|
Jesus and Nicodemus
Kenneth Wuest
From Word
Studies from the Greek New Testament
WE ARE to study together the account of a
conversation that took place almost two
For 1500 years, until the age of printing, the
manuscripts of the New Testament were copied by hand. During this time mistakes
crept in. But through the labors of textual critics, these mistakes have been
eliminated, with the result that in the best texts of the Greek New Testament in
use today, scholars tell us that 999 words out of every 1000 are the same as
those in the original manuscripts. The 1000th word over which there is some
dispute, is of so minor a consequence that it affects no historical fact nor
doctrine. These textual critics had a vast amount of material with which to
work, 4,000 Greek manuscripts, 8,000 copies of the Latin Vulgate, and 2,000
copies of the New Testament in other languages, 14,000 available sources from
which to reconstruct a correct text. Furthermore, these Greek
manuscripts go back to the third century in an unbroken succession, and with the
writings of the Apostolic and Church Fathers, which are commentaries on the
Greek New Testament, and which quote the entire Greek text with the exception of
the first eleven verses of John Chapter 8, form a direct link with the original
manuscripts of the New Testament.
Tertullian, an early Church Father, tells us that
the original manuscripts were still in existence A.D. 200. Thus the record of
the conversation which we are to study together, the reader in his easy chair,
and the writer at his study desk with his Greek New Testament before him, is
correct, and in its every word, it is the inspired Word of God. The A.V. begins
the account of this conversation with the third chapter. One glance at the Greek
text tells us that John began the account in what we know as chapter two verse
23, where he introduces the conversation. John writes, "Now there was a man of
the Pharisees." That word "now" which is not handled by the A.V., sends us back
to the previous verses where we read,
"Now, when He was in
The connection is as follows: Jesus knew what was
in the heart of the individual. John's purpose now is to show what Jesus found
in the heart of man, not by telling us in so many words, but by bringing to the
attention of the reader, various individuals who would be exhibits. John records
what these people say. Because man speaks out of the abundance of his heart, the
reader can see what is in the heart of man. This gives us an insight into the
plan of John's Gospel. John is primarily a theologian in his Gospel, whose main
purpose is to demonstrate the deity of our Lord. But in connection with his
theology, John has an evangelistic out-reach for lost souls. He tells the reader
what is in man, and thus shows him what is wrong with man. Then he brings to his
attention the divine cure for sin, namely, the Blood of the Lord Jesus.
Nicodemus is exhibit number one. We will look at
his character. He belonged to the sect called the Pharisees. These were the
religious ritualists of that day. The Judaism of the first century was no longer
that supernaturally revealed system in which the Israelite was taught to look
ahead in faith to a coming Sacrifice which God would offer for his sins, this
Sacrifice being typified by the Tabernacle offerings and priesthood. It was
merely an ethical cult, preaching a salvation-by-works message. Nicodemus
subscribed to this system of teaching. His name is a Greek name. It was a custom
at that time amongst the Jews, for the parents to give their boys two names, a
Jewish and a Gentile name. It was so in the case of the great Apostle, his
Jewish name being Saul, and his Gentile name, Paul. The name "Nicodemus" is made
up of two words, a word which means "to conquer," and one which means "the
common people." The total word means, "One who conquers the people." Evidently,
this name was given the boy at his birth.
The Pharisaic tradition at that time included this
idea, namely, that of a subjugation of the common people. The Lord Jesus spoke
of the burdens which the Pharisees were wont to put upon the backs of the people
in the form of religious practices which were extra-biblical. The fact that
Nicodemus preferred to be known in
But not only was Nicodemus a Greek scholar. He was
also learned in Hebrew lore. This is clear from the words of Jesus, when,
wondering at his spiritual obtuseness, He said to him, "As for you, are you the
teacher of the
John says, "There was a man of the Pharisees."
There are two words in Greek which mean "man," aner, which refers to a
male individual of the human race, and anthropos, which is the racial,
generic term, and which has the general idea of "mankind." Some Greek scholars
think that this latter word comes from another one which means "that which walks
erect," in contradistinction to the animals which walk on all fours. John, in
using the latter word, tells his reader that Nicodemus was a representative man,
an individual having racial characteristics. What was in his heart is found in
the heart of every man. Nicodemus, although a religious, sincere, educated,
cultured individual, was yet unsaved, and spiritually blind. He needed to be
born again.
This man, John said, came to Jesus by night. The
Greek has it, "in a night-time visit." The emphasis is upon the kind of time
which Nicodemus chose, not day time, but night time. It seems that this fact of
a nighttime visit was prominent in the thinking of John, for in the two places
where he mentions Nicodemus later (7:50 and 19:39), he mentions the fact that he
came by night. In the latter scripture, John speaks of Nicodemus as coming at
first by night. Subsequent to his first visit, Nicodemus takes the part of Jesus
in a meeting of the Sanhedrin, and after His crucifixion, brings myrrh and aloes
for the preparation of the body. All this indicates that the reason Nicodemus
came by night was because he did not want anyone to know of his visit to Jesus.
He addresses him as Rabbi. The Hebrew name is one
used by the Jews as a term of respect for their teachers. It means "My great
one, my honorable sir." Jesus was not an official rabbi amongst the Jews, but
His prominence as a religious teacher gained him a certain respect even amongst
his enemies, and they gave Him this title. He says, "We know." The use of the
first person plural points to the fact that Nicodemus is including the members
of the Sanhedrin in the estimate of Jesus which he is about to give. It is clear
from I Peter 2:7 that the official leaders of
The words "from God" are in an emphatic position
in the Greek text, the idea of Nicodemus being that Jesus was not a teacher who
came from man, but from God. Nicodemus says, "We know that from God you are come
a teacher." In reporting this statement, John uses the perfect tense, which in
Greek refers to an action completed in past time having present results. By the
use of this tense, John is telling us that Nicodemus not only spoke of the
coming of Jesus as a teacher to Jerusalem, but that He had established Himself
there as a teacher in the hearts of the people. He had taken root, so to speak,
in their affections and respect. The Jewish leaders were losing the crowds, and
they were following the new Teacher who was causing such excitement in
Furthermore, Nicodemus testified to the fact that
these religious teachers of the Jews, were acquainted with the divine economy of
miracles in the first century, namely, that their primary purpose was to prove
that the person who performed them spoke or wrote from God. Miracles were the
divine authentication of the spokesman of God. This is also taught us by the
particular word John uses in speaking of the miracles. There are seven different
Greek words used in the New Testament which speak of miracles. Each one
describes a miracle from a different standpoint. The one the inspired writer
uses here looks at a miracle from the viewpoint of its character of a divine
authentication of the person who performed it. Thus, we have the statement of
the first century false teachers in Israel to the effect first, that Jesus was a
teacher who came from God, second, that He performed so many miracles that there
could be no imposition or deception practiced, and third, that the primary
purpose of these miracles was to prove that the person who performed them spoke
or wrote from God. This is enough to prove that Jesus was what He claimed to be,
the Son of God, yes, God the Son, possessing co-eternally with the Father and
the Spirit, the essence of deity, and that He came as the Messiah of the Jews,
was crucified, thus becoming the atonement for sin, and being raised from the
dead, He became the Saviour of the one who believes.
This is testimony, not from believers, not from
within the ranks of Christianity, but from the opposition in the first century.
The testimony to the fact of the miracles of the first century, is not confined
to the writers of the four Gospels. Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first
century who wrote the history of the Jewish nation, his works accepted by the
Imperial Library at
In an attempt to break the force of this passage,
Modernism claims that it was placed in the writings of Josephus by the Christian
Church to strengthen the argument for miracles. There are three
considerations which show that this paragraph is not an interpolation.
In the first place, the Jewish nation has never accused the Church of doing so,
and had such been the case, that nation would have been the first to raise a cry
against it. In the second place,
Again, Suetonius, a first century Roman historian,
records the fact that Christianity was a magical religion, by the use of the
term "magical," referring to the miracles of Christianity. We have also the
testimony of three infidels, Celsus in the second, and Porphory in the third
century, who were scholars writing against Christianity, but who testified to
the fact of miracles, and Julian the Apostate, in the fourth century, a Roman
emperor, who also bore witness to his belief in the same. In addition to this,
we have the testimony of the thousands of martyrs in the early Church who with
their lives testified to the fact of miracles. One could possibly conceive of a
few or a dozen individuals suffering a horrible death such as crucifixion for
their testimony to something they knew was false, but one cannot conceive of
many thousands doing the same. Again, the secular historians of the early
centuries do not contradict any fact of the Gospel records, including the fact
of miracles. Then, we must also consider the generation which lived at the time
the miracles were purported to have taken place. The Synoptic Gospels were
written during the generation which saw the miracles take place. These were
scattered among the people, none of whom rejected their contents as false.
One might be disposed to wonder at the lack of
reference to the Lord Jesus in the secular history of the early centuries. The
following four considerations explain this failure of the historians to mention
Him. First, He was born in an obscure remote land, far from the hub of the
universe,
Included in all this testimony, we have a scholar
and a theologian of the first century, outstanding in Israel, giving his
testimony to the fact that the Sanhedrin which crucified our Lord, was positive
to the extent of absolute knowledge, that the Lord Jesus was a teacher from God,
that He performed so many miracles that the first century world could not be
fooled, and that these miracles authenticated Him, His claims, and His teachings
as divinely inspired. This constituted the introductory statement of Nicodemus
as he came to Jesus. To this statement of Nicodemus, Jesus answers, "Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the
Certainly, Nicodemus had listened to or heard of
the preaching of John the Baptist, announcing Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.
Jesus does not directly answer the exact words of Nicodemus, but speaks to the
intention and mental attitude of the Jewish teacher. He sees what is in the
background of his thinking, and directs His answer to that. Jesus spoke of the
Since Nicodemus was a representative man of the
human race, having in his heart that which is found in every other person, since
he needed to be born again, and since John was writing for the Gentiles, it
follows that every human being needs to be born again. Our question now is,
"What does Jesus mean when He speaks of the necessity of a man being born
again?" The answer lies in the meaning of the Greek word here translated
"again." The Greek word is anothen. It has two meanings, "again" and
"from above." When a Greek word has more than one meaning, the context decides
as to what meaning is to be used in any particular instance. For example, this
word is found in John 3:31, "He that cometh from above is above all: he that is
of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven
is above all." The context here speaks of the earth as contrasted to heaven.
Therefore, our word anothen, means "from
above" here. But in the verse we are now considering, it means "again" and for
the reason that Nicodemus in his answer to Jesus, so understands it. He speaks
of a second birth. But now we come to even a finer distinction. There are two
words in the Greek New Testament which mean "again," palin which refers
to the repetition of an act, and anothen, which speaks of the repetition
of an act, but adds additional detail. It speaks of the repetition of an act,
that repetition having the same source as the first act. It goes back to the
outset of the matter, to the original state. Therefore, this being born a second
time, has no reference to one's physical birth as the first time one is born,
and for the reason that the source of physical birth is natural generation,
whereas, the source of the new birth is supernatural generation.
When Jesus speaks of being born again in verse
five, he speaks of being born of the Holy Spirit. This consideration takes us
back to the original impartation of spiritual life to the First Adam. Genesis
2:7 states, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Hebrew
scholars tell us that the word "life" in the original is plural. It therefore
speaks of the impartation of physical life and of spiritual life. The First Adam
was the federal head of the human race, and when in his unfallen state the human
race stood in him, it partook of the spiritual life which had been imparted to
him. But Adam in his fall into sin, lost this spiritual life for the whole human
race, and plunged its members into total depravity and a lost condition. Jesus,
therefore, speaking to this theologian of the Old Testament scriptures, reminds
him of all this, and tells him that since he lost this spiritual life as he
stood in the First Adam, he needs a fresh impartation of spiritual life, and
this is given him through his being placed in the Last Adam in answer to his
faith in a coming sacrifice for sin, the Last Adam being that sacrifice.
All this is implicit in the words of Jesus, and to
a theologian such as Nicodemus, learned in the Old Testament scriptures, should
have been, at least, intellectually clear. But Nicodemus, wrapped up in the
Pharisaic tradition, was blind to all this. In the answer of Jesus, we have an
anticipation of the Pauline doctrine of the First and Last Adam, sin, and death
by the First Adam, righteousness and life by the Last Adam. Furthermore, John
the Baptist had announced the necessity of the new birth also, and in
anticipation of the ministry of the coming Messiah. He said to the Pharisees and
Sadducees, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father:
for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham" (Matt. 3:9). The doctrinal position of these false teachers was that
since they were the fleshly descendants of Abraham, they were also God's
children. But John the Baptist declares that they must be saved, and thus be
born again in order to become children of God.
The same necessity obtains today. The individual
as he is born into this world is not a child of God, and in order to become
such, he must be born of God the Holy Spirit. It is not a matter of trying to
live a good life or of attempting to keep the Ten Commandments. The sin
question enters here, and in the Judicial Courts of the Universe, sin could only
be dealt with by death, for the penalty of sin is death. It was the death of the
Son of God on
The expression, "to see the
Nicodemus reacts to this statement of Jesus, by
asking how a man can be born again when he is old. By his second question,
Nicodemus shows plainly that he does not understand Jesus to mean a second
physical birth, for he says, "He is not able to enter the womb of his mother a
second time and be born, is he?" The Greek text here includes a negative which
the Greek includes in his question when he expects a negative answer. Nicodemus
expected that kind of an answer from Jesus. The emphasis in his question is on
the word "how." His question is not, "How can a man be born physically a second
time?" but "how can a man be born again?" Nicodemus asks for a further
explanation of Jesus' words regarding the new birth. This explanation is found
in the words of Jesus, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the
There are various interpretations of this
statement which we will consider. Some interpret the word "water" here as
referring to human birth as coming in a sac of water, and this in contrast to
the birth by the Spirit. But the question arises at once as to whether the Lord
Jesus would waste words on such a self-evident truth to the effect that in order
for a person to be born into the
Again, the question arises as to how such a
supernatural change as regeneration produces, could be the result of a mere
ceremony. This could not be a reference to the water baptism which John the
Baptist preached. The Baptist refused water baptism to the Pharisees and
Sadducees because they were unsaved. He said, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet
for repentance, and think not to say within yourselves. We have Abraham to our
father." He demanded of these individuals, evidences of their salvation before
he would baptize them. Josephus, the Jewish historian, states that John the
Baptist would not baptize any except those who manifested a true faith in God.
This makes it clear that our Lord was not speaking of the water baptism
administered by John the Baptist, as one of the pre-requisites together with the
new-birth which would enable one to enter the
Others interpret the word "water" here as
referring to the Word of God, referring to Ephesians 5:26 where Paul speaks of
the washing of water by the Word, and also to I Peter 1:23 where the apostle
speaks of being born again by the Word of God. This is a possible
interpretation, true in itself. But the question is, is that what Jesus meant
here? If He did, would it not be more natural for Him to have used two symbols,
namely, water and oil, or two actualities, namely, the Word and the Spirit. One
of the basic rules of interpretation is to ascertain just what the Word of God
meant to the one who recorded it, and to the one who received it at the time it
was written. Another rule of interpretation is to take into consideration the
other uses of the same term in other places. Our Lord was talking to a man who
was learned in the Old Testament scriptures. He would be expected to use Jewish
phraseology in a case like this.
In John 7:37, 38, He uses the word "water" as
referring to the Holy Spirit. When speaking to the Samaritan woman who as a
Samaritan was familiar at least with the Pentateuch, He uses the word "water" in
such a way that we are led to believe that He referred to the Holy Spirit,
because He speaks of the water which He will give, as a spring of water leaping
up into life eternal. In neither place does He explain the symbol, John finding
it necessary to do so in 7:39, and for the reason that he is writing for Gentile
believers. Nicodemus, as a Jewish theologian, is supposed to have been familiar
with Isaiah 44:3, where water is a type of the Holy Spirit, and also with Isaiah
55:1, where the prophet says, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters." These considerations lead the writer to incline to the interpretation
that the word "water" here was used by Jesus as a symbol of the Holy Spirit as
He does in the case of the Samaritan woman and also when He spoke at the great
day of the feast.
The Greek word translated "and" has other uses than merely that of a connective.
It has an emphatic or ascensive [argumentative or intensive] use, and is at that
time translated by the word "even." Thus, the translation here could read,
"Except a man be born of water, even of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
The Pharisees and Sadducees maintained that they
were members of the
The words of Paul in Galatians 5:19-24 will help
us to understand this better: "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings,
murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before,
as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control:
against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's, have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts."
After speaking of the necessity of the new birth,
explaining that the new birth is produced by the supernatural work of the Holy
Spirit, and stating the fact that, not a fleshly birth, even though it comes
from Abraham, but a spiritual birth from God, is the divine pre-requisite for
entrance into the kingdom of God, Jesus still sees a blank look upon the face of
Nicodemus. But He sees something else, as we are told in the words, "Do not
begin to marvel that I said to you, It is necessary in the nature of the case
for you all to be born again, that birth having the same source as the first
one." There are several things we must notice in this statement of Jesus. The
first is found in the words, "Do not begin to marvel." Jesus was reading the
features of Nicodemus, and He noticed there not only a blank look, showing Him
that this Old Testament scholar was not understanding His teaching, but that
there were signs of him starting to marvel at the teaching. This conversation
took place at night. In order to read the features of Nicodemus, Jesus must have
plainly seen his face. That means that the conversation took place under light,
either natural or artificial.
There is no record of our Lord ever spending a
night in
The second thing we want to notice is the word
"ye" in the A.V. We submit that the average reader would not notice that this is
a plural pronoun, and therefore does not refer to Nicodemus alone. In the Greek,
the fact that the pronoun is plural, stands out very plainly. In using the
pronoun of the plural number, Jesus evidently had several things in mind. First,
He recognized the fact that Nicodemus belonged to the Sanhedrin and represented
the position of that body with reference to Himself. Second, He was making it
plain to Nicodemus that not only was it necessary for him to be born again, but
that all his associates in that venerable body of men also needed to be
regenerated. Third, there may also be an implication that Jesus was suggesting
to Nicodemus that he take this teaching back to the Sanhedrin itself.
The third thing we wish to notice is the Greek
word translated "must" in the A.V. One might gather from the English word that
the necessity of the new birth was a divine fiat, or an arbitrary imperative.
But the Greek word means, "It is a necessity in the nature of the case." The
question therefore follows, as to just what it was in the nature of the case
that makes the new birth a reasonable or rational necessity. The answer to this
question we have already given in detail, but it may be helpful to briefly
summarize the points again.
That which makes the new birth an imperative
necessity is as follows: There are just two races of individuals in this world,
those having the First Adam as their federal head, and those having the Last
Adam as their federal head. This first race stood in the First Adam before he
fell, and thus possessed spiritual life in him. But the First Adam fell into
sin, lost this spiritual life for the human race, and plunged it into a totally
depraved and lost condition, and under the wrath of God. The second race,
composed of those who are in the Last Adam as their federal head, are members of
the
Socrates, one of the great philosophers of Greece,
realized something that Nicodemus did not comprehend, for he writes as follows:
"The thunder as it comes and goes is not seen; the I winds also are invisible
though their effects are manifest; the soul of man is itself unseen; therefore
despise not the unseen but honor God." In the teaching of Jesus, there is a
comparison between 'the invisible but mighty power of the wind and the unseen
but powerful operation of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. One hears
the sound of the wind, but he cannot see where it comes from nor where it is
going. It is so in the operation of the Holy Spirit as He imparts spiritual life
to the believing sinner. And like the wind which, though it cannot be seen yet
produces results that are visible, so the Holy Spirit in regeneration imparts
the divine nature which produces results in the life of the individual which can
be seen.
To this explanation, Nicodemus answers, "How is it
possible for these things to become?" That is, Nicodemus is not merely asking as
to how these things could be, for he does not recognize their existence, but he
asks how these things could come into existence. Jesus' answer to this is, "As
for you, are you the teacher of the
There is just about eighteen inches between the
heart and the head. Just so, there is just eighteen inches between the roads
leading to heaven and hell. A mere intellectual assent to the teachings of the
Bible does not save a person. These teachings must be appropriated by the heart,
which means the heart's submission to the same. This involves the determination
to be done with sin and to receive a new life from God that will make one hate
sin and love righteousness. Thus, a heart faith in the Lord Jesus as Saviour
results in an experience, namely, that of the individual receiving the
supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in his inner being imparting the divine
nature.
From this point on, the dialogue ceases, and we
have an unbroken utterance of the Lord Jesus. He starts with a certification of
the truth which He had just given to Nicodemus. He says, "Truly, truly, I am
saying to you, that which we know with absolute knowledge we are speaking, and
that which we have seen with discernment, to that we are bearing testimony, and
our testimony you all are not receiving. If, as is the case, I told you
concerning the earthly things, and you are not believing, how is it possible
that if I tell you concerning the heavenly thing's, you will believe? And no one
has ascended into heaven except the one who out of heaven has come down, the Son
of man."
The word "if" in the Greek text is a particle of a
fulfilled condition, and we have translated it by the words, "if, as is the
case." Jesus had told him concerning the earthly things. The latter expression
in the Greek is literally, "the things upon the earth." The words do not refer
to things of an earthly nature, nor to worldly affairs, nor to things sinful,
but to things whose proper place is on earth. Our Lord had just been speaking of
the new birth. This, although supernatural in nature, is looked upon as an
earthly thing in the sense that it has to do with people on earth. Jesus said
that not only did Nicodemus not believe these things, but also the Sanhedrin.
This is made clear by the use of the plural verb in the Greek. The heavenly
things are literally in the Greek, "the things upon the heavens." These refer,
not to holy things as compared with sinful, nor spiritual things as compared to
temporal, but to things which are in heaven, to the mysteries of redemption of
which Jesus is to speak as He presents the gospel to Nicodemus in verses 1 and
15. Jesus answers the "we know" of Nicodemus by the "we know" of verse 11.
When Nicodemus used that expression, he was speaking for a certain class of
individuals, namely, the Sanhedrin. When Jesus used the expression, He was also
speaking for a certain class of people, namely, those who had experienced the
new-birth, thus, identifying Himself with the recipients of His grace.
In preparing the mind of Nicodemus for the truth
concerning the heavenly things, He refers to His incarnation, and in effect,
tells him that the Son of man is qualified to speak concerning these things
because He is the only one who has come down from heaven. The words, "which is
in heaven," are not in the best texts, and so we have not included them in our
translation. However, in themselves they are true, and point to a tremendous
fact, namely, the omnipresence of the Son of man. To possess omnipresence, is to
possess deity. Thus, the Son of man is also the Son of God, and therefore, God
the Son. Jesus is now ready to preach the gospel to Nicodemus, and He does it in
Jewish terminology. If Nicodemus is too blind to understand the necessity of the
new-birth, it might be that he will be able to see his need of salvation from
sin, from the standpoint of an atonement offered for him.
Jesus reminds him of the wilderness experience of
the Jews who were on their way to the Promised Land. They had murmured against
God, being dissatisfied with the manna which came from heaven. God had sent
fiery serpents among them as a judgment, and they bit the people, and as a
result, many died. The people acknowledged their sin, and asked that the Lord
take away the serpents. Instead of doing that, God had Moses place a serpent of
brass on a pole, and when a person was bitten, all he had to do to be cured of
the snake-bite, was to look at the serpent of brass. Our Lord uses that incident
as an illustration which would give the gospel to Nicodemus. He said, in effect,
"Nicodemus, you have been bitten by the snake-bite of sin. Just as that brass
serpent was elevated upon a pole, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that
whoever puts his trust in Him, might be having life eternal." The words "be
lifted up" are used by John to speak of crucifixion. The Greek word for "must"
is the same one used when Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again." The
Greek word means, "It is necessary in the nature of the case." Notice, if you
will, the two divine imperatives. The first one is, "Nicodemus, it is necessary
in the nature of the case for you all to be born again." The second one is, "It
is necessary in the nature of the case for the Son of man to be lifted up."
The first imperative has to do with an obligation that man must fulfill. The
second one has to do with an obligation which the Son of God must fulfill.
There would be no reason for the crucifixion of
the Lord Jesus if man were not a sinner. Since the atonement is a divine fact
and not a farce, man is clearly seen to be a sinner. In John 3:14, the Lord
Jesus says, "even so must the Son of man be lifted up." In 12:32 He says, "And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." It is
interesting to note that the preposition "from" is in the Greek text, "out
from." Thus, our Lord was speaking not merely of being lifted up from the earth
on a Roman cross, for in that case a preposition would have been used which
means "from the edge of," but He was speaking of being lifted up out of the
earth. That includes His Cross, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
In 3:14, the Cross is only in view, and for the reason that only the atonement
is mentioned there. But, in 12:32, the drawing power of our Lord Jesus is spoken
of. A dead Christ on a cross can draw no sinner to Himself. It takes a
crucified, risen, ascended, glorified God-man in the Glory to draw sinners to
Himself.
Thus does Jesus preach the gospel to Nicodemus. He
speaks of Himself as the Sacrifice for sin to which all the Old Testament
sacrifices pointed. He tells Nicodemus by this that the Levitical system will
soon be set aside, in favor of the actual atonement for sin which God will
offer, and that that atonement will be Himself dying on a Roman cross. He
explains to this spiritually blind Jewish teacher, that faith in Him as this
substitutionary sacrifice results in the salvation of the individual. This is
exactly what the sacrifices taught, all the way from Genesis 3:21 where the Lord
God made coats of skins and clothed Adam and Eve, through the Levitical system
up to the time when Jesus was speaking these words, namely, that the sinner
should look ahead to a sacrifice that would be offered for him by God. Since the
Judaism of the first century was a mere ethical cult, having lost that
supernatural revelation of a sacrifice for sin in its teachings, Nicodemus was
blind to all this.
We have evidences of the fact that this Jewish
leader did later accept the gospel message and the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. In
John 7:51, he takes the part of Jesus against his associates in the Sanhedrin,
and in 19:39 he brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes with which to prepare the
body of Jesus for burial. The latter instance is certainly conclusive evidence
that Nicodemus was saved, for the Sanhedrin had crucified the Lord of Glory and
he was taking his stand with the friends of Jesus.
The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, so
far as the record of John is concerned, closes with verse 15. Verses 16 to 21
constitute John's elaboration upon and explanation of the conversation. This
appears clear from the following considerations; first, the words of Jesus,
"even so must the Son of man be lifted up," speak of Jesus looking into the
future to a sacrifice which was not at the time of the conversation consummated,
whereas the words, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,"
look back to a past act in which God gave His Son. It is not reasonable to
suppose that our Lord would change tenses that way in the midst of a
conversation. It is Jesus looking forward to the Cross, and John looking back to
it. At the time of this conversation, God had not yet given His Son as a
Sacrifice on the Cross. Again, verses 16-21 are explanatory rather than
progressive. Verses 16 and 17 repeat the object of Christ's mission, which
already has been stated. Verses 18 and 19 speak of the historic results in faith
and unbelief, results which at the time of the conversation were not in
evidence. Verses 20 and 21 exhibit the causes of faith and unbelief.
Finally, the designation "only begotten Son" is
not one of the names by which Jesus designates Himself, but is used by John. It
appears that after John recorded this conversation, remembering that the gospel
was given in Jewish terminology, and that he was writing for the Gentile world,
he saw the need of some explanatory material that would give the gospel to the
Gentiles in terms which they could more easily understand. In the last analysis,
so far as the divine source and inspiration of these succeeding words is
concerned, it made no difference whether Jesus spoke them on earth, or whether
through the Holy Spirit, He spoke them from heaven, through John.
John 3:16 starts with the little word "for." This
word connects a statement of Jesus in verse 14 with a statement of John in verse
16. In verse 14 we have "even so is it necessary in the nature of the case for
the Son of man to be lifted up." In verse 16 we have "God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son." The connection is as follows: The question
comes. "What was there in the nature of the case that made the crucifixion a
necessity?" It was not the justice of God which required the Son to pay the
penalty of sin. God, in perfect righteousness could have required sinful man to
pay his own penalty for his wrong-doing. The broken law would have been
satisfied, for the wages of sin is death. It was the love of God for a race of
lost represented the love of God. John says, "For God did not send off His Son
into the world in order that He might judge the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through Him." The A.V., translates by the word "condemned."
The Greek word is krino. The word meant originally "to separate," then
"to distinguish, to pick out, to be of opinion," and finally, "to judge." The
act of judgment was therefore that of forming an accurate and honest opinion of
someone, thus, appraising his character, and placing him in a certain position
with respect to the law of God. The result of such a judgment is commonly
condemnation, for the human race is a fallen race. We will translate by the word
"judgment," and have in the background of our minds the idea of condemnation so
far as an appraisal of character is concerned.
The Greek word for "condemnation" is katakrino,
the prefixed preposition kata
meaning in its local sense, "down," thus giving the idea of condemnation to the
verbal idea. This word is an advance upon krino, in that it speaks of the
passing of sentence upon the one judged. In verse 18, John elaborates upon his
previous words. He informs his reader that God did not send His Son to judge but
to save, and that whoever accepts His Son as Saviour, is not judged. Then he
takes up the case of the unbeliever, and says that that person stands judged
already. He uses the perfect tense which speaks of a past complete action having
present results. The unbeliever does not wait until a future trial to see
whether he is to be Judged guilty or not guilty, for John declares that he has
been already judged with the present result that he is looked upon by God as
under His judgment. That is, he stands convicted of his sin of unbelief. The sin
of which he is guilty, John says, is that he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God, with the present result that he is in a permanent
attitude of unbelief. John again uses the perfect tense here. This is no snap
judgment on the part of the unbeliever, John says, but a deliberate and
confirmed attitude towards God's Son. This, John says, does not merely disclose
human infirmity and passion, but shows a wickedness of man which he chooses and
prefers in the presence of the goodness of God which has been revealed in the
Cross.
This is further explained by John in the words,
"And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, with the
present result that it is here, and men loved rather the darkness than the
light." The light here is the Lord Jesus, and its coming into the world refers
to the incarnation. The words of the A.V., "is come," are a good translation of
the Greek perfect tense, which speaks of a past complete act having present
results. It is not as if the Lord Jesus had flashed across the vision of sinful
humanity like a meteor through the sky, and then was gone, but that He came and
lived here for thirty-three years in full view of mankind, and since His
ascension, lives in the hearts and lives of believers. The human
race therefore cannot plead an unfair opportunity to see the light. It stands
judged because it rejects the light which it has before itself constantly. The
rejection of God's Son, therefore, is not the result of ignorance, but of
deliberate choice and preference. But John hastens to inform his reader that
this rejection of the Saviour is not fundamentally an intellectual thing, but
has its roots in a totally depraved nature, for he says that this preference of
darkness to light is found in the fact that men's works were constantly evil.
The word "evil" is poneros
which means "evil in active opposition to the good." John continues this thought
in the words, "For every one who habitually practices evil, is hating the light
and does not come to the light, in order that his works might not be convicted."
The distinctive word for "evil" here is
phaulos which means "that which is paltry, ugly, poor," and refers to a
dull, senseless viciousness. Thus. John states that at the basis of all
rejection of Christ, is a totally depraved nature, a love of sin, and a hatred
of the good. On the other hand, John says, that the person who practices the
truth, comes to the light in order that the character of his works might be
openly shown. This he does because he realizes that his deeds have been wrought
in God in the sense that God the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, produces the
works.
Expanded Translation of John 3:1-21
Now, there was a man of the
Pharisees, Nicodemus by name, a chief one among the Jews. This one came to Him
in a nighttime visit and said to Him, Rabbi, we know positively and beyond a
peradventure of a doubt, that from God you are come a teacher for no one is able
to keep on constantly doing these attesting miracles which you are constantly
performing, unless God be with him.
Answered Jesus and said to him.
Truly, truly, I am saying to you, unless a person is born again, that new-birth
having the same source as the first one, he is not able to see the
Says to him Nicodemus, How is it
possible for a man to be able to be born, being old? He is not able to enter
into the womb of his mother a second time and be born, is he?
Answered Jesus, Truly, truly, I am
saying to you, unless a person is born of water, even of the Spirit, he is not
able to enter into the
Answered Nicodemus and said to Him,
How is it possible for these things to be able to become?
Answered Jesus and said to him. As
for you, are you the teacher of the
For in this manner God loved the
world, so that His Son, the only begotten One He gave, in order that every one
who places his trust in Him might not perish but might be having life eternal.
For God did not send off His Son into the world in order that He might judge the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. The one who
places his trust in Him is not being judged. The one who is not believing has
already been judged, because he has not placed his trust in the name of the only
begotten Son of God, with the result that his unbelief is a permanent attitude.
And this is the judgment, that the
light has come info the world with the present result that it is here, and men
loved rather the darkness than the light, for their works were evil and in
active opposition to the good: for every one who practices evil things, is
hating the light and is not coming to the light, in order that his works might
not be convicted. But the one who constantly is doing the truth, constantly
comes to the light in order that his works might be openly manifested, because
they have been wrought in God.
Dear Reader: Are you born again? Have you at any
definite time in the past, come to the conclusion that what God's Word says of
you is true, namely, that you are a sinner and lost? And have you understood and
embraced with all your heart the fact that the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for
your sins on the Cross? And then did you appropriate Him by an act of faith as
your Saviour? And did you thank Him for saving you? If you have not, won't you
do so now?
|
thousand
years ago. It was held in Aramaic, a modified form of Hebrew spoken in the first
century by the Jews. The inspired writer, John the Apostle, has recorded it for
us in koine Greek. The word koine is a Greek word meaning "common." Previous to
330 B.C., the Greek language was confined for the most part to the little
country of