{"commentaries":[{"work_id":"chrysostom","author":"John Chrysostom","short_name":"Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"title":"Homilies on the Gospel of St. John","edition_short":"The Oxford Translation","author_url":"/commentators/chrysostom/","divisions":["Homily","Section"],"work_url":"/works/chrysostom/","entries":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.1-2.1","start":1,"end":2,"heading":"Homily XXIV. John ii. 23","excerpt":"Chap. iii. 1, 2. “And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus. The same came to Jesus by night.”\n\nThis man appears also in the middle of the Gospel, making defense for Christ; for he saith, “Our law judgeth no man before it hear him” ( c. vii. 51 ); and the Jews in anger replied to him, “Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.” Again after the crucifixion he bestowed great care upon the burial of the Lord’s body: “There came also,” saith the Evangelist, “Nicodemus, which came to the Lord by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.” ( c. xix. 39.) And even now he was disposed towards Christ, but not as he ought, nor with proper sentiments respecting Him, for he was as yet entangled in Jewish infirmity. Wherefore he came by night, because he feared to do so by day. Yet not for this did the merciful God reject or rebuke him, or deprive him of His instruction, but even with much kindness conversed with him and disclosed to him very exalted doctrines, enigmatically indeed, but nevertheless He disclosed them. For far more deserving of pardon was he than those who acted thus through wickedness. They are entirely without excuse; but he, though he was liable to condemnation, yet was not so to an equal degree. “How then does the Evangelist say nothing of the kind concerning him?” He has said in another place, that “of the rulers also many believed on Him, but because of the Jews they did not confess (Him), lest they should be put out of the synagogue” ( c. xii. 42 ); but here he has implied the whole by mentioning his coming “by night.” What then saith Nicodemus?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvi.html","locus":"24.1","cites":[{"at":246,"text":"c. vii. 51","label":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":605,"text":"c. xix. 39","label":"John 19:39","href":"/jhn/19/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":1533,"text":"c. xii. 42","label":"John 12:42","href":"/jhn/12/#v42","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:1–2","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/24/#iv.xxvi-p16"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"Homily XXIV. John ii. 23","excerpt":"“Rabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God: for no man can do the miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.”\n\n[2.] Nicodemus yet lingers below, has yet human thoughts concerning Him, and speaks of Him as of a Prophet, imagining nothing great from His miracles. “We know,” he says, “that Thou art a Teacher come from God.” “Why then comest thou by night and secretly, to Him that speaketh the things of God, to Him who cometh from God? Why conversest thou not with Him openly?” But Jesus said nothing like this to him, nor did He rebuke him; for, saith the Prophet, “A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; He shall not strive nor cry” ( Isa. xlii. 2, 3; as quoted Matt. xii. 19, 20 ): and again He saith Himself, “I came not to condemn the world, but to save the world.” ( c. xii. 47.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvi.html","locus":"24.1","cites":[{"at":689,"text":"Isa. xlii. 2, 3","label":"Isaiah 42:2–3","href":"/isa/42/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":716,"text":"Matt. xii. 19, 20","label":"Matthew 12:19–20","href":"/mat/12/#v19","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/24/#iv.xxvi-p22"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"Homily XXIV. John ii. 23","excerpt":"Ver. 3. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”\n\nThat is, “Unless thou art born again and receivest the right doctrines, thou art wandering somewhere without, and art far from the Kingdom of heaven.” But He does not speak so plainly as this. In order to make the saying less hard to bear, He does not plainly direct it at him, but speaks indefinitely, “Except a man be born again”: all but saying, “both thou and any other, who may have such opinions concerning Me, art somewhere without the Kingdom.” Had He not spoken from a desire to establish this, His answer would have been suitable to what had been said. Now the Jews, if these words had been addressed to them, would have derided Him and departed; but Nicodemus shows here also his desire of instruction. And this is why in many places Christ speaks obscurely, because He wishes to rouse His hearers to ask questions, and to render them more attentive. For that which is said plainly often escapes the hearer, but what is obscure renders him more active and zealous. Now what He saith, is something like this: “If thou art not born again, if thou partakest not of the Spirit which is by the washing of Regeneration, thou canst not have a right opinion of Me, for the opinion which thou hast is not spiritual, but carnal.” ( Tit. iii. 5.) But He did not speak thus, as refusing to confound one who had brought such as he had, and who had spoken to the best of his ability; and He leads him unsuspectedly up to greater knowledge, saying, “Except a man be born again.” The word “again,” in this place, some understand to mean “from heaven,” others, “from the beginning.” “It is impossible,” saith Christ, “for one not so born to see the Kingdom of God”; in this pointing to Himself, and declaring that there is another beside the natural sight, and that we have need of other eyes to behold Christ. Having heard this,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvi.html","locus":"24.2","cites":[{"at":1339,"text":"Tit. iii. 5","label":"Titus 3:5","href":"/tit/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/24/#iv.xxvi-p30"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"Homily XXIV. John ii. 23","excerpt":"“Can a man,” he saith, “enter into his mother’s womb, and be born?”\n\nSeest thou how when one commits spiritual things to his own reasonings, he speaks ridiculously, seems to be trifling, or to be drunken, when he pries into what has been said beyond what seems good to God, and admits not the submission of faith? Nicodemus heard of the spiritual Birth, yet perceived it not as spiritual, but dragged down the words to the lowness of the flesh, and made a doctrine so great and high depend upon physical consequence. And so he invents frivolities, and ridiculous difficulties. Wherefore Paul said, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit.” ( 1 Cor. ii. 14.) Yet even in this he preserved his reverence for Christ, for he did not mock at what had been said, but, deeming it impossible, held his peace. There were two difficulties; a Birth of this kind, and the Kingdom; for neither had the name of the Kingdom ever been heard among the Jews, nor of a Birth like this. But he stops for a while at the first, which most astonished his mind.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvi.html","locus":"24.3","cites":[{"at":658,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 14","label":"1 Corinthians 2:14","href":"/1co/2/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/24/#iv.xxvi-p43"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Homily XXV. John iii. 5","excerpt":"Let us now attend to the sequel of what has been before said. When Nicodemus fell into error and wrested the words of Christ to the earthly birth, and said that it was not possible for an old man to be born again, observe how Christ in answer more clearly reveals the manner of the Birth, which even thus had difficulty for the carnal enquirer, yet still was able to raise the hearer from his low opinion of it. What saith He? “Verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” What He declares is this: “Thou sayest that it is impossible, I say that it is so absolutely possible as to be necessary, and that it is not even possible otherwise to be saved.” For necessary things God hath made exceedingly easy also. The earthly birth which is according to the flesh, is of the dust, and therefore heaven is walled against it, for what hath earth in common with heaven? But that other, which is of the Spirit, easily unfolds to us the arches above. Hear, ye as many as are unilluminated, shudder, groan, fearful is the threat, fearful the sentence. “It is not (possible),” He saith, “for one not born of water and the Spirit, to enter into the Kingdom of heaven”; because he wears the raiment of death, of cursing, of perdition, he hath not yet received his Lord’s token, he is a stranger and an alien, he hath not the royal watchword. “Except,” He saith, “a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvii.html","locus":"25.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/25/#iv.xxvii-p8"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Homily XXV. John iii. 5","excerpt":"What then is the use of the water? This too I will tell you hereafter, when I reveal to you the hidden mystery. There are also other points of mystical teaching connected with the matter, but for the present I will mention to you one out of many. What is this one? In Baptism are fulfilled the pledges of our covenant with God; burial and death, resurrection and life; and these take place all at once. For when we immerse our heads in the water, the old man is buried as in a tomb below, and wholly sunk forever; then as we raise them again, the new man rises in its stead. As it is easy for us to dip and to lift our heads again, so it is easy for God to bury the old man, and to show forth the new. And this is done thrice, that you may learn that the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost fulfilleth all this. To show that what we say is no conjecture, hear Paul saying, “We are buried with Him by Baptism into death”: and again, “Our old man is crucified with Him”: and again, “We have been planted together in the likeness of His death.” ( Rom. vi. 4, 5, 6.) And not only is Baptism called a “cross,” but the “cross” is called “Baptism.” “With the Baptism,” saith Christ, “that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized” ( Mark x. 39 ): and, “I have a Baptism to be baptized with” ( Luke xii. 50 ) (which ye know not); for as we easily dip and lift our heads again, so He also easily died and rose again when He willed or rather much more easily, though He tarried the three days for the dispensation of a certain mystery.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvii.html","locus":"25.2","cites":[{"at":1057,"text":"Rom. vi. 4, 5, 6","label":"Romans 6:4–6","href":"/rom/6/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1240,"text":"Mark x. 39","label":"Mark 10:39","href":"/mrk/10/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":1300,"text":"Luke xii. 50","label":"Luke 12:50","href":"/luk/12/#v50","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/25/#iv.xxvii-p43"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"Homily XXVI. John iii. 6","excerpt":"When Nicodemus still hearing these things was troubled, see how Christ partly opens to him the secret of this mystery, and makes that clear which was for a while obscure to him. “That which is born,” saith He, “of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” He leads him away from all the things of sense, and suffers him not vainly to pry into the mysteries revealed with his fleshly eyes; “We speak not,” saith He, “of flesh, but of Spirit, O Nicodemus,” (by this word He directs him heavenward for a while,) “seek then nothing relating to things of sense; never can the Spirit appear to those eyes, think not that the Spirit bringeth forth the flesh.” “How then,” perhaps one may ask, “was the Flesh of the Lord brought forth?” Not of the Spirit only, but of flesh; as Paul de clares, when he says, “Made of a woman, made under the Law” ( Gal. iv. 4 ); for the Spirit fashioned Him not indeed out of nothing, (for what need was there then of a womb?) but from the flesh of a Virgin. How, I cannot explain unto you; yet it was done, that no one might suppose that what was born is alien to our nature. For if even when this has taken place there are some who disbelieve in such a birth, into what impiety would they not have fallen had He not partaken of the Virgin’s flesh.\n\n“That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Seest thou the dignity of the Spirit? It appears performing the work of God; for above he said of some, that, “they were begotten of God,” ( c. i. 13 ,) here He saith, that the Spirit begetteth them.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxviii.html","locus":"26.1","cites":[{"at":867,"text":"Gal. iv. 4","label":"Galatians 4:4","href":"/gal/4/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1490,"text":"c. i. 13","label":"John 1:13","href":"/jhn/1/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/26/#iv.xxviii-p8"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.7-8.1","start":7,"end":8,"heading":"Homily XXVI. John iii. 6","excerpt":"Christ then having said, “He that is born of the Spirit is spirit,” when He saw him again confused, leads His discourse to an example from sense, saying,\n\nVer. 7, 8. “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth.”\n\nFor by saying, “Marvel not,” He indicates the confusion of his soul, and leads him to something lighter than body. He had already led him away from fleshly things, by saying, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit”; but when Nicodemus knew not what “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” meant, He next carries him to another figure, not bringing him to the density of bodies, nor yet speaking of things purely incorporeal, (for had he heard he could not have received this,) but having found a something between what is and what is not body, namely, the motion of the wind, He brings him to that next. And He saith of it,\n\n“Thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.”\n\nThough He saith, “it bloweth where it listeth,” He saith it not as if the wind had any power of choice, but declaring that its natural motion cannot be hindered, and is with power. For Scripture knoweth how to speak thus of things without life, as when it saith, “The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly.” ( Rom. viii. 20.) The expression therefore, “bloweth where it listeth,” is that of one who would show that it cannot be restrained, that it is spread abroad everywhere, and that none can hinder its passing hither and thither, but that it goes abroad with great might, and none is able to turn aside its violence.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxviii.html","locus":"26.1","cites":[{"at":155,"text":"Ver. 7, 8","label":"John 3:7–8","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":1313,"text":"Rom. viii. 20","label":"Romans 8:20","href":"/rom/8/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/26/#iv.xxviii-p14"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"Homily XXVI. John iii. 6","excerpt":"[2.] “And thou hearest its voice,” (that is, its rustle, its noise,) “but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”\n\nHere is the conclusion of the whole matter. “If,” saith He, “thou knowest not how to explain the motion nor the path of this wind which thou perceivest by hearing and touch, why art thou over-anxious about the working of the Divine Spirit, when thou understandest not that of the wind, though thou hearest its voice?” The expression, “bloweth where it listeth,” is also used to establish the power of the Comforter; for if none can hold the wind, but it moveth where it listeth, much less will the laws of nature, or limits of bodily generation, or anything of the like kind, be able to restrain the operations of the Spirit.\n\nThat the expression, “thou hearest its voice,” is used respecting the wind, is clear from this circumstance; He would not, when conversing with an unbeliever and one unacquainted with the operation of the Spirit, have said, “Thou hearest its voice.” As then the wind is not visible, although it utters a sound, so neither is the birth of that which is spiritual visible to our bodily eyes; yet the wind is a body, although a very subtle one; for whatever is the object of sense is body. If then you do not complain because you cannot see this body, and do not on this account disbelieve, why do you, when you hear of “the Spirit,” hesitate and demand such exact accounts, although you act not so in the case of a body? What then doth Nicodemus? still he continues in his low Jewish opinion, and that too when so clear an example has been mentioned to him. Wherefore when he again says doubtingly,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxviii.html","locus":"26.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/26/#iv.xxviii-p20"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.9-10.1","start":9,"end":10,"heading":"Homily XXVI. John iii. 6","excerpt":"Ver. 9, 10. “How can these things be?” Christ now speaks to him more chidingly; “Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?”\n\nObserve how He nowhere accuses the man of wickedness, but only of weakness and simplicity. “And what,” one may ask, “has this birth in common with Jewish matters?” Tell me rather what has it that is not in common with them? For the first-created man, and the woman formed from his side, and the barren women, and the things accomplished by water, I mean what relates to the fountain on which Elisha made the iron tool to swim, to the Red Sea which the Jews passed over, to the pool which the Angel troubled, to Naaman the Syrian who was cleansed in Jordan, all these proclaimed beforehand, as by a figure, the Birth and the purification which were to be. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxviii.html","locus":"26.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:10","href":"/jhn/3/#v10-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/26/#iv.xxviii-p25"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"Homily XXVI. John iii. 6","excerpt":"[3.] And what is this that He saith, “We speak that We do know, and testify that We have seen”? Because with us the sight is the most trustworthy of the senses, and if we desire to gain a person’s belief, we speak thus, that we saw it with our eyes, not that we know it by hearsay; Christ therefore speaks to him rather after the manner of men, gaining belief for His words by this means also. And that this is so, and that He desires to establish nothing else, and refers not to sensual vision, is clear from this; after saying, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” He adds, “We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen.” Now this (of the Spirit) was not yet born ; how then saith He, “what we have seen”? Is it not plain that He speaks of a knowledge not otherwise than exact?\n\n“And none receiveth our witness.” The expression “we know,” He uses then either concerning Himself and His Father, or concerning Himself alone; and “no man receiveth,” is the expression not of one displeased, but of one who declares a fact: for He said not, “What can be more senseless than you who receive not what is so exactly declared by us?” but displaying all gentleness, both by His works and His words, He uttered nothing like this; mildly and kindly He foretold what should come to pass, so guiding us too to all gentleness, and teaching us when we converse with any and do not persuade them, not to be annoyed or made savage; for it is impossible for one out of temper to accomplish his purpose, he must make him to whom he speaks still more incredulous. Wherefore we must abstain from anger, and make our words in every way credible by avoiding not only wrath, but also loud speaking for loud speaking is the fuel of passion.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxviii.html","locus":"26.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/26/#iv.xxviii-p32"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Homily XXVII. John iii. 12, 13","excerpt":"The expression “earthly things,” some say is here used of the wind; that is, “If I have given you an example from earthly things, and ye did not even so believe, how shall ye be able to learn sublimer things?” And wonder not if He here call Baptism an “earthly” thing, for He calls it so, either from its being performed on earth, or so naming it in comparison with that His own most awful Generation. For though this Generation of ours is heavenly, yet compared with that true Generation which is from the Substance of the Father, it is earthly.\n\nHe does not say, “Ye have not understood,” but, “Ye have not believed”; for when a man is ill disposed towards those things which it is possible to apprehend by the intellect, and will not readily receive them, he may justly be charged with want of understanding; but when he receives not things which cannot be apprehended by reasoning, but only by faith, the charge against him is no longer want of understanding, but unbelief. Leading him therefore away from enquiring by reasonings into what had been said, He touches him more severely by charging him with want of faith. If now we must receive our own Generation by faith, what do they deserve who are busy with their reasonings about that of the Only-Begotten?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","locus":"27.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/27/#iv.xxix-p7"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Homily XXVII. John iii. 12, 13","excerpt":"But perhaps some may ask, “And if the hearers were not to believe these sayings, wherefore were they uttered?” Because though “they” believed not, those who came after would believe and profit by them. Touching him therefore very severely, Christ goes on to show that He knoweth not these things only, but others also, far more and greater than these. And this He declared by what follows, when He said, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven.”\n\n“And what manner of sequel is this?” asks one. The very closest, and entirely in unison with what has gone before. For since Nicodemus had said, “We know that Thou art a teacher come from God,” on this very point He sets him right, all but saying, “Think Me not a teacher in such manner as were the many of the prophets who were of earth, for I have come from heaven (but) now. None of the prophets hath ascended up thither, but I dwell there.” Seest thou how even that which appears very exalted is utterly unworthy of his greatness? For not in heaven only is He, but everywhere, and He fills all things; but yet He speaks according to the infirmity of His hearer, desiring to lead him up little by little. And in this place He called not the flesh “Son of Man,” but He now named, so to speak, His entire Self from the inferior substance; indeed this is His wont, to call His whole Person often from His Divinity, and often from His humanity.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","locus":"27.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/27/#iv.xxix-p10"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"Homily XXVII. John iii. 12, 13","excerpt":"Ver. 14. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”\n\nThis again seems to depend upon what has gone before, and this too has a very close connection with it. For after having spoken of the very great benefaction that had come to man by Baptism, He proceeds to mention another benefaction, which was the cause of this, and not inferior to it; namely, that by the Cross. As also Paul arguing with the Corinthians sets down these benefits together, when he says, “Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?” for these two things most of all declare His unspeakable love, that He both suffered for His enemies, and that having died for His enemies, He freely gave to them by Baptism entire remission of their sins.\n\n[2.] But wherefore did He not say plainly, “I am about to be crucified,” instead of referring His hearers to the ancient type? First, that you may learn that old things are akin to new, and that the one are not alien to the other; next, that you may know that He came not unwillingly to His Passion; and again, besides these reasons, that you may learn that no harm arises to Him from the Fact, and that to many there springs from it salvation. For, that none may say, “And how is it possible that they who believe on one crucified should be saved, when he himself is holden of death?” He leads us to the ancient story. Now if the Jews, by looking to the brazen image of a serpent, escaped death, much rather will they who believe on the Crucified, with good reason enjoy a far greater benefit. For this takes place, not through the weakness of the Crucified, or because the Jews are stronger than He, but because “God loved the world,” therefore is His living Temple fastened to the Cross.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","locus":"27.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/27/#iv.xxix-p14"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"Homily XXVII. John iii. 12, 13","excerpt":"Ver. 15. “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”\n\nSeest thou the cause of the Crucifixion, and the salvation which is by it? Seest thou the relationship of the type to the reality? there the Jews escaped death, but the temporal, here believers the eternal; there the hanging serpent healed the bites of serpents, here the Crucified Jesus cured the wounds inflicted by the spiritual dragon; there he who looked with his bodily eyes was healed, here he who beholds with the eyes of his understanding put off all his sins; there that which hung was brass fashioned into the likeness of a serpent, here it was the Lord’s Body, builded by the Spirit; there a serpent bit and a serpent healed, here death destroyed and a Death saved. But the snake which destroyed had venom, that which saved was free from venom; and so again was it here, for the death which slew us had sin with it, as the serpent had venom; but the Lord’s Death was free from all sin, as the brazen serpent from venom. For, saith Peter, “He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” ( 1 Pet. ii. 22.) And this is what Paul also declares, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” ( Col. ii. 16.) For as some noble champion by lifting on high and dashing down his antagonist, renders his victory more glorious, so Christ, in the sight of all the world, cast down the adverse powers, and having healed those who were smitten in the wilderness, delivered them from all venomous beasts that vexed them, by being hung upon the Cross. Yet He did not say, “must hang,” but, “must be lifted up” ( Acts xxviii. 4 ); for He used this which seemed the milder term, on account of His hearer, and because it was proper to the type.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","locus":"27.2","cites":[{"at":1093,"text":"1 Pet. ii. 22","label":"1 Peter 2:22","href":"/1pe/2/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":1255,"text":"Col. ii. 16","label":"Colossians 2:16","href":"/col/2/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":1662,"text":"Acts xxviii. 4","label":"Acts 28:4","href":"/act/28/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/27/#iv.xxix-p19"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"Homily XXVII. John iii. 12, 13","excerpt":"Ver. 16. “God,” He saith, “so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”\n\nWhat He saith, is of this kind: Marvel not that I am to be lifted up that ye may be saved, for this seemeth good to the Father, and He hath so loved you as to give His Son for slaves, and ungrateful slaves. Yet a man would not do this even for a friend, nor readily even for a righteous man; as Paul has declared when he said, “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die.” ( Rom. v. 7.) Now he spoke at greater length, as speaking to believers, but here Christ speaks concisely, because His discourse was directed to Nicodemus, but still in a more significant manner, for each word had much significance. For by the expression, “so loved,” and that other, “God the world,” He shows the great strength of His love. Large and infinite was the interval between the two. He, the immortal, who is without beginning, the Infinite Majesty, they but dust and ashes, full of ten thousand sins, who, ungrateful, have at all times offended Him; and these He “loved.” Again, the words which He added after these are alike significant, when He saith, that “He gave His Only-begotten Son,” not a servant, not an Angel, not an Archangel. And yet no one would show such anxiety for his own child, as God did for His ungrateful servants.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","locus":"27.2","cites":[{"at":536,"text":"Rom. v. 7","label":"Romans 5:7","href":"/rom/5/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/27/#iv.xxix-p24"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"Homily XXVII. John iii. 12, 13","excerpt":"His Passion then He sets before him not very openly, but rather darkly; but the advantage of the Passion He adds in a clearer manner, saying, “That every one that believeth in Him. should not perish, but have everlasting life.” For when He had said, “must be lifted up,” and alluded to death, lest the hearer should be made downcast by these words, forming some mere human opinions concerning Him, and supposing that His death was a ceasing to be, observe how He sets this right, by saying, that He that was given was “The Son of God,” and the cause of life, of everlasting life. He who procured life for others by death, would not Himself be continually in death; for if they who believed on the Crucified perish not, much less doth He perish who is crucified. He who taketh away the destitution of others much more is He free from it; He who giveth life to others, much more to Himself doth He well forth life. Seest thou that everywhere there is need of faith? For He calls the Cross the fountain of life; which reason cannot easily allow, as the heathens now by their mocking testify. But faith which goes beyond the weakness of reasoning, may easily receive and retain it. And whence did God “so love the world”? From no other source but only from his goodness.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","locus":"27.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/27/#iv.xxix-p26"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"Homily XXVIII. John iii. 17","excerpt":"For there are two Advents of Christ, that which has been, and that which is to be; and the two are not for the same purpose; the first came to pass not that He might search into our actions, but that He might remit; the object of the second will be not to remit, but to enquire. Therefore of the first He saith, “I came not to condemn the world, but to save the world” ( c. iii. 17 ); but of the second, “When the Son shall have come in the glory of His Father, He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left.” ( Matt. xxv. 31, 46.) And they shall go, these into life; and these into eternal punishment. Yet His former coming was for judgment, according to the rule of justice. Why? Because before His coming there was a law of nature, and the prophets, and moreover a written Law, and doctrine, and ten thousand promises, and manifestations of signs, and chastisements, and vengeances, and many other things which might have set men right, and it followed that for all these things He would demand account; but, because He is merciful, He for a while pardons instead of making enquiry. For had He done so, all would at once have been hurried to perdition. For “all,” it saith, “have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” ( Rom. iii. 23.) Seest thou the unspeakable excess of His lovingkindness?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html","locus":"28.1","cites":[{"at":371,"text":"c. iii. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":534,"text":"Matt. xxv. 31, 46","label":"Matthew 25:31","href":"/mat/25/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":534,"text":"Matt. xxv. 31, 46","label":"Matthew 25:46","href":"/mat/25/#v46","status":"detected"},{"at":1252,"text":"Rom. iii. 23","label":"Romans 3:23","href":"/rom/3/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/28/#iv.xxx-p14"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"Homily XXVIII. John iii. 17","excerpt":"Ver. 18. “He that believeth on the Son, is not judged; but he that believeth not, is judged already.”\n\nYet if He “came not to judge the world,” how is “he that believeth not judged already,” if the time of “judgment” has not yet arrived? He either means this, that the very fact of disbelieving without repentance is a punishment, (for to be without the light, contains in itself a very severe punishment,) or he announces beforehand what shall be. For as the murderer, though he be not as yet condemned by the decision of the judge, is still condemned by the nature of the thing, so is it with the unbeliever. Since Adam also died on the day that he ate of the tree; for so ran the decree, “In the day that ye eat of the tree, ye shall die” ( Gen. ii. 17 , LXX.); yet he lived. How then “died” he? By the decree; by the very nature of the thing; for he who has rendered himself liable to punishment, is under its penalty, and if for a while not actually so, yet he is by the sentence.\n\nLest any one on hearing, “I came not to judge the world,” should imagine that he might sin unpunished, and should so become more careless, Christ stops such disregard by saying, “is judged already”; and because the “judgment” was future and not yet at hand, He brings near the dread of vengeance, and describes the punishment as already come. And this is itself a mark of great lovingkindness, that He not only gives His Son, but even delays the time of judgment, that they who have sinned, and they who believe not, may have power to wash away their transgressions.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html","locus":"28.1","cites":[{"at":744,"text":"Gen. ii. 17","label":"Genesis 2:17","href":"/gen/2/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/28/#iv.xxx-p16"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.18.2","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"Homily XXVIII. John iii. 17","excerpt":"“He that believeth on the Son, is not judged.” He that “believeth,” not he that is over-curious: he that “believeth,” not the busybody. But what if his life be unclean, and his deeds evil? It is of such as these especially that Paul declares, that they are not true believers at all: “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him.” ( Tit. i. 16.) But here Christ saith, that such an one is not “judged” in this one particular; for his works indeed he shall suffer a severer punishment, but having believed once, he is not chastised for unbelief.\n\n[2.] Seest thou how having commenced His discourse with fearful things, He has concluded it again with the very same? for at first He saith, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God”: and here again, “He that believeth not on the Son, is judged already.” “Think not,” He saith, “that the delay advantageth at all the guilty, except he repent, for he that hath not believed, shall be in no better state than those who are already condemned and under punishment.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html","locus":"28.1","cites":[{"at":349,"text":"Tit. i. 16","label":"Titus 1:16","href":"/tit/1/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/28/#iv.xxx-p22"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"Homily XXVIII. John iii. 17","excerpt":"Ver. 19. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.”\n\nWhat He saith, is of this kind: “they are punished, because they would not leave the darkness, and hasten to the light.” And hence He goes on to deprive them of all excuse for the future: “Had I come,” saith He, “to punish and to exact account of their deeds, they might have been able to say, ‘this is why we started away from thee,’ but now I am come to free them from darkness, and to bring them to the light; who then could pity one who will not come from darkness unto light? When they have no charge to bring against us, but have received ten thousand benefits, they start away from us.” And this charge He hath brought in another place, where He saith, “They hated Me without a cause” ( John xv. 25 ): and again, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin.” ( John xv. 22.) For he who in the absence of light sitteth in darkness, may perchance receive pardon; but one who after it is come abides by the darkness, produces against himself a certain proof of a perverse and contentious disposition. Next, because His assertion would seem incredible to most, (for none would prefer “darkness to light,”) He adds the cause of such a feeling in them. What is that?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html","locus":"28.2","cites":[{"at":813,"text":"John xv. 25","label":"John 15:25","href":"/jhn/15/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":905,"text":"John xv. 22","label":"John 15:22","href":"/jhn/15/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/28/#iv.xxx-p24"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.19-20.1","start":19,"end":20,"heading":"Homily XXVIII. John iii. 17","excerpt":"Ver. 19, 20. “Because,” He saith, “their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”\n\nYet he came not to judge or to enquire, but to pardon and remit transgressions, and to grant salvation through faith. How then fled they? Had He come and sat in His Judgment seat, what He said might have seemed reasonable; for he that is conscious to himself of evil deeds, is wont to fly his judge. But, on the contrary, they who have transgressed even run to one who is pardoning. If therefore He came to pardon, those would naturally most hasten to Him who were conscious to themselves of many transgressions; and indeed this was the case with many, for even publicans and sinners sat at meat with Jesus. What then is this which He saith? He saith this of those who choose always to remain in wickedness. He indeed came, that He might forgive men’s former sins, and secure them against those to come; but since there are some so relaxed, so powerless for the toils of virtue, that they desire to abide by wickedness till their latest breath, and never cease from it, He speaks in this place reflecting upon these. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html","locus":"28.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/28/#iv.xxx-p26"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.19-21.1","start":19,"end":21,"heading":"Homily XXVIII. John iii. 17","excerpt":"And observe how in another way He deprives them of all excuse, when He saith that, “the light came into the world.” “Did they seek it themselves,” He saith, “did they toil, did they labor to find it? The light itself came to them, and not even so would they hasten to it.” And if there be some Christians who live wickedly, I would argue that He doth not say this of those who have been Christians from the beginning, and who have inherited true religion from their forefathers, (although even these for the most part have been shaken from right doctrine by their evil life,) yet still I think that He doth not now speak concerning these, but concerning the heathen and the Jews who ought to have come to the right faith. For He showeth that no man living in error would choose to come to the truth unless he before had planned for himself a righteous life, and that none would remain in unbelief unless he had previously chosen always to be wicked.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html","locus":"28.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/28/#iv.xxx-p35"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.22-24.1","start":22,"end":24,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Yet the Evangelist farther on says, that “Jesus baptized not, but His disciples”; whence it is clear that this is his meaning here also. And why did Jesus not baptize? The Baptist had said before, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Now he had not yet given the Spirit, and it was therefore with good cause that he did not baptize. But His disciples did so, because they desired to bring many to the saving doctrine.\n\n“And why, when the disciples of Jesus were baptizing, did not John cease to do so? why did he continue to baptize, and that even until he was led to prison? for to say,\n\nVer. 23. ‘John also was baptizing in Ænon’; and to add,\n\nVer. 24. ‘John was not yet cast into prison,’ was to declare that until that time he did not cease to baptize. But wherefore did he baptize until then? For he would have made the disciples of Jesus seem more reverend had he desisted when they began. Why then did he baptize?” It was that he might not excite his disciples to even stronger rivalry, and make them more contentious still. For if, although he ten thousand times proclaimed Christ, yielded to Him the chief place, and made himself so much inferior, he still could not persuade them to run to Him; he would, had he added this also, have made them yet more hostile. On this account it was that Christ began to preach more constantly when John was removed. And moreover, I think that the death of John was allowed, and that it happened very quickly, in order that the whole attention of the multitude might be shifted to Christ, and that they might no longer be divided in their opinions concerning the two.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.1","cites":[{"at":611,"text":"Ver. 23","label":"John 3:23","href":"/jhn/3/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":668,"text":"Ver. 24","label":"John 3:24","href":"/jhn/3/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p5"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.22-24.2","start":22,"end":24,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Besides, even while he was baptizing, he did not cease continually to exhort them, and to show them the high and awful nature of Jesus. For He baptized them, and told them no other thing than that they must believe on Him that came after him. Now how would a man who acted thus by desisting have made the disciples of Christ seem worthy of reverence? On the contrary, he would have been thought to do so through envy and passion. But to continue preaching gave a stronger proof; for he desired not glory for himself, but sent on his hearers to Christ, and wrought with Him not less, but rather much more than Christ’s own disciples, because his testimony was unsuspected and he was by all men far more highly esteemed than they. And this the Evangelist implies, when he says, “all Judæa and the country around about Jordan went out to him and were baptized.” ( Matt. iii. 5.) Even when the disciples were baptizing, yet many did not cease to run to him.\n\nIf any one should enquire, “And in what was the baptism of the disciples better than that of John?” we will reply, “in nothing”; both were alike without the gift of the Spirit, both parties alike had one reason for baptizing, and that was, to lead the baptized to Christ. For in order that they might not be always running about to bring together those that should believe, as in Simon’s case his brother did, and Philip to Nathanael, they instituted baptism, in order by it to bring all men to them easily, and to prepare a way for the faith which was to be. But that the baptisms had no superiority one over the other, is shown by what follows. What is that?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.1","cites":[{"at":861,"text":"Matt. iii. 5","label":"Matthew 3:5","href":"/mat/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p10"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Ver. 25. “There arose,” saith the Evangelist, “a question (between some) of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying.”\n\nFor the disciples of John being ever jealously disposed towards Christ’s disciples and Christ Himself, when they saw them baptizing, began to reason with those who were baptized, as though their baptism was in a manner superior to that of Christ’s disciples; and taking one of the baptized, they tried to persuade him of this; but persuaded him not. Hear how the Evangelist has given us to understand that it was they who attacked him, not he who set on foot the question. He doth not say, that “a certain Jew questioned with them,” but that, “there arose a questioning from the disciples of John with a certain Jew, concerning purification.”\n\n[2.] And observe, I pray you, the Evangelist’s inoffensiveness. He does not speak in the way of invective, but as far as he is able softens the charge, merely saying, that “a question arose”; whereas the sequel (which he has also set down in an inoffensive manner) makes it plain that what was said was said from jealousy.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p12"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Ver. 26. “They came,” saith he, “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.”\n\nThat is, “He whom thou didst baptize”; for this they imply when they say, “to whom thou barest witness,” as though they had said, “He whom thou didst point out as illustrious, and make remarkable, dares to do the same as thou.” Yet they do not say, “He whom thou didst baptize” baptizeth; (for then they would have been obliged to make mention of the Voice that came down from heaven, and of the descent of the Spirit;) but what say they? “He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness”; that is, “He who held the rank of a disciple, who was nothing more than we, this man hath separated himself, and baptizeth.” For they thought to make him jealous, not only by this, but by asserting that their own reputation was now diminishing. “All,” say they, “come to Him.” Whence it is evident, that they did not get the better of the Jew with whom they disputed; but they spoke these words because they were imperfect in disposition, and were not yet clear from a feeling of rivalry. What then doth John? He did not rebuke them severely, fearing lest they should separate themselves again from him, and work some other mischief. What are his words?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p16"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Ver. 27. “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from above.”\n\nMarvel not, if he speak of Christ in a lowly strain; it was impossible to teach all at once, and from the very beginning, men so pre-occupied by passion. But he desires to strike them for a while with awe and terror, and to show them that they warred against none other than God Himself, when they warred against Christ. And here he secretly establishes that truth, which Gamaliel asserted, “Ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” ( Acts v. 39.) For to say, “None can receive anything, except it be given him from heaven,” was nothing else than declaring that they were attempting impossibilities, and so would be found to fight against God. “Well, but did not Theudas and his followers ‘receive’ from themselves?” They did, but they straightway were scattered and destroyed, not so what belonged to Christ.\n\nBy this also he gently consoles them, showing them that it was not a man, but God, who surpassed them in honor; and that therefore they must not wonder if what belonged to Him was glorious, and if “all men came unto Him”: for that this was the nature of divine things, and that it was God who brought them to pass, because no man ever yet had power to do such deeds. All human things are easily seen through, and rotten, and quickly melt away and perish; these were not such, therefore not human. Observe too how when they said, “to whom thou barest witness,” he turned against themselves that which they thought they had put forward to lower Christ, and silences them after showing that Jesus’ glory came not from his testimony; “A man cannot,” he saith, “receive anything of himself, except it be given him from heaven.” “If ye hold at all to my testimony, and believe it to be true, know that by that testimony ye ought to prefer not me to Him, but Him to me. For what was it that I testified? I call you yourselves to witness.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.2","cites":[{"at":543,"text":"Acts v. 39","label":"Acts 5:39","href":"/act/5/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p20"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Ver. 28. “Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him.”\n\n“If then ye hold to my testimony, (and ye even now produce it when ye say, ‘to whom thou barest witness,’) He is not only not diminished by receiving my witness, but rather is increased by it; besides, the testimony was not mine, but God’s. So that if I seem to you to be trustworthy, I said this among other things, that ‘I am sent before Him.’” Seest thou how he shows little by little that this Voice was divine? For what he saith is of this kind: “I am a servant, and say the words of Him that sent me, not flattering Christ through human favor, but serving His Father who sent me. I gave not the testimony as a gift, but what I was sent to speak, I spake. Do not then because of this suppose that I am great, for it shows that He is great. He is Lord of all things.” This he goes on to declare, and says,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p23"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Ver. 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.”\n\n“But how doth he who said, ‘whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose,’ now call himself His ‘friend’?” It is not to exalt himself, nor boastingly, that he saith this, but from desire to show that he too most forwards this, (i.e. the exaltation of Christ,) and that these things come to pass not against his will or to his grief, but that he desires and is eager for them, and that it was with a special view to them that all his actions had been performed; and this he has very wisely shown by the term “friend.” For on occasions like marriages, the servants of the bridegroom are not so glad and joyful as his “friends.” It was not from any desire to prove equality of honor, (away with the thought,) but only excess of pleasure, and moreover from condescension to their weakness that he calleth himself “friend.” For his service he before declared by saying, “I am sent before Him.” On this account, and because they thought that he was vexed at what had taken place, he called himself the “friend of the Bridegroom,” to show that he was not only not vexed, but that he even greatly rejoiced. “For,” saith he, “I came to effect this, and am so far from grieving at what has been done, that had it not come to pass, I should then have been greatly grieved. Had the bride not come to the Bridegroom, then I should have been grieved, but not now, since my task has been accomplished. When His servants are advancing, we are they who gain the honor; for that which we desired hath come to pass, and the bride knoweth the Bridegroom, and ye are witnesses of it when ye say, ‘All men come unto Him.’ This I earnestly desired, I did all to this end; and now when I see that it has come to pass, I am glad, and rejoice, and leap for joy.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.2","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:29","href":"/jhn/3/#v29-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p26"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"[3.] But what meaneth, “He which standeth and heareth Him rejoiceth greatly, because of the Bridegroom’s voice”? He transfers the expression from the parable to the subject in hand; for after mentioning the bridegroom and the bride, he shows how the bride is brought home, that is, by a “Voice” and teaching. For thus the Church is wedded to God; and therefore Paul saith, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” ( Rom. x. 17 .) “At this ‘Voice,’” saith he, “I rejoice.” And not without a cause doth he put “who standeth,” but to show that his office had ceased, that he had given over to Him “the Bride,” and must for the future stand and hear Him; that he was a servant and minister; that his good hope and his joy was now accomplished. Therefore he saith,\n\n“This my joy therefore is fulfilled.”\n\nThat is to say, “The work is finished which was to be done by me, for the future I can do nothing more.” Then, to prevent increase of jealous feeling, not then only, but for the future, he tells them also of what should come to pass, confirming this too by what he had already said and done. Therefore he continues,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.3","cites":[{"at":434,"text":"Rom. x. 17","label":"Romans 10:17","href":"/rom/10/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p31"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"Homily XXIX. John iii. 22","excerpt":"Ver. 30. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”\n\nThat is to say, “What is mine has now come to a stand, and has henceforth ceased, but what is His increaseth; for that which ye fear shall not be now only, but much more as it advances. And it is this especially which shows what is mine the brighter; for this end I came, and I rejoice that what is His hath made so great progress, and that those things have come to pass on account of which all that I did was done.” Seest thou how gently and very wisely he softened down their passion, quenched their envy, showed them that they were undertaking impossibilities, a method by which wickedness is best checked? For this purpose it was ordained, that these things should take place while John was yet alive and baptizing, in order that his disciples might have him as a witness of the superiority of Christ, and that if they should not believe, they might be without excuse. For John came not to say these words of his own accord, nor in answer to other enquirers, but they asked the question themselves, and heard the answer. For if he had spoken of himself, their belief would not have been equal to the self-condemning judgment which they received when they heard him answer to their question; just as the Jews also, in that they sent to him from their homes, heard what they did, and yet would not believe, by this especially deprived themselves of excuse.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","locus":"29.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/29/#iv.xxxi-p35"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"Homily XXX. John iii. 31","excerpt":"And what means “above all,” what is the expression intended to show to us? That Christ hath need of nothing, but is Himself sufficient for Himself, and incomparably greater than all; of himself John speaks as being “of the earth, and speaking of the earth.” Not that he spake of his own mind, but as Christ said, “If I have told you of earthly things and ye believe not,” so calling Baptism, not because it was an “earthly thing,” but because He compared it when He spake with His own Ineffable Generation, so here John said that he spake “of earth,” comparing his own with Christ’s teaching. For the “speaking of earth” means nothing else than this, “My things are little and low and poor compared with His, and such as it was probable that an earthly nature would receive. In Him ‘are hid all the treasures of wisdom.’” ( Col. ii. 5.) That he speaks not of human reasonings is plain from this. “He that is of the earth,” saith he, “is earthly.” Yet not all in him was earthly, but the higher parts were heavenly, for he had a soul, and was partaker of a Spirit which was not of earth. How then saith he that he is “earthly”? Seest thou not that he means only, “I am small and of no esteem, going on the ground and born in the earth; but Christ came to us from above.” Having by all these means quenched their passion, he afterwards speaks more openly of Christ; for before this it was useless to utter words which could never have gained a place in the understanding of his hearers: but when he hath pulled up the thorns, he then boldly casts in the seed, saying,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","locus":"30.1","cites":[{"at":824,"text":"Col. ii. 5","label":"Colossians 2:5","href":"/col/2/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/30/#iv.xxxii-p8"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"Homily XXX. John iii. 31","excerpt":"Ver. 31, 32. “He that cometh from above is above all. And what He hath heard He speaketh, and what He hath seen He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony.”\n\nHaving uttered something great and sublime concerning Him, he again brings down his discourse to a humbler strain. For the expression, “what He hath heard and seen,” is suited rather to a mere man. What He knew He knew not from having learned it by sight, or from having heard it, but He included the whole in His Nature, having come forth perfect from the Bosom of His Father, and needing none to teach Him. For, “As the Father,” He saith, “knoweth Me, even so know I the Father.” ( c. x. 15.) What then means, “He speaketh that He hath heard, and testifieth that He hath seen”? Since by these senses we gain correct knowledge of everything, and are deemed worthy of credit when we teach on matters which our eyes have embraced and our ears have taken in, as not in such cases inventing or speaking falsehoods, John desiring here to establish this point, said, “What He hath heard and seen”: that is, “nothing that cometh from Him is false, but all is true.” Thus we when we are making curious enquiry into anything, often ask, “Didst thou hear it?” “Didst thou see it?” And if this be proved, the testimony is indubitable, and so when Christ Himself saith, “As I hear, I judge” ( c. v. 30 ); and, “What I have heard from My Father, that I speak” ( c. xv. 15 ); and, “We speak that We have seen” ( c. iii. 11 ); and whatsoever other sayings He uttereth of the kind, are uttered not that we might imagine that He saith what He doth being taught of any, (it were extreme folly to think this,) but in order that nothing of what is said may be suspected by the shameless Jews. For because they had not yet a right opinion concerning Him, He continually betakes Himself to His Father, and hence makes His sayings credible.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","locus":"30.1","cites":[{"at":649,"text":"c. x. 15","label":"John 10:13","href":"/jhn/10/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1347,"text":"c. v. 30","label":"John 5:30","href":"/jhn/5/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":1415,"text":"c. xv. 15","label":"John 15:15","href":"/jhn/15/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":1464,"text":"c. iii. 11","label":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/30/#iv.xxxii-p9"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.32-33.1","start":32,"end":33,"heading":"Homily XXX. John iii. 31","excerpt":"“And no man receiveth His testimony.” Yet He had disciples, and many besides gave heed to His words. How then saith John, “No man”? He saith “no man,” instead of “few men,” for had he meant “no man at all,” how could he have added,\n\nVer. 33. “He that hath received His testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true.”\n\nHere he touches his own disciples, as not being likely for a time to be firm believers. And that they did not even after this believe in Him, is clear from what is said afterwards; for John even when dwelling in prison sent them thence to Christ, that he might the more bind them to Him. Yet even then they scarcely believed, to which Christ alluded when He said, “And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me.” ( Matt. xi. 6 .) And therefore now he said, “And no man receiveth His testimony,” to make sure his own disciples; all but saying, “Do not, because for a time few shall believe on Him, therefore deem that His words are false; for, ‘He speaketh that He hath seen.’” Moreover he saith this to touch also the insensibility of the Jews. A charge which the Evangelist at commencing brought against them, saying, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” For this is no reproach against Him, but an accusation of those who received Him not. ( c. i. 11.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","locus":"30.2","cites":[{"at":233,"text":"Ver. 33","label":"John 3:33","href":"/jhn/3/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":746,"text":"Matt. xi. 6","label":"Matthew 11:6","href":"/mat/11/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:32–33","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/30/#iv.xxxii-p16"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.33-34.1","start":33,"end":34,"heading":"Homily XXX. John iii. 31","excerpt":"“He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.” Here he terrifies them also by showing that he who believeth not on Him, disbelieveth not Him alone, but the Father also; wherefore he adds:\n\nVer. 34. “He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.”\n\nSince then He speaketh His words, he that believeth and he that believeth not, believeth or believeth not God. “Hath set to His seal,” that is, “hath declared.” Then, to increase their dread, he saith, “that God is true;” thus showing, that no man could disbelieve Christ without making God who sent Him guilty of a falsehood. Because, since He saith nothing save what is from the Father, but all that He saith is His, he that heareth not Him, heareth not Him that sent Him. See how by these words again he strikes them with fear. As yet they thought it no great thing not to hearken to Christ; and therefore he held so great a danger above the heads of the unbelievers, that they might learn that they hearken not to God Himself, who hearken not to Christ. Then he proceeds with the discourse, descending to the measure of their infirmity, and saying,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","locus":"30.2","cites":[{"at":219,"text":"Ver. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/30/#iv.xxxii-p20"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Homily XXX. John iii. 31","excerpt":"“For God giveth not the Spirit by measure.”\n\nAgain, as I said, he brings down his discourse to lower ground, varying it and making it suitable to be received by those who heard it then; otherwise he could not have raised them and increased their fear. For had he spoken anything great and sublime concerning Jesus Himself, they would not have believed, but might even have despised Him. Therefore he leads up all to the Father, speaking for a while of Christ as of a man. But what is it that he saith, “God giveth not the Spirit by measure”? He would show that we all have received the operation of the Spirit, by measure, (for in this place he means by “Spirit” the operation of the Spirit, for this it is that is divided,) but that Christ hath all Its operation unmeasured and entire. Now if His operations be unmeasured, much more His Essence. Seest thou too that the Spirit is Infinite? How then can He who hath received all the operation of the Spirit, who knoweth the things of God, who saith, “We speak that We have heard, and testify that We have seen” ( c. iii. 11 ), be rightly suspected? ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","locus":"30.2","cites":[{"at":1063,"text":"c. iii. 11","label":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/30/#iv.xxxii-p23"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.35-36.1","start":35,"end":36,"heading":"Homily XXXI. John iii. 35, 36","excerpt":"For instance, when commencing he spake thus: “A man cannot receive anything of himself” ( c. iii. 27 ): then after adding a high expression, and saying, “He that cometh from heaven is above all,” he again brings down his discourse to what is lowly, and besides many other things saith this, that “God giveth not the Spirit by measure.” Then he proceeds to say, “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.” And after that, knowing that great is the force of punishment, and that the many are not so much led by the promise of good things as by the threat of the terrible, he concludes his discourse with these words; “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Here again he refers the account of punishment to the Father, for he saith not “the wrath of the Son,” (yet He is the Judge,) but sets over them the Father, desiring so the more to terrify them.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxiii.html","locus":"31.1","cites":[{"at":90,"text":"c. iii. 27","label":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/31/#iv.xxxiii-p7"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"Homily XXXI. John iii. 35, 36","excerpt":"... Since though he has said here, “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life,” and in the same place something even stronger, (for he weaves his discourse not of blessings only, but of their contraries also, speaking thus: “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him”;) yet not even from this do we assert that faith alone is sufficient to salvation. And the directions for living given in many places of the Gospels show this. Therefore he did not say, “This by itself is eternal life,” nor, “He that doth but believe on the Son hath eternal life,” but by both expressions he declared this, that the thing doth contain life, yet that if a right conversation follow not, there will follow a heavy punishment. And he did not say, “awaiteth him,” but, “abideth on him,” that is, “shall never remove from him.” For that thou mayest not think that the “shall not see life,” is a temporary death, but mayest believe that the punishment is continual, he hath put this expression to show that it rests upon him continually. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxiii.html","locus":"31.1","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/chrysostom/31/#iv.xxxiii-p11"}]},{"work_id":"augustine","author":"Augustine of Hippo","short_name":"Augustine","author_dates":"354-430","tradition":"Patristic (Latin West)","era":"Early church","died":430,"title":"Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John","edition_short":"Translated by John Gibb and James Innes","author_url":"/commentators/augustine/","divisions":["Tractate","Section"],"work_url":"/works/augustine/","entries":[{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.1-2.1","start":1,"end":2,"heading":"Tractate XI. Chapter II. 23–25; III. 1–5","excerpt":"4. Therefore, since Nicodemus was of that number, he came to the Lord, but came by night; and this perhaps pertains to the matter. Came to the Lord, and came by night; came to the Light, and came in the darkness. But what do they that are born again of water and of the Spirit hear from the apostle? “Ye were once darkness, but now light in the Lord; walk as children of light;” and again, “But we who are of the day, let us be sober.” Therefore they who are born again were of the night, and are of the day; were darkness, and are light. Now Jesus trusts Himself to them, and they come to Jesus, not by night, like Nicodemus; not in darkness do they seek the day. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html","locus":"11.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:1–2","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-catena"},{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/11/#iii.xii-p11"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.3-4.1","start":3,"end":4,"heading":"Tractate XI. Chapter II. 23–25; III. 1–5","excerpt":"6. This Nicodemus, who had come to Jesus by night, did not savor of this spirit and this life. Saith Jesus to him, “Except a man be born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God.” And he, savoring of his own flesh, while as yet he savored not of the flesh of Christ in his mouth, saith, “How can a man be born a second time, when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” This man knew but one birth, that from Adam and Eve; that which is from God and the Church he knew not yet: he knew only those parents that bring forth to death, knew not yet the parents that bring forth to life; he knew but the parents that bring forth successors, knew not yet the ever-living parents that bring forth those that shall abide.\n\nWhilst there are two births, then, he understood only one. One is of the earth, the other of heaven; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit; one of mortality, the other of eternity; one of male and female, the other of God and the Church. But these two are each single; there can be no repeating the one or the other. Rightly did Nicodemus understand the birth of the flesh; so understand thou also the birth of the Spirit, as Nicodemus understood the birth of the flesh. What did Nicodemus understand? “Can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Thus, whosoever shall tell thee to be spiritually born a second time, answer in the words of Nicodemus, “Can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” I am already born of Adam, Adam cannot beget me a second time. I am already born of Christ, Christ cannot beget me again. As there is no repeating from the womb, so neither from baptism.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html","locus":"11.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/11/#iii.xii-p21"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"5. The Lord says to Nicodemus, and explains to him: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Thou, says He, understandest a carnal generation, when thou sayest, Can a man return into his mother’s bowels? The birth for the kingdom of God must be of water and of the Spirit. If one is born to the temporal inheritance of a human father, be he born of the bowels of a carnal mother; if one is born to the everlasting inheritance of God as his Father, be he born of the bowels of the Church. A father, as one that will die, begets a son by his wife to succeed him; but God begets of the Church sons, not to succeed Him, but to abide with Himself. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:8","href":"/jhn/3/#v8-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.6-8.1","start":6,"end":8,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"... And He goes on: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” We are born spiritually then, and spirit we are born by the word and sacrament. The Spirit is present that we may be born; the Spirit is invisibly present whereof thou art born, for thou too must be invisibly born. For He goes on to say: “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The Spirit bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest its voice, but knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth.” None sees the Spirit; and how do we hear the Spirit’s voice? There sounds a psalm, it is the Spirit’s voice; the gospel sounds, it is the Spirit’s voice; the divine word sounds, it is the Spirit’s voice. “Thou hearest its voice, and knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.” But if thou art born of the Spirit, thou too shall be so, that one who is not born of the Spirit knows not, as for thee, whence thou comest, or whither thou goest. For He said, as He went on, “So is also every one that is born of the Spirit.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p10"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.9-10.1","start":9,"end":10,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"6. “Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be?” And, in fact, in the carnal sense, he knew not how. In him occurred what the Lord had said; the Spirit’s voice he heard, but knew not whence it came, and whither it was going. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?” Oh, brethren! what? do we think that the Lord meant to taunt scornfully this master of the Jews? The Lord knew what He was doing; He wished the man to be born of the Spirit. No man is born of the Spirit if he be not humble, for humility itself makes us to be born of the Spirit; “for the Lord is nigh to them that are of broken heart.” The man was puffed up with his mastership, and it appeared of some importance to himself that he was a teacher of the Jews. Jesus pulled down his pride, that he might be born of the Spirit: He taunted him as an unlearned man; not that the Lord wished to appear his superior. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:9–10","href":"/jhn/3/#v9-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p11"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"7. And He goes on, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not; how shall ye believe, if I tell you heavenly things?” What earthly things did He tell, brethren? “Except a man be born again;” is that an earthly thing? “The Spirit bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest its voice, and knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth;” is that earthly? For if He spoke it of the wind, as some have understood it, when they were asked what earthly thing the Lord meant, when He said, “If I told you earthly things, and ye believe not; how shall ye believe, if I tell you heavenly things?”—when, I say, it was asked of certain men what “earthly thing” the Lord meant, being in difficulty, they said, What He said, “The Spirit bloweth where it listeth,” and “its voice thou hearest, and knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth,” He said concerning the wind. Now what did He name earthly? He was speaking of the spiritual birth; and going on, saith, “So is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Then, brethren, which of us does not see, for example, the south wind going from south to north, or another wind coming from east to west? How, then, know we not whence it cometh and whither it goeth? What earthly thing, then, did He tell, which men did not believe? Was it that which He had said about raising the temple again? Surely, for He had received His body of the earth, and that earth taken of the earthly body He was preparing to raise up. They did not believe Him as about to raise up earth. “If I told you earthly things,” saith He, “and ye believe not; how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?” That is, if ye believe not that I can raise up the temple cast down by you, how shall ye believe that men can be regenerated by the Spirit?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.7","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:8","href":"/jhn/3/#v8-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p16"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"8. And He goes on: “And no man hath ascended into heaven, but He that came down from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.” Behold, He was here, and was also in heaven; was here in His flesh, in heaven by His divinity; yea, everywhere by His divinity. Born of a mother, not quitting the Father. Two nativities of Christ are understood: one divine, the other human: one, that by which we were to be made; the other, that by which we were to be made anew: both marvellous; that without mother, this without father. But because He had taken a body of Adam,—for Mary was of Adam,—and was about to raise that same body again, it was an earthly thing He had said in saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” But this was a heavenly thing, when He said, “Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he shall not see the kingdom of God.” Come then, brethren! God has willed to be the Son of man; and willed men to be sons of God. He came down for our sakes; let us ascend for His sake. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p17"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.14-15.1","start":14,"end":15,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"11. He endured death, then; but death He hanged on the cross, and mortal men are delivered from death. The Lord calls to mind a great matter, which was done in a figure with them of old: “And as Moses,” saith He, “lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up; that every one who believeth on Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.” A great mystery is here, as they who read know. Again, let them hear, as well they who have not read as they who have forgotten what perhaps they had heard or read. The people Israel were fallen helplessly in the wilderness by the bite of serpents; they suffered a great calamity by many deaths: for it was the stroke of God correcting and scourging them that He might instruct them. In this was shown a great mystery, the figure of a thing to come: the Lord Himself testifies in this passage, so that no man can give another interpretation than that which the truth indicates concerning itself. Now Moses was ordered by the Lord to make a brazen serpent, and to raise it on a pole in the wilderness, and to admonish the people Israel, that, when any had been bitten by a serpent, he should look to that serpent raised up on the pole. This was done: men were bitten; they looked and were healed. What are the biting serpents? Sins, from the mortality of the flesh. What is the serpent lifted up? The Lord’s death on the cross. For as death came by the serpent, it was figured by the image of a serpent. The serpent’s bite was deadly, the Lord’s death is life-giving. A serpent is gazed on that the serpent may have no power. What is this? A death is gazed on, that death may have no power. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.11","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p25"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.17-18.1","start":17,"end":18,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"12. “For God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him may be saved.” So far, then, as it lies in the physician, He is come to heal the sick. He that will not observe the orders of the physician destroys himself. He is come a Saviour to the world: why is he called the Saviour of the world, but that He is come to save the world, not to judge the world? Thou wilt not be saved by Him; thou shalt be judged of thyself. And why do I say, “shall be judged”? See what He says: “He that believeth on Him is not judged, but he that believeth not.” What dost thou expect He is going to say, but “is judged”? “Already,” saith He, “has been judged.” The judgment has not yet appeared, but already it has taken place. For the Lord knoweth them that are His: He knows who are persevering for the crown, and who for the flame; knows the wheat on His threshing-floor, and knows the chaff; knows the good corn, and knows the tares. He that believeth not is already judged. Why judged? “Because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.12","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17-catena"},{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p28"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.19-21.1","start":19,"end":21,"heading":"Tractate XII. Chapter III. 6–21","excerpt":"... There He laid the emphasis: for many loved their sins; many confessed their sins; and he who confesses his sins, and accuses them, doth now work with God. God accuses thy sins: and if thou also accusest, thou art united to God. There are, as it were, two things, man and sinner. That thou art called man, is God’s doing; that thou art called sinner, is man’s own doing. Blot out what thou hast done, that God may save what He has done. It behoves thee to hate thine own work in thee, and to love the work of God in thee. And when thy own deeds will begin to displease thee, from that time thy good works begin, as thou findest fault with thy evil works. The confession of evil works is the beginning of good works. Thou doest the truth, and comest to the light. How is it thou doest the truth? Thou dost not caress, nor soothe, nor flatter thyself; nor say, “I am righteous,” whilst thou art unrighteous: thus, thou beginnest to do the truth. Thou comest to the light, that thy works may be made manifest that they are wrought in God; for thy sin, the very thing that has given thee displeasure, would not have displeased thee, if God did not shine into thee, and His truth show it thee. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","locus":"12.13","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/12/#iii.xiii-p29"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Tractate XIII. Chapter III. 22–29","excerpt":"4. Now let John also declare his witness: “After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea; and there He tarried with them, and baptized.” Being baptized, He baptized. Not with that baptism with which He was baptized did He baptize. The Lord, being baptized by a servant, gives baptism, showing the path of humility and leading to the baptism of the Lord, that is, His own baptism, by giving an example of humility, in not Himself refusing baptism from a servant. And in the baptism by a servant, a way was prepared for the Lord; the Lord also being baptized, made Himself a way for them that come to Him. Let us hear Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” If thou seekest truth, keep the way, for the way and the truth are the same. The way that thou art going is the same as the whither thou art going: thou art not going by a way as one thing, to an object as another thing; not coming to Christ by something else as a way, thou comest to Christ by Christ. How by Christ to Christ? By Christ the man, to Christ God; by the Word made flesh, to the Word which in the beginning was God with God; from that which man ate, to that which angels daily eat. For so it is written, “He gave them bread of heaven: man ate the bread of angels.” What is the bread of angels? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” How has man eaten the bread of angels? “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html","locus":"13.4","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:22","href":"/jhn/3/#v22-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/13/#iii.xiv-p12"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.23-24.1","start":23,"end":24,"heading":"Tractate XIII. Chapter III. 22–29","excerpt":"6. Let us hear John: “Jesus baptized.” We said that Jesus baptized. How Jesus? How the Lord? How the Son of God? How the Word? Well, but the Word was made flesh. “And John also was baptizing in Ænon, near to Salim.” A certain lake, “Ænon.” How do we know it was a lake? “Because there was much water there, and they came and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.” If you remember (see, I say it again), I told you why John baptized: because the Lord must needs be baptized. And why must the Lord be baptized? Because many there would be to despise baptism, that they might appear to be endowed with greater grace than they saw other believers endowed with. For example, a catechumen, now living continently, might despise a married person, and say of himself that he was better than the other believer. That catechumen might possibly say in his heart, “What need have I to receive baptism, to have just what that other man has, than whom I am already better?” Therefore, lest that neck of pride should hurl to destruction certain men much elated with the merits of their own righteousness, the Lord was willing to be baptized by a servant, as if addressing His chief sons: “Why do you extol yourselves? Why lift yourselves up because you have, one prudence, another learning, another chastity, another the courage of patience? Can you possibly have as much as I who gave you these? And yet I was baptized by a servant, you disdain to be baptized by the Lord.” This is the sense of “to fulfill all righteousness.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html","locus":"13.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/13/#iii.xiv-p16"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Tractate XIII. Chapter III. 22–29","excerpt":"8. “Then there arose a question on the part of John’s disciples with the Jews about purifying.” John baptized, Christ baptized. John’s disciples were moved; there was a running after Christ, people were coming to John. Those who came to John, he sent to Jesus to be baptized; but they who were baptized by Christ were not sent to John. John’s disciples were alarmed, and began to dispute with the Jews, as usually happens. Understand the Jews to have declared that Christ was greater, and that to His baptism people ought to have recourse. John’s disciples, not yet understanding this, defended John’s baptism. They came to John himself, that he might solve the question. Understand, beloved. And here we are given to see the use of humility, and, when people were erring in the subject of dispute, are shown whether John desired to glory in himself. Now probably he said, “You say the truth, you contend rightly; mine is the better baptism, I baptized Christ Himself.” John could say this after Christ was baptized. If he wished to exalt himself, what an opportunity he had to do so! But he knew better before whom to humble himself: to Him whom he knew to have come after himself by birth, he willingly yielded precedence by confessing Him. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html","locus":"13.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:25","href":"/jhn/3/#v25-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/13/#iii.xiv-p19"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.26-28.1","start":26,"end":28,"heading":"Tractate XIII. Chapter III. 22–29","excerpt":"9. Let us see, then, what answer John gives: “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:” that is, What sayest thou? Ought they not to be hindered, that they may rather come to thee? “He answered and said, A man cannot receive anything, except it be given him from heaven.” Of whom, think you, had John said this? Of himself. “As a man, I received,” saith he, “from heaven.” Note, my beloved: “A man cannot receive anything, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ.” As much as to say, “Why do ye deceive yourselves? See how you have put this question before me. What have you said to me? ‘Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness.’ Then you know what sort of witness I bare to Him. Am I now to say that He is not the same whom I declared Him to be? And because I received somewhat from heaven, in order to be something, do you wish me to be empty of it, so as to speak against the truth? ‘A man cannot receive anything, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ.’” Thou art not the Christ; but what if thou art greater than He since thou didst baptize Him? “I am sent:” I am the herald, He is the Judge.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html","locus":"13.9","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/13/#iii.xiv-p20"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"Tractate XIII. Chapter III. 22–29","excerpt":"12. Let us return and see what this John saith: “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom;” she is not my bride. And dost thou not rejoice in the marriage? Yea, saith he, I do rejoice: “But the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the voice of the bridegroom.” Not because of mine own voice, saith he, do I rejoice, but because of the Bridegroom’s voice. I am in the place of hearer; He, of speaker: I am as one that must be enlightened, He is the light; I am as the ear, He is the word. Therefore the friend of the Bridegroom standeth and heareth Him. Why standeth? Because he falls not. How falls not? Because he is humble. See him standing on solid ground; “I am not worthy to loose the latchet of His shoe.” Thou doest well to be humble; deservedly thou dost not fall; deservedly thou standest, and hearest Him, and rejoicest greatly for the Bridegroom’s voice. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html","locus":"13.12","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/13/#iii.xiv-p25"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"3. Now this is what follows: and John says, “This my joy therefore is fulfilled.” What is his joy? To rejoice at the Bridegroom’s voice. It is fulfilled in me, I have my grace; more I do not assume to myself, lest also I lose what I have received. What is this joy? “With joy rejoiceth for the Bridegroom’s voice.” A man may understand, then, that he ought not to rejoice of his own wisdom, but of the wisdom which he has received from God. Let him ask nothing more, and he loses not what he found. For many, in that they affirmed themselves to be wise, became fools. The apostle convicts them, and says of them, “Because that which is known of God is manifest to them; for God has showed it unto them.” Hear ye what he says of certain unthankful, ungodly men: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are seen, being understood by the things that are made, His eternal power likewise, and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Why without excuse? “Because, knowing God” (he said not, “because they knew Him not”), “they glorified Him not as God, nor were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened: professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” If they had known God, they had known at the same time that God, and none other, had made them wise; and they would not then attribute to themselves that which they did not have from themselves, but to Him from whom they had received it. But by their unthankfulness they became fools. Therefore, what God gave freely, He took from the unthankful. John would not be this; he would be thankful: he confessed to have received, and declared that he rejoiced for the Bridegroom’s voice, saying, “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.3","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p6"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"5. What means, then, “He must increase, but I must decrease”? This is a great mystery! Before the Lord Jesus came, men were glorying of themselves; He came a man, to lessen man’s glory, and to increase the glory of God. Now He came without sin, and found all men in sin. If thus He came to put away sin, God may freely give, man may confess. For man’s confession is man’s lowliness: God’s pity is God’s loftiness. Therefore, since He came to forgive man his sins, let man acknowledge his own lowliness and let God show His pity. “He must increase, but I must decrease:” that is, He must give, but I must receive; He must be glorified, but I must confess. Let man know his own condition, and confess to God; and hear the apostle as he says to a proud, elated man, bent on extolling himself: “What hast thou that thou didst not receive? And if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou didst not receive it?” Then let man understand that he has received; and when he would call that his own which is not his, let him decrease: for it is good for him that God be glorified in him. Let him decrease in himself, that he may be increased in God. These testimonies and this truth, Christ and John signified by their deaths. For John was lessened by the Head: Christ was exalted on the cross; so that even there it appeared what this is, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Again, Christ was born when the days were just beginning to lengthen; John was born when they began to shorten. Thus their very creation and deaths testify to the words of John, when he says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.5","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p9"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"6. What we have just heard, appears now distinctly and clearly. “He that cometh from above, is above all.” See what he says of Christ. What of himself? “He that is of the earth, is of earth, and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from above is above all”—this is Christ; and “he that is of the earth, is of earth, and speaketh of the earth”—this is John. And is this the whole: John is of the earth, and speaks of the earth? Is the whole testimony that he bears of Christ a speaking of the earth? Are they not voices of God that are heard from John, when he bears witness of Christ? Then how does he speak of the earth? He said this of man. So far as relates to man in himself, he is of earth, and speaks of the earth; and when he speaks some divine things, he is enlightened by God. For, were he not enlightened, he would be earth speaking of earth. God’s grace is apart by itself, the nature of man apart by itself. Do but examine the nature of man: man is born and grows, he learns the customs of men. What does he know but earth, of earth? He speaks the things of men, knows the things of men, minds the things of men; carnal, he judges carnally, conjectures carnally: lo! it is man all over. Let the grace of God come, and enlighten his darkness, as it saith, “Thou wilt lighten my candle, O Lord; my God, enlighten my darkness;” let it take the mind of man, and turn it to its own light; immediately he begins to say, as the apostle says, “Yet not I, but the grace of God that is with me;” and, “Now I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” That is to say, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Thus John: as regards John, he is of the earth, and speaks of the earth; whatever that is divine thou hast heard from John, is of Him that enlightens, not of him that receives.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.6","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p12"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.32-33.1","start":32,"end":33,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"8. “He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what He hath seen and heard, that testifieth He; and His testimony no man receiveth.” If no man, to what purpose came He? He means, no man of a certain class. There are some people prepared for the wrath of God, to be damned with the devil; of these, none receiveth the testimony of Christ. For if none at all, not any man, received, what could these words mean, “But he that received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true”? Not certainly, then, no man, if thou sayest thyself, “He that received His testimony has set to his seal that God is true.” Perhaps John, on being questioned, would answer and say, I know what I have said, in saying no man. There are, in fact, people born to God’s wrath, and thereunto foreknown. For God knows who they are that will and that will not believe; He knows who they are that shall persevere in that in which they have believed, and who that shall fall away; and all that shall be for eternal life are numbered by God; and He knows already the people set apart. And if He knows this, and has given to the prophets by His Spirit to know it, He gave this also to John. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.8","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:32–33","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p17"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"10. “For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.” This, of course, he said of Christ, to distinguish himself from Christ. What then? Did not God send John himself? Did he not say himself, “I am sent before Him”? and, “He that sent me to baptize with water”? And is it not of John that it is said, “Behold, I send my messenger before Thee, and he shall prepare Thy way”? Does he not himself speak the words of God, he of whom it is said that he is more than a prophet? Then, if God sent him too, and he speaks the words of God, how do we understand him to have distinctly said of Christ, “He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God”? But see what he adds: “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure.” What is this, “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure”? We find that God does give the Spirit by measure. Hear the apostle when he says, “According to the measure of the gift of Christ.” To men He gives by measure, to the only Son He gives not by measure. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.10","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p21"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"11. Now hear further what follows: because He had said of the Son, “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure: the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand,” He added, “hath given all things into His hands,” that thou mightest know also here with what distinction it is said, “The Father loveth the Son.” And why? Does the Father not love John? And yet He has not given all things into his hand. Does the Father not love Paul? And yet He has not given all things into his hand. “The Father loveth the Son:” but as father loveth, not as master loveth a servant; as the Only Son, not as an adopted son. And so “hath given all things into His hand.” What means “all things”? That the Son should be such as the Father is. To equality with Himself He begat Him in whom it was no robbery to be in the form of God, equal to God. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.” Therefore, having deigned to send us the Son, let us not imagine that it is something less than the Father that is sent to us. The Father, in sending the Son, sent His other self.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.11","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p25"},{"id":"augustine.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"Tractate XIV. Chapter III. 29–36","excerpt":"13. Carnal thought does not apprehend what I say: let it defer understanding, and begin by faith; let it hear what follows: “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.” He has not said, The wrath of God cometh to him; but, “The wrath of God abideth on him.” All that are born mortals have the wrath of God with them. What wrath of God? That wrath which Adam first received. For if the first man sinned, and heard the sentence, “Thou shalt die the death,” he became mortal, and we began to be born mortal; and we have been born with the wrath of God. From this stock came the Son, not having sin, and He was clothed with flesh and mortality. If He partook with us of the wrath of God, are we slow to partake with Him the grace of God? He, then, that will not believe the Son, on the same “the wrath of God abideth.” What wrath of God? That of which the apostle says, “We also were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest.” All are therefore children of wrath, because coming of the curse of death. Believe on Christ, for thee made mortal, that thou mayest receive Him, the immortal; and when thou shalt have received His immortality, thou shalt no longer be mortal. He lived, thou wast dead; He died that thou shouldst live. He has brought us the grace of God, and has taken away the wrath of God. God has conquered death, lest death should conquer man.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","locus":"14.13","cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[{"author":"Thomas Aquinas","title":"Catena Aurea","status":"detected","ref":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36-catena"}],"inFull":"/works/augustine/14/#iii.xv-p28"}]},{"work_id":"catena","author":"Thomas Aquinas","short_name":"Aquinas","author_dates":"1225-1274","tradition":"Medieval Catholic","era":"Middle Ages","died":1274,"title":"Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Collected out of the Works of the Fathers. Vol. IV, Part 1: St. John","edition_short":"Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1841-45","author_url":"/commentators/aquinas/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/catena/","entries":[{"id":"catena.JHN.3.1-2.1","start":1,"end":2,"heading":"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 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.","excerpt":"AUG. He had said above that, when He was at Jerusalem many believed in His Name, when they saw the miracles which He did. Of this number was Nicodemus, of whom we are told; There was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. BEDE. His rank is given, A ruler of the Jews; and then what he did, This man came to Jesus by night: hoping, that is, by so secret an interview, to learn more of the mysteries of the faith; the late public miracles having given him an elementary knowledge of them. CHRYS. As yet however he was withheld by Jewish infirmity: therefore he came in the night, being afraid to come in the day. Of such the Evangelist speaks elsewhere, Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. AUG. Nicodemus was one of the number who believed, but were not as yet born again. Wherefore he came to Jesus by night. Whereas those who are born of water and the Holy Ghost, are addressed by the Apostle, Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 11, section 3","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html#iii.xii-p10","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/2/#v23-augustine","ref":"John 2:23–24"},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 24, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvi.html#iv.xxvi-p17","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:1–2"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 11, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html#iii.xii-p11","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-augustine","ref":"John 3:1–2"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"HAYMO. Or, well may it be said that he came in the night, enveloped, as he was, in the darkness of ignorance, and not yet come to the light, i. e. the belief that our Lord was very God. Night in the language of Holy Writ is put for ignorance. And said unto him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God. The Hebrew Rabbi, has the meaning of Magister in Latin. He calls him, we see, a Master, but not God: he does not hint at that; he believes Him to be sent from God, but does not see that He is God. AUG. What the ground of his belief was, is plain from what immediately follows: For no one can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him. Nicodemus then was one of the many who believed in His Name, when they saw the signs that He did.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 11, section 3","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html#iii.xii-p10","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/2/#v23-augustine","ref":"John 2:23–24"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. He did not however conceive any great idea of them from His miracles; and attributed to Him as yet only a human character, speaking of Him as a Prophet, sent to execute a commission, and standing in need of assistance to do His work; whereas the Father had begotten Him perfect, selfsufficient, and free from all defect. It being Christ's design however for the present not so much to reveal His dignity, as to prove that He did nothing contrary to the Father; in words He is often humble, while His acts ever testify His power. And therefore to Nicodemus on this occasion He says nothing expressly to magnify Himself; but He imperceptibly corrects his low views of Him, and teaches him that He was Himself all-sufficient, and independent in His miraculous works. Hence He answers, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, lie cannot see the kingdom of God. AUG. Those then are the persons to whom Jesus commits Himself, those born again, who come not in the night to Jesus, as Nicodemus did. Such persons immediately make professsion.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 11","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.3.2","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. He says therefore, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God: as if He said, Thou art not yet born again, i. e. of God, by a spiritual begetting; and therefore thy knowledge of Me is not spiritual, but carnal and human. But I say unto thee, that neither thou, nor any one, except he be born again of God, shall be able to see the glory which is around me, but shall be out of the kingdom: for it is the begetting by baptism, which enlightens the mind. Or the meaning is, Except thou art born from above, and hast received the certainty of my doctrines, thou wanderest out of the way, and art far from the kingdom of heaven. By which words our Lord discloses His nature, shewing that He is more than what He appears to the outward eye. The expression, From above, means, according to some, from heaven, according to others, from the beginning. Had the Jews heard it, they would have left Him in scorn; but Nicodemus shews the love of a disciple, by staying to ask more questions.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 24","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"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?","excerpt":"CHRYS. Nicodemus coming to Jesus, as to a man, is startled on learning greater things than man could utter, things too lofty for him. His mind is darkened, and he does not stand firm, but reels like one on the point of falling away from the faith. Therefore he objects to the doctrine as being impossible, in order to call forth a fuller explanation. Two things there are which astonish him, such a birth, and such a kingdom; neither yet heard of among the Jews. First he urges the former difficulty, as being the greatest marvel. Nicodemus saith unto him., How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born? BEDE. The question put thus sounds as if a boy might enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born. But Nicodemus, we must remember, was an old man, and took his instance from him self; as if he said, I am an old man, and seek my salvation; how can T enter again into my mother's womb, and be born? CHRYS. Thou callest Him Rabbi, and sayest that He comes from God, and yet receivest not His sayings, but usest to thy master a word which brings in endless confusion; for that how, is the enquiry of a man who has no strong belief; and many who have so enquired, have fallen from the faith; some asking, how God became incarnate? others, how He was born? Nicodemus here asks from anxiety. But observe when a man trusts spiritual things to reasonings of his own, how ridiculously he talks. AUG. It is the Spirit that speaketh, whereas he understandeth carnally; he knew of no birth save one, that from Adam and Eve; from God and the Church he knows of none. But do thou so understand the birth of the Spirit, as Nicodemus did the birth of the flesh; for as the entrance into the womb cannot be repeated, so neither can baptism.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 11, section 6","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html#iii.xii-p22","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-augustine","ref":"John 3:3–4"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. While Nicodemus stumbles, dwelling upon our birth here, Christ reveals more clearly the manner of our spiritual birth; Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. AUG. As Thou understandest me to speak of a carnal birth; but a man must be born of water and of the Spirit, if he is to enter into the kingdom of God. If to obtain the temporal inheritance of his human father, a man must be born of the womb of his mother; to obtain the eternal inheritance of his heavenly Father, he must be born of the womb of the Church. And since man consists of two parts, body and soul, the mode even of this latter birth is twofold; water the visible part cleansing the body; the Spirit by His invisible cooperation, changing the invisible soul.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 25, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxvii.html#iv.xxvii-p8","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:5"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. If any one asks how a man is born of water, I ask in return, how Adam was born from the ground. For as in the beginning though the element of earth was the subject-matter, the man was the work of the fashioner; so now too, though the element of water is the subject-matter, the whole work is done by the Spirit of grace. He then gave Paradise for a place to dwell in; now He hath opened heaven to us. But what need is there of water, to those who receive the Holy Ghost? It carries out the divine symbols of burial, mortification, resurrection, and life. For by the immersion of our heads in the water, the old man disappears and is buried as it were in a sepulchre, whence he ascends a new man. Thus shouldest thou learn, that the virtue of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, filleth all things. For which reason also Christ lay three days in the grave before His resurrection. That then which the womb is to the offspring, water is to the believer; he is fashioned and formed in the water. But that which is fashioned in the womb needeth time; whereas the water all is done in an instant. For the nature of the body is such as to require time for its completion; but spiritual creations are perfect from the beginning. From the time that our Lord ascended out of the Jordan, water produces no longer reptiles, i. e. living souls; but souls rational and endued with the Spirit.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.5.3","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"AUG. Because He does not say, Except a man be born again 'of water and of the Spirit, he shall not have salvation, or eternal life; but, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God; from this, some infer that children are to be baptized in order to be with Christ in the kingdom of God, where they would not be, were they not baptized; but that they will obtain salvation and eternal life even if they die without baptism, not being bound with any chain of sin. But why is a man born again, except to be changed from his old into a new state? Or why doth the image of God not enter into the kingdom of God, if it be not by reason of sin?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 11, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xii.html#iii.xii-p11","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-augustine","ref":"John 3:1–2"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.","excerpt":"HAYMO. But Nicodemus being unable to Haymo. take in so great and deep mysteries, our Lord helps him by the analogy of our carnal birth, saying, That which is born Pent. of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. For as flesh generates flesh, so also doth spirit spirit. CHRYS. Do not look then for any material production, or think that the Spirit generates flesh; for even the Lord's flesh is generated not by the Spirit only, but also by the flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spiritual. The birth here spoken of takes place not according to our substance, but according to honour and grace. But the birth of the Son of God is otherwise; for else what would He have been more than all who are born again? And He would be proved too inferior to the Spirit, inasmuch as His birth would be by the grace of the Spirit. How does this differ from the Jewish doctrine? — But mark next the part of the Holy Spirit, in the divine work. For whereas above some are said to be born of God, here, we find, the Spirit generates them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.7-8.1","start":7,"end":8,"heading":"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 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.","excerpt":"... The wonder of Nicodemus being roused again by the words, He who is born of the Spirit is spirit, Christ meets him again with an instance from nature; Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The expression, Marvel not, shews that Nicodemus was surprised at His doctrine. He takes for this instance some thing, not of the grossness of other bodily things, but still removed from the incorporeal nature, the wind; 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. That is to say, if no one can restrain the wind from going where it will; much less can the laws of nature, whether the condition of our natural birth, or any other, restrain the action of the Spirit. That He speaks of the wind here is plain, from His saying, Thou hearest the sound thereof, i. e. its noise when it strikes objects. He would not in talking to an unbeliever and ignorant person, so describe the action of the Spirit. He says, Bloweth where it listeth; not meaning any power of choice in the wind, but only its natural movements, in their uncontrolled power. But canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth; i. e. If thou canst not explain the action of this wind which comes under the cognizance both of thy feeling and hearing, why examine into the operation of the Divine Spirit? He adds, So is every one that is born of the Spirit.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"AUG. But who of us does not see, for example, that the south wind blows from south to north, another wind from the east, another from the west? And how then do we not know whence the wind cometh, arid whither it goeth? BEDE. It is the Holy Spirit therefore, Who bloweth where He listeth. It is in His own power to choose, whose heart to visit with His enlightening grace. And thou hearest the sound thereof. When one filled with the Holy Spirit is present with thee and speaks to thee. AUG. The Psalm soundeth, the Gospel soundeth, the Divine Word soundeth; it is the sound of the Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit is invisibly present in the Word and Sacrament, to accomplish our birth. ALCUIN. Therefore, Thou knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; for, although the Spirit should possess a person in thy presence at a particular time, it could not be seen how He entered into him, or how He went away again, because He is invisible. HAYMO. Or, Thou canst not tell whence it cometh; i. e. thou knowest not how He brings believers to the faith; or whither it goeth, i. e. how He directs the faithful to their hope. And so is every one that is born of the Spirit; as if He said, The Holy Spirit is an invisible Spirit; and in like manner, every one who is born of the Spirit is born invisibly. AUG Or thus: If thou art born of the Spirit, thou wilt be such, that he, who is not yet born of the Spirit, will not know whence thou comest, or whither thou goest. For it follows, So is every one that is born of the Spirit. THEOPHYL. This completely refutes Macedonius the impugner of the Spirit, who asserted that the Holy Ghost was a servant. The Holy Ghost, we find, works by His own power, where He will, and what He will.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 7","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p16","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v12-augustine","ref":"John 3:12"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 5","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p10","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-augustine","ref":"John 3:5"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.9-10.1","start":9,"end":10,"heading":"Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?","excerpt":"HAYMO. Nicodemus cannot take in the mysteries of the Divine Majesty, which our Lord reveals, and therefore asks how it is, not denying the fact, not meaning any censure, but wishing to be informed: Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be? CHRYS. Forasmuch then as he still remains a Jew, and, after such clear evidence, persists in a low and carnal system, Christ addresses him hence forth with greater severity: Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? AUG. What think we? that our Lord wished to insult this master in Israel? He wished him to be born of the Spirit: and no one is born of the Spirit except he is made humble; for this very humility it is, which makes us to be born of the Spirit. He however was inflated with his eminence as a master, and thought himself of importance because he was a doctor of the Jews. Our Lord then casts down his pride, in order that he may be born of the Spirit.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 6","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p11","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v9-augustine","ref":"John 3:9–10"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?","excerpt":"CHRYS. Nevertheless He does not charge the man with wickedness, but only with want of wisdom, and enlightenment. But some one will say, What connexion hath this birth, of which Christ speaks, with Jewish doctrines? Thus much. The first man that was made, the woman that was made out of his rib, the barren that bare, the miracles which were worked by means of water, I mean, Elijah's bringing up the iron from the river, the passage of the Red Sea, and Naaman the Syrian's purification in the Jordan, were all types and figures of the spiritual birth, and of the purification which was to take place thereby. Many passages in the Prophets too have a hidden reference to this birth: as that in the Psalms, Making thee young and lusty as an eagle: and, Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven. And again, Isaac was a type of this birth. Referring to these passages, our Lord says, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 26, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxviii.html#iv.xxviii-p26","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v9-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:9–10"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.","excerpt":"... A second time however He condescends to his infirmity, and makes use of a common argument to render what He has said credible: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our testimony. Sight we consider the most certain of all the senses; so that when we say, we saw such a thing with our eyes, we seem to compel men to believe us. In like manner Christ, speaking after the manner of men, does not indeed say that he has seen actually, i. e. with the bodily eye, the mysteries He reveals; but it is clear that He means it of the most certain absolute knowledge. This then, viz. That we do know, he asserts of Himself alone. HAYMO. Why, it is asked, does He speak in the plural number, We speak that we do know? Because the speaker being the Only-Begotten Son of God, He would shew that the Father was in the Son, and the Son in the Father, and the Holy Ghost from both, proceeding indivisibly. ALCUIN. Or, the plural number may have this meaning; I, and they who are born again of the Spirit, alone understand what we speak; and having seen the Father in secret, this we testify openly to the world; and ye, who are carnal and proud, receive not our testimony.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?","excerpt":"THEOPHYL. This is not said of Nicodemus, but of the Jewish race, who to the very last persisted in unbelief. CHRYS. They are words of gentleness, not of anger; a lesson to us, when we argue and cannot converse, not by sore and angry words, but by the absence of anger and clamour, (for clamour is the material of anger,) to prove the soundness of our views. Jesus in entering upon high doctrines, ever checks Himself in compassion to the weakness of His hearer: and does not dwell continuously on the most important truths, but turns to others more humble. Whence it follows: If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things. AUG. That is: If ye do not believe that I can raise up a temple, which you have thrown down, how can ye believe that men can be regenerated by the Holy Ghost? CHRYS. Or thus: Be not surprised at His calling Baptism earthly. It is performed upon earth, and is compared with that stupendous birth, which is of the substance of the Father, an earthly birth being one of mere grace. And well hath He said, not, Ye understand not, but, Ye believe not: for when the understanding cannot take in certain truths, we attribute it to natural deficiency or ignorance: but where that is not received which it belongs to faith only to receive, the fault is not deficiency, but un belief. These truths, however, were revealed that posterity might believe and benefit by them, though the people of that age did not.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 27","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.","excerpt":"AUG. After taking notice of this lack of knowledge in a person, who, on the strength of his magisterial station, set himself above others, and blaming the unbelief of such men, our Lord says, that if such as these do not believe, others will: No one hath ascended into heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven. This may be rendered: The spiritual birth shall be of such sort, as that men from being earthly shall become heavenly: which will not be possible, except they are made members of Me; so that he who ascends, becomes one with Him who descended. Our Lord accounts His body, i. e. His Church, as Himself. GREG. Forasmuch as we are made one with Him, to the place from which He came alone in Himself, thither He returns alone in us; and He who is ever in heaven, daily ascendeth to heaven. AUG. Although He was made the Son of man upon earth, yet His Divinity with which, remaining in heaven, He descended to earth, He hath declared not to disagree with the title of Son of man, as He hath thought His flesh worthy the name of Son of God. For through the Unity of person, by which both substances are one Christ, He walked upon earth, being Son of God; and remained in heaven, being Son of man. And the belief of the greater, involves belief in the less. If then the Divine substance, which is so far more removed from us, and could for our sake take up the substance of man so as to unite them in one person; how much more easily may we believe, that the Saints united with the man Christ, become with Him one Christ; so that while it is true of all, that they ascend by grace, it is at the same time true, that He alone ascends to heaven, Who came down from heaven.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.13.2","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Or thus: having said, We know that Thou art a teacher sent from God; our Lord says, And no man hath ascended, &c. in that He might not appear to be a teacher only like one of the Prophets. THEOPHYL. But when thou hearest that the Son of man came down from heaven, think not that His flesh came down from heaven; for this is the doctrine of those heretics, who held that Christ took His Body from heaven, and only passed through the Virgin. CHRYS. By the title Son of man here, He does not mean His flesh, but Himself altogether; the lesser part of His nature being put to express the whole. It is not uncommon with Him to name Himself wholly from His humanity, or wholly from His divinity.- BEDE; If a man of set purpose descend naked to the valley, and there providing himself with clothes and armour, ascend the mountain again, he who ascended may be said to be the same with him who descended.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 27, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html#iv.xxix-p11","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v13-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:13"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.13.3","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.","excerpt":"HILARY; Or, His descending from heaven is the source of His origin as conceived by the Spirit: Mary gave not His body its origin, though the natural qualities of her sex contributed its birth and increase. That He is the Son of man is from the birth of the flesh which was conceived in the Virgin. That He is in heaven is from the power of His everlasting nature, which did not contract the power of the Word of God, which is infinite, within the sphere of a finite body. Our Lord remaining in the form of a servant, far from the whole circle, inner and outer, of heaven and the world, yet as Lord of heaven and the world, was not absent there from. So then He came down from heaven because He was the Son of man; and He was in heaven, because the Word, which was made flesh, had not ceased to be the Word. AUG. But thou wonderest that He was at once here, and heaven. Yet such power hath He given to His disciples. Hear Paul, Our conversation is in heaven. If the man Paul Phil. walked upon earth, and had his conversation in heaven; shall not the God of heaven and earth be able to be in heaven and earth? CHRYS. That too which seemeth very lofty is still unworthy of His vastness. For He is not in heaven only, but every where, and filleth all things. But for the present He accommodates Himself to the weakness of His hearer, that by degrees He may convert him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 8","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p17","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v13-augustine","ref":"John 3:13"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:","excerpt":"CHRYS. Having made mention of the gift of baptism, He proceeds to the source of it, i. e. the cross: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. BEDE; He introduces the teacher of the Mosaic law, to the spiritual sense of that law; by a passage from the Old Testament history, which was intended to be a figure of His Passion, and of man's salvation. AUG. mer. et Many dying in the wilderness from the attack of the serpents, iss. Moses, by commandment of the Lord, lifted up a brazen serpent: and those who looked upon it were immediately healed. The lifting up of the serpent is the death of Christ; the cause, by a certain mode of construction, being put for the effect. The serpent was the cause of death, inasmuch as he persuaded man into that sin, by which he merited death. Our Lord, however, did not transfer sin, i. e. the poison of the serpent, to his flesh, but death; in order that in the likeness of sinful flesh, there might be punishment without sin, by virtue of which sinful flesh might be delivered both from punishment and from sin.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Wherefore He does not say, ' The Son of man must he suspended, but lifted up a more honourable term, but coming near the figure. He uses the figure to shew that the old dispensation is akin to the new, and to shew on His hearers' account that He suffered voluntarily; and that His death issued in life. AUG. As then formerly he who looked to the serpent that was lifted up, was healed of its poison, and saved from death; so now he who is conformed to the likeness of Christ's death by faith and the grace of baptism, is delivered both from sin by justification, and from death by the resurrection: as He Himself saith; That whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What need then is there that the child should be conformed by baptism to the death of Christ, if he be not altogether tainted by the poisonous bite of the serpent? CHRYS. Observe; He alludes to the Passion obscurely, consideration to His hearer; but the fruit of the Passion unfolds plainly; viz. that they who believe in the Crucified One should not perish. And if they who believe in the Crucified live, much more shall the Crucified One Himself. AUG. But there is this difference between the figure and the reality, that the one recovered from temporal death, the other from eternal.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 11","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p25","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v14-augustine","ref":"John 3:14–15"},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 27","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Having said, Even so must the Son of man be lifted up, alluding to His death; lest His hearer should be cast down by His words, forming some human notion of Him, and thinking of His death as an evil, He corrects this by saying, tion, that He who was given up to death was the Son of God, and that His death would be the source of life eternal; So loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life; as if He said, Marvel not that I must be lifted up, that you may be saved: for so it seemeth good to the Father, who hath so loved you, that He hath given His Son to suffer for ungrateful and careless servants. The text, God so loved the world, shews intensity of love. For great indeed and infinite is the distance between the two. He who is without end, or beginning of existence, Infinite Greatness, loved those who were of earth and ashes, creatures laden with sins innumerable. And the act which springs from the love is equally indicative of its vastness. For God gave not a servant, or an Angel, or an Archangel, but His Son. Again, had He had many sons, and given one, this would have been a very great gift; but now He hath given His Only Begotten Son. HILARY; If it were only a creature given up for the sake of a creature, such a poor and insignificant loss were no great evidence of love. They must be precious things which prove our love, great things must evidence its greatness. God, in love to the world, gave His Son, not an adopted Son, but His own, even His Only Begotten. Here is proper Sonship, birth, truth: no creation, no adoption, no lie: here is the test of love and charity, that God sent His own and only begotten Son to save the world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 27","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxix.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"THEOPHYL. As He said above, that the Son of man came down from heaven, not meaning that His flesh did come down from heaven, on account of the unity of person in Christ, attributing to man what belonged to God: so now conversely what belongs to man, he assigns to God the Word. The Son of God was impassible; but being one in respect of person with man, who was passible, the Son is said to be given up to death; inasmuch as He truly suffered, not in His own nature, but in His own flesh. From this death follows an exceeding great and incomprehensible benefit: viz. that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Old Testament promised to those who obeyed it, length of days: the Gospel promises life eternal, and imperishable, BEDE]; Note here, that the same which he before said of the Son of man, lifted up on the cross, he repeats of the only begotten Son of God: viz. That whosoever believeth in Him, &c. For the same our Maker and Redeemer, who was Son of God before the world was, was made at the end of the world the Son of man; so that He who by the power of His Godhead had created us to enjoy the happiness of an endless life, the same restored us to the life we have lost by taking our human frailty upon Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. Truly through the Son of God shall the world have life; for for no other cause came He into the world, except to save the world. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. AUG. For why is He called the Saviour of the world, but because He saves the world? The physician, so far as his will is concerned, heals the sick. If the sick despises or will not observe the directions of the physician, he destroys himself. CHRYS. Because however He says this, slothful men in the multitude of their sins, and excess of carelessness, abuse God's mercy, and say, There is 110 hell, no punishment; God remits us all our sins. But let us remember, that there are two advents of Christ; one past, the other to come. The former was, not to judge but to pardon us: the latter will be, not to pardon but to judge us. It is of the former that He says, I have not come to judge the world. Because He is merciful, instead of judgment, He grants an internal remission of all sins by baptism; and even after baptism opens to us the door of repentance, which had He not done all had been lost; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Afterwards, however, there follows something about the punishment of unbelievers, to warn us against flattering ourselves that we can sin with impunity. Of the unbeliever He says, ' he is judged already.' — But first He says, He that believeth on Him is not judged. He who believeth, He says, not who enquires. But what if his life be impure? Paul very strongly declares that such are not believers: They confess, he says, Tit. that they know God, but in works deny Him. That is to say, Such will not be judged for their belief, but will receive a heavy punishment for their works, though unbelief will not be charged against them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 12","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p28","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v17-augustine","ref":"John 3:17–18"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. He who believes on Him, and cleaves to Him as a member to the head, will not be condemned. AUG. What didst thou expect Him to say of him who believed not, except that he is condemned. Yet mark His words: He that believeth not is condemned already. The Judgment hath not appeared, but it is already given. For the Lord knows who are His; who are awaiting the crown, and who the fire. CHRYS. Or the meaning is, that disbelief itself is the punishment of the impenitent: inasmuch as that is to be without light, and to be without light is of itself the greatest punishment. Or He is announcing what is to be. Though a murderer be not yet sentenced by the Judge, still his crime has already condemned him. In like manner he who believes not, is dead, even as Adam, on the day that he ate of the tree, died.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12, section 12","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html#iii.xiii-p28","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v17-augustine","ref":"John 3:17–18"},{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 28, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html#iv.xxx-p19","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:18"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.18.2","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"GREG. Or thus: In the last judgment some perish without being judged, of whom it is here said, He that believeth not is condemned already. For the day of judgment does not try those who for unbelief are already banished from the sight of a discerning judge, are under sentence of damnation; but those, who retaining the profession of faith, have no works to shew suitable to that profession. For those who have not kept even the sacraments of faith, do not even hear the curse of the Judge at the last trial. They have already, in the darkness of their unbelief, received their sentence, and are not thought worthy of being convicted by the rebuke of Him whom they had despised Again; For an earthly sovereign, in the government of his state, has a different rule of punishment, in the case of the disaffected subject, and the foreign rebel. In the former case, he consults the civil law; but against the enemy he proceeds at once to war, and repays his malice with the punishment it deserves, without regard to law, inasmuch as he who never submitted to law, has no claim to suffer by the law. ALCUIN. He then gives the reason why he who believeth not is condemned, viz. because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God. For in this name alone is there salvation. God hath not many sons who can save; He by whom He saves is the Only Begotten. AUG. Where then do we place baptized children? Amongst those who believe? This is acquired for them by the virtue of the Sacrament, and the pledges of the sponsors. And by this same rule we reckon those who are not baptized, among those who believe not.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. Here is the reason why men believed not, and why they are justly condemned; This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world. CHRYS. As if He said, So far from their having sought for it, or laboured to find it, light itself hath come to them, and they have refused to admit it; Men loved darkness rather than light. Thus He leaves them no excuse. He came to rescue them from darkness, and bring them to light; who can pity him who does not choose to approach the light when it comes unto him? BEDE He calls Himself the light, whereof the Evangelist speak That was the true light; whereas sin He calls darkness. CHRYS. Then because it seemed incredible that man should prefer light to darkness, he gives the reason of the infatuation, viz. that their deeds were evil. And indeed had He come to Judgment, there had been some reason for not receiving Him; for he who is conscious of his crimes, naturally avoids the judge. But criminals are glad to meet one who brings them pardon. And therefore it might have been expected that men conscious of their sins would have gone to meet Christ, as many indeed did; for the publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus. But the greater part being too cowardly to undergo the toils of virtue for righteousness' sake, persisted in their wickedness to the last; of whom our Lord says, Every one that doeth evil hateth the light. He speaks of those who choose to remain in their wickedness.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 28, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxx.html#iv.xxx-p27","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v19-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:19–20"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. Every one that doeth evil, hateth the light; i. e. he who is resolved to sin, who delights in sin, hateth the light, which detects his sin. AUG. Because they dislike being deceived, and like to deceive, they love light for discovering herself, and hate her for discovering them. Wherefore it shall be their punishment, that she shall manifest them against their will, and herself not be manifest unto them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.","excerpt":"CHRYS. No one reproves a Pagan, because his own practice agrees with the character of his gods; his life is in accordance with his doctrines. But a Christian who lives in wickedness all must condemn. If there are any Gentiles whose life is good, 1 know them not. But are there not Gentiles? it may be asked. For do not tell me of the naturally amiable and honest; this is not virtue. But shew me one who has strong passions, and lives with wisdom. You cannot. For if the announcement of a kingdom, and the threats of hell, and other inducements, hardly keep men virtuous when they are so, such calls will hardly rouse, them to the attainment of virtue in the first instance. Pagans, if they do produce any thing which looks well, do it for vain-glory's sake, and will therefore at the same time, if they can escape notice, gratify their evil desires as well. And what profit is a man's sobriety and decency of conduct, if he is the slave of vain-glory? The slave of vain-glory is no less a sinner than a fornicator; nay, sins even oftener, and more grievously. However, even supposing there are some few Gentiles of good lives, the exceptions so rare do not affect my argument. BEDE; Mo rally too they love darkness rather than light, who when their preachers tell them their duty, assail them with calumny.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.","excerpt":"CHRYS. He does not say this of those who are brought up under the Gospel, but of those who are converted to the true faith from Paganism or Judaism. He shews that no one will leave a false religion for the true faith, till he first resolve to follow a right course of life. AUG. He calls the works of him who comes to the light, wrought in God; meaning that his justification is attributable not to his own merits, but to God's grace. AUG. But if God hath discovered all men's works to be evil, how is it that any have done the truth, and come to the light, i. e. to Christ? Now what He saith is, that they loved darkness rather than light; He lays the stress upon that. Many have loved their sins, many have confessed them. God accuseth thy sins; if thou accuse them too, thou art joined to God. Thou must hate thine own work, and love the work of God in thee. The beginning of good works, is the confession of evil works, and then thou doest the truth: not soothing, not flattering thyself. And thou art come to the light, because this very sin in thee, which displeaseth thee, would not displease thee, did not God shine upon thee, and His truth shew it unto thee. And let those even who have sinned only by word or thought, or who have only exceeded in things allowable, do the truth, by making confession, and come to the light by performing good works. For little sins, if suffered to accumulate, become mortal. Little drops swell the river: little grains of sand become an heap, which presses and weighs down. The sea coming in by little and little, unless it be pumped out, sinks the vessel. And what is to pump out, but by good works, mourning, fasting, giving and forgiving, to provide against our sins overwhelming us?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 12","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Nothing is more open than truth, nothing bolder; it neither seeks concealment, or avoids danger, or fears a snare, or cares for popularity. It is subject to no human weakness. Our Lord went up to Jerusalem at the feasts, not from ostentation or love of honour, but to teach the people His doctrines, and shew miracles of mercy. After the festival He visited the crowds who were collected at the Jordan. After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. BEDE; After these things, is not immediately after His dispute with Nicodemus, which took place at Jerusalem; but on His return to Jerusalem after some time spent in Galilee. ALCUIN. By Judaea are meant those who confess, whom Christ visits; for wherever there is confession of sins, or the praise of God, thither cometh Christ and His disciples, i. e. His doctrine and enlightenment; and there He is known by His cleansing men from sin: And there He tarried with them, and baptized, CHRYS. As the Evangelist says afterwards, that Jesus baptized not but His disciples, it is evident that he means the same here, i. e. that the disciples only baptized. AUG. Our Lord did not baptize 'with the baptism wherewith He had been baptized; for He was baptized by a servant, as a lesson of humility to us, and in order to bring us to the Lord's baptism, i. e. His own; for Jesus baptized, as the Lord, the Son of God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 29","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 13, section 4","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html#iii.xiv-p12","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v22-augustine","ref":"John 3:22"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.","excerpt":"BEDE; John still continues baptizing, though Christ has begun; for the shadow remains still, nor must the forerunner cease, till the truth is manifested. And John also was baptizing in Ænon, near to Salim. Ænon is Hebrew for water; so that the Evangelist gives, as it were, the derivation of the name, when he adds, For there was much water there. Salim is a town on the Jordan, where Melchisedec once reigned. Hierom. JEROME; It matters not whether it is called Salem, or Salim; since the Jews very rarely use vowels in the middle of words; and the same words are pronounced with different vowels and accents, by different readers, and in different places. And they came, and were baptized. BEDE; The same kind of benefit which catechumens receive from instruction before they are baptized, the same did John's baptism convey before Christ's. As John preached repentance, announced Christ's baptism, and drew all men to the knowledge of the truth now made manifest to the world: so the ministers of the Church first instruct those who come to the faith, then reprove their sins; and lastly, drawing them to the knowledge and love of the truth, offer them remission by Christ's baptism.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"For John was not yet cast into prison.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Notwithstanding the disciples of Jesus baptized, John did not leave off till his imprisonment; as the Evangelist's language intimates, For John was not yet cast into prison. BEDE; He evidently here is relating what Christ did before John's imprisonment; a part which has been passed over by the rest, who commence after John's imprisonment. AUG. But why did John baptize? Because it was necessary that our Lord should be baptized. And why was it necessary that our Lord should be baptized? That no one might ever think himself at liberty to despise baptism.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.","excerpt":"CHRYS. But why did he go on baptizing now Because, had he left off, it might have been attributed envy or anger: whereas, continuing to baptize, he got no glory for himself, but sent hearers to Christ. And he was better able to do this service, than were Christ's own disciples; his testimony being so free from suspicion, and his reputation with the people so much higher than theirs. He therefore continued to baptize, that he might not increase the envy felt by his disciples against our Lord's baptism. Indeed, the reason, I think, why John's death was permitted, and, in his room, Christ made the great preacher, was, that the people might transfer their affections wholly to Christ, and no longer be divided between the two. For the disciples of John did become so envious of Christ's disciples, and even of Christ Himself, that when they saw the latter baptizing, they threw contempt upon their baptism, as being inferior to that of John's; And there arose a question from some of John's disciples with the Jews about purifying. That it was they who began the dispute, and not the Jews, the Evangelist implies by saying, that there arose a question from John's disciples, whereas he might have said, The Jews put forth a question. AUG. The Jews then asserted Christ to be the greater person, and His baptism necessary to be received. But John's disciples did not understand so much, and defended John's baptism.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 13, section 8","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html#iii.xiv-p19","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v25-augustine","ref":"John 3:25"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"... At last they come to John, to solve the question: And they came unto John., and said unto him, Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan, behold, the Same baptizeth. CHRYS. Meaning, He, Whom thou baptizedst, baptizeth. They did not say expressly, Whom thou baptizedst, for they did not wish to be reminded of the voice from heaven, but, He Who was with thee, i. e. Who was in the situation of a disciple, who was nothing more than any of us, He now separateth Himself from thee, and baptizeth. They add, To Whom thou barest witness; as if to say, Whom thou shewedst to the world, Whom thou madest renowned, He now dares to do as thou dost. Behold, the Same baptizeth. And in addition to this, they urge the probability that John's doctrines would fall into discredit. All men come to Him. ALCUIN. Meaning, Passing by thee, all men run to the baptism of Him Whom thou baptizedst.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 29","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.","excerpt":"CHRIS. John, on this question being raised, does not rebuke his disciples, for fear they might separate, and turn to some other school, but replies gently, John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven; as if he said, No wonder that Christ does such excellent works, and that all men come to Him; when He Who doeth it all is God. Human efforts are easily seen through, are feeble, and short-lived. These are not such: they are not therefore of human, but of divine originating. He seems however to speak somewhat humbly of Christ, which will not surprise us, when we consider that it was not fitting to tell the whole truth, to minds prepossessed with such a passion as envy. He only tries for the present to alarm them, by shewing that they are attempting impossible things, and fighting against God. AUG. Or perhaps John is speaking here of himself: I am a mere man, and have received all from heaven, and therefore think not that, because it has been given me to be somewhat, I am so foolish as to speak against the truth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 13, section 9","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xiv.html#iii.xiv-p20","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v26-augustine","ref":"John 3:26–28"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.","excerpt":"CHRYS. And see; the very argument by which they thought to have overthrown Christ, To whom thou barest witness, he turns against them; Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ; as if he said, If ye think my witness true, ye must acknowledge Him more worthy of honour than myself. He adds, But that I was sent before Him; that is to say, I am a servant, and perform the commission of the Father which sent me; my witness is not from favour or partiality; I say that which was given me to say.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 29","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"BEDE; Who art thou then, since thou art not the Christ, and who is He to Whom thou bearest witness? John replies, He is the Bridegroom; I am the friend of the Bridegroom, sent to prepare the Bride for His approach: He that hath the Bride, is the Bridegroom. By the Bride he means the Church, gathered from amongst all nations; a Virgin in purity of heart, in perfection of love, in the bond of peace, in chastity of mind and body; in the unity of the Catholic faith; for in vain is she a virgin in body, who continueth not a virgin in mind. This Bride hath Christ joined unto Himself in marriage, and redeemed with the price of His own Blood. THEOPHYL. Christ is the spouse of every soul; the wedlock, wherein they are joined, is baptism; the place of that wedlock is the Church; the pledge of it, remission of sins, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost; the consummation, eternal life; which those who are worthy shall receive. Christ alone is the Bridegroom: all other teachers are but the friends of the Bridegroom, as was the forerunner. The Lord is the giver of good; the rest are the despisers of His gifts. BEDE; His Bride therefore our Lord committed to His friend, i. e. the order of preachers, who should be jealous of her, not for themselves, but for Christ; The friend of the Bridegroom which standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice,","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"AUG. As if He said, She is not My spouse. But dost thou therefore not rejoice in the marriage? Yea, I rejoice, he saith, because I am the friend of the Bridegroom. CHRYS. But how doth he who said above, Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose, call himself a friend? As an expression not of equality, but of excess of joy: (for the friend of the Bridegroom is always more rejoiced than the servant,) and also, as a condescension to the weakness of his disciples, who thought that he was pained at Christ's ascendancy. For he hereby assures them, that so far from being pained, he was right glad that the Bride recognised her Spouse.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 29, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html#iv.xxxi-p27","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v29-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:29"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.29.3","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"AUG. But wherefore doth he stand? Because he falleth not, by reason of his humility. A sure ground this to stand upon, Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. Again; He standeth, and heareth Him. So then if he falleth, he heareth Him not. Therefore the friend of the Bridegroom 'ought to stand and hear, i. e. to abide in the grace which he hath received, and to hear the voice in which he rejoiceth. I rejoice not, he saith, because of my own voice, but because of the Bridegroom's voice. 1 rejoice; I in hearing, He in speaking; I am the ear, He the Word. For he who guards the bride or wife of his friend, takes care that she love none else; if he wish to be loved himself in the stead of his friend, and to enjoy her who was entrusted to him, how detestable doth he appear to the whole world? Yet many are the adulterers I see, who would fain possess themselves of the spouse who was bought at so great a price, and who aim by their words at being loved themselves instead of the Bridegroom.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.29.4","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Or thus; The expression, which standeth) is not without meaning, but indicates that his part is now over, and that for the future he must stand and listen. This is a transition from the parable to the real subject. For having introduced the figure of a bride and bridegroom, he shews how the marriage is consummated, viz. by word and doctrine. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And since the things he had hoped for had come to pass, he adds, This my joy therefore is fulfilled; i. e. The work which I had to do is finished, and nothing more is left, that I can do. THEOPHYL. For which cause I rejoice now, that all men follow Him. For had the bride, i. e. the people, not come forth to meet the Bridegroom, then I, ^8 the friend of the Bridegroom, should have grieved. AUG. Or thus; This my joy is fulfilled, i. e. my joy at hearing the Bridegroom's voice. I have my gift; I claim no more, lest I lose that which I have received. He who would rejoice in himself, hath sorrow; but he who would rejoice in the Lord, shall ever rejoice, because God is everlasting. BEDE; He rejoiceth at hearing the Bridegroom's voice, who knows that he should not rejoice in his own wisdom, but in the wisdom which God giveth him. Whoever in his good works seeketh not his own glory, or praise, or earthly gain, but hath his affections set on heavenly things; this man is the friend of the Bridegroom.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 29","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"He must increase, but I must decrease.","excerpt":"CHRYS. He next dismisses the motions of envy, not only as regards the present, but also the future, saying, He must increase, but I must decrease: as if he said, My office hath ceased, and is ended; but His advanceth. AUG. What meaneth this, He must increase? God neither increases, nor decreases. And John and Jesus, according to the flesh, were of the same age: for the six months' difference between them is of no consequence. This is a great mystery. Before our Lord came, men gloried in themselves; He came in no man's nature, that the glory of man might be diminished, and the glory of God exalted. For He came to remit sins upon man's confession: a man's confession, a man's humility, is God's pity, God's exaltation. This truth Christ and John proved, even by their modes of suffering: John was beheaded, Christ was lifted up on the cross. Then Christ was born, when the days begin to lengthen; John, when they begin to shorten. Let God's glory then increase in us, and our own decrease, that ours also may increase in God. But it is because thou understandest God more and more, that He seemeth to increase in thee: for in His own nature He increaseth not, but is ever perfect: even as to a man cured of blindness, who beginneth to see a little, and daily seeth more, the light seemeth to increase, whereas it is in reality always at the fall, whether he seeth it or not. In like manner the inner man maketh advancement in God, and it seemeth as if God were increasing in Him; but it is He Himself that decreaseth, falling from the height of His own glory, and rising in the glory of God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 29","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxi.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14, section 5","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html#iii.xv-p9","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v30-augustine","ref":"John 3:30"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.30.2","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"He must increase, but I must decrease.","excerpt":"THEOPHYL. Or thus; As, on the sun rising, the light of the other heavenly bodies seems to be extinguished, though in reality it is only obscured by the greater light: thus the forerunner is said to decrease; as if he were a star hidden by the sun, Christ increases in proportion as he gradually discloses Himself by miracles; not in the sense of increase, or advancement in virtue, (the opinion of Nestorius,) but only as regards the manifestation of His divinity.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"CHRYS. As the worm gnaws wood, and rusts iron, so vainglory destroys the soul that cherishes it. But it is a most obstinate fault. John with all his arguments can hardly subdue it in his disciples: for after what he has said above, he saith yet again, He that cometh from above is above all: meaning, Ye extol my testimony, and say that the witness is more worthy to be believed, than He to whom he bears witness. Know this, that He who cometh from heaven, cannot be accredited by an earthly witness. He is above all; being perfect in Himself, and above comparison. THEOPHYL. Christ cometh from above, as descending from the Father; and is above all, as being elected in preference to all. ALCUIN. Or, cometh from above; i. e. from the height of that human nature which was before the sin of the first man. For it was that human nature which the Word of God assumed: He did not take upon Him man's sin, as He did his punishment.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 30, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html#iv.xxxii-p4","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"He that is of the earth is of the earth; i. e. is earthly, and speaketh of the earth, speaketh earthly things. CHRYS. And yet he was not altogether of the earth; for he had a soul, and partook of a spirit, which was not of the earth. What means he then by saying that he is of the earth? Only to express his own worthlessness, that he is one born on the earth, creeping on the ground, and not to be compared with Christ, Who cometh from above. Speaketh of the earth, does not mean that he spoke from his own under standing; but that, in comparison with Christ's doctrine, he spoke of the earth: as if he said, My doctrine is mean and humble, compared with Christ's; as becometh an earthly teacher, compared with Him, in Whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. AUG. Or, speaketh the earth, he saith of the man, i. e. of himself, so far as he speaks merely humanly. If he says ought divine, he is enlightened by God to say it: as saith the Apostle; Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. John then, so far as pertains to John, is of the earth, and speaketh of the earth: if ye hear ought divine from him, attribute it to the Enlightener, not to him who hath received the light.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 30","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Having corrected the bad feeling of his disciples, he comes to discourse more deeply upon Christ. Before this it would have been useless to reveal the truths which could not yet gain a place in their minds. It follows there fore, He that cometh from heaven. GLOSS. That is, from the Father. He is above all in two ways; first, in respect of His humanity, which was that of man before he sinned: secondly, in respect of the loftiness of the Father, to whom He is equal. CHRYS. But after this high and solemn mention of Christ, his tone lowers: And what he hath seen heard, that he testifieth. As our senses are our surest channels of knowledge, and teachers are most depended on who have apprehended by sight or hearing what they teach, John adds this argument in favour of Christ, that, what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth: meaning that every thing which He saith is true. I want, saith John, to hear what things He, Who cometh from above, hath seen and heard, i. e. what He, and He alone, knows with certainty.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 30","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.32-33.1","start":32,"end":33,"heading":"And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.","excerpt":"CHRYS. Having said, And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth, to prevent any from supposing, that what he said was false, because only a few for the present believed, he adds, And no man receiveth his testimony; i. e. only a few; for he had disciples who received his testimony. John is alluding to the unbelief of his own disciples, and to the insensibility of the Jews, of whom we read in the beginning of the Gospel, He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. AUG. Or thus; There is a people reserved for the wrath of God, and to be condemned with the devil; of whom none receiveth the testimony of Christ. And others there are ordained to eternal life. Mark how mankind are divided spiritually, though as human beings they are mixed up together: and John separated them by the thoughts of their heart, though as yet they were not divided in respect of place, and looked on them as two classes, the unbelievers, and the believers. Looking to the unbelievers, he saith, No man receiveth his testimony. Then turning to those on the right hand he saith, He that hath received his testimony, hath set to his seal. CHRYS. i. e. hath shewn that God true. This is to alarm them: for it is as much as saying, no one can disbelieve Christ without convicting God, Who sent Him, of falsehood: inasmuch as He speaks nothing but what is of the Father. For He, it follows, Whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God. ALCUIN. Or, Hath put to his seal, i. e. hath put a seal on his heart, for a singular and special token, that this is the true God, Who suffered for the salvation of mankind.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 30, section 2","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html#iv.xxxii-p18","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:32–33"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14, section 8","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html#iii.xv-p17","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-augustine","ref":"John 3:32–33"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.33-34.1","start":33,"end":34,"heading":"He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.","excerpt":"AUG. What is it, that God is true, except that God is true, and every man a liar? For no man can say what truth is, till he is enlightened by Him who cannot lie. God then is true, and Christ is God. Wouldest thou have proof? Hear His testimony, and thou wilt find it so. But if thou dost not yet understand God, thou hast not yet received His testimony. Christ then Himself is God the true, and God hath sent Him; God hath sent God, join both together; they are One God. For John saith, Whom God hath sent, to distinguish Christ from himself. What then, was not John himself sent by God? Yes; but mark what follows, For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. To men He giveth by measure, to His only Son He giveth not by measure. To one man is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge: one has one thing, another another; for measure implies a kind of division of gifts. But Christ did not receive by measure, though He gave by measure.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.","excerpt":"CHRYS. By Spirit here is meant the operation of the Holy Spirit. He wishes to shew that all of us have received the operation of the Spirit by measure, but that Christ contains within Himself the whole operation of the Spirit. How then shall He be suspected, Who saith nothing, but what is from God, and the Spirit? For He makes no mention yet of God the Word, but rests His doctrine on the authority of the Father and the Spirit. For men knew that there was God, and knew that there was the Spirit, (although they had not right belief about His nature;) but that there was the Son they did not know.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 30","exact":false,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxii.html","status":"detected","href":null,"ref":null}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.","excerpt":"AUG. Having said of the Son, God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him; he adds, The Father loveth the Son, and farther adds, and hath given all things into His hand; in order to shew that the Father loveth the Sort,, in a peculiar sense. For the Father loveth John, and Paul, and yet hath not given all things into their hands. But the Father loveth the Son, as the Son, not as a master his servant: as an only, not as an adopted, Son. Wherefore He hath given all things into His hand; so that, as great as the Father is, so great is the Son; let us not think then that, because He hath deigned to send the Son, any one inferior to the Father has been sent. THEOPHYL. The Father then hath given all things to the Son in respect of His divinity; of right, not of grace. Or; He hath given all things into His hand, in respect of His humanity: inasmuch as He is made Lord of all things that are in heaven, and that are in earth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft/catenaaureacomme04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14, section 11","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html#iii.xv-p25","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-augustine","ref":"John 3:35"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"catena.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"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.","excerpt":"ALCUIN. And because all things are in His hand, the life everlasting is too: and therefore it follows, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. BEDE. We must understand here not a faith in words only, but a faith which is developed in works. CHRYS. He means not here, that to believe on the Son is sufficient to gain everlasting life, for elsewhere He says, Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. And the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is of itself sufficient to send into hell. But we must not think that even a right belief on Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is sufficient for salvation; for we have need of a good life and conversation. Knowing then that the greater part are not moved so much by the promise of good, as by the threat of punishment, he concludes, But He that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. See how He refers to the Father again, when He speaketh of punishment. He saith not, the wrath of the Son, though the Son is judge; but maketh the Father the judge, in order to alarm men more. And He does not say, in Him, but on Him, meaning that it will never depart from Him; and for the same reason He says, shall not see life, e. to shew that He did not mean only a temporary death. AUG. Nor does He say, The wrath of God cometh to him, but, abideth on him. For all who are born, are under the wrath of God, which the first Adam incurred. The Son of God came without sin, and was clothed with mortality: He died that thou mightest live. Whosoever then will not believe on the Son, on him abideth the wrath of God, of which the Apostle speaks, We were by nature the children of wrath","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/catenaurecomment04thomuoft/catenaurecomment04thomuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[{"label":"CHRYS.","author":"John Chrysostom","where":"Homily 31, section 1","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.xxxiii.html#iv.xxxiii-p11","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v36-chrysostom","ref":"John 3:36"},{"label":"AUG.","author":"Augustine of Hippo","where":"Tractate 14, section 13","exact":true,"url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.xv.html#iii.xv-p28","status":"detected","href":"/jhn/3/#v36-augustine","ref":"John 3:36"}],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"calvin","author":"John Calvin","short_name":"Calvin","author_dates":"1509-1564","tradition":"Reformed","era":"Reformation","died":1564,"title":"Commentary on the Gospel According to John","edition_short":"Calvin Translation Society, tr. William Pringle, 1847","author_url":"/commentators/calvin/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/calvin/","entries":[{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"Now there was a man of the Pharisees","excerpt":"1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees. In the person of Nicodemus the Evangelist now exhibits to our view how vain and fleeting was the faith of those who, having been excited by miracles, suddenly professed to be the disciples of Christ. For since this man was of the order of the Pharisees, and held the rank of a ruler in his nation, he must have been far more excellent than others. The common people, for the most part, are light and unsteady; but who would not have thought that he who had learning and experience was also a wise and prudent man? Yet from Christ’s reply it is evident, that nothing was farther from his design in coming than a desire to learn the first principles of religion. If he who was a ruler among men is less than a child, what ought we to think of the multitude at large? Now though the design of the Evangelist was, to exhibit, as in a mirror, how few there were in Jerusalem who were properly disposed to receive the Gospel, yet, for other reasons, this narrative is highly useful to us; and especially because it instructs us concerning the depraved nature of mankind, what is the proper entrance into the school of Christ, and what must be the commencement of our training to make progress in the heavenly doctrine. For the sum of Christ’s discourse is, that, in order that we may be his true disciples, we must become new men. But, before proceeding farther, we must ascertain from the circumstances which are here detailed by the Evangelist, what were the obstacles which prevented Nicodemus from giving himself unreservedly to Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"He came to Jesus by night","excerpt":"2. He came to Jesus by night. From the circumstance of his coming by night we infer that his timidity was excessive; for his eyes were dazzled, as it were, by the splendor of his own greatness and reputation. Perhaps too he was hindered by shame, for ambitious men think that their reputation is utterly ruined, if they have once descended from the dignity of teachers to the rank of scholars; and he was unquestionably puffed up with a foolish opinion of his knowledge. In short, as he had a high opinion of himself, he was unwilling to lose any part of his elevation. And yet there appears in him some seed of piety; for hearing that a Prophet of God had appeared, he does not despise or spurn the doctrine which has been brought from heaven, and is moved by some desire to obtain it, — a desire which sprung from nothing else than fear and reverence for God. Many are tickled by an idle curiosity to inquire eagerly about any thing that is new, but there is no reason to doubt that it was religious principle and conscientious feeling that excited in Nicodemus the desire to gain a more intimate knowledge of the doctrine of Christ. And although that seed remained long concealed and apparently dead, yet after the death of Christ it yielded fruit, such as no man would ever have expected, (John 19:39.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.2.2","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"Rabbi, we know","excerpt":"Rabbi, we know. The meaning of these words is, “Master, we know that thou art come to be a teacher.” But as learned men, at that time, were generally called Masters, Nicodemus first salutes Christ according to custom, and gives him the ordinary designation, Rabbi, (which means Master, ) and afterwards declares that he was sent by God to perform the office of a Master. And on this principle depends all the authority of the teachers in the Church; for as it is only from the word of God that we must learn wisdom, we ought not to listen to any other persons than those by whose mouth God speaks. And it ought to be observed, that though religion was greatly corrupted and almost destroyed among the Jews, still they always held this principle, that no man was a lawful teacher, unless he had been sent by God. But as there are none who more haughtily and more daringly boast of having been sent by God than the false prophets do, we need discernment in this case for trying the spirits. Accordingly Nicodemus adds:","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.2.3","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"For no man can do the signs which thou doest, unless God be with him","excerpt":"For no man can do the signs which thou doest, unless God be with him. It is evident, he says, that Christ has been sent by God, because God displays his power in him so illustriously, that it cannot be denied that God is with him He takes for granted that God is not accustomed to work but by his ministers, so as to seal the office which he has entrusted to them. And he had good grounds for thinking so, because God always intended that miracles should be seals of his doctrine. Justly therefore does he make God the sole Author of miracles, when he says that no man can do these signs, unless God be with him; for what he says amounts to a declaration that miracles are not performed by the arm of man, but that the power of God reigns, and is illustriously displayed in them. In a word, as miracles have a twofold advantage, to prepare the mind for faith, and, when it has been formed by the word, to confirm it still more, Nicodemus had profited aright in the former part, because by miracles he recognizes Christ as a true prophet of God.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"Unless a man be born again","excerpt":"Though this discourse appears to be far-fetched and almost inappropriate, yet it was with the utmost propriety that Christ opened his discourse in this manner. For as it is useless to sow seed in a field which has not been prepared by the labors of the husbandman, so it is to no purpose to scatter the doctrine of the Gospel, if the mind has not been previously subdued and duly prepared for docility and obedience. Christ saw that the mind of Nicodemus was filled with many thorns, choked by many noxious herbs, so that there was scarcely any room for spiritual doctrine. This exhortation, therefore, resembled a ploughing to purify him, that nothing might prevent him from profiting by the doctrine. Let us, therefore, remember that this was spoken to one individual, in such a manner that the Son of God addresses all of us daily in the same language. For which of us will say that he is so free from sinful affections that he does not need such a purification? If, therefore, we wish to make good and useful progress in the school of Christ, let us learn to begin at this point.\n\nUnless a man be born again. That is, So long as thou art destitute of that which is of the highest importance in the kingdom of God, I care little about your calling me Master; for the first entrance into the kingdom of God is, to become a new man. But as this is a remarkable passage, it will be proper to survey every part of it minutely.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.3.2","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"To see the kingdom of God","excerpt":"To SEE the kingdom of God is of the same meaning as to enter into the kingdom of God, as we shall immediately perceive from the context. But they are mistaken who suppose that the kingdom of God means Heaven; for it rather means the spiritual life, which is begun by faith in this world, and gradually increases every day according to the continued progress of faith. So the meaning is, that no man can be truly united to the Church, so as to be reckoned among the children of God, until he has been previously renewed. This expression shows briefly what is the beginning of Christianity, and at the same time teaches us, that we are born exiles and utterly alienated from the kingdom of God, and that there is a perpetual state of variance between God and us, until he makes us altogether different by our being born again; for the statement is general, and comprehends the whole human race. If Christ had said to one person, or to a few individuals, that they could not enter into heaven, unless they had been previously born again, we might have supposed that it was only certain characters that were pointed out, but he speaks of all without exception; for the language is unlimited, and is of the same import with such universal terms as these: Whosoever shall not be born again cannot enter into the kingdom of God","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"How can a man be born when he is old?","excerpt":"4. How can a man be born when he is old? Though the form of expression which Christ employed was not contained in the Law and the prophets, yet as renewal is frequently mentioned in Scripture, and is one of the first principles of faith, it is evident how imperfectly skilled the Scribes at that time were in the reading of the Scriptures. It certainly was not one man only who was to blame for not knowing what was meant by the grace of regeneration; but as almost all devoted their attention to useless subtleties, what was of chief importance in the doctrine of piety was disregarded. Popery exhibits to us, at the present day, an instance of the same kind in her Theologians. For while they weary out their whole life with profound speculations, as to all that strictly relates to the worship of God, to the confident hope of our salvation, or to the exercises of religion, they know no more on these subjects than a cobbler or a cowherd knows about the course of the stars; and, what is more, taking delight in foreign mysteries, they openly despise the true doctrine of Scripture as unworthy of the elevated rank which belongs to them as teachers. We need not wonder, therefore, to find here that Nicodemus stumbles at a straw; for it is a just vengeance of God, that they who think themselves the highest and most excellent teachers, and in whose estimation the ordinary simplicity of doctrine is vile and despicable, stand amazed at small matters.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Unless a man be born of water","excerpt":"5. Unless a man be born of water. This passage has been explained in various ways. Some have thought that the two parts of regeneration are distinctly pointed out, and that by the word Water is denoted the renunciation of the old man, while by the Spirit they have understood the new life. Others think that there is an implied contrast, as if Christ intended to contrast Water and Spirit, which are pure and liquid elements, with the earthly and gross nature of man. Thus they view the language as allegorical, and suppose Christ to have taught that we ought to lay aside the heavy and ponderous mass of the flesh, and to become like water and air, that we may move upwards, or, at least, may not be so much weighed down to the earth. But both opinions appear to me to be at variance with the meaning of Christ.\n\nChrysostom, with whom the greater part of expounders agree, makes the word Water refer to baptism. The meaning would then be, that by baptism we enter into the kingdom of God, because in baptism we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. Hence arose the belief of the absolute necessity of baptism, in order to the hope of eternal life. But though we were to admit that Christ here speaks of baptism, yet we ought not to press his words so closely as to imagine that he confines salvation to the outward sign; but, on the contrary, he connects the Water with the Spirit, because under that visible symbol he attests and seals that newness of life which God alone produces in us by his Spirit. It is true that, by neglecting baptism, we are excluded from salvation; and in this sense I acknowledge that it is necessary; but it is absurd to speak of the hope of salvation as confined to the sign. So far as relates to this passage, I cannot bring myself to believe that Christ speaks of baptism; for it would have been inappropriate.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"","excerpt":"Accordingly, he employed the words Spirit and water to mean the same thing, and this ought not to be regarded as a harsh or forced interpretation; for it is a frequent and common way of speaking in Scripture, when the Spirit is mentioned, to add the word Water or Fire, expressing his power. We sometimes meet with the statement, that it is Christ who baptizeth with the Holy Ghost and with fire, (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16,) where fire means nothing different from the Spirit, but only shows what is his efficacy in us. As to the word water being placed first, it is of little consequence; or rather, this mode of speaking flows more naturally than the other, because the metaphor is followed by a plain and direct statement, as if Christ had said that no man is a son of God until he has been renewed by water, and that this water is the Spirit who cleanseth us anew and who, by spreading his energy over us, imparts to us the rigor of the heavenly life, though by nature we are utterly dry. And most properly does Christ, in order to reprove Nicodemus for his ignorance, employ a form of expression which is common in Scripture; for Nicodemus ought at length to have acknowledged, that what Christ had said was taken from the ordinary doctrine of the Prophets.\n\nBy water, therefore, is meant nothing more than the inward purification and invigoration which is produced by the Holy Spirit. Besides, it is not unusual to employ the word and instead of that is, when the latter clause is intended to explain the former. And the view which I have taken is supported by what follows; for when Christ immediately proceeds to assign the reason why we must be born again, without mentioning the water, he shows that the newness of life which he requires is produced by the Spirit alone; whence it follows, that water must not be separated from the Spirit","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":398,"text":"Matthew 3:11","label":"Matthew 3:11","href":"/mat/3/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":412,"text":"Luke 3:16","label":"Luke 3:16","href":"/luk/3/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"","excerpt":"But here it may be objected, that since the soul is not begotten by human generation, we are not born of the flesh, as to the chief part of our nature. This led many persons to imagine that not only our bodies, but our souls also, descend to us from our parents; for they thought it absurd that original sin, which has its peculiar habitation in the soul, should be conveyed from one man to all his posterity, unless all our souls proceeded from his soul as their source. And certainly, at first sight, the words of Christ appear to convey the idea, that we are flesh, because we are born of flesh. I answer, so far as relates to the words of Christ, they mean nothing else than that we are all carnal when we are born; and that as we come into this world mortal men, our nature relishes nothing but what is flesh. He simply distinguishes here between nature and the supernatural gift; for the corruption of all mankind in the person of Adam alone did not proceed from generation, but from the appointment of God, who in one man had adorned us all, and who has in him also deprived us of his gifts. Instead of saying, therefore, that each of us draws vice and corruption from his parents, it would be more correct to say that we are all alike corrupted in Adam alone, because immediately after his revolt God took away from human nature what He had bestowed upon it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.i.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"Wonder not","excerpt":"7. Wonder not. This passage has been tortured by commentators in various ways. Some think that Christ reproves the gross ignorance of Nicodemus and other persons of the same class, by saying that it is not wonderful, if they do not comprehend that heavenly mystery of regeneration, since even in the order of nature they do not perceive the reason of those things which fall under the cognizance of the senses. Others contrive a meaning which, though ingenious, is too much forced: that, “as the wind blows freely, so by the regeneration of the Spirit we are set at liberty, and, having been freed from the yoke of sin, run voluntarily to God. Equally removed from Christ’s meaning is the exposition given by Augustine, that the Spirit of God exerts his power according to his own pleasure. A better view is given by Chrysostom and Cyril, who say that the comparison is taken from the wind, and apply it thus to the present passage: though its power be felt, we know not its source and cause.” While I do not differ greatly from their opinion, I shall endeavor to explain the meaning of Christ with greater clearness and certainty.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.7.2","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"I hold by this principle, that Christ borrows a comparison from the order of nature. Nicodemus reckoned that what he had heard about regeneration and a new life was incredible, because the manner of this regeneration exceeded his capacity. To prevent him from entertaining any scruple of this sort, Christ shows that even in the bodily life there is displayed an amazing power of God, the reason of which is concealed. For all draw from the air their vital breath; we perceive the agitation of the air, but know not whence it comes to us or whither it departs. If in this frail and transitory life God acts so powerfully that we are constrained to admire his power, what folly is it to attempt to measure by the perception of our own mind his secret work in the heavenly and supernatural life, so as to believe no more than what we see? Thus Paul, when he breaks out into indignation against those who reject the doctrine of the resurrection, on the ground of its being impossible that the body which is now subject to putrefaction, after having been reduced to dust and to nothing, should be clothed with a blessed immortality, reproaches them for stupidity in not considering that a similar display of the power of God may be seen in a grain of wheat; for the seed does not spring until it; has been putrefied, (1 Corinthians 15:36, 37.) This is the astonishing wisdom of which David exclaims,\n\nO Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all, (Psalm 104:24)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1314,"text":"1 Corinthians 15:36, 37","label":"1 Corinthians 15:36–37","href":"/1co/15/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"The wind bloweth where it pleaseth","excerpt":"8. The wind bloweth where it pleaseth. Not that, strictly speaking, there is will in the blowing, but because the agitation is free, and uncertain, and variable; for the air is carried sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another. How this applies to the case in hand; for if it flowed in a uniform motion like water, it would be less miraculous.\n\nSo is every one that is born of the Spirit. Christ means that the movement and operation of the Spirit of God is not less perceptible in the renewal of man than the motion of the air in this earthly and outward life, but that the manner of it is concealed; and that, therefore, we are ungrateful and malicious, if we do not adore the inconceivable power of God in the heavenly life, of which we behold so striking an exhibition in this world, and if we ascribe to him less in restoring the salvation of our soul than in upholding the bodily frame. The application will be somewhat more evident, if you turn the sentence in this manner: Such is the power and efficacy of the Holy Spirit in the renewed man","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"How can these things be?","excerpt":"9. How can these things be? We see what is the chief obstacle in the way of Nicodemus. Every thing that he hears appears monstrous, because he does not understand the manner of it; so that there is no greater obstacle to us than our own pride; that is, we always wish to be wise beyond what is proper, and therefore we reject with diabolical pride every thing that is not explained to our reason; as if it were proper to limit the infinite power of God to our poor capacity. We are, indeed, permitted, to a certain extent, to inquire into the manner and reason of the works of God, provided that we do so with sobriety and reverence; but Nicodemus rejects it as a fable, on this ground, that he does not believe it to be possible. On this subject we shall treat more fully under the Sixth Chapter.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"Thou art a teacher of Israel","excerpt":"10. Thou art a teacher of Israel. As Christ sees that he is spending his time and pains to no purpose in teaching so proud a man, he begins to reprove him sharply. And certainly such persons will never make any progress, until the wicked confidence, with which they are puffed up, be removed. This is, very properly, placed first in order; for in the very matter in which he chiefly plumes himself on his acuteness and sagacity, Christ censures his ignorance. He thought, that not to admit a thing to be possible would be considered a proof of gravity and intelligence, because that man is accounted foolishly credulous who assents to what is told him by another, before he has fully inquired into the reason. But still Nicodemus, with all his magisterial haughtiness, exposes himself to ridicule by more than childish hesitation about the first principles. Such hesitation, certainly, is base and shameful. For what religion have we, what knowledge of God, what rule of living well, what hope of eternal life, if we do not believe that man is renewed by the Spirit of God? There is an emphasis, therefore, in the word these; for since Scripture frequently repeats this part of doctrine, it ought not to be unknown even to the lowest class of beginners. It is utterly beyond endurance that any man should be ignorant and unskilled in it, who professes to be a teacher in the Church of God.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"We speak what we know","excerpt":"11. We speak what we know. Some refer this to Christ and John the Baptist; others say that the plural number is used instead of the singular. For my own part, I have no doubt that Christ mentions himself in connection with all the prophets of God, and speaks generally in the person of all. Philosophers and other vain-glorious teachers frequently bring forward trifles which they have themselves invented; but Christ claims it as peculiar to himself and all the servants of God, that they deliver no doctrine but what is certain. For God does not send ministers to prattle about things that are unknown or doubtful, but trains them in his school, that what they have learned from himself they may afterwards deliver to others. Again, as Christ, by this testimony, recommends to us the certainty of his doctrine, so he enjoins on all his ministers a law of modesty, not to put forward their own dreams or conjectures — not to preach human inventions, which have no solidity in theme but to render a faithful and pure testimony to God. Let every man, therefore, see what the Lord has revealed to him, that no man may go beyond the bounds of his faith; and, lastly, that no man may allow himself to speak any thing but what he has heard from the Lord. It ought to be observed, likewise, that Christ here confirms his doctrine by an oath, that it may have full authority over us.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.11.2","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"You receive not our testimony","excerpt":"You receive not our testimony. This is added, that the Gospel may lose nothing on account of the ingratitude of men. For since few persons are to be found who exercise faith in the truth of God, and since the truth is everywhere rejected by the world, we ought to defend it against contempt, that its majesty may not be held in less estimation, because the whole world despises it, and obscures it by impiety. Now though the meaning of the words be simple and one, still we must draw from this passage a twofold doctrine. The first is, that our faith in the Gospel may not be weakened, if it have few disciples on the earth; as if Christ had said, Though you do not receive my doctrine, it remains nevertheless certain and durable; for the unbelief of men will never prevent God from remaining always true. The other is, that they who, in the present day, disbelieve the Gospel, will not escape with impunity, since the truth of God is holy and sacred. We ought to be fortified with this shield, that we may persevere in obedience to the Gospel in opposition to the obstinacy of men. True indeed, we must hold by this principle, that our faith be founded on God. But when we have God as our security, we ought, like persons elevated above the heavens, boldly to tread the whole world under our feet, or regard it with lofty disdain, rather than allow the unbelief of any persons whatever to fill us with alarm. As to the complaint which Christ makes, that his testimony is not received, we learn from it, that the word of God has, in all ages, been distinguished by this peculiar feature, that they who believed it were few; for the expression — you receive not — belongs to the greater number, and almost to the whole body of the people. There is no reason, therefore, that we should now be discouraged, if the number of those who believe be small.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"If I have told you earthly things","excerpt":"12. If I have told you earthly things. Christ concludes that it ought to be laid to the charge of Nicodemus and others, if they do not make progress in the doctrine of the Gospel; for he shows that the blame does not lie with him, that all are not properly instructed, since he comes down even to the earth, that he may raise us to heaven. It is too common a fault that men desire to be taught in an ingenious and witty style. Hence, the greater part of men are so delighted with lofty and abstruse speculations. Hence, too, many hold the Gospel in less estimation, because they do not find in it high-sounding words to fill their ears, and on this account do not deign to bestow their attention on a doctrine so low and mean. But it shows an extraordinary degree of wickedness, that we yield less reverence to God speaking to us, because he condescends to our ignorance; and, therefore, when God prattles to us in Scripture in a rough and popular style, let us know that this is done on account of the love which he bears to us. Whoever exclaims that he is offended by such meanness of language, or pleads it as an excuse for not subjecting himself to the word of God, speaks falsely; for he who cannot endure to embrace God, when he approaches to him, will still less fly to meet him above the clouds.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Earthly things","excerpt":"Earthly things. Some explain this to mean the elements of spiritual doctrine; for self-denial may be said to be the commencement of piety. But I rather agree with those who refer it to the form of instruction; for, though the whole of Christ’s discourse was heavenly, yet he spoke in a manner so familiar, that the style itself had some appearance of being earthly. Besides, these words must not be viewed as referring exclusively to a single sermon; for Christ’s ordinary method of teaching — that is, a popular simplicity of style — is here contrasted with the pompous and high-sounding phrases to which ambitious men are too strongly addicted.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.ii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"No one hath ascended to heaven","excerpt":"13. No one hath ascended to heaven. He again exhorts Nicodemus not to trust to himself and his own sagacity, because no mortal man can, by his own unaided powers, enter into heaven, but only he who goes thither under the guidance of the Son of God. For to ascend to heaven means here, “to have a pure knowledge of the mysteries of God, and the light of spiritual understanding.” For Christ gives here the same instruction which is given by Paul, when he declares that\n\nthe sensual man does not comprehend the things which are of God, (1 Corinthians 2:14;)\n\nand, therefore, he excludes from divine things all the acuteness of the human understanding, for it is far below God.\n\nBut we must attend to the words, that Christ alone, who is heavenly, ascends to heaven, but that the entrance is closed against all others. For, in the former clause, he humbles us, when he excludes the whole world from heaven. Paul enjoins\n\nthose who are desirous to be wise with God to be fools with themselves, (1 Corinthians 3:18.)\n\nThere is nothing which we do with greater reluctance. For this purpose we ought to remember, that all our senses fail and give way when we come to God; but, after having shut us out from heaven, Christ quickly proposes a remedy, when he adds, that what was denied to all others is granted to the Son of God. And this too is the reason why he calls himself the Son of man, that we may not doubt that we have an entrance into heaven in common with him who clothed himself with our flesh, that he might make us partakers of all blessings. Since, therefore, he is the Father’s only Counselor, (Isaiah 9:6,) he admits us into those secrets which otherwise would have remained in concealment.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":535,"text":"1 Corinthians 2:14","label":"1 Corinthians 2:14","href":"/1co/2/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":991,"text":"1 Corinthians 3:18","label":"1 Corinthians 3:18","href":"/1co/3/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":1603,"text":"Isaiah 9:6","label":"Isaiah 9:6","href":"/isa/9/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.13.2","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Who is in heaven","excerpt":"Who is in heaven. It may be thought absurd to say that he is in heaven, while he still dwells on the earth. If it be replied, that this is true in regard to his Divine nature, the mode of expression means something else, namely, that while he was man, he was in heaven. It might be said that no mention is here made of any place, but that Christ is only distinguished from others, in regard to his condition, because he is the heir of the kingdom of God, from which the whole human race is banished; but, as it very frequently happens, on account of the unity of the Person of Christ, that what properly belongs to one nature is applied to another, we ought not to seek any other solution. Christ, therefore, who is in heaven, hath clothed himself with our flesh, that, by stretching out his brotherly hand to us, he may raise us to heaven along with him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.14-15.1","start":14,"end":15,"heading":"And as Moses lifted up the serpent","excerpt":"14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent. He explains more clearly why he said that it is he alone to whom heaven is opened; namely, that he brings to heaven all who are only willing to follow him as their guide; for he testifies that he will be openly and publicly manifested to all, that he may diffuse his power over men of every class. To be lifted up means to be placed in a lofty and elevated situation, so as to be exhibited to the view of all. This was done by the preaching of the Gospel; for the explanation of it which some give, as referring to the cross, neither agrees with the context nor is applicable to the present subject. The simple meaning of the words therefore is, that, by the preaching of the Gospel, Christ was to be raised on high, like a standard to which the eyes of all would be directed, as Isaiah had foretold, (Isaiah 2:2.) As a type of this lifting up, he refers to the brazen serpent, which was erected by Moses, the sight of which was a salutary remedy to those who had been wounded by the deadly bite of serpents. The history of that transaction is well known, and is detailed in Numbers 21:9. Christ introduces it in this passage, in order to show that he must be placed before the eyes of all by the doctrine of the Gospel, that all who look at him by faith may obtain salvation. Hence it ought to be inferred that Christ is clearly exhibited to us in the Gospel, in order that no man may complain of obscurity; and that this manifestation is common to all, and that faith has its own look, by which it perceives him as present; as Paul tells us that a lively portrait of Christ with his cross is exhibited, when he is truly preached, (Galatians 3:1.)","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":842,"text":"Isaiah 2:2","label":"Isaiah 2:2","href":"/isa/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1115,"text":"Numbers 21:9","label":"Numbers 21:9","href":"/num/21/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.14-15.2","start":14,"end":15,"heading":"","excerpt":"The metaphor is not inappropriate or far-fetched. As it was only the outward appearance of a serpent, but contained nothing within that was pestilential or venomous, so Christ clothed himself with the form of sinful flesh, which yet was pure and free from all sin, that he might cure in us the deadly wound of sin. It was not in vain that, when the Jews were wounded by serpents, the Lord formerly prepared this kind of antidote; and it tended to confirm the discourse which Christ delivered. For when he saw that he was despised as a mean and unknown person, he could produce nothing more appropriate than the lifting up of the serpent, to tell them, that they ought not to think it strange, if, contrary to the expectation of men, he were lifted up on high from the very lowest condition, because this had already been shadowed out under the Law by the type of the serpent.\n\nA question now arises: Does Christ compare himself to the serpent, because there is some resemblance; or, does he pronounce it to have been a sacrament, as the Manna was? For though the Manna was bodily food, intended for present use, yet Paul testifies that it was a spiritual mystery, (1 Corinthians 10:3.) I am led to think that this was also the case with the brazen serpent, both by this passage, and the fact of its being preserved for the future, until the superstition of the people had converted it into an idol, (2 Kings 18:4.) If any one form a different opinion, I do not debate the point with him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1165,"text":"1 Corinthians 10:3","label":"1 Corinthians 10:3","href":"/1co/10/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1400,"text":"2 Kings 18:4","label":"2 Kings 18:4","href":"/2ki/18/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"For God so loved the world","excerpt":"16. For God so loved the world. Christ opens up the first cause, and, as it were, the source of our salvation, and he does so, that no doubt may remain; for our minds cannot find calm repose, until we arrive at the unmerited love of God. As the whole matter of our salvation must not be sought any where else than in Christ, so we must see whence Christ came to us, and why he was offered to be our Savior. Both points are distinctly stated to us: namely, that faith in Christ brings life to all, and that Christ brought life, because the Heavenly Father loves the human race, and wishes that they should not perish. And this order ought to be carefully observed; for such is the wicked ambition which belongs to our nature, that when the question relates to the origin of our salvation, we quickly form diabolical imaginations about our own merits. Accordingly, we imagine that God is reconciled to us, because he has reckoned us worthy that he should look upon us. But Scripture everywhere extols his pure and unmingled mercy, which sets aside all merits.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"","excerpt":"And the words of Christ mean nothing else, when he declares the cause to be in the love of God. For if we wish to ascend higher, the Spirit shuts the door by the mouth of Paul, when he informs us that this love was founded on the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:5.) And, indeed, it is very evident that Christ spoke in this manner, in order to draw away men from the contemplation of themselves to look at the mercy of God alone. Nor does he say that God was moved to deliver us, because he perceived in us something that was worthy of so excellent a blessing, but ascribes the glory of our deliverance entirely to his love. And this is still more clear from what follows; for he adds, that God gave his Son to men, that they may not perish. Hence it follows that, until Christ bestow his aid in rescuing the lost, all are destined to eternal destruction. This is also demonstrated by Paul from a consideration of the time;\n\nfor he loved us while we were still enemies by sin, (Romans 5:8, 10.)\n\nAnd, indeed, where sin reigns, we shall find nothing but the wrath of God, which draws death along with it. It is mercy, therefore, that reconciles us to God, that he may likewise restore us to life.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":252,"text":"Ephesians 1:5","label":"Ephesians 1:5","href":"/eph/1/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":980,"text":"Romans 5:8, 10","label":"Romans 5:8","href":"/rom/5/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":980,"text":"Romans 5:8, 10","label":"Romans 5:10","href":"/rom/5/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.16.3","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"That whosoever believeth on him may not perish","excerpt":"That whosoever believeth on him may not perish. It is a remarkable commendation of faith, that it frees us from everlasting destruction. For he intended expressly to state that, though we appear to have been born to death, undoubted deliverance is offered to us by the faith of Christ; and, therefore, that we ought not to fear death, which otherwise hangs over us. And he has employed the universal term whosoever, both to invite all indiscriminately to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the import of the term World, which he formerly used; for though nothing will be found in the world that is worthy of the favor of God, yet he shows himself to be reconciled to the whole world, when he invites all men without exception to the faith of Christ, which is nothing else than an entrance into life.\n\nLet us remember, on the other hand, that while life is promised universally to all who believe in Christ, still faith is not common to all. For Christ is made known and held out to the view of all, but the elect alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith. Here, too, is displayed a wonderful effect of faith; for by it we receive Christ such as he is given to us by the Father — that is, as having freed us from the condemnation of eternal death, and made us heirs of eternal life, because, by the sacrifice of his death, he has atoned for our sins, that nothing may prevent God from acknowledging us as his sons. Since, therefore, faith embraces Christ, with the efficacy of his death and the fruit of his resurrection, we need not wonder if by it we obtain likewise the life of Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world","excerpt":"17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world. It is a confirmation of the preceding statement; for it was not in vain that God sent his own Son to us. He came not to destroy; and therefore it follows, that it is the peculiar office of the Son of God, that all who believe may obtain salvation by him. There is now no reason why any man should be in a state of hesitation, or of distressing anxiety, as to the manner in which he may escape death, when we believe that it was the purpose of God that Christ should deliver us from it. The word world is again repeated, that no man may think himself wholly excluded, if he only keep the road of faith.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"He who believeth in him is not condemned","excerpt":"18. He who believeth in him is not condemned. When he so frequently and so earnestly repeats, that all believers are beyond danger of death, we may infer from it the great necessity of firm and assured confidence, that the conscience may not be kept perpetually in a state of trembling and alarm. He again declares that, when we have believed, there is no remaining condemnation, which he will afterwards explain more fully in the Fifth Chapter. The present tense — is not condemned — is here used instead of the future tense — shall not be condemned — according to the custom of the Hebrew language; for he means that believers are safe from the fear of condemnation.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"And this is the condemnation","excerpt":"19. And this is the condemnation He meets the murmurs and complaints, by which wicked men are wont to censure — what they imagine to be the excessive rigour of God, when he acts towards them with greater severity than they expected. All think it harsh that they who do not believe in Christ should be devoted to destruction. That no man may ascribe his condemnation to Christ, he shows that every man ought to impute the blame to himself. The reason is, that unbelief is a testimony of a bad conscience; and hence it is evident that it is their own wickedness which hinders unbelievers from approaching to Christ. Some think that he points out here nothing more than the mark of condemnation; but, the design of Christ is, to restrain the wickedness of men, that they may not, according to their custom, dispute or argue with God, as if he treated them unjustly, when he punishes unbelief with eternal death. He shows that such a condemnation is just, and is not liable to any reproaches, not only because those men act wickedly, who prefer darkness to light, and refuse the light which is freely offered to them, but because that hatred of the light arises only from a mind that is wicked and conscious of its guilt. A beautiful appearance and lustre of holiness may indeed be found in many, who, after all, oppose the Gospel; but, though they appear to be holier than the angels, there is no room to doubt that they are hypocrites, who reject the doctrine of Christ for no other reason than because they love their lurking-places by which their baseness may be concealed. Since, therefore, hypocrisy alone renders men hateful to God, all are held convicted, because were it not that, blinded by pride, they delight in their crimes, they would readily and willingly receive the doctrine of the Gospel.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"For whosoever doeth what is evil","excerpt":"20. For whosoever doeth what is evil. The meaning is, that the light is hateful to them for no other reason than because they are wicked and desire to conceal their sins, as far as lies in their power. Hence it follows that, by rejecting the remedy, they may be said purposely to cherish the ground of their condemnation. We are greatly mistaken, therefore, if we suppose that they who are enraged against the Gospel are actuated by godly zeal, when, on the contrary, they abhor and shun the light, that they may more freely flatter themselves in darkness.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"But he who doeth truth","excerpt":"21. But he who doeth truth This appears to be an improper and absurd statement, unless you choose to admit that some are upright and true, before they have been renewed by the Spirit of God, which does not at all agree with the uniform doctrine of Scripture; for we know that faith is the root from which the fruits of good works spring. To solve this difficulty, Augustine says, that to do truth means “to acknowledge that we are miserable and destitute of all power of doing good;” and, certainly, it is a true preparation for faith, when a conviction of our poverty compels us to flee to the grace of God. But all this is widely removed from Christ’s meaning, for he intended simply to say that those who act sincerely desire nothing more earnestly than light, that their works may be tried; because, when such a trial has been made, it becomes more evident that, in the sight of God, they speak the truth and are free from all deceit. Now it would be inconclusive reasoning, were we to infer from this, that men have a good conscience before they have faith; for Christ does not say that the elect believe, so as to deserve the praise of good works, but only what unbelievers would do, if they had not a bad conscience.\n\nChrist employed the word truth, because, when we are deceived by the outward lustre of works, we do not consider what is concealed within. Accordingly, he says, that men who are upright and free from hypocrisy willingly go into the presence of God, who alone is the competent Judge of our works. For those works are said to be done in God or according to God, which are approved by Him, and which are good according to His rule. Hence let us learn that we must not judge of works in any other way than by bringing them to the light of the Gospel, because our reason is wholly blind.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.22-23.1","start":22,"end":23,"heading":"After these things came Jesus","excerpt":"22. After these things came Jesus. It is probable that Christ, when the feast was past, came into that part of Judea which was in the vicinity of the town Enon, which was situated in the tribe of Manasseh. The Evangelist says that there were many waters there, and these were not so abundant in Judea. Now geographers tell us, that these two towns, Enon and Salim, were not far from the confluence of the river Jordan and the brook Jabbok; and they add that Scythopolis was near them. From these words, we may infer that John and Christ administered baptism by plunging the whole body beneath the water; though we ought not to give ourselves any great uneasiness about the outward rite, provided that it agree with the spiritual truth, and with the Lord’s appointment and rule. So far as we are able to conjecture, the; vicinity of those places caused various reports to be circulated, and many discussions to arise, about the Law, about the worship of God, and about the condition of the Church, in consequence of two persons who administered baptism having arisen at the same time. For when the Evangelist says that Christ baptized, I refer this to the commencement of his ministry; namely, that he then began to exercise publicly the office which was appointed to him by the Father. And though Christ did this by his disciples, yet he is here named as the Author of the baptism, without mentioning his ministers, who did nothing but in his name and by his command. On this subject, we shall have something more to say in the beginning of the next Chapter.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"A question then arose","excerpt":"25. A question then arose. Not without a good reason does the Evangelist relate that a question arose from the disciples of John; for just in proportion as they were ill-informed about doctrine, they are so much the more eager to enter into debate, as ignorance is always bold and presumptuous. If others had attacked them, they might have been excused; but when they themselves, though unfit to maintain the contest, voluntarily provoke the Jews, it is a rash and foolish proceeding. Now the words mean, that “the question was raised by them;” and not only were they to blame for taking up a matter which they did not understand, and speaking about it rashly and beyond the measure of their knowledge; but another fault — not less than the former — was, that they did not so much intend to maintain the lawfulness of Baptism as to defend the cause of their master, that his authority might remain unimpaired. In both respects, they deserved reproof, because, not understanding what was the real nature of Baptism, they expose the holy ordinance of God to ridicule, and because, by sinful ambition, they undertake to defend the cause of their master against Christ.\n\nIt is evident, therefore, that they were astonished and confounded by a single word, when it was represented to them that Christ also was baptizing; for while their attention was directed to the person of a man, and to outward appearance, they gave themselves less concern about the doctrine. We are taught, by their example, into what mistakes those men fall who are actuated by a sinful desire to please men rather than by a zeal for God; and we are likewise reminded that the single object which we ought to have in view and to promote by all means is, that Christ alone may have the pre-eminence.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"To whom thou gavest testimony","excerpt":"26. To whom thou gavest testimony. By this argument they endeavor either to make Christ inferior to John, or to show that John, by doing him honor, had laid him under obligations; for they reckon that John conferred a favor on Christ by adorning him with such honorable titles. As if it had not been the duty of John to make such a proclamation, or rather, as if it had not been John’s highest dignity to be the herald of the Son of God. Nothing could have been more unreasonable than to make Christ inferior to John, because his testimony was highly favorable; for we know what John’s testimony was. The expression which they use — all men come to Christ — is the language of envious persons, and proceeds from sinful ambition; for they are afraid that the crowd will immediately forsake their master.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"A man cannot receive any thing","excerpt":"27. A man cannot receive any thing. Some refer these words to Christ, as if John accused the disciples of wicked presumption in opposition to God, by endeavoring to deprive Christ of what the Father had given to him. They suppose the meaning to be this: “That within so short a time he has risen to so great honor, is the work of God; and therefore it is in vain for you to attempt to degrade him whom God with his own hand has raised on high.” Others think that it is an exclamation into which he indignantly breaks forth, because his disciples had hitherto made so little progress. And certainly it was excessively absurd that they should still endeavor to reduce to the rank of ordinary men him who, they had so often heard, was the Christ, that he might not rise above his own servants; and, therefore, John might justly have said that it is useless to spend time in instructing men, because they are dull and stupid, until they are renewed in mind.\n\nBut I rather agree with the opinion of those who explain it as applying to John, as asserting that it is not in his power, or in theirs, to make him great, because the measure of us all is to be what God intended us to be. For if even the Son of God took not that honour to himself, (Hebrews 5:4,) what man of the ordinary rank would venture to desire more than what the Lord has given him? This single thought, if it were duly impressed on the minds of us all, would be abundantly sufficient for restraining ambition; and were ambition corrected and destroyed, the plague of contentions would likewise be removed. How comes it then, that every man exalts himself more than is proper, but because we do not depend on the Lord, so as to be satisfied with the rank which he assigns to us?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1239,"text":"Hebrews 5:4","label":"Hebrews 5:4","href":"/heb/5/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"You are witnesses to me","excerpt":"28. You are witnesses to me. John expostulates with his disciples that they did not give credit to his statements. He had often warned them that he was not the Christ; and, therefore, it only remained that he should be a servant and subject to the Son of God along with others. And this passage is worthy of notice; for, by affirming that he is not the Christ, he reserves nothing for himself but to be subject to the head, and to serve in the Church as one of the rest, and not to be so highly exalted as to obscure the honor of the Head. He says that he was sent before, to prepare the way for Christ, as kings are wont to have heralds or forerunners.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.v.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"He who hath the bride","excerpt":"29. He who hath the bride. By this comparison, he confirms more fully the statement, that it is Christ alone who is excluded from the ordinary rank of men. For as he who marries a wife does not call and invite his friends to the marriage, in order to prostitute the bride to them, or, by giving up his own rights, to allow them to partake with him of the nuptial bed, but rather that the marriage, being honored by them, may be rendered more sacred; so Christ does not call his ministers to the office of teaching, in order that, by conquering the Church, they may claim dominion over it, but that he may make use of their faithful labors for associating them with himself. It is a great and lofty distinction, that men are appointed over the Church, to represent the person of the Son of God. They are, therefore, like the friends whom the bridegroom brings with him, that they may accompany him in celebrating the marriage; but we must attend to the distinction, that ministers, being mindful of their rank, may not appropriate to themselves what belongs exclusively to the bridegroom The whole amounts to this, that all the eminence which teachers may possess among themselves ought not to hinder Christ from ruling alone in his Church, or from governing it alone by his word.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"","excerpt":"This comparison frequently occurs in Scripture, when the Lord intends to express the sacred bond of adoption, by which he binds us to himself. For as he offers himself to be truly enjoyed by us, that he may be ours, so he justly claims from us that mutual fidelity and love which the wife owes to her husband. This marriage is entirely fulfilled in Christ, whose flesh and bones we are, as Paul informs us, (Ephesians 5:30.) The chastity demanded by him consists chiefly in the obedience of the Gospel, that we may not suffer ourselves to be led aside from its pure simplicity, as the same Apostle teaches us, (2 Corinthians 11:2, 3.) We must, therefore, be subject to Christ alone, he must be our only Head, we must not turn aside a hair’s-breadth from the simple doctrine of the Gospel, he alone must have the highest glory, that he may retain the right and authority of being a bridegroom to us.\n\nBut what are ministers to do? Certainly, the Son of God calls them, that they may perform their duty to him in conducting the sacred marriage; and, therefore, their duty is, to take care, in every way, that the spouse — who is committed to their charge — may be presented by them as a chaste virgin to her husband; which Paul, in the passage already quoted, boasts of having done. But they who draw the Church to themselves rather than to Christ are guilty of basely violating the marriage which they ought to have honored. And the greater the honor which Christ confers on us, by making us the guardians of his spouse, so much the more heinous is our want of fidelity, if we do not endeavor to maintain and defend his right.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":408,"text":"Ephesians 5:30","label":"Ephesians 5:30","href":"/eph/5/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":611,"text":"2 Corinthians 11:2, 3","label":"2 Corinthians 11:2–3","href":"/2co/11/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.29.3","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"This my joy therefore is fulfilled","excerpt":"This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He means that he has obtained the fulfillment of all his desires, and that he has nothing further to wish, when he sees Christ reigning, and men listening to him as he deserves. Whoever shall have such affections that, laying aside all regard to himself, he shall extol Christ and be satisfied with seeing Christ honored, will be faithful and successful in ruling the Church; but, whoever shall swerve from that end in the slightest degree will be a base adulterer, and will do nothing else than corrupt the spouse of Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"He must increase","excerpt":"30. He must increase. John the Baptist proceeds farther; for, having formerly been raised by the Lord to the highest dignity, he shows that this was only for a time, but now that the Sun of Righteousness, (Malachi 4:2) has arisen, he must give way; and, therefore, he not only scatters and drives away the empty fumes of honor which had been rashly and ignorantly heaped upon him by men, but also is exceedingly careful that the true and lawful honor which the Lord had bestowed on him may not obscure the glory of Christ. Accordingly, he tells us that the reason why he had been hitherto accounted a great Prophet was, that for a time only he was placed in so lofty a station, until Christ came, to whom he must surrender his office. In the meantime, he declares that he will most willingly endure to be reduced to nothing, provided that Christ occupy and fill the whole world with his rays; and this zeal of John all pastors of the Church ought to imitate by stooping with the head and shoulders to elevate Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":206,"text":"Malachi 4:2","label":"Malachi 4:2","href":"https://openwordbible.org/mal/4/","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"He who cometh from above","excerpt":"31. He who cometh from above. By another comparison he shows how widely Christ differs from all the rest, and how far he is above them; for he compares him to a king or distinguished general, who, speaking from his lofty seat, ought to be heard with reverence for his authority, but shows that it is enough for himself to speak from the lowest footstool of Christ. In the second clause the old Latin translation has only once the words, is of the earth; but the Greek manuscripts agree in repeating the words twice. I suspect that ignorant men considered the repetition to be superfluous, and therefore erased it; but the meaning is: he who is of earth gives evidence of his descent, and remains in an earthly rank according to the condition of his nature. He maintains that it is peculiar to Christ alone to speak from above, because he came from heaven","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"","excerpt":"But it may be asked, Did not John also come from heaven, as to his calling and office, and was it not therefore the duty of men to hear the Lord speaking by his mouth? For he appears to do injustice to the heavenly doctrine which he delivers. I reply, this was not said absolutely, but by comparison. If ministers be separately considered, they speak as from heaven, with the highest authority, what God commanded them; but, as soon as they begin to be contrasted with Christ, they must no longer be anything. Thus the Apostle, comparing the Law with the Gospel, says,\n\nSince they escaped not who despised him that spoke on earth, beware lest you despise him who is from heaven, (Hebrews 12:25.)\n\nChrist, therefore, wishes to be acknowledged in his ministers, but in such a manner that he may remain the only Lord, and that they may be satisfied with the rank of servants; but especially when a comparison is made, he wishes to be so distinguished that he alone may be exalted.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":680,"text":"Hebrews 12:25","label":"Hebrews 12:25","href":"/heb/12/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"And what he hath seen and heard","excerpt":"32. And what he hath seen and heard. John proceeds in the discharge of his office; for, in order to procure disciples for Christ, he commends Christ’s doctrine as certain, because he utters nothing but what he has received from the Father. Seeing and hearing are contrasted with doubtful opinions, unfounded rumors, and every kind of falsehoods; for he means that Christ teaches nothing but what has been fully ascertained. But some one will say that little credit is due to him who has nothing but what he has heard. I reply, this word denotes that Christ has been taught by the Father, so that he brings forward nothing but what is divine, or, in other words, what has been revealed to him by God.\n\nNow this belongs to the whole person of Christ, so far as the Father sent him into the world as His ambassador and interpreter. He afterwards charges the world with ingratitude, in basely and wickedly rejecting such an undoubted and faithful interpreter of God. In this way he meets the offense which might cause many to turn aside from the faith, and might hinder or retard the progress of many; for, as we are accustomed to depend too much on the judgment of the world, a considerable number of persons judge of the Gospel by the contempt of the world, or at least, where they see it everywhere rejected, they are prejudiced by that event, and are rendered more unwilling and more slow to believe. And, therefore, whenever we see such obstinacy in the world, let this admonition hold us in constant obedience to the Gospel, that it is truth which came from God. When he says that NO-MAN, receiveth his testimony, he means that there are very few and almost no believers, when compared with the vast crowd of unbelievers.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"But he who receiveth his testimony","excerpt":"33. But he who receiveth his testimony. Here he exhorts and encourages the godly to embrace boldly the doctrine of the Gospel, as if he had said that there was no reason why they should be ashamed or uneasy on account of their small number, since they have God as the Author of their faith, who alone abundantly supplies to us the place of all the rest. And, therefore, though the whole world should refuse or withhold faith in the Gospel, this ought not to prevent good men from giving their assent to God. They have something on which they may safely rest, when they know that to believe the Gospel is nothing else than to assent to the truths which God has revealed. Meanwhile, we learn that it is peculiar to faith to rely on God, and to be confirmed by his words; for there can be no assent, unless God have, first of all, come forward and spoken. By this doctrine faith is not only distinguished from all human inventions, but likewise from doubtful and wavering opinions; for it must correspond to the truth of God, which is free from all doubt, and therefore, as God cannot lie, it would be absurd that faith should waver. Fortified by this defense, whatever contrivances Satan may employ in his attempts to disturb and shake us, we shall always remain victorious.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.33.2","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"","excerpt":"Hence, too, we are reminded how acceptable and precious a sacrifice in the sight of God faith is. As nothing is more dear to him than his truth, so we cannot render to him more acceptable worship than when we acknowledge by our faith that He is true, for then we ascribe that honor which truly belongs to him. On the other hand, we cannot offer to him a greater insult than not to believe the Gospel; for he cannot be deprived of his truth without taking away all his glory and majesty. His truth is in some sort closely linked with the Gospel, and it is his will that there it should be recognized. Unbelievers, therefore, as far as lies in their power, leave to God nothing whatever; not that their wickedness overthrows the faithfulness of God, but because they do not hesitate to charge God with falsehood. If we are not harder than stones, this lofty title by which faith is adorned ought to kindle in our minds the most ardent love of it; for how great is the honor which God confers on poor worthless men, when they, who by nature are nothing else than falsehood and vanity, are thought worthy of attesting by their signature the sacred truth of God?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God","excerpt":"34. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. He confirms the preceding statement, for he shows that we have actually to do with God, when we receive the doctrine of Christ; because Christ proceeded from none else than from the Heavenly Father. It is, therefore, God alone who speaks to us by him; and, indeed, we do not assign to the doctrine of Christ all that it deserves, unless we acknowledge it to be divine.\n\nFor God giveth not the Spirit by measure. This passage is explained in two ways. Some extend it to the ordinary dispensation in this manner: that God, who is the inexhaustible fountain of all benefits, does not in the least degree diminish his resources, when he largely and plentifully bestows his gifts on men. They who draw from any vessel what they give to others come at last to the bottom; but there is no danger that any thing of this sort can happen with God, nor will the abundance of his gifts ever be so large that he cannot go beyond it, whenever he shall be pleased to make a new exercise of liberality. This exposition appears to have some plausibility, for the sentence is indefinite; that is, it does not expressly point out any person.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.34.2","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"","excerpt":"But I am more disposed to follow Augustine, who explains that it was said concerning Christ. Nor is there any force in the objection, that no express mention is made of Christ in this clause, since all ambiguity is removed by the next clause, in which that which might seem to have been said indiscriminately about many is limited to Christ. For these words were unquestionably added for the sake of explanation, that the Father hath given all things into the hand of his Son, because he loveth him, and ought therefore to be read as placed in immediate connection. The verb in the present tense — giveth — denotes, as it were, a continued act; for though Christ was all at once endued with the Spirit in the highest perfection, yet, as he continually flows, as it were, from a source, and is widely diffused, there is no impropriety in saying that Christ now receives him from the Father. But if any one choose to interpret it more simply, it is no unusual thing that there should be a change of tenses in such verbs, and that giveth should be put for hath given","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vi.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"The Father loveth the Son","excerpt":"35. The Father loveth the Son. But what is the meaning of this reason? Does he regard all others with hatred? The answer is easy, that he does not speak of the common love with which God regards men whom he has created, or his other works, but of that peculiar love which, beginning with the Son, flows from him to all the creatures. For that love with which, embracing the Son, he embraces us also in him, leads him to communicate all his benefits to us by his hand.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"He who believeth in the Son","excerpt":"36. He who believeth in the Son. This was added, not only to inform us that we ought to ask all good things from Christ, but likewise to make us, acquainted with the manner in which they are enjoyed. He shows that enjoyment consists in faith; and not without reason, since by means of it we possess Christ, who brings along with him both righteousness and life, which is the fruit of righteousness. When faith in Christ is declared to be the cause of life, we learn from it that life is to be found in Christ alone, and that in no other way do we become partakers of it than by the grace of Christ himself. But all are not agreed as to the way in which the life of Christ comes to us. Some understand it thus: “as by believing we receive the Spirit, who regenerates us in order to justification, by that very regeneration we obtain salvation.” For my own part, though I acknowledge it to be true, that we are renewed by faith, so that the Spirit of Christ governs us, yet I say that we ought first to take into consideration the free forgiveness of sins, through which we are accepted by God. Again, I say that on this all our confidence of salvation is founded, and in this it consists; because justification before God cannot be reckoned to us in any other way than when he does not impute to us our sins.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"calvin.JHN.3.36.2","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"But he who believeth not in the Son","excerpt":"But he who believeth not in the Son. As he held out life in Christ, by the sweetness of which he might allure us, so now he adjudges to eternal death all who do not believe in Christ. And, in this way, he magnifies the kindness of God, when he warns us, that there is no other way of escaping death, unless Christ deliver us; for this sentence depends on the fact, that we are all accursed in Adam. Now if it be the office of Christ to save what was lost, they who reject the salvation offered in him are justly suffered to remain in death. We have just now said that this belongs peculiarly to those who reject the gospel which has been revealed to them; for though all mankind are involved in the same destruction, yet a heavier and double vengeance awaits those who refuse to have the Son of God as their deliverer. And, indeed, it cannot be doubted that the Baptist, when he denounced death against unbelievers, intended to excite us, by the dread of it, to the exercise of faith in Christ. It is also manifest; that all the righteousness which the world thinks that it has out of Christ is condemned and reduced to nothing. Nor is any one enabled to object that it is unjust that those who are otherwise devout and holy should perish, because they do not believe; for it is folly to imagine that there is any holiness in men, unless it have been given to them by Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom34.ix.vii.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"henry","author":"Matthew Henry","short_name":"Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"title":"Commentary on the Whole Bible, Volume V (Matthew to John)","edition_short":"Matthew Henry, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments","author_url":"/commentators/henry/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/henry/","entries":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"Who this Nicodemus was","excerpt":"I. Who this Nicodemus was. Not many mighty and noble are called; yet some are, and here was one. Not many of the rulers, or of the Pharisees; yet. 1. This was a man of the Pharisees, bred to learning, a scholar. Let it not be said that all Christ's followers are unlearned and ignorant men. The principles of the Pharisees, and the peculiarities of their sect, were directly contrary to the spirit of Christianity; yet there were some in whom even those high thoughts were cast down and brought into obedience to Christ. The grace of Christ is able to subdue the greatest opposition. 2. He was a ruler of the Jews, a member of the great sanhedrim, a senator, a privy-counsellor, a man of authority in Jerusalem. Bad as things were, there were some rulers well inclined, who yet could do little good because the stream was so strong against them; they were over-ruled by the majority, and yoked with those that were corrupt, so that the good which they wished to do they could not do; yet Nicodemus continued in his place, and did what he could, when he could not do what he would.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"When he came: He came to Jesus by night","excerpt":"1. When he came: He came to Jesus by night. Observe, (1.) He made a private and particular address to Christ, and did not think it enough to hear his public discourses. He resolved to talk with him by himself, where he might be free with him. Personal converse with skilful faithful ministers about the affairs of our souls would be of great use to us, Mal. ii. 7. (2.) He made this address by night, which may be considered, [1.] As an act of prudence and discretion. Christ was engaged all day in public work, and he would not interrupt him then, nor expect his attendance then, but observed Christ's hour, and waited on him when he was at leisure. Note, Private advantages to ourselves and our own families must give way to those that are public. The greater good must be preferred before the less. Christ had many enemies, and therefore Nicodemus came to him incognito, lest being known to the chief priests they should be the more enraged against Christ. [2.] As an act of zeal and forwardness. Nicodemus was a man of business, and could not spare time all day to make Christ a visit, and therefore he would rather take time from the diversions of the evening, or the rest of the night, than not converse with Christ. When others were sleeping, he was getting knowledge, as David by meditation, Ps. lxiii. 6, and cxix. 148. Probably it was the very next night after he saw Christ's miracles, and he would not neglect the first opportunity of pursuing his convictions. He knew not how soon Christ might leave the town, nor what might happen betwixt that and another feast, and therefore would lose no time. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":353,"text":"Mal. ii. 7","label":"Malachi 2:7","href":"/mal/2/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":1300,"text":"Ps. lxiii. 6","label":"Psalms 63:6","href":"/psa/63/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.2.2","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"As an act of fear and cowardice","excerpt":"... Or, [3.] As an act of fear and cowardice. He was afraid, or ashamed, to be seen with Christ, and therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites, especially among the rulers, who have a better affection to Christ and his religion than they would be known to have. But observe, First, Though he came by night, Christ bade him welcome, accepted his integrity, and pardoned his infirmity; he considered his temper, which perhaps was timorous, and the temptation he was in from his place and office; and hereby taught his ministers to become all things to all men, and to encourage good beginnings, though weak. Paul preached privately to those of reputation, Gal. ii. 2. Secondly, Though now he came by night, yet afterwards, when there was occasion, he owned Christ publicly, ch. vii. 50; xix. 39. The grace which is at first but a grain of mustard-seed may grow to be a great tree.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":701,"text":"Gal. ii. 2","label":"Galatians 2:2","href":"/gal/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":819,"text":"ch. vii. 50; xix. 39","label":"John 7:50","href":"/jhn/7/#v50","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.2.3","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"What he said","excerpt":"2. What he said. He did not come to talk with Christ about politics and state-affairs (though he was a ruler), but about the concerns of his own soul and its salvation, and, without circumlocution, comes immediately to the business; he calls Christ Rabbi, which signifies a great man; see Isa. xix. 20. He shall send them a Saviour, and a great one; a Saviour and a rabbi, so the word is. There are hopes of those who have a respect for Christ, and think and speak honourably of him. He tells Christ how far he had attained: We know that thou art a teacher. Observe, (1.) His assertion concerning Christ: Thou art a teacher come from God; not educated nor ordained by men, as other teachers, but supported with divine inspiration and divine authority. He that was to be the sovereign Ruler came first to be a teacher; for he would rule with reason, not with rigour, by the power of truth, not of the sword. The world lay in ignorance and mistake; the Jewish teachers were corrupt, and caused them to err: It is time for the Lord to work. He came a teacher from God, from God as the Father of mercies, in pity to a dark deceived world; from God as the Father of lights and fountain of truth, all the light and truth upon which we may venture our souls. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":289,"text":"Isa. xix. 20","label":"Isaiah 19:20","href":"/isa/19/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.2.4","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"The ground of this assurance","excerpt":"... (3.) The ground of this assurance: No man can do those miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Here, [1.] We are assured of the truth of Christ's miracles, and that they were not counterfeit. Here was Nicodemus, a judicious, sensible, inquisitive man, one that had all the reason and opportunity imaginable to examine them, so fully satisfied that they were real miracles that he was wrought upon by them to go contrary to his interest, and to the stream of those of his own rank, who were prejudiced against Christ. [2.] We are directed what inference to draw from Christ's miracles: Therefore we are to receive him as a teacher come from God. His miracles were his credentials. The course of nature could not be altered but by the power of the God of nature, who, we are sure, is the God of truth and goodness, and would never set his seal to a lie or a cheat.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"As pertinently answered to Nicodemus's address","excerpt":"(1.) As pertinently answered to Nicodemus's address. Jesus answered, v. 3. This answer was wither, [1.] A rebuke of what he saw defective in the address of Nicodemus. It was not enough for him to admire Christ's miracles, and acknowledge his mission, but he must be born again. It is plain that he expected the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of the Messiah now shortly to appear. He is betimes aware of the dawning of that day; and, according to the common notion of the Jews, he expects it to appear in external pomp and power. He doubts not but this Jesus, who works these miracles, is either the Messiah or his prophet, and therefore makes his court to him, compliments him, and so hopes to secure a share to himself of the advantages of that kingdom. But Christ tells him that he can have no benefit by that change of the state, unless there be a change of the spirit, of the principles and dispositions, equivalent to a new birth. Nicodemus came by night: \"But this will not do,\" saith Christ. His religion must be owned before men; so Dr. Hammond. Or, [2.] A reply to what he saw designed in his address. When Nicodemus owned Christ a teacher come from God, one entrusted with an extraordinary revelation from heaven, he plainly intimated a desire to know what this revelation was and a readiness to receive it; and Christ declares it.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":69,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.3.2","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"What it is that is required: to be born again","excerpt":"[1.] What it is that is required: to be born again; that is, First, We must live a new life. Birth is the beginning of life; to be born again is to begin anew, as those that have hitherto lived either much amiss or to little purpose. We must not think to patch up the old building, but begin from the foundation. Secondly, We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. We must be born anothen, which signifies both denuo—again, and desuper—from above. 1. We must be born anew; so the word is taken, Gal. iv. 9, and ab initio—from the beginning, Luke i. 3. By our first birth we are corrupt, shapen in sin and iniquity; we must therefore undergo a second birth; our souls must be fashioned and enlivened anew. 2. We must be born from above, so the word is used by the evangelist, ch. iii. 31; xix. 11, and I take this to be especially intended here, not excluding the other; for to be born from above supposes being born again. But this new birth has its rise from heaven (ch. i. 13) and its tendency to heaven: it is to be born to a divine and heavenly life, a life of communion with God and the upper world, and, in order to this, it is to partake of a divine nature and bear the image of the heavenly.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":522,"text":"Gal. iv. 9","label":"Galatians 4:9","href":"/gal/4/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":568,"text":"Luke i. 3","label":"Luke 1:3","href":"/luk/1/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":802,"text":"ch. iii. 31; xix. 11","label":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":995,"text":"ch. i. 13","label":"John 1:13","href":"/jhn/1/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.3.3","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"The indispensable necessity of this","excerpt":"[2.] The indispensable necessity of this: \"Except a man (Any one that partakes of the human nature, and consequently of its corruptions) be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the Messiah begun in grace and perfected in glory.\" Except we be born from above, we cannot see this. That is, First, We cannot understand the nature of it. Such is the nature of things pertaining to the kingdom of God (in which Nicodemus desired to be instructed) that the soul must be re-modelled and moulded, the natural man must become a spiritual man, before he is capable of receiving and understanding them, 1 Cor. ii. 14. Secondly, We cannot receive the comfort of it, cannot expect any benefit by Christ and his gospel, nor have any part or lot in the matter. Note, Regeneration is absolutely necessary to our happiness here and hereafter. Considering what we are by nature, how corrupt and sinful,—what God is, in whom alone we can be happy,—and what heaven is, to which the perfection of our happiness is reserved,—it will appear, in the nature of the thing, that we must be born again, because it is impossible that we should be happy if we be not holy; see 1 Cor. vi. 11, 12.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":616,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 14","label":"1 Corinthians 2:14","href":"/1co/2/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"It is objected against by Nicodemus","excerpt":"a. It is objected against by Nicodemus (v. 4): How can a man be born when he is old, old as I am: geron on—being an old man? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Herein appears, (a.) His weakness in knowledge; what Christ spoke spiritually he seems to have understood after a corporal and carnal manner, as if there were no other way of regenerating and new-moulding an immortal soul than by new-framing the body, and bringing that back to the rock out of which it was hewn, as if there was such a connection between the soul and the body that there could be no fashioning the heart anew but by forming the bones anew. Nicodemus, as others of the Jews, valued himself, no doubt, very much on his first birth and its dignities and privileges,—the place of it, the Holy Land, perhaps the holy city,—his parentage, such as that which Paul could have gloried in, Phil. iii. 5. And therefore it is a great surprise to him to hear of being born again. Could he be better bred and born than bred and born an Israelite, or by any other birth stand fairer for a place in the kingdom of the Messiah? Indeed they looked upon a proselyted Gentile to be as one born again or born anew, but could not imagine how a Jew, a Pharisee, could ever better himself by being born again; he therefore thinks, if he must be born again, it must be of her that bore him first. They that are proud of their first birth are hardly brought to a new birth. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":40,"text":"v. 4","label":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":888,"text":"Phil. iii. 5","label":"Philippians 3:5","href":"/php/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"To repeat and confirm what he had said","excerpt":"(a.) To repeat and confirm what he had said (v. 5): \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, the very same that I said before.\" Note, The word of God is not yea and nay, but yea and amen; what he hath said he will abide by, whoever saith against it; nor will he retract any of his sayings for the ignorance and mistakes of men. Though Nicodemus understood not the mystery of regeneration, yet Christ asserts the necessity of it as positively as before. Note, It is folly to think of evading the obligation of evangelical precepts, by pleading that they are unintelligible, Rom. iii. 3, 4.\n\n(b.) To expound and clear what he had said concerning regeneration; for the explication of which he further shows,\n\n[a.] The author of this blessed change, and who it is that works it. To be born again is to be born of the Spirit, v. 5-8. The change is not wrought by any wisdom or power of our own, but by the power and influence of the blessed Spirit of grace. It is the sanctification of the Spirit (1 Pet. i. 2) and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Tit. iii. 5. The word he works by is his inspiration, and the heart to be wrought on he has access to.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":45,"text":"v. 5","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":566,"text":"Rom. iii. 3, 4","label":"Romans 3:3–4","href":"/rom/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":814,"text":"v. 5-8","label":"John 3:5–8","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":986,"text":"1 Pet. i. 2","label":"1 Peter 1:2","href":"/1pe/1/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1031,"text":"Tit. iii. 5","label":"Titus 3:5","href":"/tit/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"The regenerating work of the Spirit is compared to water","excerpt":"[d.] This change is illustrated by two comparisons. First, The regenerating work of the Spirit is compared to water, v. 5. To be born again is to be born of water and of the Spirit, that is, of the Spirit working like water, as (Matt. iii. 11) with the Holy Ghost and with fire means with the Holy Ghost as with fire. 1. That which is primarily intended here is to show that the Spirit, in sanctifying a soul, (1.) Cleanses and purifies it as water, takes away its filth, by which it was unfit for the kingdom of God. It is the washing of regeneration, Tit. iii. 5. You are washed, 1 Cor. vi. 11. See Ezek. xxxvi. 25. (2.) Cools and refreshes it, as water does the hunted hart and the weary traveller. The Spirit is compared to water, ch. vii. 38, 39; Isa. xliv. 3. In the first creation, the fruits of heaven were born of water (Gen. i. 20), in allusion to which, perhaps, they that are born from above are said to be born of water. 2. It is probable that Christ had an eye to the ordinance of baptism, which John had used and he himself had begun to use, \"You must be born again of the Spirit,\" which regeneration by the Spirit should be signified by washing with water, as the visible sign of that spiritual grace: not that all they, and they only, that are baptized, are saved; but without that new birth which is wrought by the Spirit, and signified by baptism, none shall be looked upon as the protected privileged subjects of the kingdom of heaven. The Jews cannot partake of the benefits of the Messiah's kingdom, they have so long looked for, unless they quit all expectations of being justified by the works of the law, and submit to the baptism of repentance, the great gospel duty, for the remission of sins, the great gospel privilege. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":117,"text":"v. 5","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":229,"text":"Matt. iii. 11","label":"Matthew 3:11","href":"/mat/3/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":553,"text":"Tit. iii. 5","label":"Titus 3:5","href":"/tit/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":582,"text":"1 Cor. vi. 11","label":"1 Corinthians 6:11","href":"/1co/6/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":601,"text":"Ezek. xxxvi. 25","label":"Ezekiel 36:25","href":"/ezk/36/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":752,"text":"Isa. xliv. 3","label":"Isaiah 44:3","href":"/isa/44/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":830,"text":"Gen. i. 20","label":"Genesis 1:20","href":"/gen/1/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"The nature of this change ... The necessity of this change","excerpt":"[b.] The nature of this change, and what that is which is wrought; it is spirit, v. 6. Those that are regenerated are made spiritual, and refined from the dross and dregs of sensuality. The dictates and interests of the rational and immortal soul have retrieved the dominion they ought to have over the flesh. The Pharisees placed their religion in external purity and external performances; and it would be a mighty change indeed with them, no less than a new birth, to become spiritual.\n\n[c.] The necessity of this change. First, Christ here shows that it is necessary in the nature of the thing, for we are not fit to enter into the kingdom of God till we are born again: That which is born of the flesh if flesh, v. 6. Here is our malady, with the causes of it, which are such that it is plain there is no remedy but we must be born again. 1. We are here told what we are: We are flesh, not only corporeal but corrupt, Gen. vi. 3. The soul is still a spiritual substance, but so wedded to the flesh, so captivated by the will of the flesh, so in love with the delights of the flesh, so employed in making provision for the flesh, that it is mostly called flesh; it is carnal. And what communion can there be between God, who is a spirit, and a soul in this condition? 2. How we came to be so; by being born of the flesh. It is a corruption that is bred in the bone with us, and therefore we cannot have a new nature, but we must be born again. The corrupt nature, which is flesh, takes rise from our first birth; and therefore the new nature, which is spirit, must take rise from a second birth. Nicodemus spoke of entering again into his mother's womb, and being born; but, if he could do so, to what purpose? If he were born of his mother a hundred times, that would not mend the matter, for still that which is born of the flesh if flesh; a clean thing cannot be brought out of an unclean. He must seek for another original, must be born of the Spirit, or he cannot become spiritual. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":81,"text":"v. 6","label":"John 3:6","href":"/jhn/3/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":717,"text":"v. 6","label":"John 3:6","href":"/jhn/3/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":923,"text":"Gen. vi. 3","label":"Genesis 6:3","href":"/gen/6/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"Christ makes it further necessary, by his own word","excerpt":"... Secondly, Christ makes it further necessary, by his own word: Marvel not that I said unto thee, You must be born again, v. 7. 1. Christ hath said it, and as he himself never did, nor ever will, unsay it, so all the world cannot gainsay it, that we must be born again. He who is the great Lawgiver, whose will is a law,—he who is the great Mediator of the new covenant, and has full power to settle the terms of our reconciliation to God and happiness in him,—he who is the great Physician of souls, knows their case, and what is necessary to their cure,—he hath said, You must be born again. \"I said unto thee that which all are concerned in, You must, you all, one as well as another, you must be born again: not only the common people, but the rulers, the masters in Israel.\" 2. We are not to marvel at it; for when we consider the holiness of the God with whom we have to do, the great design of our redemption, the depravity of our nature, and the constitution of the happiness set before us, we shall not think it strange that so much stress is laid upon this as the one thing needful, that we must be born again.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":124,"text":"v. 7","label":"John 3:7","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"It is compared to wind","excerpt":"... Secondly, It is compared to wind: The wind bloweth where it listeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit, v. 8. The same word (pneuma) signifies both the wind and the Spirit. The Spirit came upon the apostles in a rushing mighty wind (Acts ii. 2), his strong influences on the hearts of sinners are compared to the breathing of the wind (Ezek. xxxvii. 9), and his sweet influences on the souls of saints to the north and south wind, Cant. iv. 16. This comparison is here used to show, 1. That the Spirit, in regeneration, works arbitrarily, and as a free agent. The wind bloweth where it listeth for us, and does not attend our order, nor is subject to our command. God directs it; it fulfils his word, Ps. cxlviii. 8. The Spirit dispenses his influences where, and when, on whom, and in what measure and degree, he pleases, dividing to every man severally as he will, 1 Cor. xii. 11. 2. That he works powerfully, and with evident effects: Thou hearest the sound thereof; though its causes are hidden, its effects are manifest. When the soul is brought to mourn for sin, to groan under the burden of corruption, to breathe after Christ, to cry Abba—Father, then we hear the sound of the Spirit, we find he is at work, as Acts ix. 11, Behold he prayeth. 3. That he works mysteriously, and in secret hidden ways: Thou canst not tell whence it comes, nor whither it goes. How it gathers and how it spends its strength is a riddle to us; so the manner and methods of the Spirit's working are a mystery. Which way went the Spirit? 1 Kings xxii. 24. See Eccl. xi. 5, and compare it with Ps. cxxxix. 14.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":117,"text":"v. 8","label":"John 3:8","href":"/jhn/3/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":246,"text":"Acts ii. 2","label":"Acts 2:2","href":"/act/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":349,"text":"Ezek. xxxvii. 9","label":"Ezekiel 37:9","href":"/ezk/37/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":444,"text":"Cant. iv. 16","label":"Song of Songs 4:16","href":"/sng/4/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":714,"text":"Ps. cxlviii. 8","label":"Psalms 148:8","href":"/psa/148/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":880,"text":"1 Cor. xii. 11","label":"1 Corinthians 12:11","href":"/1co/12/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":1232,"text":"Acts ix. 11","label":"Acts 9:11","href":"/act/9/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":1537,"text":"1 Kings xxii. 24","label":"1 Kings 22:24","href":"/1ki/22/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1559,"text":"Eccl. xi. 5","label":"Ecclesiastes 11:5","href":"/ecc/11/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"The objection which Nicodemus still made","excerpt":"(1.) The objection which Nicodemus still made (v. 9): How can these things be? Christ's explication of the doctrine of the necessity of regeneration, it should seem, made it never the clearer to him. The corruption of nature which makes it necessary, and the way of the Spirit which makes it practicable, are as much mysteries to him as the thing itself; though he had in general owned Christ a divine teacher, yet he was unwilling to receive his teachings when they did not agree with the notions he had imbibed. Thus many profess to admit the doctrine of Christ in general, and yet will neither believe the truths of Christianity nor submit to the laws of it further than they please. Christ shall be their teacher, provided they may choose their lesson. Now here, [1.] Nicodemus owns himself ignorant of Christ's meaning, after all: \"How can these things be? They are things I do not understand, my capacity will not reach them.\" Thus the things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to the natural man. He is not only estranged from them, and therefore they are dark to him, but prejudiced against them, and therefore they are foolishness to him. [2.] Because this doctrine was unintelligible to him (so he was pleased to make it), he questions the truth of it; as if, because it was a paradox to him, it was a chimera in itself. Many have such an opinion of their own capacity as to think that that cannot be proved which they cannot believe; by wisdom they knew not Christ.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":47,"text":"v. 9","label":"John 3:9","href":"/jhn/3/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"The reproof which Christ gave him for his dulness and ignorance","excerpt":"(2.) The reproof which Christ gave him for his dulness and ignorance: \"Art thou a master in Israel, Didaskalos—a teacher, a tutor, one who sits in Moses's chair, and yet not only unacquainted with the doctrine of regeneration, but incapable of understanding it?\" This word is a reproof, [1.] To those who undertake to teach others and yet are ignorant and unskilful in the word of righteousness themselves. [2.] To those that spend their time in learning and teaching notions and ceremonies in religion, niceties and criticisms in the scripture, and neglect that which is practical and tends to reform the heart and life. Two words in the reproof are very emphatic:—First, The place where his lot was cast: in Israel, where there was such great plenty of the means of knowledge, where divine revelation was. He might have learned this out of the Old Testament. Secondly, The things he was thus ignorant in: these things, these necessary things, there great things, these divine things; had he never read Ps. l. 5, 10; Ezek. xviii. 31; xxxvi. 25, 26?","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"That the truths Christ taught were very certain","excerpt":"[1.] That the truths Christ taught were very certain and what we may venture upon (v. 11): We speak that we do know. We; whom does he mean besides himself? Some understand it of those that bore witness to him and with him on earth, the prophets and John Baptist; they spoke what they knew, and had seen, and were themselves abundantly satisfied in: divine revelation carries its own proof along with it. Others of those that bore witness from heaven, the Father and the Holy Ghost; the Father was with him, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; therefore he speaks in the plural number, as ch. xiv. 23: We will come unto him. Observe, First, That the truths of Christ are of undoubted certainty. We have all the reason in the world to be assured that the sayings of Christ are faithful sayings, and such as we may venture our souls upon; for he is not only a credible witness, who would not go about to deceive us, but a competent witness, who could not himself be deceived: We testify that we have seen. He spoke not upon hear-say, but upon the clearest evidence, and therefore with the greatest assurance. What he spoke of God, of the invisible world, of heaven and hell, of the divine will concerning us, and the counsels of peace, was what he knew, and had seen, for he was by him as one brought up with him, Prov. viii. 30. Whatever Christ spoke, he spoke of his own knowledge. Secondly, That the unbelief of sinners is greatly aggravated by the infallible certainty of the truths of Christ. The things are thus sure, thus clear; and yet you receive not our witness. Multitudes to be unbelievers of that which yet (so cogent are the motives of credibility) they cannot disbelieve!","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":83,"text":"v. 11","label":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":589,"text":"ch. xiv. 23","label":"John 14:23","href":"/jhn/14/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":1312,"text":"Prov. viii. 30","label":"Proverbs 8:30","href":"/pro/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"The truths Christ taught ... were most sublime and heavenly","excerpt":"[2.] The truths Christ taught, though communicated in language and expressions borrowed from common and earthly things, yet in their own nature were most sublime and heavenly; this is intimated, v. 12: \"If I have told them earthly things, that is, have told them the great things of God in similitudes taken from earthly things, to make them the more easy and intelligible, as that of the new birth and the wind,— if I have thus accommodated myself to your capacities, and lisped to you in your own language, and cannot make you to understand my doctrine,—what would you do if I should accommodate myself to the nature of the things, and speak with the tongue of angels, that language which mortals cannot utter? If such familiar expressions be stumbling-blocks, what would abstract ideas be, and spiritual things painted proper?\" Now we may learn hence, First, To admire the height and depth of the doctrine of Christ; it is a great mystery of godliness. The things of the gospel are heavenly things, out of the road of the enquiries of human reason, and much more out of the reach of its discoveries. Secondly, To acknowledge with thankfulness the condescension of Christ, that he is pleased to suit the manner of the gospel revelation to our capacities, to speak to us as to children. He considers our frame, that we are of the earth, and our place, that we are on the earth, and therefore speaks to us earthly things, and makes things sensible the vehicle of things spiritual, to make them the more easy and familiar to us. Thus he has done both in parables and in sacraments. Thirdly, To lament the corruption of our nature, and our great unaptness to receive and entertain the truths of Christ. Earthly things are despised because they are vulgar, and heavenly things because they are abstruse; and so, whatever method is taken, still some fault or other is found with it (Matt. xi. 17), but Wisdom is, and will be, justified of her children, notwithstanding.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":195,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":1879,"text":"Matt. xi. 17","label":"Matthew 11:17","href":"/mat/11/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Our Lord Jesus, and he alone, was fit to reveal to us a doctrine thus certain, thus sublime","excerpt":"[3.] Our Lord Jesus, and he alone, was fit to reveal to us a doctrine thus certain, thus sublime: No man hath ascended up into heaven but he, v. 13.\n\nFirst, None but Christ was able to reveal to us the will of God for our salvation. Nicodemus addressed Christ as a prophet; but he must know that he is greater than all the Old-Testament prophets, for none of them had ascended into heaven. They wrote by divine inspiration, and not of their own knowledge; see ch. i. 18. Moses ascended into the mount, but not into heaven. No man hath attained to the certain knowledge of God and heavenly things as Christ has; see Matt. xi. 27. It is not for us to send to heaven for instructions; we must wait to receive what instructions Heaven will send to us; see Prov. xxx. 4; Deut. xxx. 12.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":142,"text":"v. 13","label":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":460,"text":"ch. i. 18","label":"John 1:18","href":"/jhn/1/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":615,"text":"Matt. xi. 27","label":"Matthew 11:27","href":"/mat/11/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.13.2","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"He that came down from heaven and is in heaven","excerpt":"Secondly, Jesus Christ is able, and fit, and every way qualified, to reveal the will of God to us; for it is he that came down from heaven and is in heaven. He had said (v. 12), How shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? Now here, 1. He gives them an instance of those heavenly things which he could tell them of, when he tells them of one that came down from heaven, and yet is the Son of man; is the Son of man, and yet is in heaven. If the regeneration of the soul of man is such a mystery, what then is the incarnation of the Son of God? These are divine and heavenly things indeed. We have here an intimation of Christ's two distinct natures in one person: his divine nature, in which he came down from heaven; his human nature, in which he is the Son of man; and that union of those two, in that while he is the Son of man yet he is in heaven. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":170,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"The deadly and destructive nature of sin","excerpt":"[1.] Jesus Christ came to save us by healing us, as the children of Israel that were stung with fiery serpents were cured and lived by looking up to the brazen serpent; we have the story of it, Num. xxi. 6-9. It was the last miracle that passed through the hand of Moses before his death. Now in this type of Christ we may observe,\n\nFirst, The deadly and destructive nature of sin, which is implied here. The guilt of sin is like the pain of the biting of a fiery serpent; the power of corruption is like the venom diffused thereby. The devil is the old serpent, subtle at first (Gen. iii. 1), but ever since fiery, and his temptations fiery darts, his assaults terrifying, his victories destroying. Ask awakened consciences, ask damned sinners, and they will tell you, how charming soever the allurements of sin are, at the last it bites like a serpent, Prov. xxiii. 30-32. God's wrath against us for sin is as those fiery serpents which God sent among the people, to punish them for their murmurings. The curses of the law are as fiery serpents, so are all the tokens of divine wrath.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":194,"text":"Num. xxi. 6-9","label":"Numbers 21:6–9","href":"/num/21/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":580,"text":"Gen. iii. 1","label":"Genesis 3:1","href":"/gen/3/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":855,"text":"Prov. xxiii. 30-32","label":"Proverbs 23:30–32","href":"/pro/23/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.14.2","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"The powerful remedy provided against this fatal malady","excerpt":"Secondly, The powerful remedy provided against this fatal malady. The case of poor sinners is deplorable; but is it desperate? Thanks be to God, it is not; there is balm in Gilead. The Son of man is lifted up, as the serpent of brass was by Moses, which cured the stung Israelites. 1. It was a serpent of brass that cured them. Brass is bright; we read of Christ's feet shining like brass, Rev. i. 15. It is durable; Christ is the same. It was made in the shape of a fiery serpent, and yet had no poison, no sting, fitly representing Christ, who was made sin for us and yet knew no sin; was made in the likeness of sinful flesh and yet not sinful; as harmless as a serpent of brass. The serpent was a cursed creature; Christ was made a curse. That which cured them reminded them of their plague; so in Christ sin is set before us most fiery and formidable. 2. It was lifted up upon a pole, and so must the Son of man be lifted up; thus it behoved him, Luke xxiv. 26, 46. No remedy now. Christ is lifted up, (1.) In his crucifixion. He was lifted up upon the cross. His death is called his being lifted up, ch. xii. 32, 33. He was lifted up as a spectacle, as a mark, lifted up between heaven and earth, as if he had been unworthy of either and abandoned by both. (2.) In his exaltation. He was lifted up to the Father's right hand, to give repentance and remission; he was lifted up to the cross, to be further lifted up to the crown. (3.) In the publishing and preaching of his everlasting gospel, Rev. xiv. 6. The serpent was lifted up that all the thousands of Israel might see it. Christ in the gospel is exhibited to us, evidently set forth; Christ is lifted up as an ensign, Isa. xi. 10. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":390,"text":"Rev. i. 15","label":"Revelation 1:15","href":"/rev/1/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":952,"text":"Luke xxiv. 26, 46","label":"Luke 24:26","href":"/luk/24/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":952,"text":"Luke xxiv. 26, 46","label":"Luke 24:46","href":"/luk/24/#v46","status":"detected"},{"at":1106,"text":"ch. xii. 32, 33","label":"John 12:32–33","href":"/jhn/12/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":1499,"text":"Rev. xiv. 6","label":"Revelation 14:6","href":"/rev/14/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"The way of applying this remedy, and that is by believing","excerpt":"Thirdly, The way of applying this remedy, and that is by believing, which plainly alludes to the Israelites' looking up to the brazen serpent, in order to their being healed by it. If any stung Israelite was either so little sensible of his pain and peril, or had so little confidence in the word of Moses as not to look up to the brazen serpent, justly did he die of his wound; but every one that looked up to it did well, Num. xxi. 9. If any so far slight either their disease by sin or the method of cure by Christ as not to embrace Christ upon his own terms, their blood is upon their own head. He hath said, Look, and be saved (Isa. xlv. 22), look and live. We must take a complacency in and give consent to the methods which Infinite Wisdom has taken is saving a guilty world, by the mediation of Jesus Christ, as the great sacrifice and intercessor.\n\nFourthly, The great encouragements given us by faith to look up to him. 1. It was for this end that he was lifted up, that his followers might be saved; and he will pursue his end. 2. The offer that is made of salvation by him is general, that whosoever believes in him, without exception, might have benefit by him. 3. The salvation offered is complete. (1.) They shall not perish, shall not die of their wounds; though they may be pained and ill frightened, iniquity shall not be their ruin. But that is not all. (2.) They shall have eternal life. They shall not only not die of their wounds in the wilderness, but they shall reach Canaan (which they were then just ready to enter into); they shall enjoy the promised rest.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":424,"text":"Num. xxi. 9","label":"Numbers 21:9","href":"/num/21/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":633,"text":"Isa. xlv. 22","label":"Isaiah 45:22","href":"/isa/45/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"God's love in giving his Son for the world","excerpt":"[2.] Jesus Christ came to save us by pardoning us, that we might not die by the sentence of the law, v. 16, 17. Here is gospel indeed, good news, the best that ever came from heaven to earth. Here is much, here is all in a little, the word of reconciliation in miniature.\n\nFirst, Here is God's love in giving his Son for the world (v. 16), where we have three things:— 1. The great gospel mystery revealed: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son. The love of God the Father is the original of our regeneration by the Spirit and our reconciliation by the lifting up of the Son. Note, (1.) Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God. This magnifies his love in giving him for us, in giving him to us; now know we that he loves us, when he has given his only-begotten Son for us, which expresses not only his dignity in himself, but his dearness to his Father; he was always his delight. (2.) In order to the redemption and salvation of man, it pleased God to give his only-begotten Son. He not only sent him into the world with full and ample power to negotiate a peace between heaven and earth, but he gave him, that is, he gave him up to suffer and die for us, as the great propitiation or expiatory sacrifice. It comes in here as a reason why he must be lifted up; for so it was determined and designed by the Father, who gave him for this purpose, and prepared him a body in order to it. His enemies could not have taken him if his Father had not given him. Though he was not yet crucified, yet in the determinate counsel of God he was given up, Acts ii. 23. Nay, further, God has given him, that is, he has made an offer of him, to all, and given him to all true believers, to all the intents and purposes of the new covenant. He has given him to be our prophet, a witness to the people, the high priest of our profession, to be our peace, to be head of the church and head over all things to the church, to be to us all we need. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":101,"text":"v. 16, 17","label":"John 3:16–17","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":332,"text":"v. 16","label":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":1569,"text":"Acts ii. 23","label":"Acts 2:23","href":"/act/2/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"Herein God has commended his love to the world","excerpt":"... (3.) Herein God has commended his love to the world: God so loved the world, so really, so richly. Now his creatures shall see that he loves them, and wishes them well. He so loved the world of fallen man as he did not love that of fallen angels; see Rom. v. 8; 1 John iv. 10. Behold, and wonder, that the great God should love such a worthless world! That the holy God should love such a wicked world with a love of good will, when he could not look upon it with any complacency. This was a time of love indeed, Ezek. xvi. 6, 8. The Jews vainly conceited that the Messiah should be sent only in love to their nation, and to advance them upon the ruins of their neighbours; but Christ tells them that he came in love to the whole world, Gentiles as well as Jews, 1 John ii. 2. Though many of the world of mankind perish, yet God's giving his only-begotten Son was an instance of his love to the whole world, because through him there is a general offer of life and salvation made to all. It is love to the revolted rebellious province to issue out a proclamation of pardon and indemnity to all that will come in, plead it upon their knees, and return to their allegiance. So far God loved the apostate lapsed world that he sent his Son with this fair proposal, that whosoever believes in him, one or other, shall not perish. Salvation has been of the Jews, but now Christ is known as salvation to the ends of the earth, a common salvation. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":255,"text":"Rom. v. 8","label":"Romans 5:8","href":"/rom/5/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":266,"text":"1 John iv. 10","label":"1 John 4:10","href":"/1jn/4/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":517,"text":"Ezek. xvi. 6, 8","label":"Ezekiel 16:6","href":"/ezk/16/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":517,"text":"Ezek. xvi. 6, 8","label":"Ezekiel 16:8","href":"/ezk/16/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":767,"text":"1 John ii. 2","label":"1 John 2:2","href":"/1jn/2/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.16.3","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"The great gospel duty ... The great gospel benefit","excerpt":"... 2. Here is the great gospel duty, and that is to believe in Jesus Christ (Whom God has thus given, given for us, given to us), to accept the gift, and answer the intention of the giver. We must yield an unfeigned assent and consent to the record God hath given in his word concerning his Son. God having given him to us to be our prophet, priest, and king, we must give up ourselves to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him. 3. Here is the great gospel benefit: That whosoever believes in Christ shall not perish. This he had said before, and here repeats it. It is the unspeakable happiness of all true believers, for which they are eternally indebted to Christ, (1.) That they are saved from the miseries of hell, delivered from going down to the pit; they shall not perish. God has taken away their sin, they shall not die; a pardon is purchased, and so the attainder is reversed. (2.) They are entitled to the joys of heaven: they shall have everlasting life. The convicted traitor is not only pardoned, but preferred, and made a favourite, and treated as one whom the King of kings delights to honour. Out of prison he comes to reign, Eccl. iv. 14. If believers, then children; and, if children, then heirs.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1145,"text":"Eccl. iv. 14","label":"Ecclesiastes 4:14","href":"/ecc/4/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"God's design in sending his Son into the world","excerpt":"Secondly, Here is God's design in sending hi Son into the world: it was that the world through him might be saved. He came into the world with salvation in his eye, with salvation in his hand. Therefore the aforementioned offer of live and salvation is sincere, and shall be made good to all that by faith accept it (v. 17): God sent his Son into the world, this guilty, rebellious, apostate world; sent him as his agent or ambassador, not as sometimes he had sent angels into the world as visitants, but as resident. Ever since man sinned, he has dreaded the approach and appearance of any special messenger from heaven, as being conscious of guilt and looking for judgment: We shall surely die, for we have seen God. If therefore the Son of God himself come, we are concerned to enquire on what errand he comes: Is it peace? Or, as they asked Samuel trembling, Comest thou peaceably? And this scripture returns the answer, Peaceably. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":317,"text":"v. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.17.2","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"He came that the world through him might be saved","excerpt":"... 2. He came that the world through him might be saved, that a door of salvation might be opened to the world, and whoever would might enter in by it. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, and so saving it. An act of indemnity is passed and published, through Christ a remedial law made, and the world of mankind dealt with, not according to the rigours of the first covenant, but according to the riches of the second; that the world through him might be saved, for it could never be saved but through him; there is not salvation in any other. This is good news to a convinced conscience, healing to broken bones and bleeding wounds, that Christ, our judge, came not to condemn, but to save.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"The happiness of true believers","excerpt":"[3.] From all this is inferred the happiness of true believers: He that believeth on him is not condemned, v. 18. Though he has been a sinner, a great sinner, and stands convicted (habes confilentem reum—by his own confession), yet, upon his believing, process is stayed, judgment is arrested, and he is not condemned. This denotes more than a reprieve; he is not condemned, that is, he is acquitted; he stand upon his deliverance (as we say), and if he be not condemned he is discharged; ou krinetai—he is not judged, not dealt with in strict justice, according to the desert of his sins. He is accused, and he cannot plead not guilty to the indictment, but he can plead in bar, can plead a noli prosequi upon the indictment, as blessed Paul does, Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died. He is afflicted, chastened of God, persecuted by the world; but he is not condemned. The cross perhaps lies heavy upon him, but he is saved from the curse: condemned by the world, it may be, but not condemned with the world, Rom. viii. 1; 1 Cor. xi. 32.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":107,"text":"v. 18","label":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.18.2","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"The doom of those that will not believe in Christ","excerpt":"4. Christ, in the close, discourses concerning the deplorable condition of those that persist in unbelief and wilful ignorance, v. 18-21.\n\n(1.) Read here the doom of those that will not believe in Christ: they are condemned already. Observe, [1.] How great the sin of unbelievers is; it is aggravated from the dignity of the person they slight; they believe not in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, who is infinitely true, and deserves to be believed, infinitely good, and deserves to be embraced. God sent one to save us that was dearest to himself; and shall not he be dearest to us? Shall we not believe on his name who has a name above every name? [2.] How great the misery of unbelievers is: they are condemned already; which bespeaks, First, A certain condemnation. They are as sure to be condemned in the judgment of the great day as if they were condemned already. Secondly, A present condemnation. The curse has already taken hold of them; the wrath of God now fastens upon them. They are condemned already, for their own hearts condemn them. Thirdly, A condemnation grounded upon their former guilt: He is condemned already, for he lies open to the law for all his sins; the obligation of the law is in full force, power, and virtue, against him, because he is not by faith interested in the gospel defeasance; he is condemned already, because he has not believed. Unbelief may truly be called the great damning sin, because it leaves us under the guilt of all our other sins; it is a sin against the remedy, against our appeal.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":128,"text":"v. 18-21","label":"John 3:18–21","href":"/jhn/3/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"The doom of those that would not so much as know him","excerpt":"(2.) Read also the doom of those that would not so much as know him, v. 19. Many inquisitive people had knowledge of Christ and his doctrine and miracles, but they were prejudiced against him, and would not believe in him, while the generality were sottishly careless and stupid, and would not know him. And this is the condemnation, the sin that ruined them, that light is come into the world, and they loved darkness rather. Now here observe, [1.] That the gospel is light, and, when the gospel came, light came into the world, Light is self-evidencing, so is the gospel; it proves its own divine origin. Light is discovering, and truly the light is sweet, and rejoices the heart. It is a light shining in a dark place, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. It is come into all the world (Col. i. 6), and not confined to one corner of it, as the Old-Testament light was. [2.] It is the unspeakable folly of the most of men that they loved darkness rather than light, rather than this light. The Jews loved the dark shadows of their law, and the instructions of their blind guides, rather than the doctrine of Christ. The Gentiles loved their superstitious services of an unknown God, whom they ignorantly worshipped, rather than the reasonable service which the gospel enjoins. Sinners that were wedded to their lusts loved their ignorance and mistakes, which supported them in their sins, rather than the truths of Christ, which would have parted them from their sins. Man's apostasy began in an affectation of forbidden knowledge, but is kept up by an affectation of forbidden ignorance. Wretched man is in love with his sickness, in love with his slavery, and will not be made free, will not be made whole. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":69,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":808,"text":"Col. i. 6","label":"Colossians 1:6","href":"/col/1/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"The true reason why men love darkness rather than light","excerpt":"... [3.] The true reason why men love darkness rather than light is because their deeds are evil. They love darkness because they think it is an excuse for their evil deeds, and they hate the light because it robs them of the good opinion they had of themselves, by showing them their sinfulness and misery. Their case is sad, and, because they are resolved that they will not mend it, they are resolved that they will not see it. [4.] Wilful ignorance is so far from excusing sin that it will be found, at the great day, to aggravate the condemnation: This is the condemnation, this is what ruins souls, that they shut their eyes against the light, and will not so much as admit a parley with Christ and his gospel; they set God so much at defiance that they desire not the knowledge of his ways, Job xxi. 14. We must account in the judgment, not only for the knowledge we had, and used not, but for the knowledge we might have had, and would not; not only for the knowledge we sinned against, but for the knowledge we sinned away. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":798,"text":"Job xxi. 14","label":"Job 21:14","href":"/job/21/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"Those that do evil ... hate the light","excerpt":"First, It is not strange if those that do evil, and resolve to persist in it, hate the light of Christ's gospel; for it is a common observation that every one that doeth evil hateth the light, v. 20. Evil-doers seek concealment, out of a sense of shame and fear of punishment; see Job xxiv. 13, &c. Sinful works are works of darkness; sin from the first affected concealment, Job xxxi. 33. The light shakes the wicked, Job xxxviii. 12, 13. Thus the gospel is a terror to the wicked world: They come not to this light, but keep as far off it as they can, lest their deeds should be reproved. Note, 1. The light of the gospel is sent into the world to reprove the evil deeds of sinners; to make them manifest (Eph. v. 13), to show people their transgressions, to show that to be sin which was not thought to be so, and to show them the evil of their transgressions, that sin by the new commandment might appear exceeding sinful. The gospel has its convictions, to make way for its consolations. 2. It is for this reason that evil-doers hate the light of the gospel. There were those who had done evil and were sorry for it, who bade this light welcome, as the publicans and harlots. But he that does evil, that does it and resolves to go on in it, hateth the light, cannot bear to be told of his faults. All that opposition which the gospel of Christ has met with in the world comes from the wicked heart, influenced by the wicked one. Christ is hated because sin is loved. 3. They who do not come to the light thereby evidence a secret hatred of the light. If they had not an antipathy to saving knowledge, they would not sit down so contentedly in damning ignorance.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":193,"text":"v. 20","label":"John 3:20","href":"/jhn/3/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":281,"text":"Job xxiv. 13","label":"Job 24:13","href":"/job/24/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":376,"text":"Job xxxi. 33","label":"Job 31:33","href":"/job/31/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":419,"text":"Job xxxviii. 12, 13","label":"Job 38:12–13","href":"/job/38/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":708,"text":"Eph. v. 13","label":"Ephesians 5:13","href":"/eph/5/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"Upright hearts ... bid this light welcome","excerpt":"Secondly, On the other hand, upright hearts, that approve themselves to God in their integrity, bid this light welcome (v. 21): He that doeth truth cometh to the light. It seems, then, that though the gospel had many enemies it had some friends. It is a common observation that truth seeks no corners. Those who mean and act honestly dread not a scrutiny, but desire it rather. Now this is applicable to the gospel light; as it convinces and terrifies evil-doers, so it confirms and comforts those that walk in their integrity. Observe here, 1. The character of a good man. (1.) He is one that doeth truth; that is, he acts truly and sincerely in all he does. Though sometimes he comes short of doing good, the good he would do, yet he doeth truth, he aims honestly; he has his infirmities, but holds fast his integrity; as Gaius, that did faithfully (3 John 5), as Paul (2 Cor. i. 12), as Nathanael (ch. i. 47), as Asa, 1 Kings xv. 14. (2.) He is one that cometh to the light. He is ready to receive and entertain divine revelation as far as it appears to him to be so, what uneasiness soever it may create him. He that doeth truth is willing to know the truth by himself, and to have his deeds made manifest. A good man is much employed in trying himself, and is desirous that God would try him, Ps. xxvi. 2. He is solicitous to know what the will of God is, and resolves to do it, though ever so contrary to his own will and interest. 2. Here is the character of a good work: it is wrought in God, in union with him by a covenanting faith, and in communion with him by devout affections. Our works are then good, and will bear the test, when the will of God is the rule of them and the glory of God the end of them; when they are done in his strength, and for his sake, to him, and not to men; and if, by the light of the gospel, it be manifest to us that our works are thus wrought, then shall we have rejoicing, Gal. vi. 4; 2 Cor. i. 12.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":120,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 3:21","href":"/jhn/3/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":852,"text":"3 John 5","label":"3 John 1:5","href":"/3jn/1/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":872,"text":"2 Cor. i. 12","label":"2 Corinthians 1:12","href":"/2co/1/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":901,"text":"ch. i. 47","label":"John 1:47","href":"/jhn/1/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":921,"text":"1 Kings xv. 14","label":"1 Kings 15:14","href":"/1ki/15/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":1298,"text":"Ps. xxvi. 2","label":"Psalms 26:2","href":"/psa/26/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Christ's removal into the land of Judea","excerpt":"In these verses we have,\n\nI. Christ's removal into the land of Judea (v. 22), and there he tarried with his disciples. Observe, 1. Our Lord Jesus, after he entered upon his public work, travelled much, and removed often, as the patriarchs in their sojournings. As it was a good part of his humiliation that he had no certain dwelling-place, but was, as Paul, in journeyings often, so it was an instance of his unwearied industry, in the work for which he came into the world, that he went about in prosecution of it; many a weary step he took to do good to souls. The Sun of righteousness took a large circuit to diffuse his light and heat, Ps. xix. 6. 2. He was not wont to stay long at Jerusalem. Though he went frequently thither, yet he soon returned into the country; as here. After these things, after he had had this discourse with Nicodemus, he came into the land of Judea; not so much for greater privacy (though mean and obscure places best suited the humble Jesus in his humble state) as for greater usefulness. His preaching and miracles, perhaps, made most noise at Jerusalem, the fountain-head of news, but did least good there, where the most considerable men of the Jewish church had so much the ascendant. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":70,"text":"v. 22","label":"John 3:22","href":"/jhn/3/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":641,"text":"Ps. xix. 6","label":"Psalms 19:6","href":"/psa/19/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.22.2","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"There he tarried with them ... There he baptized","excerpt":"... 4. There he tarried with them, dietribe—He conversed with them, discoursed with them. He did not retire into the country for his ease and pleasure, but for more free conversation with his disciples and followers. See Cant. vii. 11, 12. Note, Those that are ready to go with Christ shall find him as ready to stay with them. It is supposed that he now staid five or six months in this country. 5. There he baptized; he admitted disciples, such as believed in him, and had more honesty and courage than those had at Jerusalem, ch. ii. 24. John began to baptize in the land of Judea (Matt. iii. 1), therefore Christ began there, for John had said, There comes one after me. He himself baptized not, with his own hand, but his disciples by his orders and directions, as appears, ch. iv. 2. But his disciples' baptizing was his baptizing. Holy ordinances are Christ's, though administered by weak men.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":221,"text":"Cant. vii. 11, 12","label":"Song of Songs 7:11–12","href":"/sng/7/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":529,"text":"ch. ii. 24","label":"John 2:42","href":"/jhn/2/#v42","status":"detected"},{"at":585,"text":"Matt. iii. 1","label":"Matthew 3:1","href":"/mat/3/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":779,"text":"ch. iv. 2","label":"John 4:2","href":"/jhn/4/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"That John was baptizing","excerpt":"II. John's continuance in his work, as long as his opportunities lasted, v. 23, 24. Here we are told,\n\n1. That John was baptizing. Christ's baptism was, for substance, the same with John's, for John bore witness to Christ, and therefore they did not at all clash or interfere with one another. But, (1.) Christ began the work of preaching and baptizing before John laid it down, that he might be ready to receive John's disciples when he should be taken off, and so the wheels might be kept going. It is a comfort to useful men, when they are going off the stage, to see those rising up who are likely to fill up their place. (2.) John continued the work of preaching and baptizing though Christ had taken it up; for he would still, according to the measure given to him, advance the interests of God's kingdom. There was still work for John to do, for Christ was not yet generally known, nor were the minds of people thoroughly prepared for him by repentance. From heaven John had received his command, and he would go on in his work till he thence received his countermand, and would have his dismission from the same hand that gave him his commission. He does not come in to Christ, lest what had formerly passed should look like a combination between them; but he goes on with his work, till Providence lays him aside. The greater gifts of some do not render the labours of others, that come short of them, needless and useless; there is work enough for all hands. They are sullen that will sit down and do nothing when they see themselves out-shone. Though we have but one talent, we must account for that: and, when we see ourselves going off, must yet go on to the last.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":73,"text":"v. 23, 24","label":"John 3:23–24","href":"/jhn/3/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.23.2","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"That he baptized in Enon near Salim","excerpt":"2. That he baptized in Enon near Salim, places we find nowhere else mentioned, and therefore the learned are altogether at a loss where to find them. Wherever it was, it seems that John removed from place to place; he did not think that there was any virtue in Jordan, because Jesus was baptized there, which should engage him to stay there, but as he saw cause he removed to other waters. Ministers must follow their opportunities. He chose a place where there was much water, hydata polla—many waters, that is, many streams of water; so that wherever he met with any that were willing to submit to his baptism water was at hand to baptize them with, shallow perhaps, as is usual where there are many brooks, but such as would serve his purpose. And in that country plenty of water was a valuable thing.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.23-24.1","start":23,"end":24,"heading":"That thither people came to him ... John was not yet cast into prison","excerpt":"3. That thither people came to him and were baptized. Though they did not come in such vast crowds as they did when he first appeared, yet now he was not without encouragement, but there were still those that attended and owned him. Some refer this both to John and to Jesus: They came and were baptized; that is, some came to John, and were baptized by him, some to Jesus, and were baptized by him, and, as their baptism was one, so were their hearts.\n\n4. It is noted (v. 24) that John was not yet cast into prison, to clear the order of the story, and to show that these passages are to come in before Matt. vi. 12. John never desisted from his work as long as he had his liberty; nay, he seems to have been the more industrious, because he foresaw his time was short; he was not yet cast into prison, but he expected it ere long, ch. ix. 4.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":470,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 3:24","href":"/jhn/3/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":604,"text":"Matt. vi. 12","label":"Matthew 6:12","href":"/mat/6/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"A contest between John's disciples and the Jews about purifying","excerpt":"III. A contest between John's disciples and the Jews about purifying, v. 25. See how the gospel of Christ came not to send peace upon earth, but division. Observe, 1. Who were the disputants: some of John's disciples, and the Jews who had not submitted to his baptism of repentance. Penitents and impenitents divide this sinful world. In this contest, it should seem, John's disciples were the aggressors, and gave the challenge; and it is a sign that they were novices, who had more zeal than discretion. The truths of God have often suffered by the rashness of those that have undertaken to defend them before they were able to do it. 2. What was the matter in dispute: about purifying, about religious washing. (1.) We may suppose that John's disciples cried up his baptism, his purifying, as instar omnium—superior to all others, and gave the preference to that as perfecting and superseding all the purifications of the Jews, and they were in the right; but young converts are too apt to boast of their attainments, whereas he that finds the treasure should hide it till he is sure that he has it, and not talk of it too much at first. (2.) No doubt the Jews with as much assurance applauded the purifyings that were in use among them, both those that were instituted by the law of Moses and those that were imposed by the tradition of the elders; for the former they had a divine warrant, and for the latter the usage of the church. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":70,"text":"v. 25","label":"John 3:25","href":"/jhn/3/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"A complaint which John's disciples made to their master","excerpt":"IV. A complaint which John's disciples made to their master concerning Christ and his baptizing, v. 26. They, being nonplussed by the fore-mentioned objection, and probably ruffled and put into a heat by it, come to their master, and tell him, \"Rabbi, he that was with thee, and was baptized of thee, is now set up for himself; he baptizeth, and all men come to him; and wilt thou suffer it?\" Their itch for disputing occasioned this. It is common for men, when they find themselves run aground in the heat of disputation, to fall foul upon those that do them no harm. If these disciples of John had not undertaken to dispute about purifying, before they understood the doctrine of baptism, they might have answered the objection without being put into a passion. In their complaint, they speak respectfully to their own master, Rabbit; but speak very slightly of our Saviour, though they do not name him. 1. They suggest that Christ's setting up a baptism of his own was a piece of presumption, very unaccountable; as if John, having first set up this rite of baptizing, must have the monopoly of it, and, as it were, a patent for the invention: \"He that was with thee beyond Jordan, as a disciple of thine, behold, and wonder, the same, the very same, baptizes, and takes thy work out of thy hand.\" Thus the voluntary condescensions of the Lord Jesus, as that of his being baptized by John, are often unjustly and very unkindly turned to his reproach. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":97,"text":"v. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"John acquiesces in the divine disposal","excerpt":"1. John here abases himself in comparison with Christ, v. 27-30. The more others magnify us, the more we must humble ourselves, and fortify ourselves against the temptation of flattery and applause, and the jealousy of our friends for our honour, by remembering our place, and what we are, 1 Cor. iii. 5.\n\n(1.) John acquiesces in the divine disposal, and satisfies himself with that (v. 27): A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven, whence every good gift comes (James i. 17), a general truth very applicable in this case. Different employments are according to the direction of divine Providence, different endowments according to the distribution of the divine grace. No man can take any true honour to himself, Heb. v. 4. We have as necessary and constant a dependence upon the grace of God in all the motions and actions of the spiritual life as we have upon the providence of God in all the motions and actions of the natural life: now this comes in here as a reason, [1.] Why we should not envy those that have a larger share of gifts than we have, or move in a larger sphere of usefulness. John reminds his disciples that Jesus would not have thus excelled him except he had received it from heaven, for, as man and Mediator, he received gifts; and, if God gave him the Spirit without measure (v. 34), shall they grudge at it? The same reason will hold as to others. If God is pleased to give to others more ability and success than to us, shall we be displeased at it, and reflect upon him as unjust, unwise, and partial? See Matt. xx. 15. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":55,"text":"v. 27-30","label":"John 3:27–30","href":"/jhn/3/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":290,"text":"1 Cor. iii. 5","label":"1 Corinthians 3:5","href":"/1co/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":384,"text":"v. 27","label":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":484,"text":"James i. 17","label":"James 1:17","href":"/jas/1/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":735,"text":"Heb. v. 4","label":"Hebrews 5:4","href":"/heb/5/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1322,"text":"v. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"John appeals to the testimony he had formerly given","excerpt":"(2.) John appeals to the testimony he had formerly given concerning Christ (v. 28): You can bear me witness that I said, again and again, I am not the Christ, but I am sent before him. See how steady and constant John was in his testimony to Christ, and not as a reed shaken with the wind; neither the frowns of the chief priests, nor the flatteries of his own disciples, could make him change his note. Now this serves here, [1.] As a conviction to his disciples of the unreasonableness of their complaint. They had spoken of the witness which their master bore to Jesus (v. 26): \"Now,\" saith John, \"do you not remember what the testimony was that I did bear? Call that to mind, and you will see your own cavil answered. Did I not say, I am not the Christ? Why then do you set me up as a rival with him that is? Did I not say, I am sent before him? Why then does it seem strange to you that I should stand by and give way to him?\" [2.] It is a comfort to himself that he had never given his disciples any occasion thus to set him up in competition with Christ; but, on the contrary, had particularly cautioned them against this mistake, though he might have made a hand of it for himself. It is a satisfaction to faithful ministers when they have done what they could in their places to prevent any extravagances that their people ran into. John had not only not encouraged them to hope that he was the Messiah, but had plainly told them the contrary, which was now a satisfaction to him. It is a common excuse for those who have undue honour paid them, Si populus vult decipi, decipiatur—If the people will be deceived, let them; but that is an ill maxim for those to go by whose business it is to undeceive people. The lip of truth shall be established.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":76,"text":"v. 28","label":"John 3:28","href":"/jhn/3/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":573,"text":"v. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"He compares our Saviour to the bridegroom","excerpt":"(3.) John professes the great satisfaction he had in the advancement of Christ and his interest. He was so far from regretting it, as his disciples did, that he rejoiced in it. This he expresses (v. 29) by an elegant similitude. [1.] He compares our Saviour to the bridegroom: \"He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. Do all men come to him? It is well, whither else should they go? Has he got the throne in men's affections? Who else should have it? It is his right; to whom should the bride be brought but to the bridegroom?\" Christ was prophesied of in the Old Testament as a bridegroom, Ps. xlv. The Word was made flesh, that the disparity of nature might not be a bar to the match. Provision is made for the purifying of the church, that the defilement of sin might be no bar. Christ espouses his church to himself; he has the bride, for he has her love, he has her promise; the church is subject to Christ. As far as particular souls are devoted to him in faith and love, so far the bridegroom has the bride. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":196,"text":"v. 29","label":"John 3:29","href":"/jhn/3/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":593,"text":"Ps. xlv","label":"Psalms 45:1–17","href":"/psa/45/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"He compares himself to the friend of the bridegroom","excerpt":"... [2.] He compares himself to the friend of the bridegroom, who attends upon him, to do him honour and service, assists him in prosecuting the match, speaks a good word for him, uses his interest on his behalf, rejoices when the match goes on, and most of all when the point is gained, and he has the bride. All that John had done in preaching and baptizing was to introduce him; and, now that he was come, he had what he wished for: The friend of the bridegroom stands, and hears him; stands expecting him, and waiting for him; rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice, because he is come to the marriage after he had been long expected. Note, First, Faithful ministers are friends of the bridegroom, to recommend him to the affections and choice of the children of men; to bring letters and messages from him, for he courts by proxy; and herein they must be faithful to him. Secondly, The friends of the bridegroom must stand, and hear the bridegroom's voice; must receive instructions from him, and attend his orders; must desire to have proofs of Christ speaking in them, and with them (2 Cor. xiii. 3); that is the bridegroom's voice. Thirdly, The espousing of souls to Jesus Christ, in faith and love, is the fulfilling of the joy of every good minister. If the day of Christ's espousals be the day of the gladness of his heart (Cant. iii. 11), it cannot but be of their too who love him and wish well to his honour and kingdom. Surely they have no greater joy.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1104,"text":"2 Cor. xiii. 3","label":"2 Corinthians 13:3","href":"/2co/13/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1348,"text":"Cant. iii. 11","label":"Song of Songs 3:11","href":"/sng/3/#v11","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"He must increase, but I must decrease","excerpt":"(4.) He owns it highly fit and necessary that the reputation and interest of Christ should be advanced, and his own diminished (v. 30): He must increase, but I must decrease. If they grieve at the growing greatness of the Lord Jesus, they will have more and more occasion to grieve, as those have that indulge themselves in envy and emulation. John speaks of Christ's increase and his own decrease, not only as necessary and unavoidable, which could not be helped and therefore must be borne, but as highly just and agreeable, and affording him entire satisfaction. [1.] He was well pleased to see the kingdom of Christ getting ground: \"He must increase. You think he has gained a great deal, but it is nothing to what he will gain.\" Note, The kingdom of Christ is, and will be, a growing kingdom, like the light of the morning, like the grain of mustard-seed. [2.] He was not at all displeased that the effect of this was the diminishing of his own interest: I must decrease. Created excellencies are under this law, they must decrease. I have seen an end of all perfection. Note, First, The shining forth of the glory of Christ eclipses the lustre of all other glory. The glory that stands in competition with Christ, that of the world and the flesh, decreases and loses ground in the soul as the knowledge and love of Christ increase and get ground; but it is here spoken of that which is subservient to him. As the light of the morning increases, that of the morning star decreases. Secondly, If our diminution or abasement may but in the least contribute to the advancement of Christ's name, we must cheerfully submit to it, and be content to be any thing, to be nothing, so that Christ may be all.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":128,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"The dignity of Christ's person","excerpt":"(1.) He instructs them concerning the dignity of Christ's person (v. 31): He that cometh from above, that cometh from heaven, is above all. Here, [1.] He supposes his divine origin, that he came from above, from heaven, which bespeaks not only his divine extraction, but his divine nature. He had a being before his conception, a heavenly being. None but he that came from heaven was fit to show us the will of heaven, or the way to heaven. When God would save man, he sent from above. [2.] Hence he infers his sovereign authority: he is above all, above all things and all persons, God over all, blessed for evermore. It is daring presumption to dispute precedency with him. When we come to speak of the honours of the Lord Jesus, we find they transcend all conception and expression, and we can say but this, He is above all. It was said of John Baptist, There is not a greater among them that are born of women. But the descent of Christ from heaven put such a dignity upon him as he was not divested of by his being made flesh; still he was above all. This he further illustrates by the meanness of those who stood in competition with him: He that is of the earth, is earthly, ho on ek tes ges, ek tes ges esti—He that is of the earth is of the earth; he that has his origin of the earth has his food out of the earth, has his converse with earthly things, and his concern is for them. Note, First, Man has his rise out of the earth; not only Adam at first, but we also still are formed out of the clay, Job xxxiii. 6. Look to the rock whence we were hewn. Secondly, Man's constitution is therefore earthly; not only his body frail and mortal, but his soul corrupt and carnal, and its bent and bias strong towards earthly things. The prophets and apostles were of the same mould with other men; they were but earthen vessels, though they had a rich treasure lodged in them; and shall these be set up as rivals with Christ? Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth; but let them not cope with him that came from heaven.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":66,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":1508,"text":"Job xxxiii. 6","label":"Job 33:6","href":"/job/33/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"Concerning the excellency and certainty of his doctrine","excerpt":"(2.) Concerning the excellency and certainty of his doctrine. His disciples were displeased that Christ's preaching was admired, and attended upon, more than his; but he tells them that there was reason enough for it. For,\n\n[1.] He, for his part, spoke of the earth, and so do all those that are of the earth. The prophets were men and spoke like men; of themselves they could not speak but of the earth, 2 Cor. iii. 5. The preaching of the prophets and of John was but low and flat compared with Christ's preaching; as heaven is high above the earth, so were his thoughts above theirs. By them God spoke on earth, but in Christ he speaketh from heaven.\n\n[2.] But he that cometh from heaven is not only in his person, but in his doctrine, above all the prophets that ever lived on earth; none teacheth like him. The doctrine of Christ is here recommended to us,","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":405,"text":"2 Cor. iii. 5","label":"2 Corinthians 3:5","href":"/2co/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"As infallibly sure and certain","excerpt":"First, As infallibly sure and certain, and to be entertained accordingly (v. 32): What he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth. See here, 1. Christ's divine knowledge; he testified nothing but what he had seen and heard, what he was perfectly apprized of and thoroughly acquainted with. What he discovered of the divine nature and of the invisible world was what he had seen; what he revealed of the mind of God was what he had heard immediately from him, and not at second hand. The prophets testified what was made known to them in creams and visions by the mediation of angels, but not what they had seen and heard. John was the crier's voice, that said, \"Make room for the witness, and keep silence while the charge is given,\" but then leaves it to the witness to give in his testimony himself, and the judge to give the charge himself. The gospel of Christ is not a doubtful opinion, like an hypothesis or new notion in philosophy, which every one is at liberty to believe or not; but it is a revelation of the mind of God, which is of eternal truth in itself, and of infinite concern to us. 2. His divine grace and goodness: that which he had seen and heard he was pleased to make known to us, because he knew it nearly concerned us. What Paul had seen and heard in the third heavens he could not testify (2 Cor. xii. 4), but Christ knew how to utter what he had seen and heard. Christ's preaching is here called his testifying, to denote, (1.) The convincing evidence of it; it was not reported as news by hearsay, but it was testified as evidence given in court, with great caution and assurance. (2.) The affectionate earnestness of the delivery of it: it was testified with concern and importunity, as Acts xviii. 5.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":74,"text":"v. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":1315,"text":"2 Cor. xii. 4","label":"2 Corinthians 12:4","href":"/2co/12/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.32.2","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"To lament the infidelity of the most of men","excerpt":"From the certainty of Christ's doctrine, John takes occasion, [1.] To lament the infidelity of the most of men: though he testifies what is infallibly true, yet no man receiveth his testimony, that is, very few, next to none, none in comparison with those that refuse it. They receive it not, they will not hear it, they do not heed it, or give credit to it. This he speaks of not only as a matter of wonder, that such a testimony should not be received (Who hath believed our report? How stupid and foolish are the greatest part of mankind, what enemies to themselves!) but as matter of grief; John's disciples grieved that all men came to Christ (v. 26); they thought his followers too many. But John grieves that no man came to him; he thought them too few. Note, The unbelief of sinners is the grief of saints. It was for this that St. Paul had great heaviness, Rom. ix. 2. ...","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":649,"text":"v. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"To commend the faith of the chosen remnant","excerpt":"... [2.] He takes occasion to commend the faith of the chosen remnant (v. 33): He that hath received his testimony (and some such there were, though very few) hath set to his seal that God is true. God is true, though we do not set our seal to it; let God be true, and every man a liar; his truth needs not our faith to support it, but by faith we do ourselves the honour and justice to subscribe to his truth, and hereby God reckons himself honoured. God's promises are all yea and amen; by faith we put our amen to them, as Rev. xxii. 20. Observe, He that receives the testimony of Christ subscribes not only to the truth of Christ, but to the truth of God, for his name is the Word of God; the commandments of God and the testimony of Christ are put together, Rev. xii. 17. By believing in Christ we set to our seal, First, That God is true to all the promises which he has made concerning Christ, that which he spoke by the mouth of all his holy prophets; what he swore to our fathers is all accomplished, and not one iota or tittle of it fallen to the ground, Luke i. 70, &c. Acts xiii. 32, 33. Secondly, That he is true to all the promises he has made in Christ; we venture our souls upon God's veracity, being satisfied that he is true; we are willing to deal with him upon trust, and to quit all in this world for a happiness in reversion and out of sight. By this we greatly honour God's faithfulness. Whom we give credit to we give honour to.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":71,"text":"v. 33","label":"John 3:33","href":"/jhn/3/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":526,"text":"Rev. xxii. 20","label":"Revelation 22:20","href":"/rev/22/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":763,"text":"Rev. xii. 17","label":"Revelation 12:17","href":"/rev/12/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1065,"text":"Luke i. 70","label":"Luke 1:70","href":"/luk/1/#v70","status":"detected"},{"at":1081,"text":"Acts xiii. 32, 33","label":"Acts 13:32–33","href":"/act/13/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"It is recommended to us as a divine doctrine","excerpt":"Secondly, It is recommended to us as a divine doctrine; not his own, but his that sent him (v. 34): For he whom God hath sent speaketh the word of God, which he was sent to speak, and enabled to speak; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The prophets were as messengers that brought letters from heaven; but Christ came under the character of an ambassador, and treats with us as such; for, 1. He spoke the words of God, and nothing he said savoured of human infirmity; both substance and language were divine. He proved himself sent of God (ch. iii. 2), and therefore his words are to be received as the words of God. By this rule we may try the spirits: those that speak as the oracles of God, and prophesy according to the proportion of faith, are to be received as sent of God. 2. He spoke as no other prophet did; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him. None can speak the words of God without the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. The Old-Testament prophets had the Spirit, and in different degrees, 2 Kings ii. 9, 10. But, whereas God gave them the Spirit by measure (1 Cor. xii. 4), he gave him to Christ without measure; all fulness dwelt in him, the fulness of the Godhead, an immeasurable fulness. The Spirit was not in Christ as in a vessel, but as in a fountain, as in a bottomless ocean. \"The prophets that had the Spirit in a limited manner, only with respect to some particular revelation, sometimes spoke of themselves; but he that had the Spirit always residing in him, without stint, always spoke the words of God.\" So Dr. Whitby.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":92,"text":"v. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":557,"text":"ch. iii. 2","label":"John 3:2","href":"/jhn/3/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":942,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 10, 11","label":"1 Corinthians 2:10–11","href":"/1co/2/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":1030,"text":"2 Kings ii. 9, 10","label":"2 Kings 2:9–10","href":"/2ki/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1099,"text":"1 Cor. xii. 4","label":"1 Corinthians 12:4","href":"/1co/12/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"He is the beloved Son of the Father","excerpt":"(3.) Concerning the power and authority he is invested with, which gives him the pre-eminence above all others, and a more excellent name than they.\n\n[1.] He is the beloved Son of the Father (v. 35): The Father loveth the Son. The prophets were faithful as servants, but Christ as a Son; they were employed as servants, but Christ beloved as a son, always his delight, Prov. viii. 30. The Father was well pleased in him; not only he did love him, but he doth love him; he continued his love to him even in his estate of humiliation, loved him never the less for his poverty and sufferings.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":192,"text":"v. 35","label":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":369,"text":"Prov. viii. 30","label":"Proverbs 8:30","href":"/pro/8/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.35.2","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"He is Lord of all","excerpt":"[2.] He is Lord of all. The Father, as an evidence of his love for him, hath given all things into his hand. Love is generous. The Father took such a complacency and had such a confidence in him that he constituted him the great feoffee in trust for mankind. Having given him the Spirit without measure, he gave him all things; for he was hereby qualified to be master and manager of all. Note, It is the honour of Christ, and the unspeakable comfort of all Christians, that the Father hath given all things into the hands of the Mediator. First, All power; so it is explained, Matt. xxviii. 18. All the works of creation being put under his feet, all the affairs of redemption are put into his hand; he is Lord of all. Angels are his servants; devils are his captives. He has power over all flesh, the heathen given him for his inheritance. The kingdom of providence is committed to his administration. He has power to settle the terms of the covenant of peace as the great plenipotentiary, to govern his church as the great lawgiver, to dispense divine favours as the great almoner, and to call all to account as the great Judge. Both the golden sceptre and the iron rod are given into his hand. Secondly, All grace is given into his hand as the channel of conveyance; all things, all those good things which God intended to give to the children of men; eternal life, and all its preliminaries. We are unworthy that the Father should give those things into our hands, for we have made ourselves the children of his wrath; he hath therefore appointed the Son of his love to be trustee for us, and the things he intended for us he gives into his hands, who is worthy, and has merited both honours for himself and favours for us. They are given into his hands, by him to be given into ours. This is a great encouragement to faith, that the riches of the new covenant are deposited in so sure, so kind, so good a hand, the hand of him that purchased them for us, and us for himself, who is able to keep all that which both God and believers have agreed to commit to him.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":578,"text":"Matt. xxviii. 18","label":"Matthew 28:18","href":"/mat/28/#v18","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"He is the object of that faith","excerpt":"[3.] He is the object of that faith which is made the great condition of eternal happiness, and herein he has the pre-eminence above all others: He that believeth on the Son, hath life, v. 36. We have here the application of what he had said concerning Christ and his doctrine; and it is the conclusion of the whole matter. If God has put this honour upon the Son, we must by faith give honour to him. As God offers and conveys good things to us by the testimony of Jesus Christ, whose word is the vehicle of divine favours, so we receive and partake of those favours by believing the testimony, and entertaining that word as true and good; this way of receiving fitly answers that way of giving. We have here the sum of that gospel which is to be preached to every creature, Mark xvi. 16. Here is,\n\nFirst, The blessed state of all true Christians: He that believes on the Son hath everlasting life. Note, 1. It is the character of every true Christian that he believes on the Son of God; not only believes him, that what he saith is true, but believes on him, consents to him, and confides in him. The benefit of true Christianity is no less than everlasting life; this is what Christ came to purchase for us and confer upon us; it can be no less than the happiness of an immortal soul in an immortal God. 2. True believers, even now, have everlasting life; not only they shall have it hereafter, but they have it now. For, (1.) They have very good security for it. The deed by which it passeth is sealed and delivered to them, and so they have it; it is put into the hands of their guardian for them, and so they have it, though the use be not yet transferred into possession. They have the Son of God, and in him they have life; and the Spirit of God, the earnest of this life. (2.) They have the comfortable foretastes of it, in present communion with God and the tokens of his love. Grace is glory begun.","source_url":"https://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc5.John.iv.html","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":186,"text":"v. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":776,"text":"Mark xvi. 16","label":"Mark 16:16","href":"/mrk/16/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"bengel","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","short_name":"Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"title":"Gnomon of the New Testament, Vol. II (Gospels according to St Luke and St John)","edition_short":"Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1857-58","author_url":"/commentators/bengel/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/bengel/","entries":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.1-2.1","start":1,"end":2,"heading":"","excerpt":"Now there was) Eleven conversations of Jesus are recounted in full detail by John: the first of these now begins. ... a man) one of those, concerning whom see ch. ii., towards the close: but one considerably better than many. ... by night) There is never a time that Christ does not receive comers to Him. ... we know) I, and those like me: the rulers rather than the Pharisees, ch. xii. 42. To this plural answers the plural, ver. 7, “ Ye must be born again.” The Antecedent is put by Nicodemus as the consequent: For this reason I wished to confer with Thee. He wished to hear as to heavenly things and as to sublime things, ver. 12 [but Jesus brings him up to first principles. ... signs) ch. ii. 23, “ At the passover, on the feast day, many believed on Him when they saw the miracles which He did.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":383,"text":"xii. 42","label":"John 12:42","href":"/jhn/12/#v42","status":"detected"},{"at":427,"text":"ver. 7","label":"John 3:7","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":627,"text":"ver. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":696,"text":"ii. 23","label":"John 2:23","href":"/jhn/2/#v23","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"","excerpt":"Unless one [Except a man]) The expression is indefinite : Nicodemus, however, rightly applies it to himself. Comp. ver. 7, ye. The sense here is: That opinion of thine, Nicodemus, as to Jesus is not sufficient: it is needful that you absolutely believe, and submit yourself to the heavenly ordinance, even baptism. Comp. Mark xvi. 16, “ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” ‘This was the doctrine necessary for Nicodemus. Accordingly Jesus began from this point, as Nicodemus indeed had furnished the handle. ... be born) This is put forward first under a figure, in hard language, in order to convince [convict] Nicodemus of ignorance; it is afterwards, when he was humbled, shown in plain [literal] words, ver. 15, “ That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,” etc., etc. ... [Beware of thinking that the work of faith is accomplished without any trouble: for it is (nothing short of) a generation from above. Beware again, on the other hand, of regarding regeneration as more difficult than it really is: it is simply, to wit, accomplished by faith (i.e. in the act of believing).—V. g.] ... Nicodemus had not himself sufficiently known [the full significancy of] what (ver. 2, Thou art a Teacher come from God) he had said. ... to see) even now, and after this life: to see, with [real] enjoyment. ... the kingdom of God) [Nicodemus was aspiring after this ; yet being ignorant of how great consequence in this respect faith in Jesus was.—V. g.] He who sees Christ, sees this. Whence the new birth [cometh], thence [also cometh] acquaintance with Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":115,"text":"ver. 7","label":"John 3:7","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":321,"text":"Mark xvi. 16","label":"Mark 16:16","href":"/mrk/16/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":722,"text":"ver. 15","label":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":1195,"text":"ver. 2","label":"John 3:2","href":"/jhn/3/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"","excerpt":"This how and why are often obstacles to faith: ver. 9, “ How can these things be?” ch. vi. 52, [The Jews object] “ How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” Nicodemus ‘ marvels,’ as ver. 7 implies. It is well that he simply asks the question. ... an old man, not merely a grown-up man. Nicodemus therefore being an old man, asks the question on. his own account ; and had come to Jesus, who was much his junior. ... Nicodemus objects rather vehemently, [and in such a way, that his words appear not far removed from derision. Hence it is that Jesus frames His succeeding answer as well a little more distinct, as also somewhat more paradoxical and severe.—V. g.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":47,"text":"ver. 9","label":"John 3:9","href":"/jhn/3/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":87,"text":"vi. 52","label":"John 6:52","href":"/jhn/6/#v52","status":"detected"},{"at":184,"text":"ver. 7","label":"John 3:7","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"","excerpt":"of water and the Spirit) Jesus renders His speech the more difficult, in order to try [discipline] Nicodemus, and at the same time declares the difference between birth from above, and birth from a mother: and He defines birth from above by communion with [the partaking of] Himself and with [of] the Spirit (for He speaks concerning Himself and concerning the Spirit also at ver. 11, “we speak that we do know”). Comp. 1 Cor. vi. 11, “ Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” No one can enjoy God without the Son and His Spirit. Water denotes the baptism of John into [preparing for] Christ Jesus, ver. 22, 23 [Jesus tarried in the land of Juda with His disciples, and baptized : “John was also baptizing in Ænon,” etc.]; which baptism the colleagues of Nicodemus, by omitting, ver. 1, despised the counsel of God: Luke vii. 30, “The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of John ;” when nevertheless the Jews were accustomed to baptisms: Heb. ix. 10, “divers washings.” And Nicodemus himself appears to have entertained not sufficiently exalted views of John and his baptism, as being one who had wrought no miracle. ... enter) Answering to the word enter [a second time into his mother’s womb] of the previous verse. The severity of His expression increases: comp. see, ver. 3. He cannot even enter, much less see. He must enter a house, whoever wishes to see thoroughly its internal structure. That which is not born, uses neither eyes nor feet.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":376,"text":"ver. 11","label":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":420,"text":"1 Cor. vi. 11","label":"1 Corinthians 6:11","href":"/1co/6/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":672,"text":"ver. 22, 23","label":"John 3:22–23","href":"/jhn/3/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":852,"text":"ver. 1","label":"John 3:1","href":"/jhn/3/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":889,"text":"Luke vii. 30","label":"Luke 7:30","href":"/luk/7/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":1064,"text":"Heb. ix. 10","label":"Hebrews 9:10","href":"/heb/9/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":1397,"text":"ver. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.6-7.1","start":6,"end":7,"heading":"","excerpt":"True flesh: but also mere flesh, void of spirit, opposed to spirit, of an old generation. ... what is born) This being in the neuter, sounds more general, and denotes the very first stamina [groundwork] of new life: comp. Luke i. 35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing, ... spirit) That which is born of the Spirit is spirit: he who is born of the Spirit is spiritual. ... ye) Thee, and those in whose name thou hast spoken (ver. 2, ‘* We know,” etc.): Ye, Jesus says; not, we.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":222,"text":"Luke i. 35","label":"Luke 1:35","href":"/luk/1/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":506,"text":"ver. 2","label":"John 3:2","href":"/jhn/3/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"","excerpt":"The Spirit, in the proper sense; for it is He, not the wind (concerning which, however, comp. Eccles. 11, 5), that has a will ... and it is of Him we are born, and he who is born of Him is such as He is. It is not the person born again who would be immediately compared with the wind, but the Spirit Himself. ... where, whence, and whither: above the flesh, earth, and nature. The things opposed are, flesh and spirit ; earth and heaven; nature and grace. ... [bloweth, Engl. Vers. : rather, as of the Spirit] breathes, in the word and sound of the Gospel; 1 John v. 6, “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.’ ... thou hearest) even now also, whilst thou art hearing Me, thou hearest, on earth, the voice of the Spirit. Comp. the “ earthly things,” ver. 12. ... whence) from heaven, from above ... whither) [*quorsum; in what direction] to heaven. Comp. the “ heavenly things,” ver. 12. ... So, as the Spirit Himself, whom thou hearest, and yet knowest not. For what the Spirit doeth according to Himself [“ secundum se ;” in His own person and character], that He doeth also in him who is born of the Spirit. The Spirit quickens a man. The man in whom the Spirit breathes, in his turn breathes of the Spirit, and gives forth abroad [propagat] the voice of the Spirit, his will being set free through the Spirit.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":94,"text":"Eccles. 11, 5","label":"Ecclesiastes 11:5","href":"/ecc/11/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":557,"text":"1 John v. 6","label":"1 John 5:6","href":"/1jn/5/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":783,"text":"ver. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":912,"text":"ver. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"","excerpt":"a master) a teacher of very many hearers, a veteran, and one somewhat better than the rest, who are altogether corrupt: ch. x. 8, “ All that ever came before Me were thieves and robbers,” notes. The article is emphatic. Nicodemus was the only one of all the teachers of Israel who had come to Jesus Christ, and who thus would be able to teach Israel the knowledge of Him ; and indeed he afterwards acted the part of a teacher of Israel, defending the Just One, both by his opinion, ch. vii. 50, [at the consultation of the Pharisees against Jesus, Nicodemus said] “ Doth our law judge any man before it hear him?” and by his act, ch. xix. 39, [he brought for the body of Jesus] “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight :” in which two passages the Evangelist repeats the mention of this interview by night. ... these things, which make Israel [truly] divine.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":124,"text":"x. 8","label":"John 10:8","href":"/jhn/10/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":486,"text":"vii. 50","label":"John 7:50","href":"/jhn/7/#v50","status":"detected"},{"at":634,"text":"xix. 39","label":"John 19:39","href":"/jhn/19/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"","excerpt":"verily, verily, I say unto thee) Three times this expression is used to Nicodemus. ... we know) Jesus does not associate with Himself John or any other man: ch. i, 18, vi. 46, “ No man hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, etc., He hath declared Him:—not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father.” He speaks of Himself and of the Spirit. Comp. as to the Son, ver. 32, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth:” as to the Holy Spirit, ver. 8, 34, “He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him ;” ch. xvi. 13, “The Spirit of truth—shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak ;” [also ch. v. 30, I can of mine own self do nothing ; as I hear, I judge.] ... That only is what we speak. ... ye do not receive) [in faith, to wit—V.g.] The plural, as in ver. 2, [Nicodemus said] we know.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":415,"text":"ver. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":499,"text":"ver. 8, 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":499,"text":"ver. 8, 34","label":"John 3:8","href":"/jhn/3/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":619,"text":"xvi. 13","label":"John 16:13","href":"/jhn/16/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":740,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 5:30","href":"/jhn/5/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":901,"text":"ver. 2","label":"John 3:2","href":"/jhn/3/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"","excerpt":"earthly things) To the heavenly sense of Jesus Christ there are earthly things, ... which, having to be accomplished on the regions of earth by us who creep on the ground, appear in the highest degree heavenly. ... Regeneration is from heaven, not however in heaven: it is indeed [a process] on the margin of heaven. ... how) The cause why Scripture is silent about many things. ... heavenly things, the inner principles of the kingdom of God, ver. 3; ... He does not, at ver. 13, so much speak out, as hint at. ... will ye believe) The less anything seems credible to reason, often the more heavenly it is.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":444,"text":"ver. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":472,"text":"ver. 13","label":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"","excerpt":"And; you will see this is properly set down, if you change the interrogation at ver. 12, with some little time’s reflection, into an absolute [categorical] form of expression. In the preceding and present verse we are marked [characterized] as of ourselves aliens to heaven. Without reposing faith in My words and in Myself, saith Jesus, ye cannot understand or attain to heavenly things. The antecedent is put for the consequent. ... no man sprung on the earth. Angels evidently are not excluded: ch. i. 52. Believers do not ascend, but are drawn by the Ascending [Saviour] after Himself, whom they have put on in their baptism. [Hence appears the indispensable need of faith. —V. g. ... to heaven) He most especially speaks of the heaven of the Divine majesty. ... Nowhere before His passion has the Lord spoken more clearly concerning His ascension, than in this passage, and in its parallel, ch. vi. 62; where similarly He adduces His ascension, as something much more difficult to be believed than those things were, which were then seeming so incredible to His hearers. On the whole, the two discourses, ch. iii. and vi., have a great similarity to one another; and the one treats of the rise, the other of the nourishment of the new life, [each alike] breathing altogether of heavenly things. ... He who descends from heaven) 'The Son of man, having assumed human nature, whereas He had previously been in heaven as the Son of God, began to be on earth. Therefore That One, saith Jesus of Himself, can of Himself ascend, and will ascend to heaven. Prov. xxx. 4, “Who hath ascended up to heaven, or descended ?—What is His name, and what is His Son’s name ?”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":80,"text":"ver. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":502,"text":"i. 52","label":"John 1:52","href":"/jhn/1/#v52","status":"detected"},{"at":900,"text":"vi. 62","label":"John 6:62","href":"/jhn/6/#v62","status":"detected"},{"at":1555,"text":"Prov. xxx. 4","label":"Proverbs 30:4","href":"/pro/30/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"","excerpt":"and) Often Christ, after mention of His glorification, made mention of His passion. ... Moses) This is the first mention ef Moses, which is read as made by our Lord. ... the serpent) As that serpent was a serpent without poison, to counteract the poisonous serpents : so the man Christ [was] a man without sin, to counteract the old serpent. ... in the wilderness) where there was no other medicine [remedy ]. ... be lifted up) on a cross towards heaven : ch. xii. 32, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me,” etc. [Not as yet did Jesus speak at this early time more distinctly as to His suffering on the cross: see ver. 16.—V. g. ... must) For it was for this purpose He descended from heaven.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":460,"text":"xii. 32","label":"John 12:32","href":"/jhn/12/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":641,"text":"ver. 16","label":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"","excerpt":"that) The goodness to us of the Son in ver. 15, and of the Father in ver. 16, is described in the same words. [The grace of the Son is what is most frequently noted, and the love of the Father (2 Cor. xiii. 14, the benediction).—V. g.] Comp. ch. vi. 37, “ All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me J will in no wise cast out ;” notes, ch. x. 28, 29, “ Neither shall any pluck them out of My hand :—none is able to pluck them out of Ay Father's hand.” ... who believeth) Now Jesus begins a plainer style of speech. ith, in the case of those needing to be saved, is what looking to the uplifted serpent was in the case of those needing to be healed. ... in Him) as lifted up. The cross [is] the ladder to heaven. ... should not perish) by the poison of sin. ... eternal life) by regeneration and faith. This mention of eternal life is made at the earliest. time in each instance, in the discourses of the Saviour, and occurs in this passage first. He takes it for granted as very well known from the Old Testament: ch. v. 39, “ Search the Scriptures : for in them ye think ye have eternal life.” See Dan. xii. 2, “ Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life,” etc. ; Luke x. 25, [The lawyer’s question] “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":39,"text":"ver. 15","label":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":69,"text":"ver. 16","label":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":194,"text":"2 Cor. xiii. 14","label":"2 Corinthians 13:14","href":"/2co/13/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":246,"text":"vi. 37","label":"John 6:37","href":"/jhn/6/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":371,"text":"x. 28, 29","label":"John 10:28–29","href":"/jhn/10/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":1049,"text":"v. 39","label":"John 5:39","href":"/jhn/5/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":1130,"text":"Dan. xii. 2","label":"Daniel 12:2","href":"/dan/12/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1241,"text":"Luke x. 25","label":"Luke 10:25","href":"/luk/10/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"","excerpt":"loved) The Son knows the Father, and the love of the Father: and alone [though but one] bears the best witness [of Him]: comp. ver. 35, “ The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.” ... the world) [all] the men under heaven, even those who were about to perish (comp. 62, [autem] moreover—for indeed, ver. 19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light”): as being those with whom He was otherwise [i.e. but for the atonement through His Son] angry: ver. 36, “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Were it not for this, their unbelief would not properly be a fault [guilt] fatal to unbelievers ; [but as it is] they ought to have believed that the Son of God was given even for the sake of them also; therefore He was given for their sake. Comp. by all means ch. xii. 47, “If any man hear My words and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world—the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” ... gave [to be crucified.—V. g.], in truth, and in earnest [in act and in purpose]: Rom. vii. 32, “ He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how” etc. And Christ gave Himself, Gal. ii. 20, “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me,” in truth and in earnest. ... in Him) as having been [so] lovingly given by God.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":127,"text":"ver. 35","label":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":326,"text":"ver. 19","label":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":539,"text":"ver. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":959,"text":"xii. 47","label":"John 12:47","href":"/jhn/12/#v47","status":"detected"},{"at":1242,"text":"Rom. vii. 32","label":"Romans 7:32","href":"/rom/7/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":1358,"text":"Gal. ii. 20","label":"Galatians 2:20","href":"/gal/2/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.17-18.1","start":17,"end":18,"heading":"","excerpt":"that He may judge [to condemn,” Engl. Vers.]) Although men accuse God of this.. To judge, is by judgment to cast away into deserved destruction. ... is judged [condemned]) This word is employed ... in condescension to human notions. He who does not believe, already has that [judgment, condemnation], which he falsely supposes the Son of God brings upon [into] the world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"","excerpt":"the judgment [condemnation]) i.e. the cause of judgment. ... the Light) After the mention of life, the mention of light follows, as in ch. i. The Light, Christ. See what follows. In ver. 19, the hypostatical [personal] Light [Jesus Christ, its embodiment] is praised: afterwards, in the latter part of ver. 19, in antithesis to darkness, of which there is no hypostasis [personality], and in ver. 20, 21, the discourse treats of Light indefinitely in the thesis, but so as that, in the hypothesis, it answers chiefly to the hypostatical [personal] Light. ... loved) They did not pay back love for the love on God’s part, ver. 16. ... rather than) The comparison is by no means inappropriate. The loveliness of _ the light struck them with admiration; but they were held fast in the love of darkness. Comp. John v. 35, “He was a burning and a shining light ; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.” A similar comparison occurs, ch. xii. 43, “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":182,"text":"ver. 19","label":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":302,"text":"ver. 19","label":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":392,"text":"ver. 20, 21","label":"John 3:20–21","href":"/jhn/3/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":621,"text":"ver. 16","label":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":806,"text":"John v. 35","label":"John 5:35","href":"/jhn/5/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":950,"text":"xii. 43","label":"John 12:43","href":"/jhn/12/#v43","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.20-21.1","start":20,"end":21,"heading":"","excerpt":"Evil is restless: it is a something more given to working than truth is. Hence they are marked by different words, as ch. v. 29. ... should be reproved, should be convicted of being such as they actually are: against the will of the evil-doer himself. ... may be made manifest) Even Nicodemus subsequently acted more openly. ... in (God) in the light, by the virtue [the power] and love of Him, from whom cometh all truth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":122,"text":"v. 29","label":"John 5:29","href":"/jhn/5/#v29","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"","excerpt":"into the land of Judea) from the metropolis of the Jews. [He did not however long delay there ... and that because of the Pharisees, who were even less well-inclined towards Jesus, than towards John, ch. iv. 1, “ When the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.”—Harm., p. 165.] ... was baptizing) ch. iv. 1, 2, “Though Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples.” John did not repel those, who came of their own accord, whilst Jesus was baptizing: but still he now in a less degree invited [he did not to the same extent invite] them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":204,"text":"iv. 1","label":"John 4:1","href":"/jhn/4/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":355,"text":"iv. 1, 2","label":"John 4:1–2","href":"/jhn/4/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.23-24.1","start":23,"end":24,"heading":"","excerpt":"The article in the masculine gender points to some region. ... many [waters]) So the rite of immersion required. ... not yet) Here the Evangelist takes for granted, what the others [ Matthew, Mark, and Luke] had written concerning the imprisonment of John the Baptist. ... for) Therefore John ceased to baptize, when he was cast into prison; not before.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.25-26.1","start":25,"end":26,"heading":"","excerpt":"Accordingly) There is reference to ver. 22 ; comp. ver. 26, “They came unto John and said, Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan,” etc., “the same baptizeth,” etc. ... A question, a temperate one: not a quarrel. ... on the part of) The question was mooted by the disciples of John. ... with the Jews, those who now no longer resorted to John, but to Jesus; whilst the disciples of John were contending, that purifying ought to be sought from John. ... purifying) from sins. Mark i. 4, “ John did baptize,” etc., “and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” Comp. Eph. v. 26, “That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” A word of frequent use among the Jews. Comp. Heb. ix. 13, 14, “If the blood of bulls and goats,” etc., “ sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,” etc., “ purge your conscience ;” ... John nowhere employs the terms, a baptism, a baptizing [baptisma, baptismus], the Baptist ; see ver. 5, “be born of water” [not, be baptized] ; nay, even to express Levitical baptism he uses the term, purifying, ch. ii. 6. ... came) The disciples of John were not so constantly with him as the apostles were with Christ. ... who) They do not name Jesus; they speak of Him as one, who as yet was far less known than was right.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":35,"text":"ver. 22","label":"John 3:22","href":"/jhn/3/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":51,"text":"ver. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":479,"text":"Mark i. 4","label":"Mark 1:4","href":"/mrk/1/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":589,"text":"Eph. v. 26","label":"Ephesians 5:26","href":"/eph/5/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":725,"text":"Heb. ix. 13, 14","label":"Hebrews 9:13–14","href":"/heb/9/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":1027,"text":"ver. 5","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":1147,"text":"ii. 6","label":"John 2:6","href":"/jhn/2/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.27-28.1","start":27,"end":28,"heading":"","excerpt":"cannot) How can I dare, saith he, to bind men to me ? ... a man) I, saith John, who am but a man. ... to take to himself. ... nothing) much less the name of Messiah. ... from heaven) i.e. from God. These Metonymes [substitutions of the general for the definite expression] imply modesty [humility]. ... before Him) Him, concerning whom ver. 26 treats. So ver. 30, “ He must increase, but I must decrease.” John did not openly term Jesus the Christ : but however he spake so concerning Him, that He might easily be recognised.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":336,"text":"ver. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":355,"text":"ver. 30","label":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.29-30.1","start":29,"end":30,"heading":"","excerpt":"He who hath, or whom the bride follows. All come to Jesus: hence it is clear, that Jesus is the Bridegroom. See the Song of Solomon. ... the friend) Dear to the Bridegroom, loving the Bridegroom. The derivation of John accords.’ It is the part of a friend to rejoice ... who standeth) as His attendant. ... hearing Him speaking with the bride, ver. 32, 34, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth ;—He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God.” ... the voice) by which the Bridegroom testifies His presence, ver. 32. This voice sweetly attracts the bride. ... joy) without sadness and envy. ... increase : be diminished) so that all are to come hereafter, not to me, but to Him: Josh iv. 14, “The Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses.” ... Not even death was about to hinder the increase of Christ ; for which reason the Evangelists speak concerning His death far otherwise than they speak concerning the death of John.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":344,"text":"ver. 32, 34","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":344,"text":"ver. 32, 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":523,"text":"ver. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":694,"text":"Josh iv. 14","label":"Joshua 4:14","href":"/jos/4/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"","excerpt":"He who is from above) These words, and on to the end of the chapter, the Evangelist seems to have appended, as in congruity with the feeling of the Baptist: comp. notes, ch. i. 7. ... above all) in dignity, excellence, and speech. Therefore [He is] also above John. John answers to that expression, all [men come to Him], ver. 26. ... who is of the earth is earthly) There is a Ploce [a word used first literally, then to express an attribute of it]: the former being understood according to natural birth, the latter according to disposition and state; which latter is followed by a corresponding style of speech. The antithetic proposition forthwith corresponds, consisting also of three members. It is not said, He that cometh from the earth: because He was also on the earth; but it is said, He who cometh from above, who cometh from heaven, to wit, — to the earth: for previously He was in heaven. ... is of the earth) The antithesis to this is, is above all. ... speaketh of the earth) for which reason the inhabitants of the earth the more readily hear him. The spiritual excellence of a teacher is not to be measured by the pleasure of the audience.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":174,"text":"i. 7","label":"John 1:7","href":"/jhn/1/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":322,"text":"ver. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"","excerpt":"He testifieth) That is much more weighty than He speaks ... no man) So ardently does John desire that Christ should obtain universal authority, that instead of that, which his [John’s] disciples say, all [men come to Him], ver. 26, John says, no man [receiveth His testimony]: comp. ch. xii. 38, “ The saying of Esaias fulfilled, Lord who hath believed our report?” etc. ... receiveth) A form of faith. There must be a receiving, not a mere bodily coming.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":223,"text":"ver. 26","label":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":287,"text":"xii. 38","label":"John 12:38","href":"/jhn/12/#v38","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"","excerpt":"he that hath received) as John did. ... set his seal to, and as it were subscribes his name to that very fact, he acknowledges for himself and hath avowed to others, that God, in whose word he puts his faith, is truthful ; and to Him he assigns the glory : Rom. iv. 20, Abraham “ staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God:” comp. 1 John v. 10, “ He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself; he that believeth not God, hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.” See as to sealing, Nehem. ix. 38, “ Because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.” ... A metaphor from contracts. ... God) whose word is the word of Messiah: see the following verse : ch. xii. 44, “ Jesus cried, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":257,"text":"Rom. iv. 20","label":"Romans 4:20","href":"/rom/4/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":387,"text":"1 John v. 10","label":"1 John 5:10","href":"/1jn/5/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":835,"text":"xii. 44","label":"John 12:44","href":"/jhn/12/#v44","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"","excerpt":"for not by measure) The giving of the Spirit is one, and that, made to Christ; under which we are contained, to whomsoever a measure is imparted, Eph. iv. 7, “ Unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ ;” John i. 16, “Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” In order that we might be able to receive a measure, it was befitting that there should be some one, who would take, and in the first instance receive [the fulness of grace] without measure, being about [being thereby qualified] to baptize all the others with the same Spirit : nay, even we shall hereafter have it without measure: 1 Cor. xiii. 10, 12, “ When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away ;—Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Christopher Cartwright: The Hebrews observe, the Spirit was given to the prophets in measure; Even the Holy Spirit, say they, which rests on the prophets, does not rest save in measure. Even the words of the law, which was given from above, were not given, save in measure. Mellif. Hebr. on this passage. Further, since Christ received the Spirit without measure, he expresses the words of God most perfectly.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":146,"text":"Eph. iv. 7","label":"Ephesians 4:7","href":"/eph/4/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":247,"text":"John i. 16","label":"John 1:16","href":"/jhn/1/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":651,"text":"1 Cor. xiii. 10, 12","label":"1 Corinthians 13:10","href":"/1co/13/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":651,"text":"1 Cor. xiii. 10, 12","label":"1 Corinthians 13:12","href":"/1co/13/#v12","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"all things) See ver. 29, 36. To Christ belongs both the Bride (ver. 29, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom), and the Life (ver. 36, He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life). ... into His hand) He, therefore, who does not come into the hand [does not bow under the authority] of the Son, does not either receive through faith from the hand of the Son; he does not experience the grace of the Son. The same expression occurs, ch. xiii. 3, “ Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands.” Subsequently [the expression is] under His feet : 1 Cor. xv. 27, “ He hath put all things under His feet.”","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":16,"text":"ver. 29, 36","label":"John 3:29","href":"/jhn/3/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":16,"text":"ver. 29, 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":63,"text":"ver. 29","label":"John 3:29","href":"/jhn/3/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":129,"text":"ver. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":446,"text":"xiii. 3","label":"John 13:3","href":"/jhn/13/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":575,"text":"1 Cor. xv. 27","label":"1 Corinthians 15:27","href":"/1co/15/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"","excerpt":"hath) The present, the future being included. See on ch. v. 24, “ He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life.” ... shall not see) Future, in which the present is included. ... wrath) For he has no experimental sense of the love with which the Father loves the Son, and those alone who believe in the Son.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern/gnomonofnewtesta0000mern_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":57,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 5:24","href":"/jhn/5/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"ryle","author":"J. C. Ryle","short_name":"Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"title":"Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. John, Vol. I","edition_short":"Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, for Family and Private Use, with the Text Complete.…","author_url":"/commentators/ryle/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/ryle/","entries":[{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"There was a man, &c.","excerpt":"The close connection of the conversation between Christ and Nicodemus with the end of the preceding chapter ought to be carefully noted. In fact the original Greek contains a connecting particle, which our translators have omitted to express in our version. The chapter should begin, \" And there was a man,\" or \" Now there was a man.\" — The convers^ation took place when our Lord \" was in Jerusalem,\" at the time of the Passover. Nicodemus was one of those who \"saw the miracles which Jesus did,\" and was so much struck by what he saw, that he sought out our Lord in order to converse with Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.1.2","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"Of the Pharisees. / A ruler of the Jews.","excerpt":"The striking variety of character in those who were brought to believe on Christ while He was on earth, ought not to be overlooked. His disciples were not drawn exclusively from any one class. As a general rule, none were more bitterly opposed to Him and His doctrines than the Pharisees. Yet here we see that nothing is impossible with grace. Even a Pharisee became an inquirer, and ultimately a disciple ! Nicodemus and St. Paul are standing proofs that no heart is too hard to be converted. The third chapter shows us Jesus teaching a proud, moral Pharisee. The fourth will show him teaching an ignorant, immoral Samaritan woman. None are too bad to be taught by Christ.\n\n[A ruler of the Jews.] The civil government of the Jews at this time, we must remember, was in the hands of the Eornans. \"When Nicodemus is called \" a ruler,\" it means that he was a chief person among the Jews, probably in high ecclesiartical position, and certainly a famous religious teacher. See the 10th verse.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.1-8.1","start":1,"end":8,"heading":"JOHN III. 1—8.","excerpt":"We should notice, secondly, in these verses, what a mighty change our Lord declares to he needful to salvation, and what a remarkable expression He uses in describing it. He speaks of a new birth. He says to Nicodemus, \"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" He announces the same truth in other words, in order to make it more plain to his hearer's mind : \" Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.\" By this expression He meant Nicodemus to understand that \" no one could become His disciple, unless his inward man was as thoroughly cleansed and renewed by the Spirit, as the outward man is cleansed by water.\" To possess the privileges of Judaism a man only needed to be born of the seed of Abraham after the flesh. To possess the privileges of Christ's kingdom, a man must be born again of the Holy Ghost.\n\nThe change which our Lord here declares needful to salvation is evidently no slight or superficial one. It is not merely reformation, or amendment, or moral change, or outward altei*ation of life. It is a thorough change of heart, will, and character. It is a resurrection. It is a new creation. It is a passing from death to life. It is the implanting in our dead hearts of a new principle from above. It is the calling into existence of a new creature, with a new nature, new habits of life, new tastes, new desires, new appetites, new judgments, new opinions, new hopes, and new fears. All this, and nothing less than this is implied, when our Lord declares that we all need a \"new birth.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.1-21.1","start":1,"end":21,"heading":"","excerpt":"One other thing ought to be remarked, in leaving this subject of ()ur Lord's conversation with Nicodemus. That thing is the singular fulness of matter by which the whole of our Lord's address is characterized. Within the space of twenty verses we read of the work of all Three Perspns in the Trinity, — the Father's love, the Son's death on the cross, and the Spirit's operation in the new birth of man, — the corruption of man's nature, the nature of regeneration, and the efficacy of faith in Christ, — the way to escape perishing in hell, the true cause of man's condemnation if he is lost, and the true marks of sincerity in an inquirer. A fuller sermon was never delivered than that which was here preached to Nicodemus in one evening I There is hardly a single important point in divinity which is left untouched I","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"The same came...by night.","excerpt":"The fact here recorded appeals to me to show that Nicodemus was influenced by the fear of man, and was afraid or ashamed to visit Jesus by day. — The view maintained by some, that we ought not to blame him for coming by night, because it was the quietest time for conversation, and the time when an interview was least liable to be interrupted, or because the Jewish teachers were in the habit of receiving inquirers by night, appears to me undeserving of attention. I am confirmed in this opinion by the fact, that on the only other occasions where Nicodemus is mentioned, he is specially described as the man who \" came to Jesus by night.\" This repeated expression appears to me to imply blame. (John vii. 50; xix. 39.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":698,"text":"John vii. 50","label":"John 7:50","href":"/jhn/7/#v50","status":"detected"},{"at":712,"text":"xix. 39","label":"John 19:39","href":"/jhn/19/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.2.2","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"Thou art a teacher come from God.","excerpt":"This cautious sentence is an instructive indication of the state of Nicodemus' mind. He was naturally a timid, hesitating, slow-moving man. That Jesus was somebody remarkable, he m- as convinced by His miracles. That He might possibly be the Messiah, had probably crossed his mind, and the more so because he doubtless knew of the ministry of John the Baptist, and had heard that John spake of one greater than himself who was yet to come. But until he can make out more about Jesus, by private conversation, he declines to commit himself to any stronger statement than that before us. The Greek words would be more literally rendered, \" From God thou hast come a teacher.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.2.3","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"No man can do these miracles...with him.","excerpt":"This sentence has been justly called an illustration of one great purpose of our Lord's miracles. They arrested men's attention. They were evidences of a divine mission. They showed that He who wrought them was no ordinary Person, and ought to be listened to.\n\nI am aware that some have thought that Nicodemus attached too much weight to our Lord's miracles, and have boldly asserted that miracles are no necessary proof of a divine mission, seeing that Anti-christ will appear with signs and lying wonders. (2 Thess. ii. 9; Rev. xiii. 14.) Li reply it might be sufficient to remark that our Lord Himself declared that \" His works bore witness that the Father had sent Him.\" (John v. 36 ; x. 25 ; xv. 24.) But I also think that sufficient stress is not laid on the expression, \" These miracles that thou doest.\" The character and quality of our Lord's miracles were such as to prove His divine commission. False teachers and .Anti-christs may be permitted to work some miracles, like the magicians who withstood Moses. But there is a point beyond which Anti-christ and his servants cannot go. Such miracles as our Lord worked could only be wrought by the finger of God. I therefore think that Nicodemus' argument was just and correct. — It is moreover worthy of note, that the expression he uses is precisely the same as that used by St. Peter when describing our Lord's ministry and miracles. He says, \" God was with him.\" (Acts x. 38.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":509,"text":"2 Thess. ii. 9","label":"2 Thessalonians 2:9","href":"/2th/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":525,"text":"Rev. xiii. 14","label":"Revelation 13:14","href":"/rev/13/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":676,"text":"John v. 36","label":"John 5:36","href":"/jhn/5/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":689,"text":"x. 25","label":"John 10:25","href":"/jhn/10/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":697,"text":"xv. 24","label":"John 15:24","href":"/jhn/15/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":1425,"text":"Acts x. 38","label":"Acts 10:38","href":"/act/10/#v38","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"Jesus answered.","excerpt":"The question has often been asked, \"To what did our Lord answer?\" No question was put to him. What is the connecting link between the words of Nicodemus, and the solemn statement contained in the first words which our Lord addressed to him ?\n\nI believe the true reply to these questions is, that our Lord, as on many other occasions, made answer according to what He saw going on in Nicodemus' heart. He knew that the inquirer before Him, like all the Jews, was expecting the appearance of Messiah, and was even suspecting that he had found Him. He therefore begins, by telling him at once what was absolutely needful if he would belong to Messiah's kingdom. It was not a temporal kingdom, as he vainly supposed, but a spiritual one. It was not a kingdom, in which all persons born of the seed of Abraham, would, as a matter of course, have a place because of their birth. It was a kingdom in which grace, not blood, was the indispensable condition of admission. The first thing needful in order to belong to Messiah's kingdom, was to be \"born again.\" Men must renounce all idea of privileges by reason of their natural birth. All men, whether Jews or Gentiles, must be born again, born anew, born from above by a spiritual birth. — \"Nicodemus,\" our Lord seems to say, \"if you want to know how a man is to become a member of Messiah's kingdom, understand this day, that the first step is to be born again. Think not because Abraham is your father, that Messiah will acknowledge you as one of his subjects. I tell you at once, that the first thing you and all other men need is a new birth.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.3.2","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"Born again.","excerpt":"The Greek word here rendered \" again,\" might be translated with equal correctness, \"from above,\" i. e. from heaven, or from God. It is so translated in this chapter, (verse 31,) and in four other places in the New Testament. (John xix. 11 ; James i. 17; iii. 15, 17.) In one other place, (Galat. iv. 9,) it is \" again.\" Many commentators in every age, as Origen, Cyril, Theophylact, Bullinger, Lightfoot, Erasmus, Bengel, have maintained strongly, that \" born from above,\" and not \" born again,\" is the true and better translation of the phrase. Cranmer's version renders it \" born from above,\" and our own translators have allowed it in. a marginal reading. My own impression agrees with that of most commentators, that \" born again \" is the right translation. — For one thing, it seems most probable that Nicodemus understood our Lord to mean \" born again,\" or else he would hardly have asked the question, \" Can a man enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born.\" — For another thing, the Greek words used in four other places where regeneration is spoken of in the New Testament, admit of no other meaning than being \" born again,\" and could not possibly be rendered \" born from above.\" See 1 Pet. 1. 3, 23 ; Matt. xix. 28 ; Titus iii. 5.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":226,"text":"John xix. 11","label":"John 19:11","href":"/jhn/19/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":241,"text":"James i. 17","label":"James 1:17","href":"/jas/1/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":254,"text":"iii. 15, 17","label":"James 3:15","href":"/jas/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":254,"text":"iii. 15, 17","label":"James 3:17","href":"/jas/3/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":1208,"text":"1 Pet. 1. 3, 23","label":"1 Peter 1:23","href":"/1pe/1/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":1208,"text":"1 Pet. 1. 3, 23","label":"1 Peter 1:3","href":"/1pe/1/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":1226,"text":"Matt. xix. 28","label":"Matthew 19:28","href":"/mat/19/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":1242,"text":"Titus iii. 5","label":"Titus 3:5","href":"/tit/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.3.3","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"Except a man be born again.","excerpt":"The true view of the expression I believe to be this. Being \" born again,\" means that complete change of heart and character which is produced in a man by the Holy Ghost, when he repents, behoves on Christ, and becomes a true Christian. It is a change which is frequently spoken of in the Bible. In Ezekiel it is called \"taking away the stony heart and giving a heart of flesh,\" — \" giving a new heart, and putting within a new spirit.\" (Ezek. xi. 19 ; xxxvi. 26.) In Acts it is called \" repentance and conversion.\" (Acts iii. 19.) In Romans it is called \"being alive from the dead,\" (Rom, vi, 13.) In Corinthians it is called \" being a new creature,\" (2 Cor. v. 17.) In Ephesians it is called \" being quickened,\" (Ephes, ii. 1,) In Colossians it is called \" putting off the old man and putting on the new.\" (Coloss. iii. 9, 10.) In Titus it is called the \"washing of regeneration.\" (Titus iii, 5.) In Peter it is called \" being called out of darkness into light,\" and being \"made partaker of the divine nature,\" (1 Peter ii. 9; 2 Peter i. 4.) In John it is called \"passing from death to life.\" (1 John iii. 14.) I believe that all these expressions come to the same thing in the end. They are all the same truth, only viewed from different sides. They all mean that mighty inward change of heart, which our Lord here calls a \" new birth,\" and which John the Baptist foretold would specially characterize Messiah's kingdom. He was to baptize not with water, but with the Holy Ghost. Our Lord begins Hi? address to Nicodemus by taking up His forerunner's prediction: — He tells him that he must be \" born again \" or baptized with the Spirit. — Human nature is so entirely corrupt, diseased, and ruined by the fall, that all who would be saved must be born again. No lesser change will suffice. They need nothing less than a new birth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":438,"text":"Ezek. xi. 19","label":"Ezekiel 11:19","href":"/ezk/11/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":453,"text":"xxxvi. 26","label":"Ezekiel 36:26","href":"/ezk/36/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":517,"text":"Acts iii. 19","label":"Acts 3:19","href":"/act/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":653,"text":"2 Cor. v. 17","label":"2 Corinthians 5:17","href":"/2co/5/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":809,"text":"Coloss. iii. 9, 10","label":"Colossians 3:9–10","href":"/col/3/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":884,"text":"Titus iii, 5","label":"Titus 3:5","href":"/tit/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":1014,"text":"1 Peter ii. 9","label":"1 Peter 2:9","href":"/1pe/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1029,"text":"2 Peter i. 4","label":"2 Peter 1:4","href":"/2pe/1/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1096,"text":"1 John iii. 14","label":"1 John 3:14","href":"/1jn/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.3.4","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"He cannot see.","excerpt":"This expression has received two interpretations. Some think that it means, \" he cannot understand ot comprehend.\" Others think that it means, \"he cannot enter, enjoy, partake of, or possess.\" The last I believe to be the true meaning of the expression. The first is truth, but not the truth of the text. The second ib confirmed by the language used in the fifth verse, and is a common form of speech of which there are many instances in the Bible. Thus we find, to \" see life,\"(John iii. 36,)— to \"see corruption,\" (Psalm xvi. 10,) — to \"see death,\" (John viii. 51,) — to see evil,\" (Psalm xc. 15,) — to \" see sorrow.\" (Rev. xviii. 7.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":479,"text":"John iii. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":517,"text":"Psalm xvi. 10","label":"Psalms 16:10","href":"/psa/16/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":552,"text":"John viii. 51","label":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":585,"text":"Psalm xc. 15","label":"Psalms 90:15","href":"/psa/90/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":621,"text":"Rev. xviii. 7","label":"Revelation 18:7","href":"/rev/18/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"Nicodemus saith...How.","excerpt":"The question of Nicodemus is precisely one of those which the natural ignorance of man in spiritual things prompts a person to ask. Just as the Samaritan woman, in the 4th chapter, put a carnal meaning on our Lord's words about \" living water,\" and the Jews, in the 6th chapter, put a carnal meaning on the \"bread of God,\" so Nicodemus puts a carnal meaning on the expression \" born again.\" — There is nothing which the heart of man in every part and every age of the world is so slow to understand as the work of the Holy Ghost. Our minds are so gross and sensuous, that we cannot take in the idea of an inward and spiritual operation. Unless we can see things and touch things in religion we are slow to believe them when he is old.] This expression seems to indicate that Nicodemus himself was an old man when this conversation took place. If this be so, it is only fair, in judging his case, to make some allowance for the slowness with which old age receives new opinions, and. specially in the things of religion. At the same time it supplies an encouraging proof that no man is too old to be converted. One of our Lord's first converts was an old man!","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Except...born of water and of the Spirit.","excerpt":"This famous text has unhappily given rise to widely different interpretations. On one thing only respecting it, nearly all commentators are agreed It is the same truth that is laid down in the third verse, only laid down with greater fulness in compassion to Nicodemus' weakness of understanding. But what does it mean ? The expression \" born of water \" is peculiar to this place, and occurs nowhere else in the Bible. It cannot be literally interpreted. No one can be literally \" born of water.\" What then does the phrase signify ? When can it be said of any one, that he is \" born of water and of the Spirit ? \"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Except...born of water and of the Spirit.","excerpt":"The third, and much the least common interpretation, is to refer the text entirely to the regeneration of man's heart, and to exclude baptism altogether from any place in it. — According to this view, our Lord explains to Nicodemus, by the use of a figure, what He had meant when he spoke of being \" born again.\" He would have Nicodemus know that a man must have his heart as thoroughly cleansed and renewed by the Spirit as the body is cleansed and purified by water. He must be born of the Spirit working on his inward nature, as water works on the material body. In short, he must have a \" clean heart\" created in him if he would belong to Messiah's kingdom. Most of those who take this view, consider that baptism was certainly meant to point to the change of heart described in the text, but that this text was meant to point out something distinct from baptism, and even more important than baptism. This is the view which I believe to be the true one, and to which I unhesitatingly adhere.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"That which is born...flesh...spirit.","excerpt":"In this verse, our Lord gives Nicodemus the reason why the change of heart called \"new birth,\" is a thing of such absolute necessity, and why no slight moral change will suffice. Nicodemus had spoken of \" entering a second time into his mother's womb.\" Our Lord tells him, that even if such a thing was possible, it would not make him fit for the kingdom of God. The child of human parents would always be like the parents from which it sprung, if it was born a hundred times over. \" That which is born ot the flesh is flesh.\" All men and women are by nature corrupt. sinful, -fleshly, and alienated from God. \" They that are in the flesh cannot please God.\" (Rom. viii. 8.) Their children will always be born with a nature like that of their parents. To bring a clean thing out of an unclean, is proverbially impossible A bramble will never bear grapes, however much it may be cultivated, and a natural man will never be a godly man without the Spirit. In order to be really spiritual and fit for the kingdom of God, a new power from without must enter into a man's nature. \" That which is born of the spirit is spirit.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":660,"text":"Rom. viii. 8","label":"Romans 8:8","href":"/rom/8/#v8","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.6.2","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"Flesh","excerpt":"The word \"flesh,\" I am inclined to think, with Poole and Dyke, is taken in two senses in this verse. In the first case, it means the natural body of man, as in John i. 14. In the second case, it means the corrupt carnal nature of man, as in Gal. v. 17. — The same remark applies to the word Spirit. In the first instance, it means the Holy Spirit, and in the second, the spiritual nature which the Spirit produces. The offspring of all children of Adam is fleshly. The offspring of the Spirit is spiritual. Neither the grace, nor rank, nor money, nor learning of parents will prevent a child having a corrupt heart, if it is naturally born of the flesh. Nothing will make any one spiritual but being born again of the spirit.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":160,"text":"John i. 14","label":"John 1:14","href":"/jhn/1/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":241,"text":"Gal. v. 17","label":"Galatians 5:17","href":"/gal/5/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"Marvel not...must be born again.","excerpt":"In reading this verse, the stress ought to be laid on the two last words, \" born again.\" It is evident that the thing which stumbled Nicodemus was the idea of any \" new birth\" at all being necessary. He felt unable to understand what this \"new birth\" was. Our Lord forbids him to marvel, and proceeds to explain the new birth by a familiar illustration.\n\nIt is a noteworthy and striking fact, that no doctrine has excited such surprise in every age of the Church, and has called forth s ) much opposition from the great and learned, as this very doctrine of the new birth. The men of the present day who sneer at conversions and revivals, as fanaticism and enthusiasm, are nowise better than Nicodemus. Like him, they expose their own ignorance of the work of the Holy Ghost.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"The wind bloweth, &c.","excerpt":"The object of this verse appears to be to explain the work of the Holy Ghost in the regeneration of man, by a familiar illustration drawn from the wind. Mysterious as the Spirit's work was, Nicodemus must allow that there was much of mystery about the wind. \" The wind bloweth where it listeth.\" We cannot account for the direction in which it blows, or for the beginning or extent of its influence. But when we hear the sound of the wind, we do not for a moment question that it is blowing. Our Lord tells Nicodemus that it is just the same with the operations of the Spirit. There is doubtless much about them that is mysterious and incomprehensible. But when we see fruit brought forth, in a manifest change of heart and life, we have no right to question the reality of the Spirit's operations.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.8.2","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"So is every one that is born of the Spirit.","excerpt":"The last clause of the verse is undeniably somewhat difficult, — \" So is every one that is born of the Spirit.\" We should rather have expected, \" So does the Spirit operate on every one that is born again.\" And this was;, no doubt, our Lord's meaning. Yet the form of speech which our Lord uses is not altogether without parallel in the New Testament. For instance, we read, \" The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed.\" (Matt. xiii. 24.) The likeness in this case is clearly not between the man and the kingdom. The meaning is that the whole story is an illustration of the kingdom of heaven. So also we read that \"the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearls,\" and might make a similar remark. (Matt. xiii. 45.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":446,"text":"Matt. xiii. 24","label":"Matthew 13:24","href":"/mat/13/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":747,"text":"Matt. xiii. 45","label":"Matthew 13:45","href":"/mat/13/#v45","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"Nicodemus answered...How...these things be?","excerpt":"This is the third and last time that Nicodemus speaks during his visit to Christ, BO far as it is reported to us. His question here is a striking and instructive instance of the deep spiritual ignorance which may be found in the mind of a learned man. In four different ways our Lord had brought before him one and the same lesson. First, He had laid down the great principle that every man must be \"born again.\" — Secondly, He had repeated the same thing in fuller words, and brought in the idea of \" water,\" to illustrate the work of the Spirit. — Thirdly, he had shown the necessity of the new birth, from the natural corruption of man. — Fourthly, He had illustrated the work of the Spirit a second time by the instance of the \" wind.\" And yet now, after all that our Lord has said, this learned Pharisee seems utterly in the dark, and asks the pitiable question, \" How can these things be?\" We have no right to be surprised at the vast ignorance of saving religion which we see on all sides, when we consider the history of Nicodemus. We should make up our minds to expect to find spiritual darkness the rule, and spiritual light the exception. Few things in the long run give so much trouble to ministers, missionaries, teachers, and district-visitors, as beginning work with extravagant and unscriptural expectations.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.9-21.1","start":9,"end":21,"heading":"JOHN III. 9—21.","excerpt":"These verses show us, secondly, the original source from which man's salvation springs. That source is the love of God the Father. Our Lord says to Nicodemus, \" God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.\"\n\nThis wonderful verse has been justly called by Luther, \"The Bible in miniature.\" No part of it, perhaps, is so deeply important as the first five words, \" God so loved the world.\" The love here spoken of is not that special love with which the Father regards His own elect, but that mighty pity and compassion with which He regards the whole race of mankind. Its object is not merely the little flock which He has given to Christ from all eternity, but the whole \" world \" of sinners, without any exception. There is a deep sense in which God loves that world. All whom He has created He regards with pity and compassion. Their sins He cannot love ; — but He loves their souls. \" His tender mercies are over all His works.\" (Psal. cxlv. 9.) Christ is God's gracious gift to the whole world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1025,"text":"Psal. cxlv. 9","label":"Psalms 145:9","href":"/psa/145/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"Jesus answered and said.","excerpt":"It will be observed, that our Lord does not answer the question of Nicodemus directly, but rebukes him sharply for his ignorance. Yet it ought to be carefully noted, as Melancthon remarks, that before He concludes what He now begins to say, He supplies a complete answer to His inquirer. He shows him the true root and spring of regeneration, namely, faith in Himself. He answers his groping inquiry, \" How can these things be ? \" by showing him the first step in saving religion, viz., to believe in the Son of God. Let Nicodemus begin like a little child, by simply believing on Him who was to be lifted up on the cross, and he would soon understand \" how \" a man could be born again, even in his old age.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.10.2","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"Art thou a master of Israel. / Knowest not these things.","excerpt":"The English version of this question hardly gives the full force of the original. It should be literally rendered, \" Art thou the master of Israel? \" i. e., \" Art thou the famous teacher and instructor of the Jews?\" ''Dost thou profess to be a light of them that sit in darkness, and an instructor of others?\" — The expression certainly seems to indicate that Nicodemus was a man of established reputation as a teacher among the Pharisees. When the teachers were so ignorant, what must have been the state of the taught ?\n\n[Knowest not these things.] These words unquestionably imply rebuke. The things which our Lord had just mentioned, Nicodemus ought to have known and understood. He professed to be a religious teacher. He professed to know the Old Testament Scriptures. The doctrine, therefore, of the necessity of a new birth ought not to have appeared strange to him. \" A clean heart, — circumcision of the heart, — a new heart, — a heart of stone instead of a heart of flesh,\" were expressions and ideas which he must have read in the prophets, and which all pointed towards the new birth. (Psalm li. 10 ; Jer. iv. 4 ; Ezek. xviii. 31 : xxxvi. 26.) His ignorance consequently was deserving of blame.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1099,"text":"Psalm li. 10","label":"Psalms 51:10","href":"/psa/51/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":1114,"text":"Jer. iv. 4","label":"Jeremiah 4:4","href":"/jer/4/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1127,"text":"Ezek. xviii. 31","label":"Ezekiel 18:31","href":"/ezk/18/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"We speak that we do know, &c.","excerpt":"The meaning of the sentence appears to be this, \"I declare with authority, and bear witness to truths, which from all eternity I have known and seen, as God in union with the Father and the Holy Ghost. I do not speak (as all merely human ministers must) what I have been taught by others. I do not testify things which I have received as God's servant,, as ordinary prophets have, and which I should not have known without God's inspiration, I testify what I have seen with my Father, and knew before the world began.\" It is like the expression, \"I speak that which I have seen with my Father.\" (John viii. 38.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":596,"text":"John viii. 38","label":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.11.2","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"Ye receive not our witness.","excerpt":"This sentence corresponds so exactly with John the Baptist's words, at verse 32, that it confirms me in the opinion that our Lord, in this verse, only speaks of Himself. The words before us, as well as those of John the Baptist, must be taken with some qualification : \"The greater part of you receive not our testimony.\" — The object of the verse is to rebuke the unbelief of Nicodemus and all who were likeminded with him among the Jews. The use of the plural number \" ye,\" makes it probable that our Lord in this verse refers not merely to what He had just been saying to Nicodemus, but to all His public teaching at Jerusalem, from the time of His casting out the buyers and sellers in the temple. If we do not adopt this theory, we must suppose Him to mean, \"What I have spoken and testified to you about regeneration, is what I continually say to all who come, like you, to inquire of me; and yet neither you nor they believe what I say. You all alike stumble at this stumbling-stone, the new birth.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"If I have told...earthly...heavenly things?","excerpt":"To see the full force of this verse, we should paraphrase it thus. \" If ye do not believe what I say when I tell you, as I have done, things that are earthly, how will you believe if I go on, as I shall do, to tell you of things that are heavenly? If you will not believe when ye hear my first lesson, what will ye do when ye hear my second? If ye are stumbled at the very alphabet of my Gospel, what will ye do when I proceed to show you higher and deeper truths?\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"Earthly things; heavenly things","excerpt":"By \" earthly things \" I believe our Lord means the doctrine of the \"new birth,\" which He had just been expounding to Nicodemus. By \" heavenly things \" I believe He means the great and solemn truths which he was about immediately to declare, and which he does declare in rapid succession from this verse down to the end of the conversation. — These truths were His own divinity, — the plan of redemption by His own death on the cross, — the love of God to the whole world, and His consequent provision of salvation, —faith in the Son of God as the only way to escape hell, — and man's wilful rejection of light, the only cause of man's condemnation.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"And no man hath ascended, &c.","excerpt":"The true view of the text, I venture to think, is as follows. The words of the text are to be taken literally. Our Lord begins His list of \"heavenly things\" by declaring to Nicodemus His own divine nature and dignity. He reminds him that no one has ever ascended literally into that heaven where God dwells. Enoch, and Elijah, and David, for instance, were doubtless in a place of bliss, when they left this world, but they had not \" ascended into heaven.\" (Acts ii. 34.) But that which no man, not even the holiest saint, had attained, was the right and prerogative of Him in whose company Nicodemus was. The Son of man had dwelt from all eternity in heaven, had come down from heaven, would one day ascend again into heaven, and in His divine nature was actually in heaven, one with God the Father, at that very moment. — \" Know who it is to whom you are speaking. I am not merely a teacher come from God, as you say. I am the Messiah, the Son of man, foretold by Daniel. I have come down from heaven, according to promise, to save sinners. I shall one day ascend again into heaven, as the victorious forerunner of a saved people. Above all, I am as God in heaven at this moment. I am He who fills heaven and earth,\" — I prefer this view of the verse to any other, for two reasons. For one thing, it gives a literal meaning to every word in the text. For another, it seems a fitting answer to the first idea which Nicodemus had put forward in the conversation, viz., that our Lord was only \" a teacher come from God.\" It is the view which is in the main held by Rollock, Calovius, and Gomarus, and expounded by them with much ability.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":458,"text":"Acts ii. 34","label":"Acts 2:34","href":"/act/2/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.13.2","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"Which is in heaven.","excerpt":"The expression \"which is in heaven,\" deserves particular notice. It is one of those many expressions in the New Testament which can be explained in no other way than by the doctrine of Christ's divinity. It would be utterly absurd and untrue to say of any mere man, that at the very time he was speaking to another on earth he was in heaven ! But it can be said of Christ with perfect truth and propriety. He never ceased to be very God, when He became incarnate. He was \"with God and was God.\" As God He was in heaven while He was speaking lo Nicodemus.\n\nThe expression is one which no Socinian can explain away. If Christ was only a very holy man and nothing more, He could not have used these words. The Socinian explanation of the former part of the verse, viz., that Christ was caught up into heaven after His baptism, and there instructed about the Gospel He was to teach, would be of itself utterly absurd, and a mere theory invented to get over a difficulty. But the conclusion of the verse is a blow at the very root of the Socinian system. It is written not only that Christ \" came down from heaven,\" but. that \" he is in heaven.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"As Moses lifted...serpent...so must, &c.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord proceeds to show Nicodemus another \" heavenly thing,\" viz., the necessity of His own crucifixion. Nicodemus probably thought, like most Jews, that when Messiah appeared. He would come with power and glory, to be exalted and honoured by men. Jesus tells him that so far from this being the case, Messiah must be \" cut off\" at His first advent, and put to an open shame by being hanged on a tree. He illustrates this by a well-known event in the history of Israel's wanderings, the story of the brazen serpent. (Numb. xxi. 9.) \"Are you expecting me to take to myself power and to restore the kingdom of Israel ? Cast away such a vain expectation. I have come to do very different work. I have come to suffer, and to offer up myself as a sacrifice for sin.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":533,"text":"Numb. xxi. 9","label":"Numbers 21:9","href":"/num/21/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.14.2","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"The Son of man must be lifted up.","excerpt":"The expression \" Son of Man \" was doubtless intended to remind Nicodemus of Daniel's prophecy of the Messiah. — The Greek word rendered \" must,\" signifies \"it behoveth that,\" \"it is necessary that.\" It is necessary in order that God's promises of a Redeemer may be fulfilled,— the types of the Old Testament sacrifices be accomplished,— the law of God be satisfied, — and a way for God's mercy be provided. In order to all this Messiah must suffer in our stead. The phrase \" lifted up,\" appears to me most decidedly to mean \" lilted up on the cross.\" For one thing we find it so explained in this Gospel. (John xii. 32, 33.) For another the illustration of the brazen serpent makes it absolutely necessary to explain it so. To apply the phrase, as Calvin and others do, to the \" necessity of lifting up and exalting Christ's atonement in Christian teaching,\" seems to me a mistake. It is needlessly dragging in an idea which the words were not intended to convey. It is truth no doubt, and truth abundantly taught in Scripture, but not the truth of this text.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":606,"text":"John xii. 32, 33","label":"John 12:32–33","href":"/jhn/12/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.14.3","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"","excerpt":"The points of resemblance appear to me to be these. — (a.) As the Israelites were in sore distress, and dying from the bites of poisonous serpents, so is man in great spiritual danger, and dying from the poisonous effects of sin.\n\n(&.) As the serpent of brass was lifted up on a pole in the sight of the camp of Israel, so Christ was to be lifted ap on the cross publicly, and in the sight of the whole nation, at the Passover.\n\n(c.) As the serpent, lifted up on the pole, was an image of the very thing which had poisoned the Israelites, even so Christ had in Himself no sin, and yet was made and crucified \" in the likeness of sinful flesh,\" and counted sin. (Rom. viii. 3.) The brazen serpent was a serpent without poison, and Christ was a man without sin. The thing which we should specially see in Christ crucified, is our sin laid upon Him, and Him counted as a sinner, and treated as a sinner, and punished as a sinner, for our redemption. In fact we see on the cross our sins punished, crucified, borne, and carried by our Redeemer.\n\n(d.) Finally, as the one way by which Israelites obtained relief from the brazen serpent, was by looking at it, so the one way to get benefit from Christ, is to look at him by faith. The feeblest look brought cure to an Israelite, and the weakest faith, if true and sincere, brings salvation to sinners.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":662,"text":"Rom. viii. 3","label":"Romans 8:3","href":"/rom/8/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"That whosoever believeth...not perish...life.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord declares to Nicodemus the great end and purpose for which the Son of man was to be \" lifted up\" on the cross, and the way in which the benefits of Kis crucifixion become our own. In interpreting the verse, we should carefully remember that the comparison of the serpent lifted up in the wilderness must be carried through to the end of the sentence. The Son of man must be lifted up on the cross, that whosoever believeth on Him, or looks to Him by faith, as the Israelites looked to the brazen serpent, should not perish in hell.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.15.2","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"Believeth in him","excerpt":"The expression \" believeth in Him,\" is deeply important. It describes that one act of man's soul which is needful to give him an interest in Jesus Christ. It is not a mere belief of the head that there is such a Person as Jesus Christ, and that He is a Saviour, It is a belief of the heart and will: When a person, feeling his desperate need by reason of sin, flees to Jesus Christ, and trusts in Him, leans on Him, and commits his soul entirely to Him as his Saviour and Redeemer, he is said, in the language of the text, to \" believe on Him.\" — The simpler our views of faith are, the better. The more steadily we keep in view the Israelites looking at the brazen serpent, the more we shall understand the words before us. \" Believing\" is neither more nor less than heart-looking. Whosoever looked at the brazen serpent was made well, however ill he was, and however feeble his look. Just so, whosoever looks to Jesus by faith, is pardoned, however great his sins may have been, and however feeble his faith. — Did the Israelite look? That was the only question in the matter of being healed from the serpent's bite. — Does the sinner believe ? That is the only question in the matter of being justified and pardoned. — Looking to Moses, or looking to the tabernacle, or looking even to the pole on which the serpent hung, or looking to anything except the brazen serpent, the bitten Israelite would not have been cured. Just so, looking to anything but Christ crucified, however holy the object looked at may be, the sinner cannot be saved.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"For God so loved the world, &c.","excerpt":"Our Lord, in this verse, shews Nicodemus another \" heavenly thing.\" — Nicodemus probably thought, like many Jews, that God's purposes of mercy were entirely confined to His chosen people Israel, and that when Messiah appeared. He would appear only for the special benefit of the Jewish nation. Our Lord here declares to him that God loves all the world without any exception, that the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, is the Father's gift to the whole family of Adam, and that every one, whether Jew or Gentile, who believes on Him for salvation, may have eternal life. — A more startling declaration to the ears of a rigid Pharisee it is impossible to conceive ! A more wonderful verse is not to be found in the Bible I That God should love such a wicked world as this and not hate it, — that He should love it so as to provide salvation — that in order to provide salvation He should give, not an angel, or any created being, but such a priceless gift as His only begotten Son, — that this great salvation should be freely offered to every one that believeth, — all, all this is wonderful indeed 1 This was indeed a \" heavenly thing.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"God so loved the world","excerpt":"The true view of the words, \" God loved the world,\" I believe to be this. The \" world \" means the whole race of mankind, both saints and sinners, without any exception. The word, in my opinion, is so used in John i. 10, 29 ; vi. 33, 51 ; viii. 12. — Rom. iii. 19.— 2 Cor. v. 19.— 1 John ii. 2; iv. U. The \"love\" spoken of is that love of pity and compassion with which God regards all His creatures, and specially regards mankind. It is the same feeling of \"love\" which appears in Psalm cxlv. 9, — Ezek. xxxiii. 11 —John vi. 32.— Titus iii. 4.— 1 John iv. 10.— 2 Pet. iii. 9. — 1 Tim. ii. 4. It is a love unquestionably distinct and separate from the special love with which God regards His saints. It is a love of pity and not of approbation or complaisance. But it is not the less a real love. It is a love which clears God of injustice in judging the world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":208,"text":"John i. 10, 29","label":"John 1:10","href":"/jhn/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":208,"text":"John i. 10, 29","label":"John 1:29","href":"/jhn/1/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":225,"text":"vi. 33, 51","label":"John 6:33","href":"/jhn/6/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":225,"text":"vi. 33, 51","label":"John 6:51","href":"/jhn/6/#v51","status":"detected"},{"at":238,"text":"viii. 12","label":"John 8:12","href":"/jhn/8/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":250,"text":"Rom. iii. 19","label":"Romans 3:19","href":"/rom/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":265,"text":"2 Cor. v. 19","label":"2 Corinthians 5:19","href":"/2co/5/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":280,"text":"1 John ii. 2","label":"1 John 2:2","href":"/1jn/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":481,"text":"Psalm cxlv. 9","label":"Psalms 145:9","href":"/psa/145/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":498,"text":"Ezek. xxxiii. 11","label":"Ezekiel 33:11","href":"/ezk/33/#v11","status":"detected"},{"at":516,"text":"John vi. 32","label":"John 6:32","href":"/jhn/6/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":530,"text":"Titus iii. 4","label":"Titus 3:4","href":"/tit/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":545,"text":"1 John iv. 10","label":"1 John 4:10","href":"/1jn/4/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":561,"text":"2 Pet. iii. 9","label":"2 Peter 3:9","href":"/2pe/3/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":578,"text":"1 Tim. ii. 4","label":"1 Timothy 2:4","href":"/1ti/2/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.16.3","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"That he gave his only begotten Son.","excerpt":"The gift of Christ, be it here noted, is the result of God's love to the world, and not the cause. To say that Go. I loves us because Christ died for us, is wretched theology indeed. But to say that Christ came into the world in consequence of the love of God, is scriptural truth.\n\nThe expression \" he gave,\" is a remarkable one. Christ is God the Father's gift to a lost and sinful world. He was given generally to be the Saviour, the Redeemer, the Friend of sinners, — to make an atonement sufficient for all, — and to provide a redemption large enough for all. To effect this, the Father freely gave Him up to be despised, rejected, mocked, crucified, and counted guilty and accursed for our sakes. It is written that He was \" delivered for our offences,\" and that \"God spared Him not, but delivered him up for us all.\" (Rom. iv. 25 ; viii. 32.) Christ is the \" gift of God,\" spoken of to the Samaritan woman, (John iv. 10,) and the \" unspeakable gift\" spoken of by St. Paul. (2 Cor. ix. 15.) He Himself says to the wicked Jews, \"My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.\" (John vi. 32.) This last text, be it noted, was one with which Erskine silenced the General Assembly in Scotland, when he was accused of offering Christ too freely to sinners.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":825,"text":"Rom. iv. 25","label":"Romans 4:25","href":"/rom/4/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":839,"text":"viii. 32","label":"Romans 8:32","href":"/rom/8/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":915,"text":"John iv. 10","label":"John 4:10","href":"/jhn/4/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":981,"text":"2 Cor. ix. 15","label":"2 Corinthians 9:15","href":"/2co/9/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":1085,"text":"John vi. 32","label":"John 6:32","href":"/jhn/6/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"God sent not...condemn...world.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord shows Nicodemus another ''heavenly thing.\" He shows him the main object of Messiah coming into the world. It was not to judge men, but to die for them ; not to condemn, but to save.\n\nI have a strong impression that when our Lord spoke these words, He had in view the prophecy of David about Messiah bruising the nations with a rod of iron, and Daniel's prophecy about the judgment, where he speaks of the thrones being cast down, and the Ancient of days judging the world. (Psalm ii. 6 — 9: Dan. vii. 9—22.) I think that Nicodemus. like most Jews, was filled with the expectation that when Messiah came He would come with power and great glory, and. judge all men. Our Lord corrects this notion in this verse. He declares that Messiah's first advent was not to judge but to save people from their sins. He says in another place. \" I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.\" (John xii. 47.) The Q-reek word for judging and condemning, it must be remembered, is one and the same. Judgment and the condemnation of the ungodly, our Lord would have us know, are not the work of the first advent, but of the second. The special work of the first advent was to seek and save that which was lost.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":497,"text":"Psalm ii. 6","label":"Psalms 2:6","href":"/psa/2/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":514,"text":"Dan. vii. 9","label":"Daniel 7:9","href":"/dan/7/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":910,"text":"John xii. 47","label":"John 12:47","href":"/jhn/12/#v47","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.17.2","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"That...world...through him...saved.","excerpt":"This sentence must clearly be interpreted with some qualification. It would contradict other plain texts of Scripture, if we took it to mean, \"God sent His Son into the world, that all the world might finally be saved through Him, and none be lost.\" In fact, our Lord Himself declares in the very next verse, \" that he that believeth not is condemned already.\"\n\nThe meaning of the sentence evidently is, that \" all the world might have a door of salvation opened through Christ, — that salvation might be provided for all the world, — and that so any one in the world believing on Christ, might be saved.\" In this view it is like the expression of St. John, \"The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.\" (1 John iv. 14.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":717,"text":"1 John iv. 14","label":"1 John 4:14","href":"/1jn/4/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"He that believeth on him...is not condemned.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord shows Nicodemus another \"heavenly thing.\" He declares the privileges of believing, and the peril of not believing in the Son of God. Nicodemus had addressed Him as a \" teacher come from Gol.\" He would have Nicodemus know that He was that high and holy One, to believe on whom was life eternal, and not to believe on whom was everlasting destruction. Life or death was before men. If they believed and received Him as the Messiah, they would be saved. If they believed not, they would die in their sins.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.18.2","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"He...believeth not...condemned already.","excerpt":"This sentence means that the man who refuses to believe on Christ is in a state of condemnation before God, even while he lives. The curse of a broken law, which we all deserve, is upon him. His sins are upon his head. He is reckoned guilty and dead before God, and there is but a step between him and hell. Faith takes all a man's sins away. Unbelief keeps them all on him. Through faith a man is made an heir of heaven, though kept outside till he dies. Through unbelief a man is already a subject of the devil, though not yet entirely in his power, and within hell. The moment a man believes, all charges are completely wiped away from his name. So long as a man does not believe, his sins cover him over, and make him abominable before God, and the just wrath of God abides upon him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.18.3","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"Because...not believed...name...Son of God.","excerpt":"This sentence is justly thought to prove that no sin is so great, and so damning and ruinous to the soul as unbelief. In one sense it is the only unpardonable sin. All other sins may be forgiven, however many and great, and a man may stand complete before God. But if a man will not believe on Christ, there is no hope for him ; and if he persists in his unbelief he cannot be saved. Nothing is so provoking and offensive to God as to refuse the glorious salvation He has provided at so mighty a cost, by the death of His only begotten Son. Nothing is so suicidal on the part of man as to turn away from the only remedy which can heal his soul. Other sins may be scarlet, filthy, and abominable. But not to believe on Christ is to bar the door in our own way, and to cut off ourselves entirely from heaven. It has been truly remarked that it was a greater sin in Judas Iscariot not to believe on Christ for pardon, after he had betrayed Him, than to betray Him into the hands of his enemies. To betray Him no doubt was an act of enormous covetousness, wickedness, and ingratitude. But not to seek Him afterwards by faith for pardon, was to disbelieve His mercy, love, and power to save.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"This is the condemnation, &c.","excerpt":"In this verse our Lord shows Nicodemus one more \" heavenly thing.\" He unfolds to him the true cause of the ruin of those who are lost. Primarily, I think, our Lord had in view the unbelieving Jews of His own day, and the real reason of their rejection of Himself. It was not that there was any want of evidence of His Messiahship. They had evidence enough and to spare. The real reason was that they had no mind to give up their sins. — Secondarily, I think, our Lord had in view the future history of all Christians, and the true cause of the ruin of all who are not saved in every age. It is not because there is any want of light to guide men to heaven. It is not because God is wanting in love and unwilling to save. The real reason is that men in every age love their own sins, and will not come to Christ that they may be delivered from them.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"","excerpt":"The verse is one which deserves special notice, because of the deep mystery it unfolds. It tells us the true reason why men miss heaven and are lost in hell. The origin of evil we are not told. The reason why evil men are lest, we are told plainly. There is not a word about any decree of God predestinating men to destruction. There is not a syllable about anything deficient or wanting either in God's love, or in Christ's atonement. On the contrary our Lord tells us that \"light has come into the world,\" that God has revealed enough of the way of salvation to make men inexcusable if they are not saved. But the real account of the matter is that men have naturally no will or inclination to use the light. They love their own dark and corrupt ways more than the ways which God proposes to them. They therefore reap the fruit of their own ways, and will have at last what they loved. They loved darkness and they will be cast into outer darkness, they did not like the light and so they will be shut out from light eternally. In short, lost souls will be what they willed to be, and will have what they loved.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"Every one that doeth evil, &c.","excerpt":"This verse and the following one form a practical application of all that our Lord has been saying to Nicodemus, and are also a logical consequence of the preceding verse. Like the preceding verse, these two verses apply primarily to the Jews in our Lord's day, and secondarily to every nation to which the light of the Gospel comes. They are a most remarkable appeal to an inquirer's conscience, and supply a most searching test of the sincerity of a man in Nicodemus' state of mind.\n\nThe words \" every one that doeth evil,\" mean every unconverted person, every one whose heart is not right and honest in God's sight, and whose actions are consequently evil and ungodly. Every such person \" hateth the light, neither cometh to the light.\" He cannot really love Christ and the Gospel, and will not honestly, and with his whole heart, seek Christ by faith and embrace His Gospel, until he is renewed The reason of this is, that every unconverted person shrinks from having his ungodliness exposed. He does not wish his wicked ways to be discovered, and his utter want of true righteousness and true preparedness for death, judgment, and eternity to be put to shame. He does not \"like his deeds to be reproved,\" and therefore he shrinks from the light, and keeps away from Christ.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"He that doeth truth, &c.","excerpt":"This verse, it is needless to say, is closely connected with the preceding one. The preceding verse describes the unconverted man. The verse before us describes the converted man.\n\nThe expression, \" He that doeth truth,\" signifies, the person whose heart is honest, the man who is truly converted, however weak and ignorant, and whose heart and actions are consequently true and right in the sight of God. The phrase is frequently found in St. John's writings. (S-'e John xviii. 37 ; 1 John i. 6—8; ii. 4; iii. 19; 2 John i. ; 3 John iii. 4.) Every such person will always come to Christ and embrace His Gospel when it is brought near him. He will have an honest desire that \" his deeds may be made manifest,\" and that his real character may be discovered to himself and others. He will have an honest wish to know whether his habits of life are really godly, or \" wrought in God.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":467,"text":"John xviii. 37","label":"John 18:37","href":"/jhn/18/#v37","status":"detected"},{"at":484,"text":"1 John i. 6","label":"1 John 1:6","href":"/1jn/1/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.21.2","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"He that doeth truth","excerpt":"The principle here laid down is of great importance, and experience shows that the assertion of the text is always confirmed by facts. I believe there was not a truly good man among the Jews in our Lord's day, who did not at once receive Christ, and welcome Christ's Gospel, as soon as it was brought before him. Nathanael was an example. He was a man \" who did truth \" under the obscure light of the law of Moses, as ministered by Scribes and Pharisees. But the moment the Messiah was brought before him, he received Him and believed. — So also, I believe, when the Gospel comes into a church, a parish, or a congregation, it is always gladly received and embraced by any whose hearts are true. To be a truly godly man, and yet to refuse to come to Christ, is an impossibility. He that hears of Christ and does not come to Him, and believe on Him as God's appointed way of salvation, has something fatally wrong about him. He is not really \"doing truth.\" He is not a converted man. Gospel light is a mighty magnet. If there is any one that has true religion within its sphere, it will attract to itself that person. To be truly religious and not to gravitate towards Him who is the great centre of all light and truth, is impossible. If a man refuses Christ, he cannot be a godly man.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"Came Jesus...into...land of Judaea.","excerpt":"Some have thought, from this expression, that the conversation between Christ and Nicodemus did not take place in Jerusalem or Judaea, but in Galilee. Others have thought that a long interval must be supposed to have elapsed between the conversation and the events which are here narrated. — I can agree with neither view. — I believe the true explanation is, that \"the land\" here spoken of means the rural part or territory of Judaea, in contradistinction to the capital town of the territory, Jerusalem. The meaning will then be, that Jesus left the city and went into the country districts. The expression, \" Thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judaea,\" is similar. (Matt. ii. 6.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":665,"text":"Matt. ii. 6","label":"Matthew 2:6","href":"/mat/2/#v6","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.22.2","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"And baptized.","excerpt":"The questions have often been raised, \"In what name was this baptism administered?\" \" Was it a baptism that needed tj be repeated after the day of Pentecost ?\" — The most probable answer to the first question is, that it was a baptism in the name of Jesus, upon profession of belief that he was the Messiah. The most probable answer to the second question is, that it was certainly not a baptism that required repetition. To suppose that a baptism, administered by our Lord's disciples, under our Lord's own eye, and by our Lord's own command, was not as effectual and profitable an ordinance as any baptism that was ever afterwards administered, is a most improbable supposition.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.22-36.1","start":22,"end":36,"heading":"JOHN III. 22—36.","excerpt":"We have, secondly, in these verses, a splendid pattern of true and godly humility. We see in John the Baptist a very different spirit from that displayed by his disciples. He begins by laying down the great principle, that acceptance with man is a special gift of God ; and that we must therefore not presume to find fault, when others have more acceptance than ourselves. \"A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.\" He goes on to remind his followers of his repeated declaration, that one greater than himself was coming ; — \" I said, I am not the Christ.\" He tells them that his office compared to that of Christ, is that of the bridegroom's friend, compared to the bridegroom. And finally, he solemnly affirms, that Christ must and will become greater and greater, and that he himself must become less and less important, until, like a star eclipsed by the rising sun, he has completely disappeared.\n\nA frame of mind like this, is the highest degree of grace to which mortal man can attain. The greatest saint in the sight of God, is the man who is most thoroughly \"clothed with humility.\" (1 Peter v. 5.) Would we know the prime secret of being men of the stamp of Abraham, and Moses, and Job, and David, and Daniel, and St. Paul, and John the Baptist ? They were all eminently humble men. Living at different ages, and enjoying very different degrees of light, in this matter at least they were all agreed. In themselves they saw nothing but sin and weakness. To God they gave all the praise of what they were. Let us walk in their steps. Let us covet earnestly the best gifts ; but above all, let us covet humility. The way to true honour is to be humble. No man ever was so praised by Christ, as the very man who says here, \" I must decrease,\" the humble John the Baptist.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1114,"text":"1 Peter v. 5","label":"1 Peter 5:5","href":"/1pe/5/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"John also was baptizing.","excerpt":"We can hardly doubt that John baptized all who came to him, at this period of his ministry, in the name of Jesus, upon confession of faith that Jesus was the Messiah. It seems most improbable that after publicly pointing out Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, and the promised Saviour, he would be content to baptize with the baptism of repentance, which he had administered before Christ appeared. In short, John's baptism at this period, and the baptism administered by Christ's disciples, must have been precisely the same.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.23.2","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"Because there was much water.","excerpt":"It is frequently assumed from this expression, that John's baptism was immersion and not sprinkling, and that on this account a great supply of water was absolutely needful. It may perhaps have been so. The point is one of no importance. That immersion, however, is necessary to the validity of baptism, and that sprinkling alone is not sufficient, are points that can never be demonstrated from Scripture. So long as water is used, it seems to be left a matter of indifference whether the person baptized is dipped or sprinkled. I should find it very hard to believe that the three thousand baptized on the day of Pentecost, or the jailor and his family, baptized at midnight in the Philippian prison, were all immersed. The Church of England wisely allows either mode of applying wa er to be used. To suppose that dipping is forbidden to English Churchmen is mere ignorance.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"John...not yet...prison.","excerpt":"John's diligence in his Master's work is here pointed out. He doubtless knew that his ministry was fulfilled when Christ appeared, and that the time of his own departure, and violent death under Herod's hands, was at hand. Yet he worked on to the very last. \"Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing.\" (Matt xxiv. 46.)\n\nTheophylact thinks that John's early death was permitted la God's providence, in order to prevent any distraction in people's minds between him and Christ.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":336,"text":"Matt xxiv. 46","label":"Matthew 24:46","href":"/mat/24/#v46","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"There arose...question...disciples...Jews...purifying.","excerpt":"The nature and particulars of this dispute must be left to conjecture. We can only form an idea of it from the context. It seems probable that it was a dispute between the unbelieving Jews and the disciples of John the Baptist, about the comparative value of the two baptisms which were being administered in Judea, viz., John's baptism and Christ's. — Which was the most purifying? Which was the most efficacious? Which was the most valuable of the two? — The Jews probably taunted John's disciples with the decline of their master's popularity. John's disciples, in ignorant zeal and heat for their master, probably contended that no new teacher's baptism could possibly be more purifying and valuable than their own master's.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"They came unto John, &c. / He...with thee...thou barest witness.","excerpt":"The language of the whole verse seems intended to show that John's disciples were jealous for their master's ministry, and that its declining popularity, in consequence of our Lord's appearance in Judaea as a public teacher, was a cause of annoyance to them. The verse is an instructive instance of that littleness and party spirit which are ?o painfully common among Christians when one minister's popularity is interfered with by the appearance of another.\n\n[He...with thee...thou barest witness.] This expression shows the publicity and notoriety of John's testimony to our Lord as the Messiah and the Lamb of God. It was testimony not borne privately in a corner, but in the hearing and full knowledge of all John's disciples. It would seem to have had very little effect on their minds. The words fell on their ears, but went no further.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.26.2","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"Behold the same baptizeth.","excerpt":"This expression implies partly surprise and partly complaint. In any case it shows how little the bulk of John's disciples understood that Jesus was really the Messiah promised in the prophecies. If they hid understood it, they would surely neither have been surprised nor annoyed at Him for baptizing and becoming popular. They would rather have expected it and rejoiced at it. It is one among many proofs that ministers may be loved by their hearers, and may tell them the truth faithfully, and yet be utterly unable to make their hearers understand or believe. Few are like Andrew, and \"follow Jesus,\" when their minister says, \"Behold the Lamb.\" The most are as though they did not hear at all.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"John answered...A man can receive nothing, &c.","excerpt":"This sentence is the statement of a general truth in religion. Success, promotion, and growth of influence are gifts which God keeps entirely in His own hands. If one faithful minister's popularity wanes, while another's popularity and influence over men's hearts increase, the thing is of God, and we must submit to His appointment. (Psalm lxxv. 6.)\n\nThe application of the sentence is not to Christ, as Chrysostom thought, but to John the Baptist himself, as Augustine thought. They are meant to imply, \" I cannot command continued success in my ministry. I can only receive what God gives me. If He thinks fit to give any one more acceptance with men than myself, I cannot prevent it, and have no right to complain. All success is of God. All that I have had, at any period of my ministry, has been received, and none deserved.\" — To apply the sentence to our Lord, seems to me an unsatisfactory interpretation, and derogatory to the dignity of Christ's ministry. Those who take this view, would probably prefer the marginal reading of the word \"receive,\" and would render it, \"No man can take to himself anything.\" The sentence would then be like St, Paul's words to the Hebrews, \" No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.\" (Heb. v. 4.) But the translation, \" receive,\" and the application to John the Baptist, appear to me more agreeable to the context, and the general spirit of John's reply. And although the word, a \" man,\" ought not to have much stress laid upon it, I cannot help thinking that John uses it intentionally, in order to point to himself. \"A mere man like me can receive nothing but what is given him from heaven.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":335,"text":"Psalm lxxv. 6","label":"Psalms 75:6","href":"/psa/75/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":1272,"text":"Heb. v. 4","label":"Hebrews 5:4","href":"/heb/5/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Ye yourselves bear me witness...I said, &c.","excerpt":"John here reminds his disciples that he had repeatedly told them that he was not the Christ, and that he was only a forerunner sent before Him. They ought to have remembered this. If they had done so, they would not have been surprised at the rise and progress of Christ's ministry, but would rather have expected Him 10 outshine and surpass their master, as a matter of course.\n\nThe verse is an instructive illustration of the forgetfulness of hearers. John's testimony to the dignity of Christ and His superiority to himself had been constantly repeated. But it had been all thrown away on his disciples, and when Christ began to receive greater honours than their master, and their own party began to grow smaller than that of Christ's disciples, they were offended. People soon forget what they do not like.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"He that hath...bride...bridegroom, &c.","excerpt":"In this verse John the Baptist explains the relative positions occupied by himself and Christ by a familiar illustration. In tracing it out, it is of great importance not to press the points of resemblance too far. The illustration is one which specially requires to be handled with reverence, decency, and discretion.\n\nThe \"bride,\" in the verse, signifies the whole company of believers, the Lamb's wife. (Rev. xxi. 9.) The \" bridegroom \" is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The \"friend of the bridegroom\" means John the Baptist, and all other faithful ministers of Christ. According to the marriage-customs of the Jews, there were certain persons called the bridegroom's friends, who were the means of communication between him and the bride before the marriage. Their duty was simply to set forward and promote the bridegroom's interests, and to remove all obstacles, as far as possible, to a speedy union of the parties. To accomplish this end and promote a thoroughly good understanding between the bride and bridegroom was their sole office. If they saw the bridegroom's suit prospering, and at last saw him received favourably and gladly by the bride, their end was accomplished and their work was done. To all this John the Baptist makes allusion in the verse now before us. He tells his disciples that his sole work was to set forward and promote a good understanding between Christ and men. If he saw that work prospering he was thankful and would rejoice, even though the result was that his own personal importance was diminished. He would have his disciples know that the growing popularity of Christ which offended them, was the very thing which he longed to see. He had no greater joy than to hear of the voice of Christ, the bridegroom, being listened to by believers, the bride. It was the very thing for which he had been preaching and ministering, His \" joy was fulfilled.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":407,"text":"Rev. xxi. 9","label":"Revelation 21:9","href":"/rev/21/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"","excerpt":"The whole verse is a most instructive picture of a true minister's work and character. He is a friend of Christ, and is ordained in order to promote a union between Christ and souls. (2 Cor. ii. 2.) He must rigidly adhere to that office, and must never take to himself that which does not belong to him. The minister who allows honour to be given to himself which only belongs to Jesus, and exalts his own office into that of a mediator and priest, is treacherously usurping a position which is not his but his Master's. The professing Christian who treats ministers as if they were priests and mediators, is dishonouring Jesus Christ, and basely giving that honour to the Bridegroom's friends which belongs exclusively to the Bridegroom Himself.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":184,"text":"2 Cor. ii. 2","label":"2 Corinthians 2:2","href":"/2co/2/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"He must increase...I...decrease.","excerpt":"In this sentence John the Baptist tells his complaining disciples that it is right and proper and necessary that Christ should grow in dignity, and that he himself should be less thought of. He was only the servant ; Christ was the Master. He was only the forerunner and ambassador, Christ was the King. He was only the morning star; Christ was the Sun. The idea implied appears to be that of the stars gradually fading away, as the sun rises, after the break of day. The stars do not really perish or really become less, bat they pale and become invisible before the superior brightness of the great centre of light. The sun does not really become larger, or really increase in brightness, but it becomes more fully visible, and occupies a position in which it more completely fills our vision. So was it with John the Baptist and Christ. — Every faithful minister ought to be like-minded with John. He must be content to be less thought of by his believing hearers, in proportion as they grow in knowledge and faith, and se( Christ Himself more clearly. As churches decay and fall away , they think less of Christ and more of their ministers. As churches revive and receive spiritual life, they think less of ministers and more of Christ. To a decaying church the sun is going down, and the stars are beginning to appear. To a reviving church the stars are waning, and the sun appearing.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"He...cometh...above...above all.","excerpt":"... Christ is \" from above.\" He is not merely man, but God. He came from heaven when He took our nature on Him, and was born. As God, He is as far above all His ministers and servants as the Creator is above the creature. He is \" far above all principality, and power, and every name that can be named.\" He is \" Head over all things to the church,\" and richly deserves all the honour, and dignity, and respect, and reverence that man can give. (Ephes. i. 21, 22.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":445,"text":"Ephes. i. 21, 22","label":"Ephesians 1:21–22","href":"/eph/1/#v21","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"He that is of the earth...earthly...speaketh...earth.","excerpt":"In this sentence John the Baptist expresses in strong language the comparative inferiority to Christ of himself or of any other minister. \" All who like me,\" he seems to say, \" are only men, mere dust and clay, descended from a father who was made out of the dust of the ground, are comparatively earthly. The weakness and feebleness of our origin pervade all our doings. By nature earthly, our works are earthly, and our speaking and preaching earthly.\" — In short, there will be a savour of humanity about the ministry of every one who is naturally engendered of the seed of Adam.\n\nThe difficulty that some see in John the Baptist calling his own ministry \" earthly,\" is quite needlessly raised. It is evident that he calls it so \" comparatively.\" Compared to the teaching of Scribes and Pharisees it was not earthly but heavenly. Compared to the teaching of Him who came from heaven it was earthly. A candle compared to darkness is light. But the same candle compared to the sun is a poor dim spark.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"What...seen...heard...testifieth.","excerpt":"In this sentence John the Baptist shows the divinity of Christ, and His consequent superiority over himself in another point of view. He says that Christ bears witness to truths which he has \" seen and heard.\" He is not like mere human ministers who only declare what they have been taught by the Holy Spirit, and inspired to communicate to others. As God, He declares with authority truths which Ho had seen, and heard, and known from all eternity with the Father. (John 7. 19, 30 ; viii. 38.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":467,"text":"John 7. 19, 30","label":"John 7:19","href":"/jhn/7/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":467,"text":"John 7. 19, 30","label":"John 7:30","href":"/jhn/7/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":484,"text":"viii. 38","label":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.32.2","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"And no man receiveth his testimony.","excerpt":"The expression \"no man \" in this sentence, must evidently, from the following verses, be taken with qualification. It must mean \" very few.\" Andrew, Peter, Philip, and others, had received Christ's testimony. The sentence seems intended to rebuke the complaint uttered by John's disciples, \" All men come unto him.\" John seems to say, \" However many persons come to hear Jesus, you will yet see that very few believe on him. Great as he is, and deserving of far more reverence than myself, you have yet to learn, that ever he is really believed on by few'. The crowds who follow him are. unhappily, not true believers. The temporary popularity which attends his ministry, is as worthless as that which attended my own.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"He that hath received, &c. / Hath set to his seal.","excerpt":"In this verse John shows the great importance of receiving Christ's testimony. So far from being offended by the crowd which attended Christ's ministry. John's disciples should be thankful that so many heard Him, and that Some few received His teaching into their hearts.\n\n[Hath set to his seal.'] This expression is peculiar, and found nowhere else in the New Testament, in the same sense. Of course it does not mean any literal sealing. It only means, ''hath formally declared his belief, — hath publicly professed his conviction,\" — just as a man puts his seal to a document, as a testimony that he consents to its contents. In ancient days, when few comparatively could write, to affix a seal to a paper, was a more common mode of expressing assent to it, than to sign a name. — The sentence is equivalent to saying, \" He that receives Christ's testimony, has set down his name as one who believes that God is true.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.33.2","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"That God is true.","excerpt":"These words may be taken two ways. According to some they mean, \"He that receives Christ, declares his belief, that it is the true God who has sent Christ ; and that Christ is no impostor, but the Messiah, whom the true God of the Old Testament prophets promised to send.\" — According to others they mean, \" He that receives Christ, declares his belief, that God is true to his word, and has kept the promise that he made to Adam, Abraham, and David.\" That the Greek word rendered \" true,\" will bear this last meaning, seems proved by the expression, \" Let God be true, but every man a liar.\" (Rom. iii. 4.) Either view makes good sense and good divinity ; but on the whole, I prefer the second one. It seems to me strongly confirmed by the expression in St. John's 1st Epistle: \"He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.\" (1 John v. 10.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":594,"text":"Rom. iii. 4","label":"Romans 3:4","href":"/rom/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":892,"text":"1 John v. 10","label":"1 John 5:10","href":"/1jn/5/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"He whom God hath sent. / Speaketh the words of God.","excerpt":"In this verse John the Baptist shows the dignity of Christ, and His superiority over all other teachers, by another striking declaration about Him. He begins by giving Him the well-known epithet which was peculiarly applied to Messiah, \" He whom God hath sent, the sent One, — the One whom God has sent into the world according to promise.\"\n\n[Speaketh the words of God.] This sentence means that Christ's words were not the words of a mere man, like John himself or one of the prophets. They were nothing less than the words of God. He who heard them heard nothing less than God speaking. The unity of the Father and the Son is so close that he who hears the teaching of the Son hears the teaching of the Father also. (Compare John vii. 16 ; v. 19 ; xiv. 10, 11 ; viii. 28 ; xii. 49.) When John the Baptist spoke, he spoke merely human words, however true, and good, and scriptural. But when Christ spoke, He spoke divine words, even the words of God Himself. As Quesnel says, ''He spoke by the Holy Ghost, who is His own Spirit, who inseparably dwelleth in Him, and by the possession of whose fulness He receives His unction and consecration.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":727,"text":"John vii. 16","label":"John 7:16","href":"/jhn/7/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":742,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":750,"text":"xiv. 10, 11","label":"John 14:10–11","href":"/jhn/14/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":764,"text":"viii. 28","label":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":775,"text":"xii. 49","label":"John 12:49","href":"/jhn/12/#v49","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.34.2","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"For God giveth not...Spirit by measure...him.","excerpt":"The whole sentence is peculiar, and requires careful interpretation. The object of John the Baptist is to show once more the infinite superiority of the Lord Jesus over himself or any other man. To all others, even to the most eminent prophets and apostles, God gives the Holy Spirit \" by measure,\" Their gifts and graces are both imperfect. As St Paul says, they \" know in part and prophesy in part.\" (1 Cor. xiii. 9.) But with Him whom God hath sent, it is very different. To Him the Holy Ghost is given without measure, in infinite fulness and completeness. In His human nature the gifts and graces of the Spirit are present without the slightest shadow of imperfection. As man, Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy Ghost, and fitted for His office as our Priest, and Prophet, and King, in a way and degree never granted to any other man. (Acts x. 38.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":403,"text":"1 Cor. xiii. 9","label":"1 Corinthians 13:9","href":"/1co/13/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":851,"text":"Acts x. 38","label":"Acts 10:38","href":"/act/10/#v38","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"The Father loveth...Son...given all...hand.","excerpt":"There is something, at first sight, abrupt and elliptical in this verse. The full meaning of it, I believe to be as follows. \" He whom God hath sent is One far above me or any other prophet. He is the eternal Son of God, whom the Father loved from all eternity, and into whose hands all things concerning man's salvation have been given and committed by an everlasting covenant. He is no mere man, as you, my disciples, ignorantly suppose. He is the Son, of whom it is written, ' Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and so ye perish from the way.' He is the Son to whom the Father has said, \"I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.' (Psalm ii. 7 — 9.) Instead of being jealous of his present popularity, you should serve Him with fear, and rejoice before Him with trembling.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":698,"text":"Psalm ii. 7","label":"Psalms 2:7","href":"/psa/2/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.35.2","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"","excerpt":"The \" love of the Father toward the Son,\" here spoken of, is a subject far too deep for man to fathom. It is an expression graciously accommodated to man's feeble understanding, and intended to signify that most intimate and ineffable union which exists between the First and Second Persons in the blessed Trinity, and the entire approbation and complacency with which the Father regards the work of redemption undertaken by the Son. It is that love to which our Lord refers in the words, \" Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world,\" (John xvii. 24,) and which the Father expressly asserted at the beginning of the Son's earthly ministry, \" This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\" (Matt. iii. 17.)\n\nWhen it says that \" the Father hath given all things into the Son's hand,\" we must understand that mediatorial kingdom which in the eternal counsels of the Trinity has been appointed to Christ. By the terms of the everlasting covenant, the Father has given to the Son power over all flesh, to quicken whom He will — to justify, to sanctify, to keep, and to glorify His people, — to judge, and finally punish the wicked and unbelieving, — and at last to take to Himself a kingdom over all the world, and put down every enemy under His feet. These are the \" all things\" of which John speaks. Christ, he would have us know, has the keys of death and hell in His hand, and to Him a' one men must go, if they want anything for their souls.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":545,"text":"John xvii. 24","label":"John 17:24","href":"/jhn/17/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":704,"text":"Matt. iii. 17","label":"Matthew 3:17","href":"/mat/3/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"He that believeth...Son...hath...life.","excerpt":"In this verse John the Baptist concludes his testimony to Christ, by a solemn declaration of the unspeakable importance of believing on Him. Whether his disciples would receive it or not,\" he tells them that life or death, heaven or hell, all turned on believing in this Jesus who had \" been with him beyond Jordan.\"\n\nThe excellence of faith should be noted here. Like his divine Master, John teaches that \" believing on the Son,\" is the principal thing in saving religion. Believing is the way to heaven, and not believing the way to hell.\n\nThe \" presentness\" of the salvation which is in Christ should be here noted. Again, like his divine Master, John teaches that a believer \" hath\" everlasting life. Pardon, peace, and a title to heaven are at once and immediately a man's possession, the very moment that he lays his sins on Jesus, and puts his trust in Him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.36.2","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"The wrath of God abideth on him.","excerpt":"This concluding sentence of John the Baptist's testimony, is again very like his Master's teaching, \" He that believeth not is condemned already.\" The meaning of the sentence is, that so long as a man is not a believer in Christ, the just wrath of God hangs over him, and he is under the curse of God's broken law. We are all by nature born in sin, and children of wrath; and our sins are all upon us, unpardoned, unforgiven, and untaken away, until that day when we believe on the Son of God and are made children of grace.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/expositorythough05ryle/expositorythough05ryle_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]},{"work_id":"westcott","author":"B. F. Westcott","short_name":"Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"title":"The Gospel According to St. John: The Authorised Version with Introduction and Notes","edition_short":"London: John Murray, 1892","author_url":"/commentators/westcott/","divisions":"verse","work_url":"/works/westcott/","entries":[{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.1.1","start":1,"end":1,"heading":"There was a man...; Pharisees; Nicodemus; a ruler","excerpt":"Now there was a man.... The word man is repeated to emphasize the connexion with ii. 25. Nicodemus offered at once an example of the Lord's inward knowledge of men, and an exception to this general rule which He observed in not trusting Himself to them.\n\nPharisees] i. 24 note.\n\nNicodemus'] Comp. vii. 50, xix. 39. The name was not uncommon among the Jews. Nicodemus ben Gorion (Bunai) who lived to the siege of Jerusalem, has been identified (falsely, v. 4 old) with this one. The traditions as to Bunai, which are very vague and untrustworthy, have been collected by Lightfoot on this place, and by Delitzsch, 'Zeitschr. f. Luth. Theol.' 1854.\n\na ruler] i.e. a member of the Sanhedrin ...: vii. 50. Comp. vii. 26, xii. 42; Luke xxiii. 13, 35, xxiy. 20; Acts iv. 8. The word however is used in Rabbinic literature ... generally for a \"great man\" or \"prince.\" See Buxtorf, s. v. ; Matt. ix. 18 ; Luke xii. 58, xiv. i, xviii. 18.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":297,"text":"vii. 50","label":"John 7:50","href":"/jhn/7/#v50","status":"detected"},{"at":453,"text":"v. 4","label":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":707,"text":"vii. 26","label":"John 7:26","href":"/jhn/7/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":725,"text":"Luke xxiii. 13, 35","label":"Luke 23:13","href":"/luk/23/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":725,"text":"Luke xxiii. 13, 35","label":"Luke 23:35","href":"/luk/23/#v35","status":"detected"},{"at":755,"text":"Acts iv. 8","label":"Acts 4:8","href":"/act/4/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":881,"text":"Matt. ix. 18","label":"Matthew 9:18","href":"/mat/9/#v18","status":"detected"},{"at":896,"text":"Luke xii. 58","label":"Luke 12:58","href":"/luk/12/#v58","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.1-15.1","start":1,"end":15,"heading":"Chap. III. 1—15.","excerpt":"The general outline of the discourse can be marked with fair distinctness, and places the relation in which the new order— the kingdom of God. established through Christ— stands to the old in a clear light\n\nNicodemus comes as the representative of the well-instructed and thoughtful Jew who looked for the consummation of national hope to follow in the line along which he had himself gone, as being a continuation and not a new beginning (v. a).\n\nThe Lord at once checks this anticipation. The kingdom of God cannot, He says, be seen — outwardly apprehended — without a new birth. The right conception of it depends upon the possession of corresponding and therefore fresh powers (v. 3).\n\nBut the obvious answer is, Such a change in man is impossible. He is physically, morally, spiritually, one: the result of all the past (v. 4).\n\nThis objection would be valid if the change belonged to the same order as that to which we naturally belong. But the Lord replies that the birth which He reveals is an entrance to a new order, and wrought by a new power. It has an external element, because it belongs to men now in life: it has an internal element, because it carries men into a new world (v. 5).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":682,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":826,"text":"v. 4","label":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1191,"text":"v. 5","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.1-15.2","start":1,"end":15,"heading":"","excerpt":"No change of man in himself, so far as the life of sense is concerned, would be adequate (v 6).\n\nBut none the less the change, though wrought by a mysterious and unseen Power, coming we know not whence, going we know not whither, in the interspace of earthly life, is manifested by its results (7 f.).\n\nSuch ideas were strange to Nicodemus, and to the traditional Judaism of the time (v. 9).\n\nYet even already there were some with the Lord who had known and seen the reality of the teaching and facts by which these ideas were established (10 f.).\n\nAnd, beyond these \"earthly things\" of which sensible experience was possible, the new kingdom included in its principles \"heavenly things,\" still farther removed from current beliefs (v. la).\n\nSuch was the doctrine of the Person of the Lord ; and flowing from it the doctrine of the Redemption through His Cross (13 ff.).\n\nThe circle of thought is thus complete. Christianity — in consideration of the completed work of Christ, which is presupposed — stands contrasted with Judaism both as an organization and as a divine economy. The entrance to the Church is through a sacrament not outward only but spiritual also. The facts on which it rests and which it proclaims belong essentially to heaven, not to earth. Viewed in these relations the discourse expands and explains the truth stated generally in its outward form in the Sermon on the Mount: Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no ease enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. v. 20).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":385,"text":"v. 9","label":"John 3:9","href":"/jhn/3/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1539,"text":"Matt. v. 20","label":"Matthew 5:20","href":"/mat/5/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.1-15.3","start":1,"end":15,"heading":"","excerpt":"The record of the conversation comes to an end without any formal close. There is nothing surprising in this. The history is not that of an outward incident, but of a spiritual situation. This is fully analysed ; and the issue is found in the later notices of Nicodemus, so far as it has an immediate personal value.\n\nSeveral observations are suggested by the narrative, which will be illustrated by later passages of the Gospel.\n\ni. The account of the conversation is evidently compressed. The Evangelist does little more than indicate the great moments of the discussion. The full meaning and connexion of the parts can only be gained by supplying what he merely indicates.\n\na. In spite of the compression there is a distinct progress and completeness in the record. The order of thought is real and natural.\n\n3. The thoughts are not obvious, but when they are understood they deal with critical difficulties; and with difficulties which belong to the first stage of the preaching of the Gospel.\n\n4. The form and substance of the discussion keep completely within the line of Jewish ideas. All that is said belongs to a time before the full declaration of the nature of Christ's work, while the language is fitted to move a hearer to deeper questionings, and is in perfect harmony with later and plainer revelations.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.1-21.1","start":1,"end":21,"heading":"Christ's dealing with the representative teacher (iii. 1—21)","excerpt":"This first conversation is, together with the Evangelist's comment, the personal application of the general call to repentance, with which the other Gospels open. It is, like the public message of the Baptist or of Christ, a proclamation of the kingdom of heaven, but given under new circumstances.\n\nUnder another aspect the history is complementary to the passage which precedes. Christ was unwilling to commit Himself— His Person — to those who had false views ; and in the same spirit He laid open the truth to one who sought it. By refusal and by compliance alike He shewed His knowledge of men.\n\nThe record consists of two parts. The first part (r — 15) contains a summary of the actual conversation : the second gives the commentary of St John (16— ai).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.2.1","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"by night; Rabbi","excerpt":"This detail is noticed again in xix. 39 (but not according to the true reading in vii. 50). On each occasion where Nicodemus is mentioned we may see other traces of the timidity to which it was due. He defended Jesus without expressing any personal interest in Him : he brought his offering only after Joseph of Arimathaea had obtained the Body from Pilate.\n\nRabbi] Such a style of address in the mouth of Nicodemus (v. 10) is significant (comp. i. 38). The title was one of late date, not having come into use till the time of Herod the Great, with the Schools of Shammai and Hillel. It is formed like \"Master\" from a root meaning great, and was used in three forms, Rab, Rabbi, Rabban (Rabbun, John xx. 16). According to the Jewish saying, \"Rabbi was higher than Rab, Rabban than Rabbi, but greater than all was he who [like the prophets] was not called by any such title.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":417,"text":"v. 10","label":"John 3:10","href":"/jhn/3/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":446,"text":"i. 38","label":"John 1:38","href":"/jhn/1/#v38","status":"detected"},{"at":696,"text":"John xx. 16","label":"John 20:16","href":"/jhn/20/#v16","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.2.2","start":2,"end":2,"heading":"we know; from God; a teacher; miracles","excerpt":"The pronoun is not emphatic. There is however a symptom of latent presumption in the word. Nicodemus claims for himself and for others like him the peculiar privilege of having read certainly the nature of the Lord's office in the signs which He wrought. So much at least he and they could do, if the common people were at fault. Comp. ix. 24. It is natural to connect such a recognition of the divine mission of Jesus with the report of the envoys sent to John: i. 19. Contrast Matt. xii. 24; c. ix. 29.\n\nfrom God] The words stand first emphatically: \"it is from God, not from man, thy title to teach is derived.\" Jesus had not studied in the schools, but possessed the right of a Rabbi from a higher source. Comp. vii. 15, 16.\n\na teacher] not different in kind from other teachers. In this conception lay the essence of the error of Nicodemus. The word used here ... is commonly rendered master, after the Vulgate (magister), a rendering which is apt to suggest false associations (i. 38, viii. 4, xi. 28, xiii. 13 f., xx. 16).\n\nmiracles'] signs. Comp. ii. n note. The address of Nicodemus is incomplete, but he evidently wishes to invite the Lord to give a fuller view of His teaching, and that, it may reasonably be supposed, with regard to the kingdom of God of which John had spoken.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":336,"text":"ix. 24","label":"John 9:24","href":"/jhn/9/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":479,"text":"Matt. xii. 24","label":"Matthew 12:24","href":"/mat/12/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":716,"text":"vii. 15, 16","label":"John 7:15–16","href":"/jhn/7/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.3.1","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"answered","excerpt":"not the words, but the thoughts. The Lord's answers to questions will be found generally to reveal the true thought of the questioner, and to be fitted to guide him to the truth which he is seeking. Nicodemus implied that he and those like him were prepared to understand and welcome the Lord's teaching. This appeared to him to be of the same order as that with which he was already familiar. He does not address the Lord as if he were ready to welcome Him as \"the Christ\" or \"the prophet.\" On the other hand, the Lord's reply sets forth distinctly that His work was not simply to carry on what was already begun, but to recreate. The new kingdom of which He was the founder could not be comprehended till after a new birth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.3.2","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"he cannot see the kingdom of God","excerpt":"Without this new birth — this introduction into a vital connexion with a new order of being, with a corresponding endowment of faculties — no .man can see — can outwardly apprehend — the kingdom of God. Our natural powers cannot realise that which is essentially spiritual. A new vision is required for the objects of a new order. Elsewhere there are refeiences to the change required (Matt, xviii. 3 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14) in order that we may observe that which though about us is unregarded (Luke xvii. 20, 21).\n\ncannot] The impossibility lies in the moral characteristics of the man, and not in any external power. Comp. vi. 44, note.\n\nThe sense which is commonly given to \" see \" in this passage, as if it were equivalent to \"enjoy,\" \"have experience of\" (Luke ii. 26, see death; Acts ii. 27, see corruption; 1 Pet. iii. 10, see good days), entirely sacrifices the marked contrast between \"seeing\" and \" entering into \" the kingdom. Part of the same thought is found in Luke xvii. 20.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":403,"text":"1 Cor. ii. 14","label":"1 Corinthians 2:14","href":"/1co/2/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":489,"text":"Luke xvii. 20, 21","label":"Luke 17:20–21","href":"/luk/17/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":619,"text":"vi. 44","label":"John 6:44","href":"/jhn/6/#v44","status":"detected"},{"at":755,"text":"Luke ii. 26","label":"Luke 2:26","href":"/luk/2/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":779,"text":"Acts ii. 27","label":"Acts 2:27","href":"/act/2/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":808,"text":"1 Pet. iii. 10","label":"1 Peter 3:10","href":"/1pe/3/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":969,"text":"Luke xvii. 20","label":"Luke 17:20","href":"/luk/17/#v20","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.3.3","start":3,"end":3,"heading":"the kingdom of God","excerpt":"The phrase occurs only here and in v. 5 in St John's Gospel (yet compare xviii. 36, 37 ; Rev. xii. 10), while it is frequent in the Synoptists. St Matthew alone uses, in addition, the phrase \"the kingdom of heaven,\" which Is found as an early variant in v. 5 (in K, &c.). The phrase \"the kingdom of God \" is found in the Acts, and in each group of St Paul's epistles; but it does not occur in the Epistle to the Hebrews or in the Catholic Epistles (comp. 2 Pet. i. n). The words have always a twofold application, external and internal ; arid the immediate application in each case leads on to a more complete fulfilment in the same direction. Thus under the old dispensation the visible Israel was the kingdom of God as typical of the visible catholic church, the spiritual Israel as typical of the true spiritual church. And now again the visible church is the type of the future universal reign of Christ, as the spiritual church is of the consummation of Christ's reign in heaven.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":35,"text":"v. 5","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":89,"text":"Rev. xii. 10","label":"Revelation 12:10","href":"/rev/12/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":254,"text":"v. 5","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.4.1","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"Nicodemus saith; How can a man be born ...","excerpt":"It is commonly supposed that Nicodemus either misunderstood the general scope of the Lord's answer, or half-mockingly set it aside. But in fact he employs the image chosen by the Lord in sober earnest to bring out the overwhelming difficulties with which the idea suggested by it was encompassed. It is one indication of the point of his argument that he substitutes for the indefinite phrase used by the Lord (except one ... be born...) the definite title (how can a man ... be born...).\n\nHow can a man be born ...] How is it possible for a man whose whole nature at any moment is the sum of all the past, to start afresh ? How can he undo, or do away with, the result which years have brought and which goes to form himself? His \" I \" includes the whole development through which he has passed ; and how then can it survive a new birth ? Can the accumulation of long ages be removed and the true \" self\" remain ?","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.4.2","start":4,"end":4,"heading":"can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?","excerpt":"Nicodemus takes one part of a man's complex personality only. Is it possible to conceive physical birth repeated ? And if not, Nicodemus seems to say to Christ, how then can there be any such moral new birth as you claim ? For all life from its first beginning has contributed to the moral character which belongs to each person. The result of all life is one and indivisible.\n\nThis thought is one which cannot but occur to every one. It goes to the very root of faith. The great mystery of religion is not the punishment, but the forgiveness, of sin: not the natural permanence of character, but spiritual regeneration. And it is one aspect of this mystery which Nicodemus puts forth clearly.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.1","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"Jesus answered; Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit","excerpt":"Christ meets the difficulty by an enlarged repetition of the former statement. As before He had insisted on the I fact of the new birth, He now reveals the nature of the birth. This involves an outward and an inward element, which are placed side by side.\n\nExcept a man be born of water and of the Spirit (or, and spirit)] The preposition used ... recalls the phrase \"baptize — plunge — in water, in spirit\" (Matt. iii. ii), so that the image suggested is that of rising, reborn, out of the water and out of that spiritual element, so to speak, to which the water outwardly corresponds.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.2","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"","excerpt":"The combination of the words water and spirit suggests a remote parallel and a marked contrast. They carry back the thoughts of hearer and reader to the narrative of creation (Gen. i. »V and to the characteristics of natural birth, to which St John has already emphatically referred (i. 13). The water and the spirit suggest the original shaping of the great Order out of Chaos, when the Spirit of God brooded on the face of the waters ; and at the same time this new birth is distinctly separated from the corruptible element (blood) which symbolizes that which is perishable and transitory in human life.\n\nThese distant references serve in some degree to point to the true sense of the passage. If further we regard the specific Biblical ideas . of water and spirit, when they are separated, it will be seen that water symbolizes purification (comp. i. 25, note) and spirit quickening : the one implies a definite external rite, the other indicates an energetic internal operation. The two are co-ordinate, correlative, complementary. Hence all interpretations which treat the term water here as simply figurative and descriptive of the cleansing power of the Spirit are essentially defective, as they are also opposed to all ancient tradition.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":852,"text":"i. 25","label":"John 1:25","href":"/jhn/1/#v25","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.3","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"","excerpt":"It can, then, scarcely be questioned that as Nicodemus heard the words, 'water carried with it a reference to John's baptism, which was a divinely appointed rite (i. 33), gathering up into itself and investing with a new importance all the lustral baptisms of the Jews : the spirit, on the other hand, marked that inward power which John placed in contrast with his own baptism. Thus the words, taken in their immediate meaning as intelligible to Nicodemus, set forth, as required before entrance into the kingdom of God, the acceptance of the preliminary rite divinely sanctioned, which was the seal of repentance and so of forgiveness, and following on this the communication of a new life, resulting from the direct action of the Holy Spirit through Christ. The Pharisees rejected the rite, and by so doing cut themselves off from the grace which was attached to it. They would not become as little children, and so they could not enter into the kingdom of heaven.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.4","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"","excerpt":"But the sense of the words cannot be limited to this first meaning. Like the corresponding words in ch. vi., they look forward to the fulness of the Christian dispensation, when after the Resurrection the baptism of I water was no longer separated from, but united with, the baptism of the spirit in the \" laver of regeneration \" (Titus iii. 5. Comp. Eph. v. 26), even as the outward and the inward are united generally in a religion which is sacramental and not only typical. Christian baptism, the outward act of faith welcoming the promise of God, is incorporation into the Body of Christ, and so the birth of the Spirit is potentially united with the birth of water. The general inseparability of these two is indicated by the form of the expression , born of water and spirit ..., as distinguished from the double phrase, torn of water and of spirit.\n\nAccording to this view the words have a distinct historical meaning, and yet they have also a meaning far beyond that which was at first capable of being apprehended. They are in the highest sense prophetic, even as the following words, in which the Lord speaks of His Passion ; and at the same time they contemplate the fulness of the organized life of the Christian society (enter into the kingdom of heaven — not see life, v. 36).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":331,"text":"Titus iii. 5","label":"Titus 3:5","href":"/tit/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":351,"text":"Eph. v. 26","label":"Ephesians 5:26","href":"/eph/5/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":1283,"text":"v. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.5","start":5,"end":5,"heading":"enter into","excerpt":"become a citizen of the kingdom, as distinguished from the mere intelligent spectator (see v. 3) of its constitution and character. The image suggested by the words enter into is that of entering into the promised land — the type of the kingdom of heaven — as in Ps. xcv. n.\n\nA new birth is necessary to gain a true conception of the divine kingdom : a new birth, distinctly specified as having an outward fulfilment as well as an inward, is necessary for admission into the kingdom, which is itself at once outward and spiritual. This conclusion follows from a very simple consideration. No principle can produce results superior to itself. If man is to enjoy a spiritual life, that by which he enters it — his birth — must be of a corresponding character. The flesh (i. 13, see note) can only generate flesh. Spiritual life cannot come forth from it.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":91,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.6.1","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"flesh ... spirit; flesh","excerpt":"The words describe the characteristic principles of two orders. They are not related to one another as evil and good ; but as the two spheres of being with which man is connected. By the \" spirit \" our complex nature is united to heaven, by the \" flesh,\" to earth. Comp. vi. 63, note.\n\nflesh] This term probably includes all that belongs to the life of sensation, all that by which we are open to the physical influences of pleasure and pain, which naturally sway our actions. Thus, though it does not of itself include the idea of sinfulness (i. 14 ; 1 John iv. 2), it describes human personality on the side which tends to sin, and on which actually we have sinned.\n\nIt must also be noticed that that which is born of flesh and spirit is described not as \"fleshly\" and \"spiritual,\" but as \"flesh\" and \"spirit.\" In other words, the child, so to speak, is of the same nature with the parent, and does not only partake in his qualities. The child also occupies in turn the position of a parent, from which a progeny springs like to himself. Compare the corresponding usage, 1 John i. 5 (light), iv. 8 (love).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":271,"text":"vi. 63","label":"John 6:63","href":"/jhn/6/#v63","status":"detected"},{"at":552,"text":"1 John iv. 2","label":"1 John 4:2","href":"/1jn/4/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":1073,"text":"1 John i. 5","label":"1 John 1:5","href":"/1jn/1/#v5","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.6.2","start":6,"end":6,"heading":"of the Spirit","excerpt":"Or, of spirit. While the term is essentially abstract and expresses spirit as spirit, the quickening power is the Spirit. The idea of nature passes into that of Person. The (water is not repeated, because the outward rite draws its virtue from the action of the Spirit.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.7.1","start":7,"end":7,"heading":"Marvel not...","excerpt":"If then this is a necessary law — such is the force of the Lord's words — that the offspring must have the essential nature of the parent, and if the kingdom of God is spiritual and its citizens therefore spiritual, while the nature of man, as all experience it to be, is fleshly, swayed by powers which belong to earth, Marvel not that I said unto tbee, Ye must be born again, even ye who think that you have penetrated to the true conception of Messiah's work and prepared yourselves adequately for judging it and entering into it.\n\nThere appears also to be in the emphatic ye an implied contrast between the Lord, who needed no re-birth, and all other men. He does not say, as a human teacher, \"We must be born again.\"\n\nThe passage from the singular (I said unto thee) to the plural (ye must) ought not to be overlooked, comp. i. 5 1 ; and especially Luke xxii. 31, 33.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":830,"text":"i. 5","label":"John 1:5","href":"/jhn/1/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":854,"text":"Luke xxii. 31, 33","label":"Luke 22:31","href":"/luk/22/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":854,"text":"Luke xxii. 31, 33","label":"Luke 22:33","href":"/luk/22/#v33","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.8.1","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"The wind...the Spirit","excerpt":"In Hebrew, Syriac, Latin, the words are identical (as properly Geist and Ghost) and Wiclif and the Rhemish Version keep \"spirit\" in both cases, after the Latin. But at present the retention of one word in both places could only create confusion, since the separation between the material emblem and the power which it was used to describe is complete. The use of the correlative verb ..., and of the word sound (voice), is quite decisive for the literal sense of the noun ... ; and still at the same time the whole of the phraseology is inspired by the higher meaning. Perhaps also the unusual word ... is employed to suggest this. The comparison lies between the obvious physical properties of the wind and the mysterious action of that spiritual influence to which the name \"spirit,\" \"wind,\" was instinctively applied. The laws of both are practically unknown ; both are unseen; the presence of both is revealed in their effects.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.8.2","start":8,"end":8,"heading":"so is every one...","excerpt":"The form of the comparison is irregular. The action of the spirit on the believer is like the action of the wind in the material world. As the tree (for example) by waving branches and rustling leaves witnesses to the power which affects it ; so is every one that hath been born of the Spirit. The believer shews by deed and word that an invisible influence has moved and inspired him, He is himself a continual sign of the action of the Spirit, which is freely determined, and incomprehensible by man as to source and end, though seen in its present results.\n\nIt is not unreasonable to suppose that this image of the wind was suggested by the sound of some sudden gust sweeping through the narrow street without. Thus the form of the Lord's teaching corresponds with the teaching by parables in the Synoptists (Matt. xiii. 4, note).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":812,"text":"Matt. xiii. 4","label":"Matthew 13:4","href":"/mat/13/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.9.1","start":9,"end":9,"heading":"How can these things be?","excerpt":"How can these things come to pass ... ? How can this new birth, issuing in a new life, be realised? The idea is of change, transition, not of essence, repose. The emphasis lies on can ....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.10.1","start":10,"end":10,"heading":"Art thou a master (the teacher) of Israel?; knowest not; these things","excerpt":"the authorized teacher of the chosen people of God. The definite article ... marks the official relation of Nicodemus to the people generally.\n\nknowest not] perceivest ... not, by the knowledge of progress, recognition. Comp. ii. 24 note. Though Nicodemus had previously been ignorant of that which the Lord declared, he ought to have recognised the teaching as true when he heard it.\n\nthese things'] the reality and character of the spiritual influence shewn in the actions of man, which yet is not of man, but comes from another region.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":226,"text":"ii. 24","label":"John 2:24","href":"/jhn/2/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.1","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"We speak","excerpt":"The plural contrasted with the singular vv. 3, 5, 7, la (all are unemphatic) is remarkable. It has been explained as a simple rhetorical plural, or as containing an allusion to John the Baptist, to the Prophets, to the Holy Spirit, to the Father (viii. 16, 18), but all these explanations appear to fail when taken in connexion with the you and jr. The Lord and those with Him, of whom some, including the Evangelist, may have been present at the interview, appear to stand in contrast to the group represented by Nicodemus. Comp. iv. 22. There were already gathered round Christ those who had had personal (we have teen) and immediate (we know) knowledge of the divine wonders which He announced. Their witness is indeed distinguished from His afterwards (v. 13), but so far it reached as to meet the difficulties, and fill up the shortcomings of the faith which Nicodemus had attained to. The plural, it will be noticed, is used in connexion with \"the things on earth,\" but the singular only ... of \"the things in heaven.\"","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":40,"text":"vv. 3, 5, 7","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":40,"text":"vv. 3, 5, 7","label":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":40,"text":"vv. 3, 5, 7","label":"John 3:7","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":531,"text":"iv. 22","label":"John 4:22","href":"/jhn/4/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":757,"text":"v. 13","label":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.2","start":11,"end":11,"heading":"we do know...and testify...; and ye receive not","excerpt":"The words answered to actual knowledge, the witness declared actual experience. The object in each stands first: \"That which we know, we speak ; and that which we have seen, we witness.\"\n\nand ye receive not] The pronoun is unemphatic, as the we before. The stress lies on our witness. \"What we have seen we witness, and our witness ye receive not.\" Comp. v. 27 n. For the use of the simple and in this connexion of sad contrast see i. 10, v. 32, vii. 28, 30, xiv. 24, xvi. 32.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":355,"text":"v. 27","label":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":439,"text":"v. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.12.1","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"If I have told; earthly things","excerpt":"If I told. As, for example, in what He had just said to Nicodemus of the spiritual birth, though this was but as a sample of the teaching which He had already addressed to men (you, not thee) such as Nicodemus. Comp. Wisd. ix. 16.\n\nearthly things'] The word \"earthly\" is ambiguous, and may mean that which is \"of the nature of earth\" (cf. v. 31) or which \"has its sphere and place on earth\" The original word expresses the second notion distinctly ... ; and it must be so interpreted in the other places where it occurs : t Cor. xv. 40 (bodies fitted for life on earth). Comp. Col. iii. 2; 2 Cor. v. i; Phil. ii. to, iii. 19 (whose thoughts rest on earth); James iii. 15 (wisdom which finds its consummation on earth, and reaches no higher). Thus the strictly local meaning (1 Cor. xv. 40; Phil. ii. 10) passes insensibly into a meaning predominantly moral (Phil. iii. 19; James iii. 15).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":339,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 5:31","href":"/jhn/5/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":577,"text":"Col. iii. 2","label":"Colossians 3:2","href":"/col/3/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":657,"text":"James iii. 15","label":"James 3:15","href":"/jas/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":775,"text":"1 Cor. xv. 40","label":"1 Corinthians 15:40","href":"/1co/15/#v40","status":"detected"},{"at":790,"text":"Phil. ii. 10","label":"Philippians 2:10","href":"/php/2/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":858,"text":"Phil. iii. 19","label":"Philippians 3:19","href":"/php/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":873,"text":"James iii. 15","label":"James 3:15","href":"/jas/3/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.12.2","start":12,"end":12,"heading":"","excerpt":"Here the phrase \"earthly things\" will mark those facts and phenomena of the higher life as a class ... which have their seat and manifestation on earth : which belong in their realisation to our present existence: which are seen in their consequences, like the issues of birth: which are sensible in their effects, like the action of the wind : which are a beginning and a prophecy, and not a fulfilment.\n\nbow shall ye believe'] The words are spoken with a view to the future already realised. The question is not abstract (How can ye ?), but framed in regard of actual circumstances. of (omit) heavenly things'] those truths which belong to a higher order, which are in heaven ..., and are brought down thence to earth as they can become to men. Such was the full revelation of the Son, involving the redemption of the world and the reunion of man with God, which is indicated in the three following verses. The reality of these truths finds no outward confirmation as the new birth in its fruits. The difference thus indicated between the \" earthly \" and the \"heavenly\" elements of the Lord's teaching serves to shew the ground of the contrast between St John and the earlier Evangelists. The teaching of the Lord was on one side, like the teaching of the Baptist, a preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark i. 15); and on the other a revelation of the kingdom both in its embodiment and in its life.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":1308,"text":"Mark i. 15","label":"Mark 1:15","href":"/mrk/1/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.13.1","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"And no man...","excerpt":"The transition by \"and\" is completely according to the Hebrew idiom, which adds new thoughts without defining the exact relation in which they stand to what has gone before. That must be determined by the thoughts regarded in juxtaposition. Men might be unprepared to receive the teaching of heavenly things, yet side by side with this fact were two others: that Christ alone could teach them, and that His mission was but for a time. While also these facts included the two great mysteries of the spiritual life: the truths as to the Person and as to the Work of the Son of Man.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.13.2","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"hath ascended up (gone up) to heaven; but... the Son of man","excerpt":"Comp. Deut. xxx. 12 ; Prov. xxx. 4. No man hath risen into the region of absolute and eternal truth, so as to look upon it face to face, and in the possession of that knowledge declare it to men ; but the Son of Man, He in whom humanity is summed up, has the knowledge which comes from immediate vision. And His elevation is yet more glorious than a mere ascent. He did not mount up to heaven, as if earth were His home, but came down thence out of heaven, as truly dwelling there; and therefore He has inherently the fulness of heavenly knowledge. Comp. Plato's myth in the 'Phaedrus.'\n\nbut... the Son of man] The particle but ... does not imply that Christ had ascended to heaven, as though He were one of a class and contrasted with all the others (except), but simply that He in fact enjoyed that directness of knowledge by nature which another could only attain to by such an ascension. The exception is to the whole statement in the preceding clause, and not to any part of it. Comp. Luke iv. 26 f. ; Matt. xii. 4 ; Gal. i. 7.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":6,"text":"Deut. xxx. 12","label":"Deuteronomy 30:12","href":"/deu/30/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":22,"text":"Prov. xxx. 4","label":"Proverbs 30:4","href":"/pro/30/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":990,"text":"Luke iv. 26","label":"Luke 4:26","href":"/luk/4/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":1007,"text":"Matt. xii. 4","label":"Matthew 12:4","href":"/mat/12/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":1022,"text":"Gal. i. 7","label":"Galatians 1:7","href":"/gal/1/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.13.3","start":13,"end":13,"heading":"came down from (out of) heaven; which is in heaven","excerpt":"That is, at the Incarnation. Comp. vi. 32, 33 ff., 42, &c. The phrase is used of the manifestation of God in the Old Testament; Ex. xix. u ff.; Num. xi. 17, 25, xii. 5.\n\nThe exact form of expression is very remarkable. It preserves the continuity of the Lord's personality, and yet does not confound His natures: \"He that came down from heaven, even He who being Incarnate is the Son of man, without ceasing to be what He was before.\" Comp. i. 14, vi. 38.\n\nwhich is in heaven] These words are omitted by many very ancient authorities, and appear to be an early gloss bringing out the right contrast between the ascent of a man to heaven and the abiding of the Son of Man in heaven. See Additional Note at the end of the Chapter.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":35,"text":"vi. 32, 33","label":"John 6:32–33","href":"/jhn/6/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":144,"text":"Num. xi. 17, 25","label":"Numbers 11:17","href":"/num/11/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":144,"text":"Num. xi. 17, 25","label":"Numbers 11:25","href":"/num/11/#v25","status":"detected"},{"at":161,"text":"xii. 5","label":"Numbers 12:5","href":"/num/12/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":441,"text":"i. 14","label":"John 1:14","href":"/jhn/1/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.14.1","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"as Moses...","excerpt":"The character of the revelation through the Son of Man has been set forth in the former verse, and in this the issue of that revelation in the Passion is further indicated. This mystery is shadowed forth under the image of an Old Testament symbol (Num. xxi. 7 ff.), just as the Resurrection had been half veiled, half declared, under the figure of a restored temple (ii. 19). In the last miracle of Moses, on the borders of the promised land, the serpent had been \"lifted up,\" and made a conspicuous object to all the stricken people; and so too was Christ to be \"lifted up,\" and with the same life-giving issue. How this \"lifting up\" should be accomplished is not yet made clear. See Additional Note. The point of connexion between v. 13 and v. 14 lies in the repetition of the title \"the Son of Man.\" The Incarnation, under the actual circumstances of humanity, carried with it the necessity of the Passion.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":248,"text":"Num. xxi. 7","label":"Numbers 21:7","href":"/num/21/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":733,"text":"v. 13","label":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":743,"text":"v. 14","label":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.14.2","start":14,"end":14,"heading":"so must the Son of man be lifted up","excerpt":"The same phrase ... occurs viii. 28, xii. 32, note, 34, in reference to the Passion ; and elsewhere (Acts ii. 33, v. 31; [Phil. ii. 9]) in reference to the Ascension consequent upon it. Thus the words imply an exaltation in appearance far different from that of the triumphant king, and yet in its true issue leading to a divine glory. This passage through the elevation on the cross to the elevation on the right hand of God was a necessity ... arising out of the laws of the divine nature. Comp. xx. 9 note, v. 30 note.\n\nIt is important to notice that similar figurative references to the issue of the Lord's work in His Death are found in the Synoptic record: Matt. ix. 14 ff., x. 38; Mark viii. 34; Luke xiv. 27.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":101,"text":"Acts ii. 33","label":"Acts 2:33","href":"/act/2/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":114,"text":"v. 31","label":"Acts 5:31","href":"/act/5/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":122,"text":"Phil. ii. 9","label":"Philippians 2:9","href":"/php/2/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":498,"text":"xx. 9","label":"John 20:9","href":"/jhn/20/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":510,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":663,"text":"Matt. ix. 14","label":"Matthew 9:14","href":"/mat/9/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":688,"text":"Mark viii. 34","label":"Mark 8:34","href":"/mrk/8/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":703,"text":"Luke xiv. 27","label":"Luke 14:27","href":"/luk/14/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.15.1","start":15,"end":15,"heading":"believeth in him; should not perish, but have eternal life","excerpt":"Or, according to another reading, every one that believeth. may have in Him eternal life, according to the familiar formula of St Paul, in Christ. To \"believe\" is used absolutely v. 12, i. 50, iv. 42, 53, vi. 36, xi. 15, xx. 29; and the exceptional order of the words ... fi\"^3 a justification in v. 39, xvi. 33.\n\nshould (rather, may) not perish, but have eternal life] The words not perish but in this verse are to be omitted on decisive authority. See Additional Note.\n\neternal life'] As the wounded who looked on the brazen serpent were restored to temporal health, so in this case eternal life follows from the faith of the believer on the crucified and exalted Lord.\n\nThe exact phrase, have eternal life, as distinguished from live for ever, is characteristic of St John. It occurs vv. 16, 36, v. 24, vi. 40, 47, 54; 1 John iii. 15, v. la f. (x. 10, xx. 31, hath life). Comp. Matt. xix. 16. The use of the auxiliary verb marks the distinct realisation of the life as a personal blessing (have life), as being more than the act of living. Comp. xvi. 22, have sorrow.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":179,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":297,"text":"v. 39","label":"John 3:39","href":"/jhn/3/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":787,"text":"vv. 16, 36","label":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":787,"text":"vv. 16, 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"},{"at":799,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 3:24","href":"/jhn/3/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":822,"text":"1 John iii. 15","label":"1 John 3:15","href":"/1jn/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":881,"text":"Matt. xix. 16","label":"Matthew 19:16","href":"/mat/19/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":1049,"text":"xvi. 22","label":"John 16:22","href":"/jhn/16/#v22","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16.1","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"For God...; loved the world; so...that","excerpt":"Short explanatory remarks are frequently added in the same way ..., ii. 25, iv. 44, vi. 6, 64, vii. 39, xiii. n, xx. 9.\n\nloved the world] loved all humanity considered as apart from Himself. See i. 29, note. The love of God shewn in the surrender and gift of His Son for men, is thus set forth as the spring of Redemption. The Father gave the Son even as the Son gave Himself.\n\nso.. .that] The supreme act serves as a measure of the love. Comp. 1 John iv. u.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16.2","start":16,"end":16,"heading":"gave his only begotten Son; should (may) not perish...","excerpt":"The word gave, not sent, as in v. 17, brings out the idea of sacrifice and of love shewn by a most precious offering. The title \" only begotten \" is added to enhance this conception, and the exact form in which the title is introduced ..., which is different from that in v.\n\n1 8 ... further emphasizes it; \" His Son, His only Son.\" Comp. 1 John iv. 9 ; and Matt iii. 17, &c. .... There is an obvious reference to Gen. xxii. a. should (may) not perish ... once for all, but have ... w'th an abiding present enjoyment eternal (as in v. 15) life] In this verse and in the next the negative and positive aspects of the truth as regards individuals and the race (every one, the world) are definitely opposed; and there is striking parallelism in the related clauses: perish, judge; have eternal life, be saved. The addition of the clause, may not perish, but, in this verse, as distinguished from v. 15, is explained naturally by the actual state of things which St John .saw in the church and the world about him.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":31,"text":"v. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":339,"text":"1 John iv. 9","label":"1 John 4:9","href":"/1jn/4/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":358,"text":"Matt iii. 17","label":"Matthew 3:17","href":"/mat/3/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":532,"text":"v. 15","label":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":893,"text":"v. 15","label":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16-21.1","start":16,"end":21,"heading":"16—21.","excerpt":"This section is a commentary on the nature of the mission of the Son, which has been indicated in Christ's words (vv. 13, 14), and unfolds its design (16, 17), its historic completion (18, 19), the cause of its apparent failure (20, 21). It adds no new thoughts, but brings out the force of the revelation already given in outline (i — 15) by the light of Christian experience. It is therefore likely from its secondary character, apart from all other considerations, that it contains the reflections of the Evangelist, and is not a continuation of the words of the Lord. This conclusion appears to be firmly established from details of expression.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":114,"text":"vv. 13, 14","label":"John 3:13–14","href":"/jhn/3/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16-21.2","start":16,"end":21,"heading":"","excerpt":"There is also an obvious fitness in the apostolic exposition of the Lord's words at this crisis, as in that of the Baptist's words which follows (vv. 31 — 36). The questionings of Nicodemus and the testimony of John give, so to speak, the last utterances of Judaism, the last thoughts of the student, and the last message of the prophet. They shew the difference and the connexion of the Old and New Dispensations. This difference and this connexion appeared under a changed aspect after Jerusalem had fallen, and it was of importance for the Evangelist to shew that from the first the crisis was foreseen.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":146,"text":"vv. 31","label":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16-21.3","start":16,"end":21,"heading":"16 ff.","excerpt":"The pregnant declaration of the character and issue of the Lord's work given by Him to Nicodemus, as the representative of the old wisdom, leads the Evangelist to unfold its meaning more fully in relation to the actual circumstances in which he was himself placed. The issue of the proclamation of the Gospel had not in appearance corresponded with its promise and its power. But this issue did not modify its essential character.\n\n16, 17. The divine purpose in the Incarnation was a purpose of universal love, even though it was imperfectly realised by man : a purpose of life to the believer, of salvation to the world.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.17.1","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"For God sent not his (the) Son...","excerpt":"A transition is here made from the notion of sacrifice, love, gift (v. 1 6), to that of work and authority. ... There are two words equally translated \"send,\" which have different shades of meaning. The one used here ..., which contains the root of \" apostle,\" suggests the thought of a definite mission and a representative character in the envoy; the other ... marks the simple relation between the sender and the sent. See xx. 21, note. It will be observed also that the title Son (the Son, not his Son), which is that of dignity, takes the place of only begotten Son, which is the title of affection.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":68,"text":"v. 1","label":"John 3:1","href":"/jhn/3/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.17.2","start":17,"end":17,"heading":"condemn; that the world... might (may) be saved","excerpt":"Rather, judge ..., and so in verses 18, 19), as in the exact parallel, xii. 47. It is worthy of notice that St John does not use the compound verb ..., commonly translated condemn, nor its derivatives, though they occur in the history of the woman taken in adultery (viii. 10, n).\n\nIn the later Jewish Messianic anticipations the judgment of the nations by Messiah is the most constant and the most prominent feature.\n\nthat the world... might (may) be saved] The divine purpose is, like the divine love, without any limitation. The true title of the Son is \" the Saviour of the world\" (ch. iv. 42 ; 1 John iv. 14. Comp. ch. i. 29 ; 1 John ii. a). The sad realities of present experience cannot change the truth thus made known, however little we may be able to understand in what way it will be accomplished. The thought is made more impressive by the threefold repetition of \"the world.\" Comp. i. 10, xv. 19. The general result is given here (be saved) in the individual appropriation of the blessing (may live).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":590,"text":"iv. 42","label":"John 4:42","href":"/jhn/4/#v42","status":"detected"},{"at":599,"text":"1 John iv. 14","label":"1 John 4:14","href":"/1jn/4/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":624,"text":"i. 29","label":"John 1:29","href":"/jhn/1/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":895,"text":"i. 10","label":"John 1:10","href":"/jhn/1/#v10","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.18.1","start":18,"end":18,"heading":"is not condemned (judged); hath not believed in the name of...","excerpt":"The change of tense is most significant. In the case of the believer there is no judgment. His whole life is in Christ. In the case of the unbeliever, the judgment is completed ; he is separated from Christ, because he hath not believed on the revelation made in the person of Him who alone can save. The epithet only begotten, applied here again to the Son, brings out in relation to God (as has been seen) the idea of the Father's love (v. 16); in relation to man the singleness of our hope.\n\nhath not believed in the name of. , .] hath not acknowledged Christ as being the only Son of God, such as He is revealed to be. Comp. ii. 23, note, i. 12, note. The belief in Christ under this one cardinal aspect leads to the full faith in His Person. Comp. 1 John v. 10, 13. The tense (hath not believed) is emphatic and corresponds with hath been judged: he is not in the state of one who believed when it was open to him to do so.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":439,"text":"v. 16","label":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":629,"text":"ii. 23","label":"John 2:23","href":"/jhn/2/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":753,"text":"1 John v. 10, 13","label":"1 John 5:10","href":"/1jn/5/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":753,"text":"1 John v. 10, 13","label":"1 John 5:13","href":"/1jn/5/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.18-19.1","start":18,"end":19,"heading":"18, 19.","excerpt":"But though judgment was not the object of Christ's mission, judgment is in fact the necessary result of it. This judgment is self-executed, and follows inevitably from the revealed presence of Christ. (Comp. Luke ii. 34, 35.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":208,"text":"Luke ii. 34, 35","label":"Luke 2:34–35","href":"/luk/2/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.19.1","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"And this...; condemnation; light is come...","excerpt":"The reality — the necessity— of the judgment of the unbelieving is involved in the recognition of the character of Christ's coming. Judgment is not an arbitrary sentence, but the working out of an absolute law.\n\nThe exact form of expression ... is characteristic of St John. Comp. 1 John i. 5, v. n, 14.\n\ncondemnation] judgment. But more exactly the process ..., and not the result ... : the judging rather than the judgment. The manifestation of Christ was in fact both a process of judgment and also a sentence of judgment upon man. Comp. ix. 39, note. For the idea of \"judgment,\" see Introd.\n\nthat... is come. . .and. . .] The two facts are placed simply side by side (comp. i. 10, ii, &c.), each in its independent completeness.\n\nlight is come...'] the light, not simply light. Comp. i. 4. And so again, men loved the darkness rather than the light. The alternatives were offered to men in their most absolute form; the contrast of \"the light\" and \"the darkness\" was complete; and so men made their choice.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":281,"text":"1 John i. 5","label":"1 John 1:5","href":"/1jn/1/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":541,"text":"ix. 39","label":"John 9:39","href":"/jhn/9/#v39","status":"detected"},{"at":678,"text":"i. 10","label":"John 1:10","href":"/jhn/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":788,"text":"i. 4","label":"John 1:4","href":"/jhn/1/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.19.2","start":19,"end":19,"heading":"and men...; loved... were","excerpt":"This was the immediate and general issue on which the apostle looked. Men as a class ... passed sentence on themselves in action. Comp. xii. 48.\n\nloved... were] The past tenses are used in the retrospect of the actual reception of the revelation of Christ made to men. Men loved ... the darkness at the time when the choice was offered, because their works were habitually ... evil.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":136,"text":"xii. 48","label":"John 12:48","href":"/jhn/12/#v48","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.20.1","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"doeth evil (ill); doeth","excerpt":"The word rendered evil here ... is different from the common word ... used in v. 19. It occurs v. 29 ; Rom. ix. ii ; 2 Cor. v. 10 (in each case contrasted with good) ; Tit. ii. 8 ; James iii. 16; and corresponds to the English bad, as expressing that which is poor, mean, worthless, of its kind, and so unfit for careful scrutiny.\n\ndoeth] The words translated doeth here and in v. 21 are different. That used here ... expresses the scope and general character of a man's activity: that used in v. 21 ... the actual result outwardly shewn. There is a similar contrast in Rom. i. 32, ii 3, vii. 15, 19, 20. Bad actions have a moral weight, but no real and permanent being like the Truth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":78,"text":"v. 19","label":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":95,"text":"v. 29","label":"John 3:29","href":"/jhn/3/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":117,"text":"2 Cor. v. 10","label":"2 Corinthians 5:10","href":"/2co/5/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":168,"text":"Tit. ii. 8","label":"Titus 2:8","href":"/tit/2/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":181,"text":"James iii. 16","label":"James 3:16","href":"/jas/3/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":378,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 3:21","href":"/jhn/3/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":494,"text":"v. 21","label":"John 3:21","href":"/jhn/3/#v21","status":"detected"},{"at":570,"text":"Rom. i. 32","label":"Romans 1:32","href":"/rom/1/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.20.2","start":20,"end":20,"heading":"hateth the light...; lest his deeds should...; be reproved","excerpt":"He both hates the light in itself and shrinks from it in consideration of its effects.\n\nlest his deeds should...'] Rather, In order that his works may not... The particle is the same as in the following verse, and marks the direct object of the evil-doer.\n\nbe reproved] Properly \"sifted, tried, tested,\" and then, if need be, \"convicted,\" \"shewn faulty and reproved,\" as by one having authority and aptitude to judge. Comp. xvi. 8, note; Rev. iii. 19, and especially Eph. v. 13.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":424,"text":"xvi. 8","label":"John 16:8","href":"/jhn/16/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":438,"text":"Rev. iii. 19","label":"Revelation 3:19","href":"/rev/3/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":467,"text":"Eph. v. 13","label":"Ephesians 5:13","href":"/eph/5/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.20-21.1","start":20,"end":21,"heading":"20, 21.","excerpt":"The tragic issue of Christ's coming, the judgment which followed it, was due to the action of a moral law. All that has affinity with the light comes to it, all that is alien from it shrinks from it. Men's works were evil, and therefore they sought to avoid conviction under the darkness.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.21.1","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"But he that...; doeth truth; cometh to...","excerpt":"In addition to the contrast of the verbs already noticed (v. 20), there is a further contrast in the forms of the two expressions \"doing ill\" and \"doing the truth.\" In the one case action is represented by the many separate bad works ..., in the other by the realisation of the one Truth ..., which includes in a supreme unity all right deeds.\n\ndoeth truth] doeth the truth. The phrase is a remarkable one. Right action is true thought realised. Every fragment of right done is so much truth made visible. The same words occur 1 John i. 6. Comp. Neh. ix. 33; Gen. xxiv. 49, xlvii. 19. The phrase is not unfrequent in Rabbinic writings. St Paul gives emphasis to the same thought by contrasting \"the truth\" with \"unrighteousness:\" 2 Thess. ii. la; 1 Cor. xiii. 6; Rom. i. 1 8, ii. 8. Comp. Eph. iv. 24, v. 9.\n\ncometh to...] It is not said even of him that ' ' he loveth the light.\" This perhaps could not be said absolutely of man. Action is for him the test of feeling. It must be noticed that the words recognise in man a striving towards the light. Comp. vii. 37 (thirst), xi. 5 a, xviii. 37.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":58,"text":"v. 20","label":"John 3:20","href":"/jhn/3/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":527,"text":"1 John i. 6","label":"1 John 1:6","href":"/1jn/1/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":546,"text":"Neh. ix. 33","label":"Nehemiah 9:33","href":"/neh/9/#v33","status":"detected"},{"at":559,"text":"Gen. xxiv. 49","label":"Genesis 24:49","href":"/gen/24/#v49","status":"detected"},{"at":574,"text":"xlvii. 19","label":"Genesis 47:19","href":"/gen/47/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":747,"text":"1 Cor. xiii. 6","label":"1 Corinthians 13:6","href":"/1co/13/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":763,"text":"Rom. i. 1","label":"Romans 1:1","href":"/rom/1/#v1","status":"detected"},{"at":789,"text":"Eph. iv. 24","label":"Ephesians 4:24","href":"/eph/4/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":802,"text":"v. 9","label":"Ephesians 5:9","href":"/eph/5/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":1057,"text":"vii. 37","label":"John 7:37","href":"/jhn/7/#v37","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.21.2","start":21,"end":21,"heading":"be made manifest, that...","excerpt":"Whatever may be the imperfection of the deeds of the Christian in themselves, he knows that they were wrought in virtue of his fellowship with God. He is not therefore proudly anxious that they may be tested, and that so the doer may have praise since they abide the test; but looks simply to this that their spring may be shewn.\n\nHence it follows that A. V. is right in the rendering that. The other rendering because introduces a thought foreign to the argument. For the construction, see 1 John ii. 19.\n\nbe made manifest'] for they have a character which bears the light. Comp. Eph. v. 13.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":491,"text":"1 John ii. 19","label":"1 John 2:19","href":"/1jn/2/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":581,"text":"Eph. v. 13","label":"Ephesians 5:13","href":"/eph/5/#v13","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.22.1","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"After these things; Jesus and his disciples; the land of Judaea; tarried","excerpt":"The phrase does not indicate immediate connexion. Comp. v. i, note. The first preaching of Christ was in the temple. When He found no welcome there He spoke in the Holy City: then in Judaea: afterwards in Galilee, which thenceforth became the centre of His teaching.\n\nJesus and his disciples] Comp. ii. 2, 12.\n\nThe phrase occurs also in Matt. ix. 10 (Mark ii. 15), 19; Mark viii. 87. In each case there is a special force in the vivid representation of the great Teacher and of the accompanying disciples as two distinct elements in the picture.\n\nthe land of Judaea] as distinguished from Jerusalem itself. The exact phrase occurs here only in the New Testament. Compare Mark i. 5 ; Acts xxvi. 20, where \"the country of Judaea\" is similarly contrasted with the capital.\n\ntarried] The stay was probably prolonged for some time. See Additional Note on v. 1.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":299,"text":"ii. 2, 12","label":"John 2:12","href":"/jhn/2/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":299,"text":"ii. 2, 12","label":"John 2:2","href":"/jhn/2/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":337,"text":"Matt. ix. 10","label":"Matthew 9:10","href":"/mat/9/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":351,"text":"Mark ii. 15","label":"Mark 2:15","href":"/mrk/2/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":369,"text":"Mark viii. 87","label":"Mark 8:87","href":"/mrk/8/#v87","status":"detected"},{"at":671,"text":"Mark i. 5","label":"Mark 1:5","href":"/mrk/1/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":683,"text":"Acts xxvi. 20","label":"Acts 26:20","href":"/act/26/#v20","status":"detected"},{"at":850,"text":"v. 1","label":"John 3:1","href":"/jhn/3/#v1","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.22.2","start":22,"end":22,"heading":"and baptized","excerpt":"This baptism, actually administered by the disciples, iv. 2, would belong to the preparation for the kingdom, like John's baptism. It was not and indeed could not be an anticipation of the Christian Sacrament which it foreshadowed. Comp. Matt. iv. 17 ; Mark i. 14, 15. At this point then the work of Christ and of His Forerunner met. Christ had not been acknowledged as king in the chief seat of the theocracy: therefore He began His work afresh on a new field and in a new character.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":238,"text":"Matt. iv. 17","label":"Matthew 4:17","href":"/mat/4/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":253,"text":"Mark i. 14, 15","label":"Mark 1:14–15","href":"/mrk/1/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.22-24.1","start":22,"end":24,"heading":"22—24.","excerpt":"For a time Christ and the Baptist worked side by side, preaching \"repentance\" (Mark i. 15), and baptizing. The Messiah took up the position of a prophet in Judaea, as afterwards in Galilee. (See v. 24.)","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":79,"text":"Mark i. 15","label":"Mark 1:15","href":"/mrk/1/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":195,"text":"v. 24","label":"John 3:24","href":"/jhn/3/#v24","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.22-36.1","start":22,"end":36,"heading":"Christ's teaching in Judaea generally (vv. 22—36)","excerpt":"This section forms the natural sequel to the visit of Christ to Jerusalem. He had offered Himself there with a significant sign as Messiah. The sign was generally not interpreted or misinterpreted; and leaving the Holy City, He began His work (so to speak) again as a prophet, following in part the method of the Baptist. Thus slowly by act and word He prepared a body of disciples to recognise Him, and to believe in Him, and to accept the true conception of Messiah's nature and work.\n\nThe section falls into three parts. There is a summary notice of Christ's work (22 — 24). This is followed by John's testimony (25 — 30) ; which is drawn out at greater length by the Evangelist (31 — 36).\n\nThe contents of the section are peculiar to St John, who writes as a companion of the Lord.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.23.1","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"And John also...; in Aenon near to Salim","excerpt":"The Baptist continued to fulfil his appointed work though he had acknowledged Christ.\n\nin Ænon near to Salim] The word Ænon is probably an adjectival form from the familiar am (eye, spring), meaning simply \"abounding in springs\" (fountains). The situation of Salim is disputed. In the time of Eusebius Salim was identified with a place on the confines of Galilee and Samaria on the west of Jordan, six or eight miles south of Scythopolis (Rethshan). A place bearing the name of ^Aynun has been found not far from a valley abounding in springs to the north of the Salim which lies not far to the east of Nablous (' Palestine Exploration Report,' 1874, pp. 141 f., comp. 1876, p. 99). Comp. Introd.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.23.2","start":23,"end":23,"heading":"much water; they came","excerpt":"The form of the phrase ... probably indicates many fountains or streams or pools of water. Mark ix. 22; Matt. xvii. 15. Elsewhere the plural is used of the gathered or troubled waters ; Matt, viii. 32, xiv. 28, 29; Rev. i. 15, &c.\n\nthey came] There is no antecedent: \"Men continued to come to him (the Baptist) and ....\" Comp. xv. 6, xx. 2; Mark x. 13; Acts iii. 2.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":91,"text":"Mark ix. 22","label":"Mark 9:22","href":"/mrk/9/#v22","status":"detected"},{"at":104,"text":"Matt. xvii. 15","label":"Matthew 17:15","href":"/mat/17/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":215,"text":"Rev. i. 15","label":"Revelation 1:15","href":"/rev/1/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":327,"text":"xv. 6","label":"John 15:6","href":"/jhn/15/#v6","status":"detected"},{"at":341,"text":"Mark x. 13","label":"Mark 10:13","href":"/mrk/10/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":353,"text":"Acts iii. 2","label":"Acts 3:2","href":"/act/3/#v2","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.24.1","start":24,"end":24,"heading":"For John...","excerpt":"More exactly, For John had not yet been cast... This note of time must be taken in connexion with Matt. iv. 12, 13, 17; Mark i. 14. The public ministry of the Lord in Galilee did not begin till after this time, after John was cast into prison as the Synoptists record. The events in Galilee, which the evangelist has already related (ii. i — 12), were preparatory to the manifestation at Jerusalem which was the real commencement of Christ's Messianic work. St John records the course and issue of this manifestation : the other Evangelists start with the record of the Galilaean ministry which dates from the imprisonment of the Baptist. Comp. Mark i. 14, note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":98,"text":"Matt. iv. 12, 13, 17","label":"Matthew 4:12–13","href":"/mat/4/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":98,"text":"Matt. iv. 12, 13, 17","label":"Matthew 4:17","href":"/mat/4/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":120,"text":"Mark i. 14","label":"Mark 1:14","href":"/mrk/1/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":645,"text":"Mark i. 14","label":"Mark 1:14","href":"/mrk/1/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.25.1","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"Then there arose; a question between some of...","excerpt":"The particle ... is one not of time but of consequence : There arose therefore... as a consequence of this double work of baptizing, a question between some of...] Rather, \"a questioning (a discussion, disputation) on the part of ... John's disciples with...\" For the word \"questioning\" ... see Acts xv. 2 ; 1 Tim. vi. 4 ; 2 Tim. ii. 23 ; Tit. iii. 9.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":295,"text":"Acts xv. 2","label":"Acts 15:2","href":"/act/15/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":308,"text":"1 Tim. vi. 4","label":"1 Timothy 6:4","href":"/1ti/6/#v4","status":"detected"},{"at":323,"text":"2 Tim. ii. 23","label":"2 Timothy 2:23","href":"/2ti/2/#v23","status":"detected"},{"at":339,"text":"Tit. iii. 9","label":"Titus 3:9","href":"/tit/3/#v9","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.25.2","start":25,"end":25,"heading":"the Jews; about purifying","excerpt":"According to the most probable reading, a Jew, which gives a definiteness to the incident otherwise wanting.\n\nabout purifying] that is, as we may suppose, about the religious value of baptism, such as John's. We cannot but believe that Christ, when He administered a baptism through His disciples, explained to those who offered themselves the new birth which John's baptism and this preparatory baptism typified. At the same time He may have indicated, as to Nicodemus, the future establishment of Christian Baptism, the sacrament of the new birth. In this way nothing would be more natural than that some Jew, a direct disciple, should be led to disparage the work of John, contrasting it with that of which Christ spoke ; and that thereupon John's disciples, jealous for their master's honour, should come to him complaining of the position which Christ had taken.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.25-30.1","start":25,"end":30,"heading":"25—30.","excerpt":"The outward similarity of the work of Christ and of the Baptist gave an occasion (25, 26) for the last testimony of the Baptist to Christ. In the eyes of some Christ appeared as his rival. To these the Baptist himself shewed what his own work was, and then he left his hearers to recognise Christ.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.26.1","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"Rabbi...","excerpt":"The title of reverence is emphatic. The speakers first contrast the new Teacher with their own, and then describe his present action. Rabbi, he that was -with thee, in thy company as one of thy disciples, beyond Jordan, in the most conspicuous and successful scene of thy ministry, to whom thou ... hast borne witness, as the authoritative judge, behold he is baptizing. . .","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.26.2","start":26,"end":26,"heading":"thou barest witness; behold; baptizeth; all men","excerpt":"The original expresses not only the fact, \"barest witness,\" but by the perfect, \"thou hast borne witness,\" marks the testimony as being yet effective: ch. i. 34.\n\nbehold] The form here used ... is characteristic of St John. Comp. xix. 5, 14.\n\nbaptizeth'] This appeared to be an invasion of John's work.\n\nall men] The natural exaggeration (v. 13) of angry zeal. Contrast v. 31.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":155,"text":"i. 34","label":"John 1:34","href":"/jhn/1/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":230,"text":"xix. 5, 14","label":"John 19:14","href":"/jhn/19/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":230,"text":"xix. 5, 14","label":"John 19:5","href":"/jhn/19/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":339,"text":"v. 13","label":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":370,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.27.1","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"27.","excerpt":"Every contrast of teacher with teacher is harmonized by the truth that each has only that which God has given him.\n\nanswered] The answer lies in the simple explanation of the essential relation between the Forerunner and the Christ, drawn from the universal truth. When this is once apprehended all possibility of rivalry is gone. The message which was brought to John by his disciples as a complaint, in his eyes crowns his proper joy.\n\nA man... heaven] The principle is general, and must not be interpreted either of Christ, or of the Baptist, alone. It has an application to both. The Baptist says in fact : \" I cannot claim any new authority which has not been directly assigned to me ; He, of whom you speak, cannot effectually exercise His power unless it be of divine origin.\"\n\nA man...] The word has force (comp. v. 4). It is the law of human existence as dependent upon God, to which even Messiah is subject.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":821,"text":"v. 4","label":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.27.2","start":27,"end":27,"heading":"receive; be given; from (out of) heaven","excerpt":"The original word ... includes the conceptions of \"receiving\" and \"taking.\" Comp. v. 32, note. The thought here is that there is but one source of spiritual power, and that opened by God's love, and not by man's own will.\n\nbe given] More exactly, have been given. The divine gift, already complete in itself, makes the human appropriation possible.\n\nfrom ... heaven] The phrase is not the same as \"from God:\" out of the treasury, so to speak, of all true and abiding blessings. Comp. xix. n.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":82,"text":"v. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.27-30.1","start":27,"end":30,"heading":"27—30.","excerpt":"The words of the Baptist meet the jealous zeal, of his disciples. He (1) lays down the principle of revelation (v. 27) ; and then (1) applies it to his own work, both as to (2) The past witness (v. 28), and as to (0) The present fulfilment (v. 29) ; and then (3) draws the main conclusion (v. 30).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":112,"text":"v. 27","label":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27","status":"detected"},{"at":195,"text":"v. 28","label":"John 3:28","href":"/jhn/3/#v28","status":"detected"},{"at":241,"text":"v. 29","label":"John 3:29","href":"/jhn/3/#v29","status":"detected"},{"at":290,"text":"v. 30","label":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.28.1","start":28,"end":28,"heading":"Ye yourselves; before him","excerpt":"You need no teacher to meet your difficulty. The zeal which you display is shewn to be mistaken if you only recall what I said. When I announced my mission I declared it to be provisional. No word of mine can have given occasion to the error whereby you claim for me the highest place.\n\nThe exact emphatic phrase ... occurs 1 Thess. iv. 9 (Mark vi. 31 is different). Comp. Acts xxiv. 15.\n\nbefore him] The Baptist . now distinctly identifies Him of whom he had spoken before in general terms (i. 26, 30) as \"the Christ.\" The manifestation to Israel had taken place. The difference of language is very significant.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":324,"text":"1 Thess. iv. 9","label":"1 Thessalonians 4:9","href":"/1th/4/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":340,"text":"Mark vi. 31","label":"Mark 6:31","href":"/mrk/6/#v31","status":"detected"},{"at":373,"text":"Acts xxiv. 15","label":"Acts 24:15","href":"/act/24/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.28-29.1","start":28,"end":29,"heading":"28, 29.","excerpt":"The principle stated in v. 17 is applied directly by the Baptist to himself, according to his earlier definition of his work, and, under a figure, to Christ.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":24,"text":"v. 17","label":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.29.1","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"29.","excerpt":"The Baptist spoke plainly of himself, but he speaks of Christ's office and position in mysterious language, answering exactly to the situation. That position must be recognised in order that He may be known, as the Baptist knew Him.\n\nthe bride... the bridegroom] The image is commonly used in the prophetical books of the Old Testament from first to last to describe the relation between Jehovah and His people, Hos. ii. 19; Ezek. xvi. ; Mai. ii. n. In the New Testament it is applied to Christ and the church as here, Rev. xix. 7, xxi. 2, 9, xxii. 17 (comp. Eph. v. 32 ff.); and also to the connexion of Christ with any particular body of Christians, 2 Cor. xi. 2.\n\nSimilar imagery is used in the Synoptic Gospels ; Matt. xxii. i ff. (the marriage feast), xxv. i ff. (the ten virgins). Comp. Matt. ix. 15.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":412,"text":"Hos. ii. 19","label":"Hosea 2:19","href":"/hos/2/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":519,"text":"Rev. xix. 7","label":"Revelation 19:7","href":"/rev/19/#v7","status":"detected"},{"at":532,"text":"xxi. 2, 9","label":"Revelation 21:2","href":"/rev/21/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":532,"text":"xxi. 2, 9","label":"Revelation 21:9","href":"/rev/21/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":543,"text":"xxii. 17","label":"Revelation 22:17","href":"/rev/22/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":559,"text":"Eph. v. 32","label":"Ephesians 5:32","href":"/eph/5/#v32","status":"detected"},{"at":652,"text":"2 Cor. xi. 2","label":"2 Corinthians 11:2","href":"/2co/11/#v2","status":"detected"},{"at":793,"text":"Matt. ix. 15","label":"Matthew 9:15","href":"/mat/9/#v15","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.29.2","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"the friend of the bridegroom; standeth","excerpt":"To whom it fell to demand the hand of the bride, and to prepare everything for the due reception of the bride and bridegroom. Comp. Buxtorf, * Lex. Rabb.,' or Levy, ' Chald. Wbrterb.' s. v. .... The Baptist had fulfilled his office in preparing and bringing the representatives of the spiritual Israel — the new divine Bride— to Christ— the Bridegroom.\n\nstandeth] in the attitude of expectation and ready service, and heareth him not only as cognisant of his presence, but as waiting to fulfil his commands. Comp. xii. 29 ....","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":514,"text":"xii. 29","label":"John 12:29","href":"/jhn/12/#v29","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.29.3","start":29,"end":29,"heading":"because of the bridegroom's voice; this my joy; is fulfilled","excerpt":"when he has entered his new home, bringing his bride with him, and there first spoken with her at the marriage feast. The full, clear voice of the bridegroom's love is contrasted with all the words of those who have prepared for His coming.\n\nthis my joy] The form of the original is emphatic: this joy, the joy of seeing a work happily consummated, which is mine. Comp. xv. 9, note.\n\nis fulfilled] Literally, hath been fulfilled already, when, as you announce, the Christ is gathering round Him the disciples who are the beginnings of His church. Comp. i. 34.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":370,"text":"xv. 9","label":"John 15:9","href":"/jhn/15/#v9","status":"detected"},{"at":553,"text":"i. 34","label":"John 1:34","href":"/jhn/1/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.30.1","start":30,"end":30,"heading":"He must...; decrease","excerpt":"That lies in the divine law of things. Comp. vv. 7, 14, ix. 4, x. 16, xx. 9, note; Rev. i. i, iv. i, xx. 3, &c.\n\ndecrease] in imprisonment, suspense, martyrdom. These last words of St John are the fulness of Christian sacrifice, and fitly close his work, and with it the old dispensation. At the same time, they have an ever-germinant fulfilment. The progress from the Law to the Gospel, from the fulness of self to the fulness of Christ, is the law of Christian life. For the later mission from the Baptist to Christ in relation to this testimony, see Matt, xi. 3, note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":45,"text":"vv. 7, 14","label":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14","status":"detected"},{"at":45,"text":"vv. 7, 14","label":"John 3:7","href":"/jhn/3/#v7","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31.1","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"He that cometh from above; from above; above all","excerpt":"not He that came. The work of Christ is regarded not as past nor as future, but as ever-present (vi. 33).\n\nfrom above] from a higher region. The same word occurs in the original ... as that used in v. 3 (again, anew) ; see note. It seems to be chosen from its connexion with the above ... which follows.\n\nabove all] that is, sovereign over all things (v. 35), and not over all men only (as Vulg., supra omnes), though this is the prominent idea here, where the Son is compared with former teachers.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":198,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":352,"text":"v. 35","label":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31.2","start":31,"end":31,"heading":"of the earth...earthly (of the earth)...of the earth","excerpt":"The same phrase ... is thrice repeated. The rendering \"earthly\" in the second case obscures the thought and introduces confusion with the \"earthly,\" i.e. realised on the earth, and not springing out of the earth, in v. 12 .... The \" earth,\" as distinguished from the \" world,\" expresses the idea of the particular limitations of our being, without any accessory moral contrast with God. Its opposite is heaven. Contrast 1 John iv. 5 .... The term does not occur elsewhere in St John's writings in this sense. Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 47.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":216,"text":"v. 12","label":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12","status":"detected"},{"at":420,"text":"1 John iv. 5","label":"1 John 4:5","href":"/1jn/4/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":515,"text":"1 Cor. xv. 47","label":"1 Corinthians 15:47","href":"/1co/15/#v47","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31-32.1","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"31, 32.","excerpt":"The earthly teacher, and such were all who came before Christ, is contrasted with the One Teacher from heaven, (1) in origin (of the earth, from above, of heaven), (2) in being (of the earth, above all), (3) in teaching (of the earth, what he hath seen and heard in the kingdom of truth). Comp. Matt. xi. ii.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31-32.2","start":31,"end":32,"heading":"speaketh of the earth; that cometh; from heaven","excerpt":"The earth is the source from which he draws his words. Even divine things come to him through earth. He has not looked on truth absolute in the heavenly sphere. But this \"speaking of the earth\" is not of necessity a \"speaking of the world\" (1 John iv. 5). On the contrary he that cometh from heaven is not only supreme over all creation, and therefore unlimited by the earth, but v. 32, witnessed — testifieth with solemn authority, in this connexion perhaps in contrast with speaketh — what he hath seen and heard in heaven.\n\nthat cometh] as on a conspicuous mission.\n\nIn this case the thought is not of the source of being (he that is of the earth), but of the source of authority.\n\nfrom heaven] This phrase, as contrasted with from above, gives the exact correlative to from the earth.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":241,"text":"1 John iv. 5","label":"1 John 4:5","href":"/1jn/4/#v5","status":"detected"},{"at":380,"text":"v. 32","label":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31-36.1","start":31,"end":36,"heading":"31—36.","excerpt":"This section contains reflections of the Evangelist on the general relation of the Son to the Forerunner, and to the teachers of the earlier dispensation generally. The Baptist had spoken figuratively in the language of the Old Testament of what Christ was, and so directed his disciples to acknowledge Him. The Evangelist looking over the long interval of years reaffirms in clearer words the witness of the Herald, and shews how it has been fulfilled.\n\nThe passage is distinguished from the answer of the Baptist by (1) A marked contrast of style. The verses *7 — 3° are m form clear and sharp, with echoes of the abrupt prophetic speech. These (31 — 36) have a subtle undertone of thought, which binds them together closely, and carries them forward to the climax in v. 36.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":770,"text":"v. 36","label":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.32.1","start":32,"end":32,"heading":"testifieth; and no man...","excerpt":"witnesseth. Even after the historical manifestation of Christ on earth has ended, He still speaks through His church. The present here is co-ordinate with the plural in v. ii. In that passage the Lord connects the testimony of the disciples with His own ; and so here St John regards the testimony of the disciples as being truly the testimony of Christ.\n\nand no man...] The issue, as elsewhere (v. ii, vii. 30, viii. 20), is simply added to the description of the revelation. For the time the testimony of Christ through His church found no acceptance. The close of the apostolic age was a period of singular darkness and hopelessness Comp. 1 John v. 19 (2 Tim. i. 15). It was possible then for St John to say no man receiveth (literally, is receiving) his testimony (witness). This sad judgment stands in sharp contrast with v. 39, and v. a 6.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":642,"text":"1 John v. 19","label":"1 John 5:19","href":"/1jn/5/#v19","status":"detected"},{"at":656,"text":"2 Tim. i. 15","label":"2 Timothy 1:15","href":"/2ti/1/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":827,"text":"v. 39","label":"John 3:39","href":"/jhn/3/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.33.1","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"He that hath received; hath set to his seal","excerpt":"The reference appears to be directly historic, going back to the time when the disciples were first gathered round the Lord.\n\nhath set to his seal] hath confirmed in the most solemn manner the statement which follows, that God is true. The term seal is used here only in this sense. Elsewhere the word is used of marking as reserved for a special destination: vi. 27; Rev. vii. 3. Comp. Eph. i. 13, iv. 30. There is a noble Jewish saying, quoted by Lightfoot ('Hor. Hebr.' John vi. 27), that \"the seal of God is Truth.\" See xviii. 37, note.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":368,"text":"Rev. vii. 3","label":"Revelation 7:3","href":"/rev/7/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":387,"text":"Eph. i. 13","label":"Ephesians 1:13","href":"/eph/1/#v13","status":"detected"},{"at":399,"text":"iv. 30","label":"Ephesians 4:30","href":"/eph/4/#v30","status":"detected"},{"at":473,"text":"John vi. 27","label":"John 6:27","href":"/jhn/6/#v27","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.33.2","start":33,"end":33,"heading":"that God is true","excerpt":"This affirmation admits of two senses, (1) It may mean that in accepting the teaching of Christ the believer accepts the teaching of God, for the words of Christ are in truth the words of God. The believer therefore by receiving these really attests what is a direct message of God ; and in so doing he feels that he enters into a certain fellowship with Him, than which man can have no higher glory. The rejection of the testimony of Christ is, according to this interpretation, spoken of as \" making God a liar\" (1 John i. 10, v. 10). (2) The statement may also be taken in a wider sense. The believer finds in Christ the complete fulfilment of every promise of God. By his experience of what Christ is and what Christ says to him he gladly confesses that \"God is true,\" that He has left nothing unsatisfied of the hope which He has given to man. Comp. viii. 26.\n\nThe first explanation appears at first sight to fall in best with v. 34, but the second in fact embraces the first in a larger thought.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":515,"text":"1 John i. 10","label":"1 John 1:10","href":"/1jn/1/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":529,"text":"v. 10","label":"1 John 5:10","href":"/1jn/5/#v10","status":"detected"},{"at":855,"text":"viii. 26","label":"John 8:26","href":"/jhn/8/#v26","status":"detected"},{"at":932,"text":"v. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.33-35.1","start":33,"end":35,"heading":"33—35.","excerpt":"But even so, though the current of faith was checked, the church was in existence. There were disciples who had received the testimony at an earlier time, and found that in so doing they had been solemnly united with God; and this experience of faith is still assured by the fact of Christ's absolute knowledge and absolute power.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.34.1","start":34,"end":34,"heading":"34.","excerpt":"The proof of God's truth is found in the absolute fulness of Christ's spiritual endowment.\n\nhe whom God hath sent] the one heavenly messenger as contrasted with all the earthly.\n\nthe (words. .J] Not \"words\" only (vi. 68), but the complete, manifold expression ... of the divine message.\n\nfor God giveth not. ..by measure unto him] for he giveth not. ..by measure. The words God and unto him have no place in the original text. If these are omitted it is doubtful whether the subject of the sentence is \"God,\" or \"Messiah.\" The object in any case must be general\n\nIf, as in the common interpretation, God be taken as the subject, the sense appears to be : \" Christ speaks the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure, only in a definite degree, to all, but He gives it completely.\"\n\nIf, on the other hand, Messiah is the subject (as Cyril takes it), the sense will be: \"Christ speaks the words of God, for His words are attested by His works, in that He giveth the Spirit to His disciples as dispensing in its fulness that which is His own.\"\n\nThis second interpretation, which appears to have been neglected in late times owing to the false text, has much to recommend it (xv. 26).","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.35.1","start":35,"end":35,"heading":"35.","excerpt":"The ground of what has been said lies in the actual relation of God to Messiah, as the Father to the Son.\n\nhath given] Contrast giveth (v. 34). all things'] v. 31. The term is not to be limited in any way.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":136,"text":"v. 34","label":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34","status":"detected"},{"at":157,"text":"v. 31","label":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.36.1","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"36.; that believeth; hath everlasting (eternal) life; believeth not","excerpt":"The absolute supremacy of the Christian revelation as compared with all that went before is seen in its final issues of life, and incapacity for life.\n\nthat believeth] with a faith which is continuous, not momentary ....\n\nhath everlasting (eternal) life] To believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John iv. 15) is the pledge of new and abiding life By that belief our whole relation to the world, to man and to God, is changed; and changed already: This is life eternal... (xvii. 3, note).\n\nbelieveth not] disobeyeth .... Disbelief is regarded in its activity. The same word occurs 1 Peter iv. 17; Rom. ii. 8, x>- 3°> 3J> &c- Nothing is said of those who have no opportunity of coming to the true knowledge of Christ. Comp. Mark xvi. 16 shall not see life] shall be unable to form any true conception of life, much less enjoy it. Comp. v. 3. The future is contrasted with the present (hath. ..shall not...): the simple idea of life with the full conception eternal life. Comp. v. 24, 39 f.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":308,"text":"1 John iv. 15","label":"1 John 4:15","href":"/1jn/4/#v15","status":"detected"},{"at":594,"text":"1 Peter iv. 17","label":"1 Peter 4:17","href":"/1pe/4/#v17","status":"detected"},{"at":610,"text":"Rom. ii. 8","label":"Romans 2:8","href":"/rom/2/#v8","status":"detected"},{"at":736,"text":"Mark xvi. 16","label":"Mark 16:16","href":"/mrk/16/#v16","status":"detected"},{"at":848,"text":"v. 3","label":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":989,"text":"v. 24, 39","label":"John 3:24","href":"/jhn/3/#v24","status":"detected"},{"at":989,"text":"v. 24, 39","label":"John 3:39","href":"/jhn/3/#v39","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.36.2","start":36,"end":36,"heading":"","excerpt":"Here \"the wrath of God\" describes the general relation in which man as a sinner stands towards the justice of God. Comp. Eph. ii. 3. St John goes back from the revelation of God as Father to the original idea of God as God.\n\nabideth on him] The natural law is inexorable. Only faith in the revelation through Christ can remove the consequences of sin which must otherwise bring God's wrath upon the sinner. Comp. 1 John iii. 14.","source_url":"https://archive.org/stream/gospelaccordingt00westuoft/gospelaccordingt00westuoft_djvu.txt","locus":null,"cites":[{"at":121,"text":"Eph. ii. 3","label":"Ephesians 2:3","href":"/eph/2/#v3","status":"detected"},{"at":413,"text":"1 John iii. 14","label":"1 John 3:14","href":"/1jn/3/#v14","status":"detected"}],"quotes":[],"quotedIn":[],"inFull":null}]}],"citedBy":{"1":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-bengel","text":"ver. 1","snippet":"… into [preparing for] Christ Jesus, ver. 22, 23 [Jesus tarried in the land of Juda with His disciples, and baptized : “John was also baptizing in Ænon,” etc.]; which baptism the colleagues of Nicodemus, by omitting, ver. 1, despised the counsel of God: Luke vii. 30, “The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of John ;” when nevertheless the Jews were accustomed to baptisms: Heb. ix. 10, …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.18.18-19.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 18:18–19","href":"/jhn/18/#v18-bengel","text":"iii. 1","snippet":"… crept in (spread gradually) in secret. ... in ch, xix. 38, and who, from his wealth and position, is not unlikely to have known Caiaphas; or rather Nicodemus, who must have known him, as being one of the Sanhedrim, ch. iii. 1, who also would be conscious as such of their plot against Jesus, and so would take care to be present at the trial, and who is mentioned ch. xix. 39, was the ..."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.19.39.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 19:39","href":"/jhn/19/#v39-ryle","text":"John iii, 1","snippet":"John mentions him three times, — first as a secret inquirer (John iii, 1) ; secondly, as a timid advocate of justice towards our Lord in the Jewish Council (John vii. 10); and lastly, in this place."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.17.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:17","href":"/jhn/3/#v17-westcott","text":"v. 1","snippet":"A transition is here made from the notion of sacrifice, love, gift (v. 1 6), to that of work and authority. ..."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.22.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:22","href":"/jhn/3/#v22-westcott","text":"v. 1","snippet":"See Additional Note on v. 1."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.24.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:24","href":"/jhn/5/#v24-westcott","text":"iii. 1","snippet":"Comp. iii. 1 8 f."}],"2":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.10.25-26.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 10:25–26","href":"/jhn/10/#v25-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 2","snippet":"( c. iii. 2."},{"id":"calvin.JHN.19.38.1","author":"John Calvin","author_dates":"1509-1564","tradition":"Reformed","era":"Reformation","died":1564,"ref":"John 19:38","href":"/jhn/19/#v38-calvin","text":"John 3:2","snippet":"… has formerly been kept back by this fear from venturing to declare openly that he was a disciple of Christ; and as to Nicodemus, he repeats what we have already seen, that he came to Jesus secretly, and by night, (John 3:2 and John 7:50."},{"id":"henry.JHN.2.23.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 2:23","href":"/jhn/2/#v23-henry","text":"ch. iii. 2","snippet":"That hereby many were brought to believe in his name, to acknowledge him a teacher come from God, as Nicodemus did (ch. iii. 2), a great prophet; and, probably, some of those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem believed him to be the Messiah promised, so ready were they to welcome the first appearance of that bright and morning star."},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.34.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34-henry","text":"ch. iii. 2","snippet":"He proved himself sent of God (ch. iii. 2), and therefore his words are to be received as the words of God."},{"id":"henry.JHN.4.54.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 4:54","href":"/jhn/4/#v54-henry","text":"ch. iii. 2; iv. 45","snippet":"In Judea he had wrought many miracles, ch. iii. 2; iv. 45."},{"id":"henry.JHN.6.26.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 6:26","href":"/jhn/6/#v26-henry","text":"ch. iii. 2","snippet":"The miracles were the great confirmation of his doctrine; Nicodemus sought for him for the sake of them (ch. iii. 2), and argued from the power of his works to the truth of his word; but these were so stupid and mindless that they never considered this."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"henry.JHN.15.24.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 15:24","href":"/jhn/15/#v24-henry","text":"ch. iii. 2","snippet":"No common person that had not a commission from heaven, and God with him, could work miracles, ch. iii. 2."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.3.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-bengel","text":"ver. 2","snippet":"Nicodemus had not himself sufficiently known [the full significancy of] what (ver. 2, Thou art a Teacher come from God) he had said. ... to see) even now, and after this life: to see, with [real] enjoyment. ... the kingdom of God) [Nicodemus was aspiring after this ; yet being ignorant of how great …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.6-7.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:6–7","href":"/jhn/3/#v6-bengel","text":"ver. 2","snippet":"… the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing, ... spirit) That which is born of the Spirit is spirit: he who is born of the Spirit is spiritual. ... ye) Thee, and those in whose name thou hast spoken (ver. 2, ‘* We know,” etc.): Ye, Jesus says; not, we."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.11.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-bengel","text":"ver. 2","snippet":"That only is what we speak. ... ye do not receive) [in faith, to wit—V.g.] The plural, as in ver. 2, [Nicodemus said] we know."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.6.12-15.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 6:12–15","href":"/jhn/6/#v12-bengel","text":"iii. 2","snippet":"that nothing be lost) The Lord easily makes; but yet He does not will it, that the things He made should go to loss without cause. ... the Prophet) Ch. iii. 2, [Nicodemus to Jesus] “ No man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him;” ix. 17, [The restored blind man to the Jews] “ He is a prophet.” ... to carry off) by force: ... a king) To make Him a …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.9.13-17.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 9:13–17","href":"/jhn/9/#v13-bengel","text":"John iii. 2","snippet":"… g. ... because) In Theology applied to estimating characters, nothing is to be done in a hurry. ... a prophet) i.e. from God, ver. 16, “This man is not from God,” 33; ch. i. 6, “There was a man sent from God,” etc. ; John iii. 2, “ We know that Thou art a teacher come from God” [Jesus had prayed in undertaking the cure, ver. 31: and from that circumstance the blind man had come to know the close intimacy subsisting between Jesus and God.—V."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.2.23.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 2:23","href":"/jhn/2/#v23-ryle","text":"John iii, 2","snippet":"(John iii, 2."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.5.36.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 5:36","href":"/jhn/5/#v36-ryle","text":"John iii. 2","snippet":"(John iii. 2; x. 25 ; xv. 24."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.9.16.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 9:16","href":"/jhn/9/#v16-ryle","text":"John iii. 2","snippet":"(John iii. 2."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.9.32-33.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 9:32–33","href":"/jhn/9/#v32-ryle","text":"John iii. 2","snippet":"(John iii. 2."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.38.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:38","href":"/jhn/1/#v38-westcott","text":"iii. 2","snippet":"Comp. iii. 2, note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.42.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-westcott","text":"iii. 2, 19","snippet":"Comp. iii. 2, 19, v. 43, vii. 28, xii. 46, xvi. 28, xviii. 37."}],"3":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-bengel","text":"ver. 3","snippet":"The severity of His expression increases: comp. see, ver. 3."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.12.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12-bengel","text":"ver. 3","snippet":"… is from heaven, not however in heaven: it is indeed [a process] on the margin of heaven. ... how) The cause why Scripture is silent about many things. ... heavenly things, the inner principles of the kingdom of God, ver. 3; ..."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.53.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:53","href":"/jhn/6/#v53-ryle","text":"John iii. 3","snippet":"Thus, \" Except a man be born again,\" — \" Except ye be converted and become as little children,\" — \"Except ye repent,\" (John iii. 3, Matt, xviii, 3, Luke xiii. 3."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-ryle","text":"iii. 3, 5, 11","snippet":"See John i. 51; iii. 3, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 23; xxi. 18."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.17.24.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 17:24","href":"/jhn/17/#v24-ryle","text":"John iii. 3","snippet":"(Compare John iii. 3 — 36 ; viii. 51 ; Rev. xviii. 7.)"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.5","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-westcott","text":"v. 3","snippet":"become a citizen of the kingdom, as distinguished from the mere intelligent spectator (see v. 3) of its constitution and character."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-westcott","text":"vv. 3, 5, 7","snippet":"The plural contrasted with the singular vv. 3, 5, 7, la (all are unemphatic) is remarkable."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31-westcott","text":"v. 3","snippet":"The same word occurs in the original ... as that used in v. 3 (again, anew) ; see note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.36.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36-westcott","text":"v. 3","snippet":"Comp. v. 3."}],"4":[{"id":"henry.JHN.6.52.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 6:52","href":"/jhn/6/#v52-henry","text":"ch. iii. 4","snippet":"They, like these Jews here, understand it of a corporal and carnal eating of Christ's body, like Nicodemus, ch. iii. 4."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.52.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:52","href":"/jhn/6/#v52-ryle","text":"John iii. 4","snippet":"The likeness should be observed between this question and that of Nicodemus, (John iii. 4), and that of the Samaritan woman."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.33.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:33","href":"/jhn/8/#v33-ryle","text":"John iii. 4","snippet":"(See John iii. 4; iv. 11; vi. 34."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.1.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:1","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-westcott","text":"v. 4","snippet":"Nicodemus ben Gorion (Bunai) who lived to the siege of Jerusalem, has been identified (falsely, v. 4 old) with this one."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.27.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-westcott","text":"v. 4","snippet":"A man...] The word has force (comp. v. 4)."}],"5":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.39.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:39","href":"/jhn/7/#v39-henry","text":"ch. iii. 5","snippet":"… and working in believers is as a fountain of living running water, out of which plentiful streams flow, cooling and cleansing as water, mollifying and moistening as water, making them fruitful, and others joyful; see ch. iii. 5."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.25-26.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:25–26","href":"/jhn/3/#v25-bengel","text":"ver. 5","snippet":"John nowhere employs the terms, a baptism, a baptizing [baptisma, baptismus], the Baptist ; see ver. 5, “be born of water” [not, be baptized] ; nay, even to express Levitical baptism he uses the term, purifying, ch. ii. 6. ... came) The disciples of John were not so constantly with him as the apostles were with Christ. …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-ryle","text":"iii. 3, 5, 11","snippet":"See John i. 51; iii. 3, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 23; xxi. 18."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.33.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:33","href":"/jhn/1/#v33-westcott","text":"iii. 5","snippet":"Comp. iii. 5 ; Matt. iii. n, \"with the Holy Ghost and fire."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.3.3","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-westcott","text":"v. 5","snippet":"The phrase occurs only here and in v. 5 in St John's Gospel (yet compare xviii. 36, 37 ; Rev. xii. 10), while it is frequent in the Synoptists."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-westcott","text":"vv. 3, 5, 7","snippet":"The plural contrasted with the singular vv. 3, 5, 7, la (all are unemphatic) is remarkable."}],"6":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-henry","text":"v. 5-8","snippet":"To be born again is to be born of the Spirit, v. 5-8."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.37.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:37","href":"/jhn/6/#v37-westcott","text":"iii. 6","snippet":"Compare also the use of the abstract form, 1 John v. 4 contrasted with v. 5, 18 ; and ch. iii. 6 contrasted with iii. 8."}],"7":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-henry","text":"v. 5-8","snippet":"To be born again is to be born of the Spirit, v. 5-8."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.1-2.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:1–2","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-bengel","text":"ver. 7","snippet":"To this plural answers the plural, ver. 7, “ Ye must be born again."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.3.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-bengel","text":"ver. 7","snippet":"Comp. ver. 7, ye."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.4.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4-bengel","text":"ver. 7","snippet":"Nicodemus ‘ marvels,’ as ver. 7 implies."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.43.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:43","href":"/jhn/6/#v43-ryle","text":"John iii. 7","snippet":"Webster thinks that the idea is the same as that in John iii. 7—12, \" I have harder things still to say."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-westcott","text":"vv. 3, 5, 7","snippet":"The plural contrasted with the singular vv. 3, 5, 7, la (all are unemphatic) is remarkable."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.30.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30-westcott","text":"vv. 7, 14","snippet":"Comp. vv. 7, 14, ix. 4, x. 16, xx. 9, note; Rev. i. i, iv. i, xx. 3, &c."}],"8":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-henry","text":"v. 5-8","snippet":"To be born again is to be born of the Spirit, v. 5-8."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.11.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-bengel","text":"ver. 8, 34","snippet":"Comp. as to the Son, ver. 32, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth:” as to the Holy Spirit, ver. 8, 34, “He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him ;” ch. xvi. 13, “The Spirit of truth—shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.20.22.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 20:22","href":"/jhn/20/#v22-ryle","text":"John iii. 8","snippet":"When we remember that the wind is pre-eminently an emblem of the Holy Ghost (John iii. 8 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 9 ; Acts. ii. 2), we cannot fail to see that there is a beautiful fitness in the symbolical action which our Lord has employed."}],"9":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.4.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:4","href":"/jhn/3/#v4-bengel","text":"ver. 9","snippet":"This how and why are often obstacles to faith: ver. 9, “ How can these things be?” ch. vi. 52, [The Jews object] “ How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"}],"10":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.2.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:2","href":"/jhn/3/#v2-westcott","text":"v. 10","snippet":"Rabbi] Such a style of address in the mouth of Nicodemus (v. 10) is significant (comp. i. 38)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.13.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 13:7","href":"/jhn/13/#v7-westcott","text":"iii. 10, 11","snippet":"Comp. iii. 10, 11, note."}],"11":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.31-32.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 3:31–32","href":"/jhn/3/#v31-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 11","snippet":"… be proved, the testimony is indubitable, and so when Christ Himself saith, “As I hear, I judge” ( c. v. 30 ); and, “What I have heard from My Father, that I speak” ( c. xv. 15 ); and, “We speak that We have seen” ( c. iii. 11 ); and whatsoever other sayings He uttereth of the kind, are uttered not that we might imagine that He saith what He doth being taught of any, (it were extreme folly to think this,) but in order that nothing of what is …"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.34.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 3:34","href":"/jhn/3/#v34-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 11","snippet":"How then can He who hath received all the operation of the Spirit, who knoweth the things of God, who saith, “We speak that We have heard, and testify that We have seen” ( c. iii. 11 ), be rightly suspected? ..."},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.6.35-36.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 6:35–36","href":"/jhn/6/#v35-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 11","snippet":"… beforehand, “He speaketh that He knoweth, and testifieth that He hath seen, and no man receiveth His testimony” ( c. iii. 32 ); and again Christ Himself, “We speak that We do know, and testify that We have seen” ( c. iii. 11 ), “and ye believe not."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-bengel","text":"ver. 11","snippet":"… birth from above, and birth from a mother: and He defines birth from above by communion with [the partaking of] Himself and with [of] the Spirit (for He speaks concerning Himself and concerning the Spirit also at ver. 11, “we speak that we do know”)."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.5.30.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 5:30","href":"/jhn/5/#v30-ryle","text":"John iii, 11, 32","snippet":"Chrysostom remarks, — \" Just as when Christ said, ' we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen,' and John the Baptist said, * that which he hath seen and heard he testifieth,' (John iii, 11, 32,) both expressions are used concerning exact knowledge, and not concerning mere 'seeing' and 'hearing;' — so in this place, when Christ speaks of 'hearing,' He declares nothing else than that it is impossible for Him …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.51.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:51","href":"/jhn/8/#v51-ryle","text":"iii. 3, 5, 11","snippet":"See John i. 51; iii. 3, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 32, 47, 53; viii. 34, 51, 58; x. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 38; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 23; xxi. 18."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-westcott","text":"iii. 11","snippet":"Comp. iii. 11; 1 John iii. 6; 3 John IT), and shall see Him more completely (1 John iii. 2."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.13.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 13:7","href":"/jhn/13/#v7-westcott","text":"iii. 10, 11","snippet":"Comp. iii. 10, 11, note."}],"12":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.13.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13-henry","text":"v. 12","snippet":"He had said (v. 12), How shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?"},{"id":"henry.JHN.6.62.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 6:62","href":"/jhn/6/#v62-henry","text":"ch. iii. 12","snippet":"See ch. iii. 12."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.1-2.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:1–2","href":"/jhn/3/#v1-bengel","text":"ver. 12","snippet":"He wished to hear as to heavenly things and as to sublime things, ver. 12 [but Jesus brings him up to first principles. ... signs) ch. ii. 23, “ At the passover, on the feast day, many believed on Him when they saw the miracles which He did.”"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.8.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:8","href":"/jhn/3/#v8-bengel","text":"ver. 12","snippet":"Comp. the “ earthly things,” ver. 12. ... whence) from heaven, from above ... whither) [*quorsum; in what direction] to heaven."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.13.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:13","href":"/jhn/3/#v13-bengel","text":"ver. 12","snippet":"And; you will see this is properly set down, if you change the interrogation at ver. 12, with some little time’s reflection, into an absolute [categorical] form of expression."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.62.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:62","href":"/jhn/6/#v62-ryle","text":"John iii. 12","snippet":"\" (See John iii. 12."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.15.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15-westcott","text":"v. 12","snippet":"To \"believe\" is used absolutely v. 12, i. 50, iv. 42, 53, vi. 36, xi. 15, xx. 29; and the exceptional order of the words ... fi\"^3 a justification in v. 39, xvi. 33."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31-westcott","text":"v. 12","snippet":"The rendering \"earthly\" in the second case obscures the thought and introduces confusion with the \"earthly,\" i.e. realised on the earth, and not springing out of the earth, in v. 12 ...."}],"13":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.6.61-62.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 6:61–62","href":"/jhn/6/#v61-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 13","snippet":"( c. iii. 13."},{"id":"henry.JHN.5.19.3","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 5:19","href":"/jhn/5/#v19-henry","text":"ch. iii. 13","snippet":"This is expressed in the present tense, what he sees the Father do, for the same reason that, when he was here upon earth, it was said, He is in heaven (ch. iii. 13), and is in the bosom of the Father (ch. i. 18); as he was even then by his divine nature present in heaven, so the things done in heaven were present to his knowledge."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.33-34.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:33–34","href":"/jhn/7/#v33-henry","text":"ch. iii. 13","snippet":"Where I am, that is, where I then shall be; but he expressed it thus because, even when he was on earth, by his divine nature and divine affections he was in heaven, ch. iii. 13."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.12.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:12","href":"/jhn/3/#v12-bengel","text":"ver. 13","snippet":"He does not, at ver. 13, so much speak out, as hint at. ... will ye believe) The less anything seems credible to reason, often the more heavenly it is."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.6.61-62.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 6:61–62","href":"/jhn/6/#v61-bengel","text":"iii. 13","snippet":"… but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things ;’ Matt. xxvi. 64, “ Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” ... ascending) See on ch. iii. 13, note, “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.” ... previously) before that He descended."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.34.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:34","href":"/jhn/7/#v34-ryle","text":"John iii. 13","snippet":"It is like John iii. 13, where our Lord speaking to Nicodemus, calls Himself the Son of man which IS in heaven."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-westcott","text":"v. 13","snippet":"Their witness is indeed distinguished from His afterwards (v. 13), but so far it reached as to meet the difficulties, and fill up the shortcomings of the faith which Nicodemus had attained to."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.14.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14-westcott","text":"v. 13","snippet":"The point of connexion between v. 13 and v. 14 lies in the repetition of the title \"the Son of Man."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16-21.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:16–21","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-westcott","text":"vv. 13, 14","snippet":"This section is a commentary on the nature of the mission of the Son, which has been indicated in Christ's words (vv. 13, 14), and unfolds its design (16, 17), its historic completion (18, 19), the cause of its apparent failure (20, 21)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.26.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26-westcott","text":"v. 13","snippet":"all men] The natural exaggeration (v. 13) of angry zeal."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.38.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:38","href":"/jhn/6/#v38-westcott","text":"iii. 13","snippet":"Comp. iii. 13 ; (Eph. iv. 9 f. ?)."}],"14":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.28-29.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:28–29","href":"/jhn/8/#v28-henry","text":"ch. iii. 14","snippet":"[2.] When they should be convinced of this: When you have lifted up the Son of man, lifted him up upon the cross, as the brazen serpent upon the pole (ch. iii. 14), as the sacrifices under the law (for Christ is the great sacrifice), which, when they were offered, were said to be elevated, or lifted up; hence the burnt-offerings, the most ancient and honourable of all, were …"},{"id":"henry.JHN.12.33.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 12:33","href":"/jhn/12/#v33-henry","text":"ch. iii. 14, 15","snippet":"So there was to Christ, when salvation through him was preached to all nations; see ch. iii. 14, 15."},{"id":"henry.JHN.12.34.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 12:34","href":"/jhn/12/#v34-henry","text":"ch. iii. 14","snippet":"He had also said that the Son of man must be lifted up, which they understood of his dying, and probably he explained himself so, and some think he repeated what he said to Nicodemus (ch. iii. 14), So must the Son of man be lifted up."},{"id":"henry.JHN.18.32.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 18:32","href":"/jhn/18/#v32-henry","text":"ch. iii. 14; xii. 32","snippet":"Secondly, He had said that he should be crucified (Matt. xx. 19; xxvi. 2), lifted up, ch. iii. 14; xii. 32."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.12.32.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 12:32","href":"/jhn/12/#v32-bengel","text":"iii. 14","snippet":"I shall have been lifted up) See ver. 33, and ch. iii. 14, “ As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” ... from the earth."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.40.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:40","href":"/jhn/6/#v40-ryle","text":"John iii. 14, 15","snippet":"(See John iii. 14, 15, and Num. xxi. 9."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.28.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:28","href":"/jhn/8/#v28-ryle","text":"John iii. 14","snippet":"(John iii. 14, and xii. 32."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.12.34.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 12:34","href":"/jhn/12/#v34-ryle","text":"John iii. 14","snippet":"… verse but one had not mentioned the Son of man, but had only said, \"I, if I be lifted up.\" — It is also singular that our Lord nowhere uses the expression \" lifted up \" except in His conversation with Nicodemus, in John iii. 14."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.19.18.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 19:18","href":"/jhn/19/#v18-ryle","text":"John iii. 14","snippet":"(John iii. 14.)"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.45.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:45","href":"/jhn/1/#v45-westcott","text":"iii. 14","snippet":"Moses in the law] By types (ch. iii. 14 f.) and by more distinct words (Deut. xviii. 15."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16-21.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:16–21","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-westcott","text":"vv. 13, 14","snippet":"This section is a commentary on the nature of the mission of the Son, which has been indicated in Christ's words (vv. 13, 14), and unfolds its design (16, 17), its historic completion (18, 19), the cause of its apparent failure (20, 21)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.30.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:30","href":"/jhn/3/#v30-westcott","text":"vv. 7, 14","snippet":"Comp. vv. 7, 14, ix. 4, x. 16, xx. 9, note; Rev. i. i, iv. i, xx. 3, &c."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.12.34.3","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 12:34","href":"/jhn/12/#v34-westcott","text":"iii. 14","snippet":"Comp. iii. 14 note."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.20.9.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 20:9","href":"/jhn/20/#v9-westcott","text":"John iii. 14","snippet":"must] This divine necessity ... is shewn to run through the last unexpected events of the Lord's earthly life; Matt. xxvi. 54; Mark viii. 31; Luke ix. 22, xvii. 35, xxii. 37, xxiv. 7, 36, 44, (46); John iii. 14, xii. 34, note; Acts i. 16."}],"15":[{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"henry.JHN.12.33.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 12:33","href":"/jhn/12/#v33-henry","text":"ch. iii. 14, 15","snippet":"So there was to Christ, when salvation through him was preached to all nations; see ch. iii. 14, 15."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.3.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-bengel","text":"ver. 15","snippet":"… the handle. ... be born) This is put forward first under a figure, in hard language, in order to convince [convict] Nicodemus of ignorance; it is afterwards, when he was humbled, shown in plain [literal] words, ver. 15, “ That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,” etc., etc. ..."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.40.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:40","href":"/jhn/6/#v40-ryle","text":"John iii. 14, 15","snippet":"(See John iii. 14, 15, and Num. xxi. 9."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.12.32.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 12:32","href":"/jhn/12/#v32-ryle","text":"John iii. 15","snippet":"(John iii. 15."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.12.33.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 12:33","href":"/jhn/12/#v33-ryle","text":"John iii. 15","snippet":"That \"lifting up \" means crucifixion is, in my judgment, plainly taught by John iii. 15."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-westcott","text":"v. 15","snippet":"There is an obvious reference to Gen. xxii. a. should (may) not perish ... once for all, but have ... w'th an abiding present enjoyment eternal (as in v. 15) life] In this verse and in the next the negative and positive aspects of the truth as regards individuals and the race (every one, the world) are definitely opposed; and there is striking parallelism in the related …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.4.53.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 4:53","href":"/jhn/4/#v53-westcott","text":"iii. 15","snippet":"Comp. iii. 15 note."}],"16":[{"id":"calvin.JHN.17.23.2","author":"John Calvin","author_dates":"1509-1564","tradition":"Reformed","era":"Reformation","died":1564,"ref":"John 17:23","href":"/jhn/17/#v23-calvin","text":"John 3:16","snippet":"Yet this gives rise to some appearance of contradiction; for Christ, as we have seen elsewhere declares that the unspeakable love of God towards the world was the reason why he gave his only-begotten Son, (John 3:16."},{"id":"henry.JHN.4.10.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 4:10","href":"/jhn/4/#v10-henry","text":"ch. iii. 16","snippet":"… of God, the richest token of God's love to us, and the richest treasure of all good for us; a gift, not a debt which we could demand from God; not a loan, which he will demand from us again, but a gift, a free gift, ch. iii. 16."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.14.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14-bengel","text":"ver. 16","snippet":"[Not as yet did Jesus speak at this early time more distinctly as to His suffering on the cross: see ver. 16.—V. g. ... must) For it was for this purpose He descended from heaven."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.15.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15-bengel","text":"ver. 16","snippet":"that) The goodness to us of the Son in ver. 15, and of the Father in ver. 16, is described in the same words."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.19.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19-bengel","text":"ver. 16","snippet":"… the discourse treats of Light indefinitely in the thesis, but so as that, in the hypothesis, it answers chiefly to the hypostatical [personal] Light. ... loved) They did not pay back love for the love on God’s part, ver. 16. ... rather than) The comparison is by no means inappropriate."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.32.3","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:32","href":"/jhn/6/#v32-ryle","text":"John iii. 16","snippet":"It is like the famous texts, \" God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son \" (John iii. 16) ; and, \"' God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.10.15.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 10:15","href":"/jhn/10/#v15-ryle","text":"iii. 16","snippet":"I venture to refer the reader to my own notes, in this commentary, on John i. 28; iii. 16 and vi. 32, for a full discussion of the subject."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.11.5.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 11:5","href":"/jhn/11/#v5-ryle","text":"John iii. 16","snippet":"It is the same as Mark x. 21, and John iii. 16. — The word used in the message of the sisters is a lower word, such as is used to describe the affection between a parent and child, or husband and wife."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.12.47.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 12:47","href":"/jhn/12/#v47-ryle","text":"John iii. 16, 17","snippet":"But while I say all this, I am unable to see how such expressions as this, and John iii. 16, 17, can possibly be reconciled with an extreme view of particular redemption."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.17.2.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 17:2","href":"/jhn/17/#v2-ryle","text":"John iii. 16","snippet":"To my eyes it is like John iii. 16, where \" world \" and \" believers \" are in contradistinction."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.17.9.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 17:9","href":"/jhn/17/#v9-ryle","text":"John iii. 16","snippet":"The most fair and honest interpretation of the text, \" God so loved the world \" (John iii. 16), is to regard \" the world \" as meaning all mankind."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.15.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15-westcott","text":"vv. 16, 36","snippet":"It occurs vv. 16, 36, v. 24, vi. 40, 47, 54; 1 John iii. 15, v. la f."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.18.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-westcott","text":"v. 16","snippet":"The epithet only begotten, applied here again to the Son, brings out in relation to God (as has been seen) the idea of the Father's love (v. 16); in relation to man the singleness of our hope."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.14.16.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 14:16","href":"/jhn/14/#v16-westcott","text":"iii. 16","snippet":"Comp. iii. 16; 1 John iii. 1, 24, iv. 13; Matt. x. 20."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.17.4.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 17:4","href":"/jhn/17/#v4-westcott","text":"iii. 16","snippet":"Comp. iii. 16."}],"17":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.26-27.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 8:26–27","href":"/jhn/8/#v26-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 17","snippet":"( c. iii. 17."},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.16.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-henry","text":"v. 16, 17","snippet":"[2.] Jesus Christ came to save us by pardoning us, that we might not die by the sentence of the law, v. 16, 17."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.15.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:15","href":"/jhn/8/#v15-henry","text":"ch. iii. 17","snippet":"Or, \"I judge no man,\" that is, \"not now in my first coming, that is deferred till I come again,\" ch. iii. 17."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.15.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:15","href":"/jhn/8/#v15-ryle","text":"John iii. 17","snippet":"(John iii. 17."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.9.39.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 9:39","href":"/jhn/9/#v39-ryle","text":"John iii. 17","snippet":"We must not suppose that there is any contradiction between these words and those in John iii. 17, and xii. 47."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.10.36.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 10:36","href":"/jhn/10/#v36-ryle","text":"John iii. 17","snippet":"(See Heb. iii. 1; John iii. 17; and 1 John iv. 14."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.12.47.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 12:47","href":"/jhn/12/#v47-ryle","text":"John iii. 17","snippet":"The expression in John iii. 17 is precisely parallel, — \" God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.12.47.3","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 12:47","href":"/jhn/12/#v47-ryle","text":"John iii. 17","snippet":"Why the same Greek word is rendered by our English translators, \"judge\" in this verse, and \" condemn \" in the parallel place in John iii. 17, it is not easy to see."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-westcott","text":"v. 17","snippet":"The word gave, not sent, as in v. 17, brings out the idea of sacrifice and of love shewn by a most precious offering."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.28-29.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:28–29","href":"/jhn/3/#v28-westcott","text":"v. 17","snippet":"The principle stated in v. 17 is applied directly by the Baptist to himself, according to his earlier definition of his work, and, under a figure, to Christ."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.12.47.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 12:47","href":"/jhn/12/#v47-westcott","text":"iii. 17","snippet":"Christ came for judgment (ix. 39) and yet not to judge (comp. iii. 17, viii. 15)."}],"18":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.24.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 18","snippet":"Wherefore He said, “He that believeth not is judged already” ( c. iii. 18 ); not merely through his not believing, but because he de parteth parteth hence having his former sins upon him."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.6.54.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 6:54","href":"/jhn/6/#v54-ryle","text":"John iii. 18","snippet":"(John iii. 18 ; vi. 47."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.9.35.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 9:35","href":"/jhn/9/#v35-ryle","text":"John iii. 18","snippet":"(See John iii. 18; v. 25; x. 36; xi. 4.)"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.11.27.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 11:27","href":"/jhn/11/#v27-westcott","text":"iii. 18","snippet":"I have believed] Cf. iii. 18, vi. 69, xvi. 27, xx. 29; 1 John iv. 16, v. 10."}],"19":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.18.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-henry","text":"v. 18-21","snippet":"Christ, in the close, discourses concerning the deplorable condition of those that persist in unbelief and wilful ignorance, v. 18-21."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"henry.JHN.12.46.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 12:46","href":"/jhn/12/#v46-henry","text":"ch. iii. 19","snippet":"… into the world, as the sun is before it rises; the prophets and apostles were made lights to the world, but it was Christ only that came a light into this world, having before been a glorious light in the upper world, ch. iii. 19."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.16.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-bengel","text":"ver. 19","snippet":"… [of Him]: comp. ver. 35, “ The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.” ... the world) [all] the men under heaven, even those who were about to perish (comp. 62, [autem] moreover—for indeed, ver. 19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light”): as being those with whom He was otherwise [i.e. but for the atonement through His Son] angry: ver. 36, “ He …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.20.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:20","href":"/jhn/3/#v20-westcott","text":"v. 19","snippet":"The word rendered evil here ... is different from the common word ... used in v. 19."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.40.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:40","href":"/jhn/5/#v40-westcott","text":"iii. 19","snippet":"Matt, xxiii. 37, ch. iii. 19) that ye may have life — \"life\" in its simplest form, the condition of all else (iii. 36, xx. 31), not qualified even as \"eternal life\" (v. 39)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.42.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:42","href":"/jhn/8/#v42-westcott","text":"iii. 2, 19","snippet":"Comp. iii. 2, 19, v. 43, vii. 28, xii. 46, xvi. 28, xviii. 37."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.9.41.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 9:41","href":"/jhn/9/#v41-westcott","text":"John iii. 19","snippet":"('Sanhedrin,' 99a, quoted by Wünsche on John iii. 19.)"}],"20":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.8.12-13.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 8:12–13","href":"/jhn/8/#v12-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 20","snippet":"( c. iii. 20."},{"id":"calvin.JHN.15.23.1","author":"John Calvin","author_dates":"1509-1564","tradition":"Reformed","era":"Reformation","died":1564,"ref":"John 15:23","href":"/jhn/15/#v23-calvin","text":"John 3:20","snippet":"Whosoever doeth what is evil hateth the light (John 3:20,)"},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.18.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-henry","text":"v. 18-21","snippet":"Christ, in the close, discourses concerning the deplorable condition of those that persist in unbelief and wilful ignorance, v. 18-21."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.19.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19-bengel","text":"ver. 20, 21","snippet":"In ver. 19, the hypostatical [personal] Light [Jesus Christ, its embodiment] is praised: afterwards, in the latter part of ver. 19, in antithesis to darkness, of which there is no hypostasis [personality], and in ver. 20, 21, the discourse treats of Light indefinitely in the thesis, but so as that, in the hypothesis, it answers chiefly to the hypostatical [personal] Light. ... loved) They did not pay back love for the love on God’s part, …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.5.28-29.3","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 5:28–29","href":"/jhn/5/#v28-ryle","text":"John iii. 20, 21","snippet":"Precisely the same difference exists in John iii. 20, 21."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.21.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:21","href":"/jhn/3/#v21-westcott","text":"v. 20","snippet":"In addition to the contrast of the verbs already noticed (v. 20), there is a further contrast in the forms of the two expressions \"doing ill\" and \"doing the truth."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.29.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:29","href":"/jhn/5/#v29-westcott","text":"iii. 20, 21","snippet":"The same words ... are contrasted, ch. iii. 20, 21, note; Rom. i. 32, vii. 15, 19, xiii. 4."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.8-18.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:8–18","href":"/jhn/16/#v8-westcott","text":"iii. 20","snippet":"There is first the thorough testing of the real nature of the facts (ch. iii. 20 ; Eph. v. 13) ; and then the application of the truth thus ascertained to the particular person affected (James ii. 9 ; Jude 15, (aa) , 1 Cor. xiv. 24 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2 ; comp."}],"21":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.18.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:18","href":"/jhn/3/#v18-henry","text":"v. 18-21","snippet":"Christ, in the close, discourses concerning the deplorable condition of those that persist in unbelief and wilful ignorance, v. 18-21."},{"id":"henry.JHN.7.51.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 7:51","href":"/jhn/7/#v51-henry","text":"ch. iii.","snippet":"Had he urged the excellency of Christ's doctrine or the evidence of his miracles, or repeated to them his divine discourse with him (ch. iii.), it had been but to cast pearls before swine, who would trample them under their feet, and would turn again and rend him; therefore he waives them."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.19.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:19","href":"/jhn/3/#v19-bengel","text":"ver. 20, 21","snippet":"In ver. 19, the hypostatical [personal] Light [Jesus Christ, its embodiment] is praised: afterwards, in the latter part of ver. 19, in antithesis to darkness, of which there is no hypostasis [personality], and in ver. 20, 21, the discourse treats of Light indefinitely in the thesis, but so as that, in the hypothesis, it answers chiefly to the hypostatical [personal] Light. ... loved) They did not pay back love for the love on God’s part, …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.5.28-29.3","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 5:28–29","href":"/jhn/5/#v28-ryle","text":"John iii. 20, 21","snippet":"Precisely the same difference exists in John iii. 20, 21."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.7.17.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 7:17","href":"/jhn/7/#v17-ryle","text":"John iii. 21","snippet":"It is the same idea as the \"doing truth\" of John iii. 21."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.18.37.3","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 18:37","href":"/jhn/18/#v37-ryle","text":"John iii. 21","snippet":"(John iii. 21."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.20.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:20","href":"/jhn/3/#v20-westcott","text":"v. 21","snippet":"doeth] The words translated doeth here and in v. 21 are different."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.5.29.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 5:29","href":"/jhn/5/#v29-westcott","text":"iii. 20, 21","snippet":"The same words ... are contrasted, ch. iii. 20, 21, note; Rom. i. 32, vii. 15, 19, xiii. 4."}],"22":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-bengel","text":"ver. 22, 23","snippet":"Water denotes the baptism of John into [preparing for] Christ Jesus, ver. 22, 23 [Jesus tarried in the land of Juda with His disciples, and baptized : “John was also baptizing in Ænon,” etc.]; which baptism the colleagues of Nicodemus, by omitting, ver. 1, despised the counsel of God: Luke vii. 30, …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.25-26.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:25–26","href":"/jhn/3/#v25-bengel","text":"ver. 22","snippet":"Accordingly) There is reference to ver. 22 ; comp. ver. 26, “They came unto John and said, Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan,” etc., “the same baptizeth,” etc. ..."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.4.2.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 4:2","href":"/jhn/4/#v2-westcott","text":"iii. 22","snippet":"Christ did not personally baptize (comp. iii. 22) because this Judaic baptism was simply a symbolic act, the work of the servant and not of the Lord."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.1-21.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:1–21","href":"/jhn/6/#v1-westcott","text":"iii. 22","snippet":"The very abruptness of the transition in vi. 1 is characteristic of St John ; comp. iii. 22, x. 22, xii. 1."}],"23":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.5.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-bengel","text":"ver. 22, 23","snippet":"Water denotes the baptism of John into [preparing for] Christ Jesus, ver. 22, 23 [Jesus tarried in the land of Juda with His disciples, and baptized : “John was also baptizing in Ænon,” etc.]; which baptism the colleagues of Nicodemus, by omitting, ver. 1, despised the counsel of God: Luke vii. 30, …"}],"24":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.23.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:23","href":"/jhn/3/#v23-henry","text":"v. 23, 24","snippet":"John's continuance in his work, as long as his opportunities lasted, v. 23, 24."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.15.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15-westcott","text":"v. 24","snippet":"It occurs vv. 16, 36, v. 24, vi. 40, 47, 54; 1 John iii. 15, v. la f."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.36.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:36","href":"/jhn/3/#v36-westcott","text":"v. 24, 39","snippet":"Comp. v. 24, 39 f."}],"25":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.4.1-2.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 4:1–2","href":"/jhn/4/#v1-bengel","text":"iii. 25, 26","snippet":"knew) even though none told Him the fact. ... heard) Comp. ch. iii. 25, 26. ... the Pharisees) who were likely to be displeased at it: ch. i. 24, “They which were sent to John, were of the Pharisees :” for the Pharisees’ wish was, that disciples should join themselves : Matt. xxiii. 15, “ Ye …"}],"26":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.1.37.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 1:37","href":"/jhn/1/#v37-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 26","snippet":"( c. iii. 26."},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.28.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:28","href":"/jhn/3/#v28-henry","text":"v. 26","snippet":"They had spoken of the witness which their master bore to Jesus (v. 26): \"Now,\" saith John, \"do you not remember what the testimony was that I did bear?"},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.32.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-henry","text":"v. 26","snippet":"How stupid and foolish are the greatest part of mankind, what enemies to themselves!) but as matter of grief; John's disciples grieved that all men came to Christ (v. 26); they thought his followers too many."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.27-28.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:27–28","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-bengel","text":"ver. 26","snippet":"These Metonymes [substitutions of the general for the definite expression] imply modesty [humility]. ... before Him) Him, concerning whom ver. 26 treats."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.31.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31-bengel","text":"ver. 26","snippet":"John answers to that expression, all [men come to Him], ver. 26. ... who is of the earth is earthly) There is a Ploce [a word used first literally, then to express an attribute of it]: the former being understood according to natural birth, the latter according to disposition and …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.32.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:32","href":"/jhn/3/#v32-bengel","text":"ver. 26","snippet":"… That is much more weighty than He speaks ... no man) So ardently does John desire that Christ should obtain universal authority, that instead of that, which his [John’s] disciples say, all [men come to Him], ver. 26, John says, no man [receiveth His testimony]: comp. ch. xii. 38, “ The saying of Esaias fulfilled, Lord who hath believed our report?” etc. ... receiveth) A form of faith."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.4.1-2.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 4:1–2","href":"/jhn/4/#v1-bengel","text":"iii. 25, 26","snippet":"knew) even though none told Him the fact. ... heard) Comp. ch. iii. 25, 26. ... the Pharisees) who were likely to be displeased at it: ch. i. 24, “They which were sent to John, were of the Pharisees :” for the Pharisees’ wish was, that disciples should join themselves : Matt. xxiii. 15, “ Ye …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.11.8.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 11:8","href":"/jhn/11/#v8-ryle","text":"John iii. 26","snippet":"(John iii. 26."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.4.2.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 4:2","href":"/jhn/4/#v2-westcott","text":"iii. 26","snippet":"Comp. iii. 26."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.16.29.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 16:29","href":"/jhn/16/#v29-westcott","text":"iii. 26","snippet":"Comp. iii. 26, v. 14, xi. 36, xii. 19, xix. 4, 5, 14, &c."}],"27":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.3.35-36.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 3:35–36","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 27","snippet":"For instance, when commencing he spake thus: “A man cannot receive anything of himself” ( c. iii. 27 ): then after adding a high expression, and saying, “He that cometh from heaven is above all,” he again brings down his discourse to what is lowly, and besides many other things saith this, that “God giveth not the …"},{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.13.2-3.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 13:2–3","href":"/jhn/13/#v2-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 27","snippet":"( c. iii. 27 ."},{"id":"henry.JHN.1.31.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 1:31","href":"/jhn/1/#v31-henry","text":"ch. iii. 27","snippet":"Nay, as he could not be biassed to speak honourably of him because he was a stranger to him, he was not able to say any thing of him but what he received from above, to which he appeals, ch. iii. 27."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-westcott","text":"v. 27","snippet":"Comp. v. 27 n."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.65.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:65","href":"/jhn/6/#v65-westcott","text":"iii. 27","snippet":"Comp. iii. 27."}],"28":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.27.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-henry","text":"v. 27-30","snippet":"John here abases himself in comparison with Christ, v. 27-30."}],"29":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.1.35-36.2","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 1:35–36","href":"/jhn/1/#v35-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 29","snippet":"Wherefore he calls himself the “friend of the Bridegroom” ( c. iii. 29 ), since he alone was present at the marriage, he it was that did and accomplished all, he made a beginning of the work."},{"id":"henry.JHN.3.27.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-henry","text":"v. 27-30","snippet":"John here abases himself in comparison with Christ, v. 27-30."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.35.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-bengel","text":"ver. 29, 36","snippet":"all things) See ver. 29, 36."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.2.1-11.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 2:1–11","href":"/jhn/2/#v1-westcott","text":"iii. 29","snippet":"It may be added also that the scene of the \" sign \" — a marriage feast — is that under which the accomplishment of Christ's work is most characteristically prefigured, ch. iii. 29 ; Matt. xxii. 2 ff., . xxv. i ff. ; Rev. xix. 7, xxi. 2."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.20.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:20","href":"/jhn/3/#v20-westcott","text":"v. 29","snippet":"It occurs v. 29 ; Rom. ix. ii ; 2 Cor. v. 10 (in each case contrasted with good) ; Tit. ii. 8 ; James iii. 16; and corresponds to the English bad, as expressing that which is poor, mean, worthless, of its kind, and so unfit for …"}],"30":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.27.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-henry","text":"v. 27-30","snippet":"John here abases himself in comparison with Christ, v. 27-30."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.27-28.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:27–28","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-bengel","text":"ver. 30","snippet":"So ver. 30, “ He must increase, but I must decrease."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.7.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:7","href":"/jhn/1/#v7-westcott","text":"iii. 30","snippet":"This office had been fulfilled \"in many parts and in many fashions\" by all God's messengers in earlier times, and at last eminently by the Baptist (comp. iii. 30)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.14.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:14","href":"/jhn/3/#v14-westcott","text":"v. 30","snippet":"Comp. xx. 9 note, v. 30 note."}],"31":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.3.2","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-henry","text":"ch. iii. 31; xix. 11","snippet":"We must be born from above, so the word is used by the evangelist, ch. iii. 31; xix. 11, and I take this to be especially intended here, not excluding the other; for to be born from above supposes being born again."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.46.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:46","href":"/jhn/1/#v46-westcott","text":"iii. 31","snippet":"Comp. iii. 31 note, iv. 22."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.16-21.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:16–21","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-westcott","text":"vv. 31","snippet":"There is also an obvious fitness in the apostolic exposition of the Lord's words at this crisis, as in that of the Baptist's words which follows (vv. 31 — 36)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.26.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:26","href":"/jhn/3/#v26-westcott","text":"v. 31","snippet":"Contrast v. 31."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.35.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-westcott","text":"v. 31","snippet":"hath given] Contrast giveth (v. 34). all things'] v. 31."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.44.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:44","href":"/jhn/8/#v44-westcott","text":"iii. 31","snippet":"Comp. iii. 31, viii. 23, 47, xv. 19, xvii. 14, 16, xviii. 36, 37 ; 1 John ii. 1 6, iii. 8, 10, 12, iv. 1 ff., v. 19."}],"32":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.6.35-36.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 6:35–36","href":"/jhn/6/#v35-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 32","snippet":"[2.] Thus also John crieth, saying beforehand, “He speaketh that He knoweth, and testifieth that He hath seen, and no man receiveth His testimony” ( c. iii. 32 ); and again Christ Himself, “We speak that We do know, and testify that We have seen” ( c. iii. 11 ), “and ye believe not."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.1.18.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 1:18","href":"/jhn/1/#v18-bengel","text":"iii. 32","snippet":"[The revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began]. ... no one hath seen: no one hath declared [God]: The Son hath seen, the Son hath declared, [God] ch. iii. 32 [What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth]. ... both by His words and by the sight of Himself [as God manifest in the flesh]."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.11.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-bengel","text":"ver. 32","snippet":"Comp. as to the Son, ver. 32, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth:” as to the Holy Spirit, ver. 8, 34, “He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him ;” ch. xvi. 13, “The Spirit …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.29-30.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:29–30","href":"/jhn/3/#v29-bengel","text":"ver. 32, 34","snippet":"It is the part of a friend to rejoice ... who standeth) as His attendant. ... hearing Him speaking with the bride, ver. 32, 34, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth ;—He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God.” ... the voice) by which the Bridegroom testifies His presence, ver. 32."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.5.30.2","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 5:30","href":"/jhn/5/#v30-ryle","text":"John iii, 11, 32","snippet":"Chrysostom remarks, — \" Just as when Christ said, ' we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen,' and John the Baptist said, * that which he hath seen and heard he testifieth,' (John iii, 11, 32,) both expressions are used concerning exact knowledge, and not concerning mere 'seeing' and 'hearing;' — so in this place, when Christ speaks of 'hearing,' He declares nothing else than that it is impossible for Him …"},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.38.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-ryle","text":"John iii. 32","snippet":"Compare John iii. 32 and v. 19."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.11.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-westcott","text":"v. 32","snippet":"For the use of the simple and in this connexion of sad contrast see i. 10, v. 32, vii. 28, 30, xiv. 24, xvi. 32."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.27.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-westcott","text":"v. 32","snippet":"Comp. v. 32, note."}],"33":[{"id":"chrysostom.JHN.17.7.1","author":"John Chrysostom","author_dates":"c. 347-407","tradition":"Patristic (Greek East)","era":"Early church","died":407,"ref":"John 17:7","href":"/jhn/17/#v7-chrysostom","text":"c. iii. 33","snippet":"( c. iii. 33."},{"id":"henry.JHN.6.27.4","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 6:27","href":"/jhn/6/#v27-henry","text":"ch. iii. 33","snippet":"Divine revelation is perfected in him, in him the vision and prophecy is sealed up (Dan. ix. 24), to him all believers seal that he is true (ch. iii. 33), and in him they are all sealed, 2 Cor. i. 22."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.6.27.2","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 6:27","href":"/jhn/6/#v27-bengel","text":"iii. 33","snippet":"… that should come into the world”]; as also by His whole testimony, which in its turn needed to be sealed by the faith of the hearers : ver. 29, “'This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent ;” ch. iii. 33, “He that hath received His testimony hath set to His seal that God is ..."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.6.27.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 6:27","href":"/jhn/6/#v27-westcott","text":"iii. 33","snippet":"Comp. iii. 33, note."}],"34":[{"id":"henry.JHN.3.27.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 3:27","href":"/jhn/3/#v27-henry","text":"v. 34","snippet":"John reminds his disciples that Jesus would not have thus excelled him except he had received it from heaven, for, as man and Mediator, he received gifts; and, if God gave him the Spirit without measure (v. 34), shall they grudge at it?"},{"id":"henry.JHN.8.43.1","author":"Matthew Henry","author_dates":"1662-1714","tradition":"English Nonconformist (Presbyterian)","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1714,"ref":"John 8:43","href":"/jhn/8/#v43-henry","text":"ch. iii. 34","snippet":"Christ spoke the words of God (ch. iii. 34) in the dialect of the kingdom of God; and yet they, who pretended to belong to the kingdom, understood not the idioms and properties of it, but like strangers, and rude ones too, ridiculed it."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.11.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:11","href":"/jhn/3/#v11-bengel","text":"ver. 8, 34","snippet":"Comp. as to the Son, ver. 32, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth:” as to the Holy Spirit, ver. 8, 34, “He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him ;” ch. xvi. 13, “The Spirit of truth—shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak …"},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.29-30.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:29–30","href":"/jhn/3/#v29-bengel","text":"ver. 32, 34","snippet":"It is the part of a friend to rejoice ... who standeth) as His attendant. ... hearing Him speaking with the bride, ver. 32, 34, “ What He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth ;—He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God.” ... the voice) by which the Bridegroom testifies His presence, ver. 32."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.17.8.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 17:8","href":"/jhn/17/#v8-ryle","text":"John iii. 34","snippet":"For the peculiar use of the phrase, \" words,\" to denote the truths or doctrines taught by our Lord, see John iii. 34 ; vi. 68 ; xii. 48 ; xiv. 10."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.1.16.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 1:16","href":"/jhn/1/#v16-westcott","text":"iii. 34","snippet":"Comp. iii. 34."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.33.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:33","href":"/jhn/3/#v33-westcott","text":"v. 34","snippet":"The first explanation appears at first sight to fall in best with v. 34, but the second in fact embraces the first in a larger thought."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.35.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-westcott","text":"v. 34","snippet":"hath given] Contrast giveth (v. 34). all things'] v. 31."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.8.38.2","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 8:38","href":"/jhn/8/#v38-westcott","text":"iii. 34","snippet":"Comp. iii. 34, vi. 46 (the Father); and though man naturally is unable to attain to the sight of God (v. 37; 1 John iv. 20), yet in Christ the believer does see Him now (xiv. 7, 9."}],"35":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.16.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-bengel","text":"ver. 35","snippet":"loved) The Son knows the Father, and the love of the Father: and alone [though but one] bears the best witness [of Him]: comp. ver. 35, “ The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.” ... the world) [all] the men under heaven, even those who were about to perish (comp. 62, [autem] moreover—for indeed, ver. 19, “And this is the …"},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.31.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:31","href":"/jhn/3/#v31-westcott","text":"v. 35","snippet":"above all] that is, sovereign over all things (v. 35), and not over all men only (as Vulg., supra omnes), though this is the prominent idea here, where the Son is compared with former teachers."}],"36":[{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.16.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:16","href":"/jhn/3/#v16-bengel","text":"ver. 36","snippet":"… ver. 19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light”): as being those with whom He was otherwise [i.e. but for the atonement through His Son] angry: ver. 36, “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."},{"id":"bengel.JHN.3.35.1","author":"Johann Albrecht Bengel","author_dates":"1687-1752","tradition":"Lutheran Pietist","era":"Puritans and the 1700s","died":1752,"ref":"John 3:35","href":"/jhn/3/#v35-bengel","text":"ver. 29, 36","snippet":"all things) See ver. 29, 36."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.3.3.4","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 3:3","href":"/jhn/3/#v3-ryle","text":"John iii. 36","snippet":"Thus we find, to \" see life,\"(John iii. 36,)— to \"see corruption,\" (Psalm xvi. 10,) — to \"see death,\" (John viii. 51,) — to see evil,\" (Psalm xc. 15,) — to \" see sorrow."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.8.24.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 8:24","href":"/jhn/8/#v24-ryle","text":"John iii. 36","snippet":"(Mark xvi. 26, and John iii. 36."},{"id":"ryle.JHN.11.48.1","author":"J. C. Ryle","author_dates":"1816-1900","tradition":"Anglican (Evangelical)","era":"The 1800s","died":1900,"ref":"John 11:48","href":"/jhn/11/#v48-ryle","text":"John iii. 36","snippet":"(John iii. 36."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.5.4","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:5","href":"/jhn/3/#v5-westcott","text":"v. 36","snippet":"… even as the following words, in which the Lord speaks of His Passion ; and at the same time they contemplate the fulness of the organized life of the Christian society (enter into the kingdom of heaven — not see life, v. 36)."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.3.15.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 3:15","href":"/jhn/3/#v15-westcott","text":"vv. 16, 36","snippet":"It occurs vv. 16, 36, v. 24, vi. 40, 47, 54; 1 John iii. 15, v. la f."},{"id":"westcott.JHN.12.50.1","author":"B. F. Westcott","author_dates":"1825-1901","tradition":"Anglican","era":"The 1800s","died":1901,"ref":"John 12:50","href":"/jhn/12/#v50-westcott","text":"iii. 36","snippet":"Comp. iii. 36, v. 24, (39), vi- 54, xvii. 3 note, 1 John v. 12, 13."}]}}