- 3:2—Is this the first sign of those being expelled from the synagogue for following Jesus?
a. Nicodemus is part of the Jewish establishment and religious leadership.
b. Does he come by night because he wants to avoid criticism, or because he is, in fact, in darkness?
c. Does Nicodemus, a trained rabbi, come to Jesus with some of his students?
d. Regardless of his motives, Nicodemus is respectful of Jesus. - Nicodemus and “ethnically religious” people:
1. Jewish since birth.
2. Jewish because of parents.
3. Jewish among a majority.
4. Would have been persecuted. - Do you see any correlations to people today who call themselves Christians (or Jews or Muslims, etc.)?
- 3:3—Jesus speaks in a way that invites misunderstanding and perplexes Nicodemus.
a. This means either “born from above” or “born anew.”
b. One cannot just walk into the Kingdom; one must be transcended into the Kingdom.
c. Three possibilities:
i. Natural birth and spiritual birth.
ii. John’s baptism then the coming of the Spirit.
iii. The Christian rite of baptism. - There is a connection between water and the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:25-26; John 7:37b-39a).
a. Baptism and Eucharist are done within the presence of the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:8).
b. Paul sees baptism as a spiritual act done by God (Colossians 2:11-12).
c. Oscar Cullman says that the Pool of Siloam (John 9:10-11) narrative was commonly used in baptismal liturgies in the second century (p. 71-73). - How would Nicodemus understand the reference to Christian baptism if this form of baptism was not yet being practiced?
- What do baptism and water have in common?
a. Both can kill.
b. Both can cleanse.
c. Both give life (Willimon, p. 54-55). - 3:12—Whenever He speaks, Jesus stands at the junction of two worlds.
a. Some accept, some reject, and some stay in the middle confused.
b. Jesus uses earthly objects in order to open a window onto the sacramental reality.
c. Even though Nicodemus is confused, he does not recoil and will even speak up on Jesus’ behalf later. - “Vice-Grip of Faith” (Shawn Daggett, Harding University missions professor) (see handout)
John 3:14-21
- 3:14—The phrase “to be lifted up” has two meaning.
1. To be glorified and exalted.
2. To be crucified.
3. For John, both are true in Jesus’ crucifixion. - Some of John’s images are just outside our grasp because he intends for them to be outside our grasp.
- 3:16-21—Many scholars see this passages as commentary provided by the early Christian community (Brown, p. 135-136).
a. Some will recoil because they are evil or because they just do not understand what is being taught.
b. Some will see faith as having belief in a skimpy idea. However, in John’s Gospel, faith is a verb that describes having trust in the person of Christ.
c. Charles Talbert offers three dimensions of the importance of John’s “descent-ascent” typology:
i. 3:16—The descent is a saving event.
ii. 3:17—The intent of the descent is benevolent.
iii. 3:18—Yet, a result of Jesus’ return will be judgment (p. 106-107). - John’s position on the signs that Jesus is complex (Talbert, p. 108-109):
a. Jesus’ signs, at times, produce faith (i.e., 4:53; 10:41-42; 11:45-48; 14:11).
b. However, not everyone comes to faith as a result of the signs (i.e., 10:25-26; 11:45-48).
i. 6:26—Some are only interested in the physical benefits of the signs.
ii. 11:46-48—Some reject them because they perceive Jesus as a national threat.
iii. 9:16 and 30—Some see them as not coming from God, thus rejecting Jesus as Messiah and fulfilling Scripture (cf., 12:37-40).
c. Faith is often required in order to see beyond the sign to the meaning of the sign (i.e., 2:11; 4:46-54; 20:30-31; 21:6-7), yet it is not always present (i.e., 2:23; 3:2; 11:45).
d. However, when faith is already present, the meaning of the sign is deepened (i.e., 2:11; 20:30-31).
e. Martin Buber says that Christians slip into a “believe that” mindset instead of staying true to the Jewish mindset of “faith in” (p. 7-9).
John 3:22-36
- 1:33-34—But are these not the closing comments of John the Baptizer?
a. It looks like chapter 20 is the actual ending to John’s narrative and that chapter 21 is appended due to John’s death. It may have been at this time that, for some theological reason, it may have been edited.
b. If 3:22-29 was supposed to be inserted into chapter 1, why was it moved? Was it to maintain a certain timeline schema? - 3:22—This is the only reference in the Gospels to Jesus baptizing.
- 3:23—John the Baptizer is baptizing some thirty miles north of Jerusalem.
a. 3:24—The Synoptic picture is that Jesus’ ministry does not begin until after John the Baptizer is imprisoned (Matthew 4:12-17; Mark 1:14-15).
b. 3:26—No one has a clue to what kind of baptism was occurring. - 3:27—These are the last words of John the Baptizer.
a. What is the sitz im leben of the Church in this text?
b. A group of disciples of John will be discovered 25 years later in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7), and there is still a group in Bagdad that believes that John the Baptizer brought salvation and that Jesus was an interloper.
c. 1:31—John the Baptizer is to reveal the Messiah although he does not know who He is at first. - Jesus and John the Baptizer refuse to compete with one another. John supports Jesus, and Jesus leaves until John’s ministry is completed.
- This is an important lesson for contemporary church leaders to learn, especially ones with dominant personalities. We are to point the way to Jesus, rather than increase our own following.
References
Martin Buber, Between Man and Man (New York: Macmillan, 1965).
Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John, I-XII, Anchor Bible 29 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966).
Oscar Cullman, The Christology of the New Testament, rev. ed., New Testament Library (Philadelphia: John Knox Press, 1963).
Charles H. Talbert, Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles, rev. ed. (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2005).
William H. Willimon, Preaching and Leading Worship, The Pastor’s Handbook (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1984).
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