basic law of true science is that “like begets like.” A chicken begets a chicken, and a man begets a man. Unliving things cannot beget living ones, neither can physical life beget spiritual life. Humans are the children of Adam, who was physically and spiritually alive when at his birth, but then died, first spiritually upon committing sin against God’s commandments, and then physically at the end of his life. So it is with every offspring and child of the first (physically natured) Adam. However, those who are born again will inherit the Kingdom of God, and that birth can only be effected by the second (spiritually natured) Adam. Those who continue dead in trespasses and sin will not see God, but will instead experience eternal damnation. This agrees with the first and second deaths, and the first and second resurrections, of Revelation (Rev 2:11; 20:5-6,14).
Like begets like, the fleshly begets flesh and the spiritual begets the spiritual. The need for a spiritually natured Savior that can give eternal life (v16) is evident, and arianism is dealt another blow.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 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.
Jesus likens the new birth experience to the wind, which moves invisibly, without means for man to control it. Yet man can see its effects, and hear the sounds that are produced when it comes in contact with solid matter. He that is born again, has the Kingdom of God within him (Luke 17:20-21). There is no visible evidence of the Spirit at the new birth, pentecostal belief notwithstanding. Instead, we see the effects that are produced by the Spirit: a changed life, a new perspective, the fruits of the Spirit growing in a person, a new creature! The Spirit works and moves invisibly, and His mission is to help and assist Mankind to recognize, honor and glorify Christ. The Spirit never draws attention to Himself, but points Man to Christ, first by authoring the Word of God (2Pet 1:21), second by convicting Man of sin (John 16:7-8), which action requires the Word, so that we might know what is sin.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Nicodemus was an eminent Jew, a prominent leader in the Sanhedrim. But should he have been able to understand Jesus? This teaching was certainly not common knowledge among the teachers and scribes of Judaism. I think Jesus was saying that it should have been. Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets had not been vague in foretelling of the day that Messiah would open a new fountain of salvation to all, it would be a New Covenant, and it would be spiritual in nature. The vast majority of the Jews, however, looked for a physical Messiah that would deliver them from Roman rule.
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. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
We speak. Jesus apparently refers to the Trinity, for in the next verse He uses the singular in reference to the present conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus says He testifies of what He has seen, and alludes in v13 that He saw this in heaven! But what are the heavenly things that Jesus could not speak of? Like Nicodemus, I cannot understand.
He that came down from heaven. This heaven must be that place wherein God dwells, and Jesus is saying that He is from that heaven. Does He speak of His ascension into heaven prophetically, or as an act already past? Either one is possible. The latter option goes well with the remainder of the verse, which states that the Son of man is in heaven. Thus, the implication is that Jesus had direct access to heaven, that He could ascend and descend at will, and that even at that present time was, in one sense, in heaven. The manuscripts from which the NIV/NASB versions are translated to not contain the final phrase.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
This is a powerful testimony in types and shadows of the Scripture, but it has been misinterpreted by some students of the Bible, who make the serpent to be a type of Christ. But never in all the Scripture is a serpent intended to be a representation of Christ, or anything good. It is always a symbol for Satan, and for his cunning nature to deceive and poison the truth of the Gospel.
When one studies this type in its proper context in Num 21:4-9, the intention is not so obscure. The children of Israel had transgressed against the Lord by murmuring once again, and God allowed poisonous snakes to come among them and bite them. Many died from the snakes’ poison, and the Israelites came again to Moses and confessed their sin. God told Moses to make a brazen serpent and put it on a pole, and from then on, everyone who had been bitten by a snake would be able to look just once at the serpent on the pole and be healed.
Clearly, the snakes were representatives of Satan, and their poison represents sin and death. The pole represents the Cross, and just one look at it will result in life! But the serpent on the pole represents Satan, who was the true loser at that crucial event at Calvary. The snake was to be made not of gold or silver, but of brass, which is a common type for judgment and punishment (Lev 26:19; Deut 28:23). Again, brass is always found in contexts of sin, like the brazen altar for sin in the temple. The intention of the type is to demonstrate that Satan was defeated by Jesus at the Cross (Heb 2:14), and now there is life for a look, for recognizing and understanding that the power of sin has been broken, and a remedy for its poison has been found. The brazen serpent on a pole should remind us that Satan has been cast out (John 12:31), his house has been spoiled (Mat 12:29). That accuser of the brethren can no longer stand in condemnation against us (Rev 12:10), for Christ has conquered and defeated him.
In this passage, Jesus draws a parallel only with being lifted up (see also John 8:28; 12:32-34), which is clearly a reference to His crucifixion. In his dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Justin Martyr writes: “For tell me, was it not God who commanded by Moses that no image or likeness of anything which was in heaven above or which was on the earth should be made, and yet who caused the brazen serpent to be made by Moses in the wilderness, and set it up for a sign by which those bitten by serpents were saved? Yet is He free from unrighteousness. For by this, as I previously remarked, He proclaimed the mystery, by which He declared that He would break the power of the serpent which occasioned the transgression of Adam, and [would bring] to them that believe on Him [who was foreshadowed] by this sign, i.e., Him who was to be crucified, salvation from the fangs of the serpent, which are wicked deeds, idolatries, and other unrighteous acts. Unless the matter be so understood, give me a reason why Moses set up the brazen serpent for a sign, and bade those that were bitten gaze at it, and the wounded were healed; and this, too, when he had himself commanded that no likeness of anything whatsoever should be made.”
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.
There is not a more concise definition of salvation in all of Scripture: authored by God, based in Love, through Jesus Christ, contingent upon faith, resulting in eternal life. Each point is a sermon by itself. A similar verse is found in Rom 8:32, and Abraham and Isaac demonstrated the same in type (Gen 22:16). It is also prophetically presented in the messianic twenty-second Psalm (Ps 22:20).
Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, a statement that is repeated several times in the book of John. While that term elsewhere describes the divine origin of the Son in the Father, in this verse it connects definitely with Jesus Christ being begotten as a human son of God, the last Adam. The fully divine Son of God was born with all the physical attributes of a man. The Scripture reveals this in Luke 1:35, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. No other man was so begotten by God. Jesus the man is absolutely unique in that His father was the Holy Spirit. See note for John 1:14.
Astoundingly, this beautiful verse has been used to support the false doctrine of non-eternal hell. We answer with 2Cor 4:4 and 1Cor 15:18. Their logic proceeds like this: If God gives everlasting life to those whom He saves, and the rest are destined to perish, then a place of eternal punishment cannot be. They ignore passages like Mark 9:43-50, and Rev 20:10-15, which clearly warn of a place of everlasting torment. How dangerous it is to teach that eternal punishment does not exist! John 3:16 was never intended to teach about hell, and those who make it do so are wresting the Scriptures to their own destruction (2Pet 3:16). Rather, this verse, and the whole context, has for its subject the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ, and the word perish must be read in that context. JW’s, Adventists, and Mormons are all part of this group, but an increasing number of evangelicals, like the present-day “emergent church” movement, have been eager to join them.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 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.
Although He had every right to come and condemn Mankind for their trespasses and sins, Jesus came to save the people of the world by offering Himself as their Deliverer by dying on the Cross as the sin-bearer. Because Jesus came, all the world has been given an opportunity to have their sins forgiven and be saved. Because of Jesus, we are able to know the will of God as revealed in His spoken Word, recorded for our benefit in the Holy Scriptures. While His first coming was for salvation and not condemnation, His second coming does involve judgment and condemnation (Rom 2:16; Mat 25:31-32; John 12:48).
He who refuses the salvation which is in Christ is condemned already. That is, while each wicked man will not be finally condemned until he stands before the judgment seat of God at the end of the age, his rejection of Christ means that he stands condemned before the time. The same is true of Satan, who was defeated at the Cross of Calvary, and his power and authority greatly restricted; and yet he walks about as a roaring lion meantime. At the Great Consummation, all those who work iniquity will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
The Scriptures often make it seem as if there is power in the name of Christ, rather than in Christ the person, and nowhere do we see this more than in the writings of the Apostle John. We pray in the name of Christ for that reason.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The Light that came into the world is Christ (John 1:7-8; 8:12; 9:5). There are many constructive parallels between light as a euphemism for good and darkness as a euphemism for evil, and many Scriptures use these as figures of the same. He that doeth truth cometh to the light. A true seeker of God and righteousness will want the light, for that is how he learns the truth about himself and his deeds. An evil doer, or any rebellious man for that matter, will avoid coming to the light because he doesn’t want to know the truth. See also Mat 6:22-23; Luke 11:34-36; 1John 1:5-7.
22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison.
John the Baptist had testified that Jesus was the Messiah a few months earlier when he was baptizing on the east side of Jordan (John 1:28). Now their paths cross again, this time on the west side of Jordan somewhere in the countryside near Jerusalem, where Jesus had attended the Passover and met with Nicodemus. Judaea refers to Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Being prior to the full entrance of the Kingdom, the baptisms of John and Jesus were similar, a baptism unto repentance. Baptism into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mat 28:19) would wait until after the resurrection of Christ.
There was much water there. Immersionists like to use this phrase to support their idea that baptism must be by completely submerging the body in water. If that were true, surely the Scriptures would state that requirement. They do not. The fact that verses like this one have been mustered to support immersion shows just how tenuous that doctrine is. Establishing a church mandate based entirely upon inference is poor exegesis of the Scriptures. Besides, the question is not whether John was baptizing by immersion, but if baptism is expected to be an immersion-only event. Other passages imply that it was not always by immersion. For examples, read the accounts of Cornelius and the jailor in Acts 10:47; 16:33.
Multitudes came to be baptized by John the Baptist (Mark 1:5), and running water was not plentiful in Judaea. The unknown site of Aenon had enough to supply drinking water for man and beast, and still have plenty for baptizing. For those who envision these baptisms were by immersion, a waist-deep pool in a creek would be sufficient water. Jesus also was baptizing (John 3:22), however, He did not actually perform the baptisms. His disciples did (John 4:1-2).
Again, the debate between immersionists and other forms of baptism is really not an argument over the manner in which Jesus and John performed their baptisms, but the manner in which the Church of Christ should perform baptisms. These Jewish baptisms, which likely were performed by some form of dipping or immersion, do not conclusively frame the correct Christian mode of baptism. The Apostle Paul was baptized in a house, and it is highly unlikely that his baptism was by immersion. As we have already said, if the mode of baptism is of any importance, it would be clearly stated in the Scriptures.
For John was not yet cast into prison. This seems given in order to correct the implication of the Synoptics that Jesus’ ministry did not begin until after John was imprisoned by Herod (see Mat 4:11-13). Otherwise, the statement is unnecessary. See note on John 2:1.
25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 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.
John the Beloved places a lot of weight on the testimony of John the Baptist (see chapter 1), which we would expect to be true seeing that the Apostle of Christ had begun as a disciple of John the Baptist. However, when the Baptist testified that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah of God, John the Beloved became a follow of Jesus (see note for John 1:40).
In this scene, which extends to the end of the chapter, John the Baptist will once again defer to Jesus Christ. It all began by a disagreement between some Jews and the disciples of John. The dispute is about purifying, the meaning of which is not clear. Perhaps baptism itself is intended, because both the disciples of John and Jesus were baptizing. Which was the true one, the most authoritative? John’s men came and put the question directly to him. What about the man you testified about? Now He is baptizing too, and not just a few!
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
John’s answer is an incredibly humble admission, and reveals his commitment both to God and his mission. It reminds me of Jonathan the son of Saul, who chose to give up his own claim to throne of Israel because he knew that God had not called him, but David, to be the next king.
By “a man,” John is making reference to himself in answer to the question of the previous verse that many were now going to listen to Jesus speak instead of coming to hear his own preaching. John says that he will not teach one bit more than what heaven has entrusted him to teach, and he knows that the ministry of Jesus the Messiah must increase at the expense of his own message of repentance. All authority comes from above (John 19:11; 6:65).
John recognized that he was sent before the Christ. The Greek word Christos is the Hebrew equivalent of the Messiah.
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.
Jesus is the Bridegroom (Mat 9:15) and John the Baptist is the friend of the bridegroom, the best man of the wedding. They are not in competition, but stand in mutual support of the same cause. Nevertheless, there is only one Groom (2Cor 11:2). At the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven, Christ and His Church will be united in holy and eternal matrimony (Rev 19:4-9).
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
This aspect of self-deference on the part of John the Baptist is highly commendable and very rare. Many men in authority and held in honor in the public eye do not have the fortitude to recognize their God-ordained seat and its limits. Jealousy and hatred is the usual feelings of those who see a rival in any person who the public may elevate. Saul hated David and Herod was jealous of Jesus’ fame as a baby king. John the Baptist was not such a man.
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. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
These verses express the same concept given in Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus (John 3:11-13). John’s point is clear and true: Jesus is the greater One because He came down from heaven, and that makes Him above all. Every other person is earthly because they have originated on the earth (John 8:23). Furthermore, if Jesus has come down from heaven, then it behooves every person to listen to His testimony! He speaks about what He has seen and known of the heavenly and spiritual realm, truths concerning God and His purposes for creating the universe and His intended will for mankind (see v34). Yet how hard it is for an earthly man to accept these things! See John 3:12.
33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
While this is true of every person, it appears that John the Baptist is referring to himself. John did believe and accept that Jesus is the Christ of God sent from heaven, and he so testified to all. Thus, John attested that God is true, he “set his seal” to that fact. Today we might say, “I believe my testimony is true, and I will sign my name to it.”
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Jesus knows all about God and heaven, and He was sent from heaven to tell us. Unlike men, who receive the Spirit in measure, Jesus is a member of the unfathomable trinity. He is God; He is the Holy Spirit. Compare Eph 4:7 to Is 42:1.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
The wrath of God abideth on him. And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31). Believe on the Son – that He is God and Savior, and that He is willing and able to forgive and redeem a man from his sins. This act of faith requires a man to humble himself and confess his sinfulness and his inability to save himself. In the gospel of John, eternal life and everlasting death are metaphors for the condition of a man’s soul. The souls of those that believe on the Son are made alive and will never perish; the souls of those who reject the Son are dead and shall never see life. When physical death takes either a believer or an unbeliever, the state of that soul will eternally remain unchanged; the believer will be forever with Christ in heaven and the unbeliever will be forever in Gehenna, with the wrath of God abiding upon him.