返回Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Jn. 3:1. Among the Pharisees there was a certain man, named Nicodemus, one of the rulers of the Jews.
Such, almost, was Nicodemus as well. He too believed in Jesus and, it seems, spoke to the Jews in the Lord's favor, namely: that they ought to judge Him only after careful investigation (John 7:50–51). And after the crucifixion, at the burial, he likewise showed much care and generosity. Nevertheless, he did not believe as he ought to have.
Jn. 3:2. He came to Jesus by night and said to Him: Rabbi! We know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do such miracles as You do, unless God is with him.
Still clinging to Jewish weakness, he comes to Jesus "at night" out of fear of the Jews (John 19:38–39); he calls Him Teacher, as a mere man, for such was his understanding of Him, which is why he adds that no one can perform such miracles unless God is with him. Do you see, he comes to Jesus as to a prophet and a man beloved by God.
What then does the Lord do? He does not rebuke him in a stern manner, does not say, why do you come at night to a Teacher sent from God, why do you lack boldness? He says nothing of the sort, but graciously converses with him about divine and lofty subjects. Note also that although Christ performed many miracles, the present Evangelist does not recount a single one of them, either because they have been told by the other Evangelists, or because they are beyond detailed narration.
Jn. 3:3. Jesus answered and said to him: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
It seems that the Lord's words to Nicodemus have nothing in common with Nicodemus's words to Him. But to the attentive reader much in common will be revealed. Since Nicodemus had a lowly conception of Christ, namely that He is a Teacher and that God is with Him, the Lord says to him: it is natural for you to have such a conception of Me. For you have not yet been born "from above," that is, from God, by a spiritual birth, but are still fleshly, and the knowledge you have of Me is not spiritual, but natural and human. And I say to you that both you and everyone else will be outside the Kingdom if you are not born from above and from God and do not receive the proper conception of Me. For birth through baptism, bringing light into the soul, gives it the ability to see or to know the Kingdom of God, that is, His only-begotten Son. For the Son can be called both the wisdom of God and the Kingdom of God. But this Kingdom, Nicodemus, no one can see or know unless he is born of God. So you too, because you have not yet been born spiritually, do not see Me — the Kingdom of God — as you ought, but have a lowly conception of Me.
Jn. 3:4. Nicodemus says to 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?
Nicodemus, hearing teaching higher than human, is amazed and according to the characteristic of weak human nature asks: "How is this possible?" This is a sign of unbelief. For where there is no faith, there arise questions: how is this, why is this? The words of Nicodemus also seem laughable, because he did not think of spiritual birth, but recalled the bodily womb. Having heard that unless one is born "from above," he thought that the word was used instead of "from the beginning," "again," a second time, and understood the speech in this meaning: unless one is born "from the beginning," a second time. Therefore he also says: "How can a man, being old, enter into his mother's womb?"
Jn. 3:5. Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
Two things were difficult for him to understand: one – the spiritual birth, the other – the Kingdom. For the Jews had never heard the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now he is perplexed about the birth. And Christ reveals to him more clearly the manner of the spiritual birth.
For man, consisting of two parts, soul and body, has a twofold manner of birth as well. The water, visibly received, acts for the cleansing of the body, while the Spirit, invisibly united, acts for the regeneration of the invisible soul. If you ask how water can give birth, then I too will ask how seed, which is itself water-like, can be formed into a human being? Therefore, just as with bodily seed everything is accomplished by the grace of God, so also in baptism water is set before us, but everything is accomplished by the Spirit and the prayerful invocation, and especially by the presence of God. For in this water are performed the signs and image of burial and resurrection. The three immersions are a sign of the three-day burial; then the person rises up (emerges), like the Lord, wearing the bright and pure garment of incorruption, having plunged corruption beneath the water.
Jn. 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The Lord, diverting Nicodemus' attention from fleshly birth, says: "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," that is, a person who is born through baptism becomes spiritual; for the word "spirit" you should understand as meaning "spiritual." True, the one who is baptized does not become the divine Spirit, but having received through the Spirit the adoption, grace, and honor, he is deemed worthy to be spiritual.
Jn. 3:7. Do not marvel that I said to you: You must be born again.
Seeing that Nicodemus is still troubled, He says: "Do not marvel." Then He attempts to teach by a sensible example.
Jn. 3:8. The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you do not know where He comes from and where He goes: so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
"The Spirit," he says, "breathes where it wills, and you hear its voice, yet you do not know its direction, because it is uncontainable and unobstructed, and by the power of its nature has movement in every direction." If he says "breathes where it wills," it is not because the wind has the capacity for free choice and desire, but because he wishes (as I said) to indicate its natural movement and uncontainable force. And if you do not know where and how the wind blows — this spirit subject to the senses — then how do you wish to comprehend rebirth from the Spirit of God? If this spirit cannot be restrained, then all the more will the grace of the Holy Spirit not be subject to the laws of nature.
Let Macedonius the fighter against the Spirit be put to shame, and Eunomius his predecessor. The first reduces the Spirit to a servant, yet here he hears that the wind blows where it wishes, and consequently all the more does the Spirit have self-sovereign movement and acts where and how He wishes. And Eunomius, having first erred in this very same matter and called the Spirit a creature, extended his audacity so far as to claim that he knows God just as well as he knows himself. Let him hear, then, that he does not know the movement and direction of the wind; how then, O transgressor, do you dare to claim for yourself knowledge of the Essence of God?
Jn. 3:9. Nicodemus said to Him in answer: how can this be?
Nicodemus still remains with the Jewish weakness, and therefore again asks: "How can this be?"
Jn. 3:10. Jesus answered and said to him: You are a teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?
Therefore the Lord also, showing him that he asks thus out of simplicity, says: "You are a teacher of Israel. If you recall the glorious miracles performed in the Old Testament, beginning from the creation of man and onward, namely: how he was created (Gen. 2:7), how the woman was made from a rib (Gen. 2:21–22), how signs were performed in Egypt, how at the Red Sea (Exod. 7, 8, 9, 14), how barren women gave birth (1 Sam. 1), and the like — if you consider this, as a teacher of Israel, then you will also believe what I am now saying."
Jn. 3:11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee: We speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.
"Moreover, I speak of what I know and what I have seen, that is, I know with precision." For by the word "have seen" He indicates not bodily sight, but the most precise knowledge.
"But you do not accept Our testimony, that is, Mine." The Lord says this not to Nicodemus alone, but extends it to the entire race of the Jews, who to the end remained in unbelief.
Jn. 3:12. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
"If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe," that is, if I told you about regeneration accomplished in baptism and you did not accept it, but asked "how?" (He calls this birth "earthly" because it takes place on earth for the benefit of people living on earth; although by grace and dignity it is heavenly, we are baptized while on earth). So if I spoke of this "earthly" birth and found you unbelieving, how will you believe if you hear of the ineffable heavenly birth by which the Only-begotten Son was born of the Father?
Some, however, understood "earthly" as referring to the example of the wind, so that the meaning of the passage is presented as follows: if I presented you an example from earthly things, and you were not convinced by it, then how can you learn things more exalted?
Jn. 3:13. No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
And this, apparently, has nothing in common with what preceded it. But if one carefully examines the thought of the Lord, it will turn out that this too is closely related to what came before.
Since Nicodemus called the Lord a Teacher and a Prophet, He says: "Do not consider Me a prophet who is of the earth, sent by God to teach, but consider Me as having come down from above, as the Son, and not as being of the earth. None of the prophets ascended into heaven, but only I alone am to ascend, just as I also descended." Having heard that the Son of Man came down "from heaven," do not think that the flesh came down from heaven. Indeed, Apollinarius thought this way, that Christ, having a body from heaven, passed through the Virgin as through a channel. But since Christ, consisting of two natures, was one Hypostasis or one Person, the names of the Man are applied to the Word, and again the names of the Word are applied to the Man. So here also it is said that the "Son of Man" came down from heaven, because He is one Person and one Hypostasis. Then, lest you, having heard "who came down," should think that the One who came down is no longer in heaven, He says "who is in heaven." Therefore, having heard that I came down, do not think that I am not there; but I am both present here bodily and seated there with the Father in Divinity.
Jn. 3:14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Jn. 3:15. So that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Having spoken before about regeneration through baptism, he then speaks also of the benefaction accomplished for us through the cross. For the cross and death are the cause of the grace bestowed upon us through baptism, since in baptism we portray the death of the Lord.
He does not say directly that I will be crucified, but recalls the serpent and the ancient history (Num. 21:5–9), and in this way accomplishes several things at once: on the one hand, He teaches us that the old is akin to the new and that the Lawgiver of the Old and New Testaments is one and the same, although Marcion, Manes, and the rest of the assembly of such heretics reject the Old Testament, saying that it is the legislation of an evil demiurge (craftsman); on the other hand, He teaches that if the Jews escaped death by looking upon the bronze image of the serpent, then all the more shall we escape the death of the soul by looking upon the Crucified One and believing in Him. Compare, if you will, the type with the reality. There, a likeness of a serpent, having the appearance of a serpent but not having its venom: so too here, the Lord is Man, but free from the venom of sin, having come in the likeness of sinful flesh, that is, in the likeness of flesh subject to sin, but He Himself is not sinful flesh. Then, those who looked were delivered from bodily death, while we are delivered from spiritual death. Then, the one hung up healed from the bites of serpents, but now Christ heals the wounds inflicted by the dragon of the mind.
When you hear "must be lifted up," understand it thus: to be hung. For He was hung on high, so that He who sanctified the earth by walking upon it might also sanctify the air. Understand "to be lifted up" also thus: to be glorified. For the cross truly became the exaltation and glory of Christ. By that in which He seemed condemned, He condemned the prince of this world.
I will explain a little. Adam died justly, because he sinned. The Lord died not by a debt of justice, because He did not sin. Before the crucifixion of the Lord, death justly held dominion over men. But since the Lord was found to be without sin, what could the devil find in Him deserving of death? And since He was put to death unjustly, He conquered the one who killed Him, and in this way also freed Adam from the death that was justly inflicted upon him as one who had sinned.
And in another way. Two things dominated over the human race: pleasure and sorrow. The Lord, having passed through both, proved unconquerable. The tempter first approached Him on the mountain with the offer of pleasure (Matt. 4:3, 6, 9); but, finding Him unconquerable through this, he employed great cunning, bringing sorrow, so that at least through it he might master Him, and for this he raised up everything against Him: the denial of the disciples, the mockery of the soldiers, the blasphemy of the passersby, death at the hands of the Jews, but even in this he found Him unconquerable. For the sorrow on the cross could not arouse in the Lord hatred toward those who crucified Him, but He continued to love them and prayed for them, saying: "Father, do not hold this sin against them" (Luke 23:34). Do you see how He conquered by that through which He appeared to have been conquered? Thus, the cross became both His exaltation and His glory.
Jn. 3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-Begotten Son,
The love of God for the world is great and extended so far that He gave not an angel, not a prophet, but His Son, and moreover His Only-Begotten (1 John 4:9). If He had given even an angel, that deed would not have been small. Why? Because an angel is His faithful and obedient servant, while we are enemies and apostates. But now, when He gave His Son, what surpassing love He showed! Again, if He had many sons and gave one, even that would have been a very great thing. But now He gave His Only-Begotten. Can His goodness then be worthily praised?
The Arians say that the Son is called Only-begotten because He alone was produced and created by God, while everything else was then created by Him. The answer to them is simple. If He had been called Only-begotten without the word "Son," then your subtle invention would have had a basis. But now, since He is called both Only-begotten and Son, the word "Only-begotten" cannot be understood as you understand it, but rather that He alone was begotten of the Father.
Note, I ask you, that just as above He said that the Son of Man came down from heaven, although the flesh did not come down from heaven, but He attributed what belongs to God to the man on account of the unity of the Person and the unity of the Hypostasis, so here again He attributes what belongs to the man to God the Word. "God gave," He says, "His Son to death." Although God remained impassible, yet since by Hypostasis One and the Same was both God the Word and Man subject to suffering, it is said that the Son is given over to death, who indeed also suffered in His own flesh.
Jn. 3:16. so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
What is the benefit of the Son being given? It is great and inconceivable for man — that everyone who believes in Him should receive two blessings: one, that he should not perish; the other, that he should have life, and moreover eternal life. The Old Testament promised long life to those who pleased God in it, but the Gospel rewards such people with life not temporal, but eternal and indestructible.
Jn. 3:17. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Since there are two comings of Christ, one that has already taken place and another that is future, concerning the first coming he says that the Son was not sent to judge the world (for if He had come for this purpose, all would have been condemned, since all have sinned, as Paul also says (Rom. 3:23)), but He came primarily to save the world. Such was His purpose. But in practice, it turned out that He condemns those who did not believe. The Law of Moses came primarily for the exposure of sin (Rom. 3:20) and the condemnation of transgressors. For it pardoned no one, but as soon as it found someone sinning in anything, it immediately imposed punishment as well. Thus, the first coming did not have as its purpose to judge, except for those who in practice did not believe, for they are already condemned; but the second coming will be expressly for the purpose of judging all and rendering to each according to his deeds.
Jn. 3:18. He who believes in Him is not judged,
What does "he who believes in the Son is not judged" mean? Is he really not judged if his life is impure? He is very much judged. For Paul does not even call such people truly believing. "They profess," he says, "that they know God, but by their works they deny Him" (Tit. 1:16). However, here he is speaking about the fact that one is not judged for the very reason that he believed: although he will give the strictest account for evil deeds, he is not punished for unbelief, because he once believed.
The unbeliever is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only-begotten Son of God.
"But he that believeth not is condemned already." How? First, because unbelief itself is condemnation; for to be outside the light — this alone — is the greatest punishment. Then, although he is not yet cast into Gehenna here, He has joined together everything that leads to future punishment; just as a murderer, even if he has not been sentenced to punishment by a judge's verdict, is condemned by the very nature of the deed. And Adam died on the very day on which he tasted of the forbidden tree; although he was alive, by the sentence and by the nature of the deed he was dead. Thus, every unbeliever is already condemned here, as one who undoubtedly is subject to punishment and shall not come to judgment, according to what is said: "the ungodly shall not rise in the judgment" (Ps. 1:5). For no account will be required of the ungodly, just as none will be of the devil: they shall rise not for judgment, but for condemnation. So also in the Gospel the Lord says that the prince of this world is already judged (Jn. 16:11), both because he himself did not believe, and because he made Judas a traitor and prepared destruction for the rest. But if in the parables (Mt. 23:14–32; Lk. 19:11–27) the Lord presents those subject to punishment as giving an account, do not be surprised — first, because what is spoken is a parable, and what is said in parables need not all be taken as laws and rules. For on that day each person, having an unerring judge in his conscience, will need no other accuser, but will go away bound by his own self; and second, because the Lord presents as giving an account not unbelievers, but believers who are uncompassionate and unmerciful. We, however, are speaking about the ungodly and unbelievers; and it is one thing to be ungodly and unbelieving, and another to be unmerciful and sinful.
Jn. 3:19. The judgment consists in this, that the light has come into the world;
Here he shows the unbelievers to be deprived of every excuse. "The judgment," he says, "consists in this: that the light came to them, yet they did not hasten toward it." They sinned not only in that they themselves did not seek the light, but, what is worst of all, in that it came to them, and they nevertheless did not accept it. For this reason they are condemned. If the light had not come, people could have appealed to ignorance of the good. But when God the Word came and delivered His teaching in order to enlighten them, and they did not accept it, then they were deprived of every excuse.
But men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil;
Lest anyone should say that no one would prefer darkness to light, he sets forth the reason why men turned to the darkness: "Because," he says, "their deeds were evil." Since Christianity requires not only a right way of thinking but also an honest life, and they desired to wallow in the filth of sin, therefore those who do evil deeds did not wish to come to the light of Christianity and submit to My laws.
Jn. 3:20. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed, because they are evil.
Jn. 3:21. He who does what is right comes to the light, so that his deeds may be made manifest, because they have been done in God.
"But he who does the truth," that is, he who leads an honest and God-pleasing life, strives toward Christianity as toward the light, so that he may advance still more in goodness and that his deeds may be shown to be wrought in God. For such a person, believing rightly and leading an honest life, shines before all people, and God is glorified in him. Therefore the cause of the unbelief of the pagans was the impurity of their life.
Perhaps someone will say: "What then, are there not wicked Christians and praiseworthy pagans in their manner of life?" That there are wicked Christians, I myself will say; but that there are good pagans, I cannot say decisively. Some may be found to be gentle and good "by nature," but this is not virtue; yet good "by effort" and practice in goodness — no one. And if some appeared to be good, they did everything for the sake of glory; but he who acts for glory, and not for the sake of goodness itself, will willingly give himself over to evil desire when he finds the occasion for it. For if among us even the threat of hell, and every other care, and the examples of countless saints can scarcely keep people in virtue, then the nonsense and abominations of the pagans will even less keep them in goodness. It is already much if they do not make them completely wicked.
Jn. 3:22. After this, Jesus came with His disciples into the land of Judea, and there He stayed with them and baptized.
As long as the feast of Passover continued, Jesus was in Jerusalem. When it passed, Jesus went out from there into the land of Judea and lived near the Jordan, where many gathered. He sought crowded places not for vain honor or glory, but because He desired to bring benefit and good to a greater number of people. When He also went up to the feasts, He went for this very same reason, to bring benefit to a greater number of people both by teaching and by the manifestation of miracles.
Hearing that He baptized, do not think that He Himself baptized: His disciples baptized, but the evangelist attributes the work of the disciples to the Teacher. Further on, this same evangelist says that "Jesus did not baptize, but His disciples" (Jn. 4:2). Will you ask "why did He Himself not baptize"? Learn. John had previously said that "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mt. 3:11). But He had not yet given the Holy Spirit, because it was not yet time. Therefore, if He had baptized, He would either have baptized without the Spirit (and how then would He have differed from John?), or He would have given the Spirit before the proper time, and this is unworthy of God, who does everything in due time.
When was it time to give the Spirit? The time after the Ascension. For our nature in Christ Jesus needed to appear before the Father without sin, and after God was thus reconciled with us, for the Spirit to be sent down as a rich and generous gift.
Jn. 3:23. And John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized.
Jn. 3:24. For John had not yet been cast into prison.
So, the disciples of Jesus were baptizing, and John was still baptizing and did not cease, fulfilling two purposes at once: one — that he spoke to those coming to him about Christ and led them to Him; the other — that he gave the disciples no occasion for jealousy and great disputes. If he had stopped baptizing, what would his disciples not have done, given their envious disposition toward Christ? If he, crying out very frequently and always yielding precedence to Christ, did not persuade them to turn to Him, what jealousy would he have aroused in them had he stopped baptizing?
Therefore Christ especially began to preach at the time when John was imprisoned, on account of the jealousy of the Baptist's disciples. I think that John's death was also permitted to happen very soon so that all the devotion of the people would transfer to Christ, and the people would not be divided in their thoughts about both John and Christ.
The disciples of Christ baptize with a baptism having nothing greater than the baptism of John, for both are imperfect, as neither partakes of the Spirit, though the purpose of both is the same—to lead those being baptized to Christ.
Jn. 3:25. Then a dispute arose on the part of John's disciples with the Jews about purification.
A dispute arose between John's disciples and a certain Jew concerning baptism. The Jew held the baptism of Christ's disciples to be superior, while John's disciples held the baptism of their teacher to be superior.
Jn. 3:26. And they came to John and said to him: Rabbi! He who was with you beyond the Jordan, and of whom you bore witness, behold, He baptizes, and all are coming to Him.
Those who had disputed about purification, that is, baptism, come to their teacher and begin to incite him, saying: "Teacher! He Who was with you, Who held the rank of a disciple, has separated and is baptizing"; He about Whom you testified, that is, Whom you baptized, Whom you made famous, dares to do the same thing as you; moreover, some do not heed you, but all heed Him: "For all," it says, "are going to Him, and are leaving you."
Jn. 3:27. John said in answer: a man can receive nothing upon himself, unless it be given him from heaven.
John, wishing to frighten them and show that by hindering Christ and pushing Him away from glory they are warring against God, says: "A man can receive nothing of himself"; and further: "If," he says, "it had not been given from heaven, then He Whom you envy would not have increased. Therefore you sin twice at once: once in that you oppose the decree of God, and again in that you undertake the impossible."
Along with this he also somewhat reassures them by the fact that the one overcoming them is not a man, but God. "And we too," he says, "what we had, we had not from ourselves, but from heaven. If the works of Christ are more glorious, then one should not be surprised, for such is the will of God."
Jn. 3:28. You are my witnesses that I said: I am not the Christ, but I am sent before Him.
"You yourselves," he says, "know that I testified about Him that He is greater than me." So then, if you fully accept my testimony, then know that He is more honorable than me, and my joy consists in everyone coming to Him.
Jn. 3:29. He who has the bride is the bridegroom,
If the Bride, that is, the people, were not coming to this Bridegroom, then I, the friend of the bridegroom, would grieve; but now that this has happened, I rejoice greatly, for I see that the Bridegroom — Christ — calls out to the bride — the people — and teaches them.
The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices with joy upon hearing the voice of the bridegroom.
Not without purpose did he say "standing," but by this he shows that his work is finished and he stands already without activity, and that he finally needs to stand and only listen to the teaching of Christ and His conversation with the bride.
This joy of mine has been fulfilled.
"My joy," he says, "has been fulfilled in the Bridegroom." The task entrusted to me as the friend of the bridegroom, I see, has succeeded.
So, the Lord is the bridegroom of every soul; the bridal chamber in which the union takes place is the place of baptism, that is, the church; He gives the bride a pledge — the forgiveness of sins, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and the rest in the age to come, when He will lead those who are worthy into better and higher mysteries. Note, then, that the bridegroom is none other than Christ alone, while all teachers are friends of the bridegroom, as was the Forerunner. For the giver of blessings is none other than the Lord alone; all the rest are mediators and ministers of the blessings bestowed by the Lord.
Jn. 3:30. He must increase, but I must decrease.
"My work," he says, "is finished, and I have handed the people over to Him. Therefore my glory must decrease, while His must increase." How then does the Forerunner's glory decrease? Just as the morning star is obscured by the sun and it seems to many that its light has been extinguished, though in reality it has not been extinguished but is obscured by a greater light; so, without a doubt, the morning star of the Forerunner is covered by the noetic Sun, and therefore he is said to decrease. But Christ increases, because in a short time He makes Himself known through miracles. He does not increase by way of progress in virtue. Away with such a thought! It is the idle talk of Nestorius. Rather, He increases in terms of the manifestation and revelation of His Divinity; for little by little, and not all at once, does He declare that He is God.
Jn. 3:31. He that cometh from above is above all; and he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks as one who is of the earth; He that cometh from heaven is above all,
The Forerunner compares himself with Christ and says that He comes "from above," from the Father, and is "above all," surpassing all and preserving the supremacy of the Father, while I, being of the earth, speak earthly things, imperfect and lowly in comparison with the teaching of Christ. Although the teaching of the Forerunner himself was also divine, in comparison with the teaching of Christ it contains much that is earthly.
Jn. 3:32. And what He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.
He says that He saw and heard, that is, He speaks and testifies about what He heard from the Father and what He saw, that is, what He knows with precision. But no one among those who do not heed the truth accepts His testimony.
When you hear that Christ speaks what He heard from the Father, do not think that He has need to learn knowledge from the Father, but since everything the Son knows by nature He has from the Father, as being consubstantial with Him, it is said that He heard from the Father what He knows. This is similar to how you, having seen a son who resembles his father in everything, say that he has everything from his father, that is, he turned out to resemble no one else but his father.
Jn. 3:33. He who has received His testimony has certified by this that God is true,
And whoever received His witness, that is, His teaching, that one has set his seal, that is, has shown, has confirmed, that God is true. For whoever believes in the one sent from God believes God, and by this he sets his seal and proves that he believed Him, because He is true. And conversely, whoever does not believe in the one sent from God shows that He is a liar, and for this reason did not believe Him, because He is a liar (Rom. 1:25; 1 John 5:10). Therefore, whoever believes in Christ, by the very fact that he believed in the one sent from God, shows that God is true. For it is evident that he believed Him because He is true.
Jn. 3:34. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
And rightly so. "For all others," he says, "received the power of the Spirit by measure, but to Christ Himself He gave not by measure some one or two powers, but He essentially possesses the entire Spirit." Thus, to the prophets God both gives the Spirit, that is, the power of the Spirit, and gives it by measure; but to Christ He does not give either by measure or without measure, for Christ possesses Him essentially.
Hearing that He was "sent," understand it thus: that He was sent from the Father, as a ray from the sun. Do we not say: "the sun sent forth rays" and "the sun let forth light," that is, sent it upon the earth? Yet we do not say that the ray is of a different essence or later than the sun. So also the Son was sent into the world from the noetic Sun and Father, as a radiance, as a ray, as light — and call Him whatever you wish, insofar as it is fitting.
It is not untimely to speak here, since the discussion has turned to how the Son has the Spirit and in what sense the Spirit is called the Son's. The Apostle says: "God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out: 'Abba, Father!'" (Gal. 4:6), and in another place: "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Rom. 8:9). The Latins, poorly receiving and understanding these words, say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. We shall say to them, first, that it is one thing to be from someone and another thing to be someone's. That the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son is not subject to doubt and is confirmed by all of Scripture; but that He is from the Son, no Scripture testifies, lest we introduce two causes of the Spirit, namely the Father and the Son.
Thus, they say: "But He breathed on the disciples and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22). What a false understanding! If He gave the Spirit to the disciples when He breathed on them, then how did He tell them that in a few days after this you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:5, 8)? Or why do we believe that the descent of the Spirit took place at Pentecost, if He gave Him on the evening of the day of His resurrection? For it was then that He breathed. But this is very laughable. Evidently, He did not give them the Holy Spirit then, but one of the gifts of the Spirit, namely the forgiveness of sins. For He immediately adds: "Whose sins you forgive" (John 20:23). And the Son possesses the Spirit essentially, as consubstantial with Him, and not as one moved to action by Him. For the prophets are moved to action. And He is called the Spirit of the Son because the Son is truth and power and wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is described by Isaiah as the Spirit of truth and power and wisdom (Isaiah 11:2). He is called the Spirit of the Son in another sense as well, namely that He is bestowed upon people through the Son. You believe that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and is bestowed upon creation through the Son, and this will be for you a rule of Orthodoxy.
Jn. 3:35. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
Having spoken lofty things about Christ, he now again proclaims humble things, in order to make the word easily acceptable to the listeners. Therefore he says "The Father loves the Son," as if speaking about some extraordinary man, and has given all things into the hands of the Son — according to His humanity. And if according to His divinity, then what of it? The Father gave all things to the Son by nature, and not by grace. Since He has His being from the Father, it is naturally said that He also has all things from the Father. Thus, the Son has all things, both what is in heaven and what is on earth. For He rules over all, even though not all desire it.
Subsequently, when at the second coming every knee shall bow before Him, He will receive full dominion over all, when evil will no longer have power, but, remaining inactive, will show that the nature of good from the beginning is inherent in all and contains all.
Jn. 3:36. He who believes in the Son has eternal life,
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life" in himself, that is, Christ Himself, who is truly the life (John 14:6); for in Him we live and move (Acts 17:28).
but he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life,
For whoever has voluntarily departed from life, how will he have it, when life is Christ? For the apostle Paul also says: when Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then you also, having become dead to evil and unmoved by it, shall appear in glory (Col. 3:4).
But the wrath of God abides on him.
He did not say "will leave him," but "remains on him," showing that it will never depart from him. Lest you, having heard of death, take it as temporary, he says that it will abide on him, on the one who did not believe, and the punishment will be eternal. With all these words the Baptist leads and urges all his listeners to faith in Christ. For he does not say this without purpose, but instructs both his own disciples and all the rest to no longer envy Christ, but to heed Him as God.
Jn. 3:1. Among the Pharisees there was a certain man, named Nicodemus, one of the rulers of the Jews.
Such, almost, was Nicodemus as well. He too believed in Jesus and, it seems, spoke to the Jews in the Lord's favor, namely: that they ought to judge Him only after careful investigation (John 7:50–51). And after the crucifixion, at the burial, he likewise showed much care and generosity. Nevertheless, he did not believe as he ought to have.
Jn. 3:2. He came to Jesus by night and said to Him: Rabbi! We know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do such miracles as You do, unless God is with him.
Still clinging to Jewish weakness, he comes to Jesus "at night" out of fear of the Jews (John 19:38–39); he calls Him Teacher, as a mere man, for such was his understanding of Him, which is why he adds that no one can perform such miracles unless God is with him. Do you see, he comes to Jesus as to a prophet and a man beloved by God.
What then does the Lord do? He does not rebuke him in a stern manner, does not say, why do you come at night to a Teacher sent from God, why do you lack boldness? He says nothing of the sort, but graciously converses with him about divine and lofty subjects. Note also that although Christ performed many miracles, the present Evangelist does not recount a single one of them, either because they have been told by the other Evangelists, or because they are beyond detailed narration.
Jn. 3:3. Jesus answered and said to him: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
It seems that the Lord's words to Nicodemus have nothing in common with Nicodemus's words to Him. But to the attentive reader much in common will be revealed. Since Nicodemus had a lowly conception of Christ, namely that He is a Teacher and that God is with Him, the Lord says to him: it is natural for you to have such a conception of Me. For you have not yet been born "from above," that is, from God, by a spiritual birth, but are still fleshly, and the knowledge you have of Me is not spiritual, but natural and human. And I say to you that both you and everyone else will be outside the Kingdom if you are not born from above and from God and do not receive the proper conception of Me. For birth through baptism, bringing light into the soul, gives it the ability to see or to know the Kingdom of God, that is, His only-begotten Son. For the Son can be called both the wisdom of God and the Kingdom of God. But this Kingdom, Nicodemus, no one can see or know unless he is born of God. So you too, because you have not yet been born spiritually, do not see Me — the Kingdom of God — as you ought, but have a lowly conception of Me.
Jn. 3:4. Nicodemus says to 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?
Nicodemus, hearing teaching higher than human, is amazed and according to the characteristic of weak human nature asks: "How is this possible?" This is a sign of unbelief. For where there is no faith, there arise questions: how is this, why is this? The words of Nicodemus also seem laughable, because he did not think of spiritual birth, but recalled the bodily womb. Having heard that unless one is born "from above," he thought that the word was used instead of "from the beginning," "again," a second time, and understood the speech in this meaning: unless one is born "from the beginning," a second time. Therefore he also says: "How can a man, being old, enter into his mother's womb?"
Jn. 3:5. Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
Two things were difficult for him to understand: one – the spiritual birth, the other – the Kingdom. For the Jews had never heard the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now he is perplexed about the birth. And Christ reveals to him more clearly the manner of the spiritual birth.
For man, consisting of two parts, soul and body, has a twofold manner of birth as well. The water, visibly received, acts for the cleansing of the body, while the Spirit, invisibly united, acts for the regeneration of the invisible soul. If you ask how water can give birth, then I too will ask how seed, which is itself water-like, can be formed into a human being? Therefore, just as with bodily seed everything is accomplished by the grace of God, so also in baptism water is set before us, but everything is accomplished by the Spirit and the prayerful invocation, and especially by the presence of God. For in this water are performed the signs and image of burial and resurrection. The three immersions are a sign of the three-day burial; then the person rises up (emerges), like the Lord, wearing the bright and pure garment of incorruption, having plunged corruption beneath the water.
Jn. 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The Lord, diverting Nicodemus' attention from fleshly birth, says: "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," that is, a person who is born through baptism becomes spiritual; for the word "spirit" you should understand as meaning "spiritual." True, the one who is baptized does not become the divine Spirit, but having received through the Spirit the adoption, grace, and honor, he is deemed worthy to be spiritual.
Jn. 3:7. Do not marvel that I said to you: You must be born again.
Seeing that Nicodemus is still troubled, He says: "Do not marvel." Then He attempts to teach by a sensible example.
Jn. 3:8. The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you do not know where He comes from and where He goes: so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
"The Spirit," he says, "breathes where it wills, and you hear its voice, yet you do not know its direction, because it is uncontainable and unobstructed, and by the power of its nature has movement in every direction." If he says "breathes where it wills," it is not because the wind has the capacity for free choice and desire, but because he wishes (as I said) to indicate its natural movement and uncontainable force. And if you do not know where and how the wind blows — this spirit subject to the senses — then how do you wish to comprehend rebirth from the Spirit of God? If this spirit cannot be restrained, then all the more will the grace of the Holy Spirit not be subject to the laws of nature.
Let Macedonius the fighter against the Spirit be put to shame, and Eunomius his predecessor. The first reduces the Spirit to a servant, yet here he hears that the wind blows where it wishes, and consequently all the more does the Spirit have self-sovereign movement and acts where and how He wishes. And Eunomius, having first erred in this very same matter and called the Spirit a creature, extended his audacity so far as to claim that he knows God just as well as he knows himself. Let him hear, then, that he does not know the movement and direction of the wind; how then, O transgressor, do you dare to claim for yourself knowledge of the Essence of God?
Jn. 3:9. Nicodemus said to Him in answer: how can this be?
Nicodemus still remains with the Jewish weakness, and therefore again asks: "How can this be?"
Jn. 3:10. Jesus answered and said to him: You are a teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?
Therefore the Lord also, showing him that he asks thus out of simplicity, says: "You are a teacher of Israel. If you recall the glorious miracles performed in the Old Testament, beginning from the creation of man and onward, namely: how he was created (Gen. 2:7), how the woman was made from a rib (Gen. 2:21–22), how signs were performed in Egypt, how at the Red Sea (Exod. 7, 8, 9, 14), how barren women gave birth (1 Sam. 1), and the like — if you consider this, as a teacher of Israel, then you will also believe what I am now saying."
Jn. 3:11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee: We speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.
"Moreover, I speak of what I know and what I have seen, that is, I know with precision." For by the word "have seen" He indicates not bodily sight, but the most precise knowledge.
"But you do not accept Our testimony, that is, Mine." The Lord says this not to Nicodemus alone, but extends it to the entire race of the Jews, who to the end remained in unbelief.
Jn. 3:12. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
"If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe," that is, if I told you about regeneration accomplished in baptism and you did not accept it, but asked "how?" (He calls this birth "earthly" because it takes place on earth for the benefit of people living on earth; although by grace and dignity it is heavenly, we are baptized while on earth). So if I spoke of this "earthly" birth and found you unbelieving, how will you believe if you hear of the ineffable heavenly birth by which the Only-begotten Son was born of the Father?
Some, however, understood "earthly" as referring to the example of the wind, so that the meaning of the passage is presented as follows: if I presented you an example from earthly things, and you were not convinced by it, then how can you learn things more exalted?
Jn. 3:13. No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
And this, apparently, has nothing in common with what preceded it. But if one carefully examines the thought of the Lord, it will turn out that this too is closely related to what came before.
Since Nicodemus called the Lord a Teacher and a Prophet, He says: "Do not consider Me a prophet who is of the earth, sent by God to teach, but consider Me as having come down from above, as the Son, and not as being of the earth. None of the prophets ascended into heaven, but only I alone am to ascend, just as I also descended." Having heard that the Son of Man came down "from heaven," do not think that the flesh came down from heaven. Indeed, Apollinarius thought this way, that Christ, having a body from heaven, passed through the Virgin as through a channel. But since Christ, consisting of two natures, was one Hypostasis or one Person, the names of the Man are applied to the Word, and again the names of the Word are applied to the Man. So here also it is said that the "Son of Man" came down from heaven, because He is one Person and one Hypostasis. Then, lest you, having heard "who came down," should think that the One who came down is no longer in heaven, He says "who is in heaven." Therefore, having heard that I came down, do not think that I am not there; but I am both present here bodily and seated there with the Father in Divinity.
Jn. 3:14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Jn. 3:15. So that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Having spoken before about regeneration through baptism, he then speaks also of the benefaction accomplished for us through the cross. For the cross and death are the cause of the grace bestowed upon us through baptism, since in baptism we portray the death of the Lord.
He does not say directly that I will be crucified, but recalls the serpent and the ancient history (Num. 21:5–9), and in this way accomplishes several things at once: on the one hand, He teaches us that the old is akin to the new and that the Lawgiver of the Old and New Testaments is one and the same, although Marcion, Manes, and the rest of the assembly of such heretics reject the Old Testament, saying that it is the legislation of an evil demiurge (craftsman); on the other hand, He teaches that if the Jews escaped death by looking upon the bronze image of the serpent, then all the more shall we escape the death of the soul by looking upon the Crucified One and believing in Him. Compare, if you will, the type with the reality. There, a likeness of a serpent, having the appearance of a serpent but not having its venom: so too here, the Lord is Man, but free from the venom of sin, having come in the likeness of sinful flesh, that is, in the likeness of flesh subject to sin, but He Himself is not sinful flesh. Then, those who looked were delivered from bodily death, while we are delivered from spiritual death. Then, the one hung up healed from the bites of serpents, but now Christ heals the wounds inflicted by the dragon of the mind.
When you hear "must be lifted up," understand it thus: to be hung. For He was hung on high, so that He who sanctified the earth by walking upon it might also sanctify the air. Understand "to be lifted up" also thus: to be glorified. For the cross truly became the exaltation and glory of Christ. By that in which He seemed condemned, He condemned the prince of this world.
I will explain a little. Adam died justly, because he sinned. The Lord died not by a debt of justice, because He did not sin. Before the crucifixion of the Lord, death justly held dominion over men. But since the Lord was found to be without sin, what could the devil find in Him deserving of death? And since He was put to death unjustly, He conquered the one who killed Him, and in this way also freed Adam from the death that was justly inflicted upon him as one who had sinned.
And in another way. Two things dominated over the human race: pleasure and sorrow. The Lord, having passed through both, proved unconquerable. The tempter first approached Him on the mountain with the offer of pleasure (Matt. 4:3, 6, 9); but, finding Him unconquerable through this, he employed great cunning, bringing sorrow, so that at least through it he might master Him, and for this he raised up everything against Him: the denial of the disciples, the mockery of the soldiers, the blasphemy of the passersby, death at the hands of the Jews, but even in this he found Him unconquerable. For the sorrow on the cross could not arouse in the Lord hatred toward those who crucified Him, but He continued to love them and prayed for them, saying: "Father, do not hold this sin against them" (Luke 23:34). Do you see how He conquered by that through which He appeared to have been conquered? Thus, the cross became both His exaltation and His glory.
Jn. 3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-Begotten Son,
The love of God for the world is great and extended so far that He gave not an angel, not a prophet, but His Son, and moreover His Only-Begotten (1 John 4:9). If He had given even an angel, that deed would not have been small. Why? Because an angel is His faithful and obedient servant, while we are enemies and apostates. But now, when He gave His Son, what surpassing love He showed! Again, if He had many sons and gave one, even that would have been a very great thing. But now He gave His Only-Begotten. Can His goodness then be worthily praised?
The Arians say that the Son is called Only-begotten because He alone was produced and created by God, while everything else was then created by Him. The answer to them is simple. If He had been called Only-begotten without the word "Son," then your subtle invention would have had a basis. But now, since He is called both Only-begotten and Son, the word "Only-begotten" cannot be understood as you understand it, but rather that He alone was begotten of the Father.
Note, I ask you, that just as above He said that the Son of Man came down from heaven, although the flesh did not come down from heaven, but He attributed what belongs to God to the man on account of the unity of the Person and the unity of the Hypostasis, so here again He attributes what belongs to the man to God the Word. "God gave," He says, "His Son to death." Although God remained impassible, yet since by Hypostasis One and the Same was both God the Word and Man subject to suffering, it is said that the Son is given over to death, who indeed also suffered in His own flesh.
Jn. 3:16. so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
What is the benefit of the Son being given? It is great and inconceivable for man — that everyone who believes in Him should receive two blessings: one, that he should not perish; the other, that he should have life, and moreover eternal life. The Old Testament promised long life to those who pleased God in it, but the Gospel rewards such people with life not temporal, but eternal and indestructible.
Jn. 3:17. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Since there are two comings of Christ, one that has already taken place and another that is future, concerning the first coming he says that the Son was not sent to judge the world (for if He had come for this purpose, all would have been condemned, since all have sinned, as Paul also says (Rom. 3:23)), but He came primarily to save the world. Such was His purpose. But in practice, it turned out that He condemns those who did not believe. The Law of Moses came primarily for the exposure of sin (Rom. 3:20) and the condemnation of transgressors. For it pardoned no one, but as soon as it found someone sinning in anything, it immediately imposed punishment as well. Thus, the first coming did not have as its purpose to judge, except for those who in practice did not believe, for they are already condemned; but the second coming will be expressly for the purpose of judging all and rendering to each according to his deeds.
Jn. 3:18. He who believes in Him is not judged,
What does "he who believes in the Son is not judged" mean? Is he really not judged if his life is impure? He is very much judged. For Paul does not even call such people truly believing. "They profess," he says, "that they know God, but by their works they deny Him" (Tit. 1:16). However, here he is speaking about the fact that one is not judged for the very reason that he believed: although he will give the strictest account for evil deeds, he is not punished for unbelief, because he once believed.
The unbeliever is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only-begotten Son of God.
"But he that believeth not is condemned already." How? First, because unbelief itself is condemnation; for to be outside the light — this alone — is the greatest punishment. Then, although he is not yet cast into Gehenna here, He has joined together everything that leads to future punishment; just as a murderer, even if he has not been sentenced to punishment by a judge's verdict, is condemned by the very nature of the deed. And Adam died on the very day on which he tasted of the forbidden tree; although he was alive, by the sentence and by the nature of the deed he was dead. Thus, every unbeliever is already condemned here, as one who undoubtedly is subject to punishment and shall not come to judgment, according to what is said: "the ungodly shall not rise in the judgment" (Ps. 1:5). For no account will be required of the ungodly, just as none will be of the devil: they shall rise not for judgment, but for condemnation. So also in the Gospel the Lord says that the prince of this world is already judged (Jn. 16:11), both because he himself did not believe, and because he made Judas a traitor and prepared destruction for the rest. But if in the parables (Mt. 23:14–32; Lk. 19:11–27) the Lord presents those subject to punishment as giving an account, do not be surprised — first, because what is spoken is a parable, and what is said in parables need not all be taken as laws and rules. For on that day each person, having an unerring judge in his conscience, will need no other accuser, but will go away bound by his own self; and second, because the Lord presents as giving an account not unbelievers, but believers who are uncompassionate and unmerciful. We, however, are speaking about the ungodly and unbelievers; and it is one thing to be ungodly and unbelieving, and another to be unmerciful and sinful.
Jn. 3:19. The judgment consists in this, that the light has come into the world;
Here he shows the unbelievers to be deprived of every excuse. "The judgment," he says, "consists in this: that the light came to them, yet they did not hasten toward it." They sinned not only in that they themselves did not seek the light, but, what is worst of all, in that it came to them, and they nevertheless did not accept it. For this reason they are condemned. If the light had not come, people could have appealed to ignorance of the good. But when God the Word came and delivered His teaching in order to enlighten them, and they did not accept it, then they were deprived of every excuse.
But men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil;
Lest anyone should say that no one would prefer darkness to light, he sets forth the reason why men turned to the darkness: "Because," he says, "their deeds were evil." Since Christianity requires not only a right way of thinking but also an honest life, and they desired to wallow in the filth of sin, therefore those who do evil deeds did not wish to come to the light of Christianity and submit to My laws.
Jn. 3:20. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed, because they are evil.
Jn. 3:21. He who does what is right comes to the light, so that his deeds may be made manifest, because they have been done in God.
"But he who does the truth," that is, he who leads an honest and God-pleasing life, strives toward Christianity as toward the light, so that he may advance still more in goodness and that his deeds may be shown to be wrought in God. For such a person, believing rightly and leading an honest life, shines before all people, and God is glorified in him. Therefore the cause of the unbelief of the pagans was the impurity of their life.
Perhaps someone will say: "What then, are there not wicked Christians and praiseworthy pagans in their manner of life?" That there are wicked Christians, I myself will say; but that there are good pagans, I cannot say decisively. Some may be found to be gentle and good "by nature," but this is not virtue; yet good "by effort" and practice in goodness — no one. And if some appeared to be good, they did everything for the sake of glory; but he who acts for glory, and not for the sake of goodness itself, will willingly give himself over to evil desire when he finds the occasion for it. For if among us even the threat of hell, and every other care, and the examples of countless saints can scarcely keep people in virtue, then the nonsense and abominations of the pagans will even less keep them in goodness. It is already much if they do not make them completely wicked.
Jn. 3:22. After this, Jesus came with His disciples into the land of Judea, and there He stayed with them and baptized.
As long as the feast of Passover continued, Jesus was in Jerusalem. When it passed, Jesus went out from there into the land of Judea and lived near the Jordan, where many gathered. He sought crowded places not for vain honor or glory, but because He desired to bring benefit and good to a greater number of people. When He also went up to the feasts, He went for this very same reason, to bring benefit to a greater number of people both by teaching and by the manifestation of miracles.
Hearing that He baptized, do not think that He Himself baptized: His disciples baptized, but the evangelist attributes the work of the disciples to the Teacher. Further on, this same evangelist says that "Jesus did not baptize, but His disciples" (Jn. 4:2). Will you ask "why did He Himself not baptize"? Learn. John had previously said that "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mt. 3:11). But He had not yet given the Holy Spirit, because it was not yet time. Therefore, if He had baptized, He would either have baptized without the Spirit (and how then would He have differed from John?), or He would have given the Spirit before the proper time, and this is unworthy of God, who does everything in due time.
When was it time to give the Spirit? The time after the Ascension. For our nature in Christ Jesus needed to appear before the Father without sin, and after God was thus reconciled with us, for the Spirit to be sent down as a rich and generous gift.
Jn. 3:23. And John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized.
Jn. 3:24. For John had not yet been cast into prison.
So, the disciples of Jesus were baptizing, and John was still baptizing and did not cease, fulfilling two purposes at once: one — that he spoke to those coming to him about Christ and led them to Him; the other — that he gave the disciples no occasion for jealousy and great disputes. If he had stopped baptizing, what would his disciples not have done, given their envious disposition toward Christ? If he, crying out very frequently and always yielding precedence to Christ, did not persuade them to turn to Him, what jealousy would he have aroused in them had he stopped baptizing?
Therefore Christ especially began to preach at the time when John was imprisoned, on account of the jealousy of the Baptist's disciples. I think that John's death was also permitted to happen very soon so that all the devotion of the people would transfer to Christ, and the people would not be divided in their thoughts about both John and Christ.
The disciples of Christ baptize with a baptism having nothing greater than the baptism of John, for both are imperfect, as neither partakes of the Spirit, though the purpose of both is the same—to lead those being baptized to Christ.
Jn. 3:25. Then a dispute arose on the part of John's disciples with the Jews about purification.
A dispute arose between John's disciples and a certain Jew concerning baptism. The Jew held the baptism of Christ's disciples to be superior, while John's disciples held the baptism of their teacher to be superior.
Jn. 3:26. And they came to John and said to him: Rabbi! He who was with you beyond the Jordan, and of whom you bore witness, behold, He baptizes, and all are coming to Him.
Those who had disputed about purification, that is, baptism, come to their teacher and begin to incite him, saying: "Teacher! He Who was with you, Who held the rank of a disciple, has separated and is baptizing"; He about Whom you testified, that is, Whom you baptized, Whom you made famous, dares to do the same thing as you; moreover, some do not heed you, but all heed Him: "For all," it says, "are going to Him, and are leaving you."
Jn. 3:27. John said in answer: a man can receive nothing upon himself, unless it be given him from heaven.
John, wishing to frighten them and show that by hindering Christ and pushing Him away from glory they are warring against God, says: "A man can receive nothing of himself"; and further: "If," he says, "it had not been given from heaven, then He Whom you envy would not have increased. Therefore you sin twice at once: once in that you oppose the decree of God, and again in that you undertake the impossible."
Along with this he also somewhat reassures them by the fact that the one overcoming them is not a man, but God. "And we too," he says, "what we had, we had not from ourselves, but from heaven. If the works of Christ are more glorious, then one should not be surprised, for such is the will of God."
Jn. 3:28. You are my witnesses that I said: I am not the Christ, but I am sent before Him.
"You yourselves," he says, "know that I testified about Him that He is greater than me." So then, if you fully accept my testimony, then know that He is more honorable than me, and my joy consists in everyone coming to Him.
Jn. 3:29. He who has the bride is the bridegroom,
If the Bride, that is, the people, were not coming to this Bridegroom, then I, the friend of the bridegroom, would grieve; but now that this has happened, I rejoice greatly, for I see that the Bridegroom — Christ — calls out to the bride — the people — and teaches them.
The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices with joy upon hearing the voice of the bridegroom.
Not without purpose did he say "standing," but by this he shows that his work is finished and he stands already without activity, and that he finally needs to stand and only listen to the teaching of Christ and His conversation with the bride.
This joy of mine has been fulfilled.
"My joy," he says, "has been fulfilled in the Bridegroom." The task entrusted to me as the friend of the bridegroom, I see, has succeeded.
So, the Lord is the bridegroom of every soul; the bridal chamber in which the union takes place is the place of baptism, that is, the church; He gives the bride a pledge — the forgiveness of sins, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and the rest in the age to come, when He will lead those who are worthy into better and higher mysteries. Note, then, that the bridegroom is none other than Christ alone, while all teachers are friends of the bridegroom, as was the Forerunner. For the giver of blessings is none other than the Lord alone; all the rest are mediators and ministers of the blessings bestowed by the Lord.
Jn. 3:30. He must increase, but I must decrease.
"My work," he says, "is finished, and I have handed the people over to Him. Therefore my glory must decrease, while His must increase." How then does the Forerunner's glory decrease? Just as the morning star is obscured by the sun and it seems to many that its light has been extinguished, though in reality it has not been extinguished but is obscured by a greater light; so, without a doubt, the morning star of the Forerunner is covered by the noetic Sun, and therefore he is said to decrease. But Christ increases, because in a short time He makes Himself known through miracles. He does not increase by way of progress in virtue. Away with such a thought! It is the idle talk of Nestorius. Rather, He increases in terms of the manifestation and revelation of His Divinity; for little by little, and not all at once, does He declare that He is God.
Jn. 3:31. He that cometh from above is above all; and he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks as one who is of the earth; He that cometh from heaven is above all,
The Forerunner compares himself with Christ and says that He comes "from above," from the Father, and is "above all," surpassing all and preserving the supremacy of the Father, while I, being of the earth, speak earthly things, imperfect and lowly in comparison with the teaching of Christ. Although the teaching of the Forerunner himself was also divine, in comparison with the teaching of Christ it contains much that is earthly.
Jn. 3:32. And what He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.
He says that He saw and heard, that is, He speaks and testifies about what He heard from the Father and what He saw, that is, what He knows with precision. But no one among those who do not heed the truth accepts His testimony.
When you hear that Christ speaks what He heard from the Father, do not think that He has need to learn knowledge from the Father, but since everything the Son knows by nature He has from the Father, as being consubstantial with Him, it is said that He heard from the Father what He knows. This is similar to how you, having seen a son who resembles his father in everything, say that he has everything from his father, that is, he turned out to resemble no one else but his father.
Jn. 3:33. He who has received His testimony has certified by this that God is true,
And whoever received His witness, that is, His teaching, that one has set his seal, that is, has shown, has confirmed, that God is true. For whoever believes in the one sent from God believes God, and by this he sets his seal and proves that he believed Him, because He is true. And conversely, whoever does not believe in the one sent from God shows that He is a liar, and for this reason did not believe Him, because He is a liar (Rom. 1:25; 1 John 5:10). Therefore, whoever believes in Christ, by the very fact that he believed in the one sent from God, shows that God is true. For it is evident that he believed Him because He is true.
Jn. 3:34. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
And rightly so. "For all others," he says, "received the power of the Spirit by measure, but to Christ Himself He gave not by measure some one or two powers, but He essentially possesses the entire Spirit." Thus, to the prophets God both gives the Spirit, that is, the power of the Spirit, and gives it by measure; but to Christ He does not give either by measure or without measure, for Christ possesses Him essentially.
Hearing that He was "sent," understand it thus: that He was sent from the Father, as a ray from the sun. Do we not say: "the sun sent forth rays" and "the sun let forth light," that is, sent it upon the earth? Yet we do not say that the ray is of a different essence or later than the sun. So also the Son was sent into the world from the noetic Sun and Father, as a radiance, as a ray, as light — and call Him whatever you wish, insofar as it is fitting.
It is not untimely to speak here, since the discussion has turned to how the Son has the Spirit and in what sense the Spirit is called the Son's. The Apostle says: "God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out: 'Abba, Father!'" (Gal. 4:6), and in another place: "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Rom. 8:9). The Latins, poorly receiving and understanding these words, say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. We shall say to them, first, that it is one thing to be from someone and another thing to be someone's. That the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son is not subject to doubt and is confirmed by all of Scripture; but that He is from the Son, no Scripture testifies, lest we introduce two causes of the Spirit, namely the Father and the Son.
Thus, they say: "But He breathed on the disciples and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22). What a false understanding! If He gave the Spirit to the disciples when He breathed on them, then how did He tell them that in a few days after this you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:5, 8)? Or why do we believe that the descent of the Spirit took place at Pentecost, if He gave Him on the evening of the day of His resurrection? For it was then that He breathed. But this is very laughable. Evidently, He did not give them the Holy Spirit then, but one of the gifts of the Spirit, namely the forgiveness of sins. For He immediately adds: "Whose sins you forgive" (John 20:23). And the Son possesses the Spirit essentially, as consubstantial with Him, and not as one moved to action by Him. For the prophets are moved to action. And He is called the Spirit of the Son because the Son is truth and power and wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is described by Isaiah as the Spirit of truth and power and wisdom (Isaiah 11:2). He is called the Spirit of the Son in another sense as well, namely that He is bestowed upon people through the Son. You believe that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and is bestowed upon creation through the Son, and this will be for you a rule of Orthodoxy.
Jn. 3:35. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
Having spoken lofty things about Christ, he now again proclaims humble things, in order to make the word easily acceptable to the listeners. Therefore he says "The Father loves the Son," as if speaking about some extraordinary man, and has given all things into the hands of the Son — according to His humanity. And if according to His divinity, then what of it? The Father gave all things to the Son by nature, and not by grace. Since He has His being from the Father, it is naturally said that He also has all things from the Father. Thus, the Son has all things, both what is in heaven and what is on earth. For He rules over all, even though not all desire it.
Subsequently, when at the second coming every knee shall bow before Him, He will receive full dominion over all, when evil will no longer have power, but, remaining inactive, will show that the nature of good from the beginning is inherent in all and contains all.
Jn. 3:36. He who believes in the Son has eternal life,
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life" in himself, that is, Christ Himself, who is truly the life (John 14:6); for in Him we live and move (Acts 17:28).
but he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life,
For whoever has voluntarily departed from life, how will he have it, when life is Christ? For the apostle Paul also says: when Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then you also, having become dead to evil and unmoved by it, shall appear in glory (Col. 3:4).
But the wrath of God abides on him.
He did not say "will leave him," but "remains on him," showing that it will never depart from him. Lest you, having heard of death, take it as temporary, he says that it will abide on him, on the one who did not believe, and the punishment will be eternal. With all these words the Baptist leads and urges all his listeners to faith in Christ. For he does not say this without purpose, but instructs both his own disciples and all the rest to no longer envy Christ, but to heed Him as God.