King James Version
John 3
36 verses with commentary
Jesus and Nicodemus
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
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KJV Study Commentary
Nicodemus is introduced with three significant identifiers: 'a man of the Pharisees,' 'named Nicodemus,' and 'a ruler of the Jews.' The name Nicodemus means 'conqueror of the people'—ironically, he comes secretly, conquered by curiosity about Jesus. As a Pharisee, he belonged to the strictest sect of Judaism; as a 'ruler' (archon), he was a Sanhedrin member. This is Israel's religious and politica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**III.**
(1) **There was a man.**—Read, *But there was a man.* Our division of chapters breaks the connection, and the omission of the conjunction leads us to think of the visit of Nicodemus as quite distinct from what has gone before; whereas it really rises out of it (comp. John 3:2 with John 2:23).
The name Nicodemus was not uncommon among the Jews, but like Stephen, Philip, Jason, etc., was de...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. The same, &c.--**See what property of the Word the stress is laid upon--His eternal distinctness, in unity, from God--the Father (Joh 1:2).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Nicodemus comes 'by night'—whether from fear, secrecy, or practical scheduling, the symbolism is clear in John's light/darkness motif. He comes from darkness toward the Light. His address 'Rabbi' acknowledges Jesus as teacher despite having no formal training (John 7:15). His confession—'we know that thou art a teacher come from God'—recognizes divine attestation through miracles, yet this is insu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **By night.**—This has impressed itself upon the writer’s mind, so that it becomes part of the description of Nicodemus in John 19:39, and in some MSS. in John 7:50. We have to think of him as having heard the answer of the messengers sent to the Baptist (John 1:20 *et seq.*)*,* as present at the cleansing of the Temple, as the witness of miracles in Jerusalem, as by these means convinced that...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. All things, &c.--**all things absolutely (as is evident from Joh 1:10; 1Co 8:6; Col 1:16, 17; but put beyond question by what follows).
**without Him was not any thing--**not one thing.
**made--**brought into being.
**that was made--**This is a denial of the eternity and non-creation of matter, which was held by the whole thinking world outside of Judaism and Christianity: or rather...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. again: or, from above
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.</strong> This declaration to Nicodemus introduces one of Christianity's most fundamental doctrines: regeneration, or the new birth. The double "verily" (ἀμὴν ἀμὴν/<em>amēn amēn</em>) is Jesus's solemn formula introducing critical truth, used 25 times in John's Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Jesus answered and said unto him.**—The words of Nicodemus are clearly only a preface to further questions. Jesus at once answers these questions; the answer being, as it frequently is, to the unexpressed thought (comp. *e.g.,* John 2:18). The coming of the Messiah, the Divine Glory, God’s Kingdom, these are the thoughts which filled men’s minds. These miracles—in what relation did they stan...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. In Him was life--**essentially and originally, as the previous verses show to be the meaning. Thus He is the Living Word, or, as He is called in 1Jo 1:1, 2, "the Word of Life."
**the life ... the light of men--**All that in men which is true light--knowledge, integrity, intelligent, willing subjection to God, love to Him and to their fellow creatures, wisdom, purity, holy joy, rational happ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
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KJV Study Commentary
Nicodemus's question—'How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?'—reveals confusion about Jesus' meaning. He takes 'born again' literally, which seems absurd. Yet his question opens the door for deeper explanation. Nicodemus represents intelligent people who struggle with spiritual categories. Physical rebirth is impossible; that's preci...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **How can a man be born . . .?**—Nicodemus understands the words “born again” in the sense given above. The thought is not wholly strange to him. The Rabbis were accustomed to speak of proselytes as children, and the term “new creature” (comp. 2Corinthians 5:17) was in frequent use to express the call of Abraham. But he is himself a child of Abraham, a member of the theocratic kingdom, and is ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. shineth in darkness, &c.--**in this dark, fallen world, or in mankind "sitting in darkness and the shadow of death," with no ability to find the way either of truth or of holiness. In this thick darkness, and consequent intellectual and moral obliquity, "the light of the Word" shineth--by all the rays whether of natural or revealed teaching which men (apart from the Incarnation of the Wor...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Christ explains the necessity of being 'born of water and of the Spirit' for entering God's kingdom. 'Water' likely refers to natural birth (amniotic fluid) or baptism as outward sign; 'Spirit' is the essential element—divine regeneration. The copulative 'and' suggests two distinct births: natural and spiritual. Without spiritual rebirth, mere physical existence or religious ritual is insufficient...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) Again the words “Verily, verily” (comp. Note on chap John 1:51), calling attention to the deeper truth which follows; and again the words of authority, “I say unto thee.”
**Of water and of the Spirit.**—We are here on the borderland of a great controversy. The subject is closely connected with that of the discourse in Capernaum (John 6), and so far as it is a subject for the pages of a Comment...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-9. The Evangelist here approaches his grand thesis, so paving his way for the full statement of it in Joh 1:14, that we may be able to bear the bright light of it, and take in its length and breadth and depth and height.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus draws a fundamental distinction: 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' Two realms, two sources, two natures. Fleshly birth produces fleshly existence—unable to perceive or enter God's kingdom. Spiritual birth requires the Spirit's work, producing spiritual life. This explains why new birth is necessary: physical existence, no matter how r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **That which is born of the flesh is flesh.**—The first step is to remind him of the law of likeness in natural generation. “Flesh,” as distinct from “spirit,” is human nature in so far as it is common with animal nature, consisting of the bodily frame and its animal life, feelings, and passions. “Flesh,” as opposed to “spirit,” is this nature as not under the guidance of the human spirit, whi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-9. The Evangelist here approaches his grand thesis, so paving his way for the full statement of it in Joh 1:14, that we may be able to bear the bright light of it, and take in its length and breadth and depth and height.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. again: or, from above
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KJV Study Commentary
Christ's emphatic 'Ye must be born again' (Greek 'anothen'—both 'again' and 'from above') stresses the absolute necessity of regeneration, not religious reform. This confronts all human-centered salvation schemes. The universal 'ye' (plural) indicates no one is exempt—even Pharisees need spiritual rebirth. Titus 3:5 echoes this: salvation is 'by the washing of regeneration', not by works.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Ye must be born again.**—The laws of natural and spiritual generation have been stated as general truths, holding good for all mankind, “that which is born.” But there is a special application to the present case, “Marvel not that I said unto thee (teacher as thou art) that ye (children of Abraham as ye are) must be born again.” In so far as they were children of Abraham according to the fle...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-9. The Evangelist here approaches his grand thesis, so paving his way for the full statement of it in Joh 1:14, that we may be able to bear the bright light of it, and take in its length and breadth and depth and height.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus uses wind as an analogy for the Spirit's work: 'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.' The same Greek word 'pneuma' means both wind and spirit. The analogy emphasizes sovereign unpredictability—we experience the Spirit's effects without controlling or fully ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof.**—Better (see Note below), *the Spirit breatheth where He willeth, and thou hearest His voice.* These words are an explanation of the spiritual birth, the necessity of which has been asserted in the previous verses. They must have come to Nicodemus, bringing in their sound echoes of the old familiar words, “And the Lord G...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6-9. The Evangelist here approaches his grand thesis, so paving his way for the full statement of it in Joh 1:14, that we may be able to bear the bright light of it, and take in its length and breadth and depth and height.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
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KJV Study Commentary
Nicodemus asks, 'How can these things be?'—expressing bewilderment at Jesus' teaching. The question is genuine, not hostile. A leading teacher in Israel cannot comprehend basic spiritual realities. This exposes the gap between religious expertise and spiritual understanding. Knowledge of Scripture doesn't automatically produce comprehension of its spiritual meaning. Nicodemus needs what he's being...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **How can these things be?**—The answer to the previous question has spoken of a spiritual birth and a spiritual life and a spiritual kingdom, but all this is in a region of which the Rabbinic schools knew nothing. They were the authorised exponents of Law and Prophets; they knew the precise number of words, and the shape of letters; the form of a phylactery, and the width of a fringe; the tit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-13. He was in the world, &c.--**The language here is nearly as wonderful as the thought. Observe its compact simplicity, its sonorousness--"the world" resounding in each of its three members--and the enigmatic form in which it is couched, startling the reader and setting his ingenuity a-working to solve the stupendous enigma of Christ ignored in His own world. "The world," in the first tw...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' response—'Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?'—contains gentle rebuke. 'Master' (didaskalos) with the article indicates Nicodemus's prominent teaching role. One so educated in Israel's Scriptures should understand regeneration from passages like Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. The Old Testament promised new hearts and indwelling Spirit. Nicodemus knew the text...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Art thou a master of Israel**?—Better, *Art thou the teacher of Israel?* The article is emphatic, and points to the position of Nicodemus as a teacher of repute—“the well-known teacher;” or possibly it is to be understood of the Sanhedrin as represented by him—“Is this the teaching of Israel?” There is something of just indignation here, as everywhere when the words of Jesus Christ are addr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-13. He was in the world, &c.--**The language here is nearly as wonderful as the thought. Observe its compact simplicity, its sonorousness--"the world" resounding in each of its three members--and the enigmatic form in which it is couched, startling the reader and setting his ingenuity a-working to solve the stupendous enigma of Christ ignored in His own world. "The world," in the first tw...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus contrasts earthly and heavenly testimony: 'We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.' The plural 'we' may include the disciples or the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus' testimony comes from firsthand divine knowledge, yet 'ye receive not.' The problem isn't insufficient evidence but unwilling hearts. Truth is rejected despite its authority...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) Once again the “Verily, verily” of deeper truth. “We speak that we do know” is in sharp contrast to their formal teaching of matters external to the truth. The plural is not usual in the language of Christ, and the immediate passage to the singular forbids us to accept the usual grammatical explanation that it is the plural of majesty. He apparently joins others with Himself,—those who have s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-13. He was in the world, &c.--**The language here is nearly as wonderful as the thought. Observe its compact simplicity, its sonorousness--"the world" resounding in each of its three members--and the enigmatic form in which it is couched, startling the reader and setting his ingenuity a-working to solve the stupendous enigma of Christ ignored in His own world. "The world," in the first tw...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus escalates the challenge: 'If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?' 'Earthly things' include new birth—spiritual realities illustrated through earthly analogies (wind, birth). If Nicodemus stumbles over illustrations, how will he comprehend direct heavenly revelation? Jesus' teaching progresses from accessible to profound;...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Earthly things**—i.e., things upon earth, having the sphere of their action upon earth. These are not necessarily restricted to the subjects of this interview. The context includes previous witness borne by Him, and there must have been much which is unrecorded. (Comp. John 2:23.) But the new birth is not excluded from “earthly things,” because it is the entrance to a life which, while it i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-13. He was in the world, &c.--**The language here is nearly as wonderful as the thought. Observe its compact simplicity, its sonorousness--"the world" resounding in each of its three members--and the enigmatic form in which it is couched, startling the reader and setting his ingenuity a-working to solve the stupendous enigma of Christ ignored in His own world. "The world," in the first tw...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus reveals His unique qualification: 'And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.' Only one has traveled both directions—descended from heaven to earth and (proleptically) ascended back. The Son of Man is uniquely positioned to reveal heavenly things because He originates there. The phrase 'which is in heaven' (present tense)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **And no man hath ascended up.**—There can be no other means of receiving heavenly truth. No man hath learnt it, and is able to teach it, except the Son of Man, who ever was, and is, in heaven. The thought has met us before (John 1:18). To Nicodemus it must have come as an answer to the words of Agur, which had passed into a proverb to express the vanity of human effort to know God. “Who hath...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. And the Word, &c.--**To raise the reader to the altitude of this climax were the thirteen foregoing verses written.
**was made flesh--**BECAME MAN, in man's present frail, mortal condition, denoted by the word "flesh" (Is 40:6; 1Pe 1:24). It is directed probably against the Docetæ, who held that Christ was not really but only apparently man; against whom this gentle spirit is vehement ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus connects His coming crucifixion to Numbers 21:4-9 where a bronze serpent on a pole brought healing to snake-bitten Israelites who looked in faith. The typology is precise: the serpent (symbol of sin) was lifted up, as Christ became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Looking to Christ crucified brings spiritual healing. The word 'must' indicates divine necessity—the cross was no accident but Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **And as Moses lifted up.**—This verse is closely connected by the conjunction “and” with what has gone before. Jesus has taught that in Himself heaven and earth meet; so that, while subject to the conditions of human life, He, the Son of Man, the representative of humanity, is in heaven. He goes on to show that what is true of the representative is, through Him, true of the whole race. Again...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Joh 1:15. A Saying of the Baptist Confirmatory of This.
**15. after me--**in official manifestation.
**before me--**in rank and dignity.
**for he was before me--**in existence; "His goings forth being from of old, from everlasting" (Mi 5:2). (Anything lower than this His words cannot mean); that is, "My Successor is my Superior, for He was my Predecessor." This enigmatic play upon the differe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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KJV Study Commentary
The purpose of being lifted up: 'That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.' This is the first of three references to Christ being 'lifted up' in John (also 8:28, 12:32). The condition is belief; the result is eternal life; the alternative is perishing. The scope—'whosoever'—opens salvation to all who believe. The cross, like the bronze serpent, becomes the instrumen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Not perish, but . . .**—These words have been added here from the following verse. Omitting them, the sentence should be rendered, *that every one who believeth may have in Him eternal life.* This construction is borne out by a comparison of John 5:39; John 16:33; John 20:31. “To believe in Him” is not used by St. John. (See Note on John 1:12.) The thought of this verse is that as every Isr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Joh 1:16-18. Same Subject Continued.
**16. of his fulness--**of "grace and truth," resuming the thread of Joh 1:14.
**grace for grace--**that is, grace upon grace (so all the best interpreters), in successive communications and larger measures, as each was able to take it in. Observe, the word "truth" is here dropped. "Grace" being the chosen New Testament word for the whole fulness of the new ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.</strong> This verse stands as perhaps the most concise statement of the gospel in all of Scripture. The opening "For God" (οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς) grounds salvation entirely in divine initiative—not human merit, effort, or worthiness, but God's lo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) The last verse has spoken of “every one who believeth.” The thought went beyond the limits that Rabbis set to the kingdom of God. Its only limit is humanity. This thought is now repeated and strengthened by the “might not perish,” and the love of God is made the foundation on which it rests. Perhaps no verse in the Bible has been so much explained as this; perhaps no verse can be so little ex...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. For, &c.--**The Law elicits the consciousness of sin and the need of redemption; it only typifies the reality. The Gospel, on the contrary, actually communicates reality and power from above (compare Ro 6:14). Hence Paul terms the Old Testament "shadow," while he calls the New Testament "substance" (Col 2:17) [Olshausen].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse provides the essential balance to 3:16, clarifying God's redemptive purpose. The Greek conjunction gar (for) indicates that verse 17 explains verse 16's love. God sent His Son not eis katakrino (to condemn) but hina sothe (that the world might be saved). The verb sothe derives from sozo, meaning to rescue, heal, deliver, and preserve. The repetition of 'world' (kosmos) emphasizes the un...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **To condemn the world** gives to the English reader a stronger impression than that of the original Greek. The word (κρίνω*, krino,* the Latin *c*(*k*)*erno,* and the English dis*-cern*) means originally to separate, and in the moral sense to separate good from evil. Passing from the act to the effect, it may mean to absolve; but as the usual effect of separation is to exclude the evil, the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. No man--**"No one," in the widest sense.
**hath seen God--**by immediate gaze, or direct intuition.
**in the bosom of the Father--**A remarkable expression, used only here, presupposing the Son's conscious existence distinct from the Father, and expressing His immediate and most endeared access to, and absolute acquaintance with, Him.
**he--**emphatic; As if he should say, "He and He o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
A stark division emerges: 'He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.' Present tense 'is not condemned' and 'is condemned' show judgment as present reality, not merely future event. Unbelief is the condemning sin—not because other sins don't matter, but because unbelief rejects...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **He that believeth on him is not condemned.**—Again, *judged* is better than “condemned.” There is, moreover, an important change of tense in this verse, which the Authorised version does not mark clearly. *He that believeth on Him, is not judged: but he that believeth not hath been *(*and is*)* already judged.*
**Because he hath not believed.**—The human spirit fulfils the end of its being,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Joh 1:19-36. The Baptist's Testimony to Christ.
**19. record--**testimony.
**the Jews--**that is, the heads of the nation, the members of the Sanhedrim. In this peculiar sense our Evangelist seems always to use the term.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
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KJV Study Commentary
Judgment is explained: 'And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.' Condemnation isn't arbitrary divine decree but response to deliberate choice. Light came; darkness was preferred. The problem is moral, not intellectual—'their deeds were evil.' People don't reject Christ for lack of evidence but because...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **And this is the condemnation.**—For “condemnation” read *judgment;* for “light” and “darkness,” *the light* and *the darkness.* The object is salvation, not judgment (John 3:17); but the separation of the good involves the judgment of the evil. The light makes the darkness visible. Both were before men. That they chose darkness was the act of their own will, and this act of the will was det...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. confessed, &c.--**that is, While many were ready to hail him as the Christ, he neither gave the slightest ground for such views, nor the least entertainment to them.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. reproved: or, discovered
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KJV Study Commentary
'For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.' This explains why people reject Christ despite sufficient evidence. Evil deeds cause hatred of light because light exposes. Coming to Christ means exposure of sin—a prospect evil-doers flee. The verb 'reproved' (elencho) means to bring to light, to expose, to convict. Light is threaten...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **For every one that doeth evil hateth the light.**—In this and the next verse we have the explanation of the choice of the darkness and rejection of the light. The fact itself is first stated more strongly. Not only does the man that doeth evil love darkness rather than light, but he hates the light. (Comp. Note on John 7:7.) Its presence makes manifest and reproves his works, which he would...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. Elias--**in His own proper person.
**that prophet--**announced in De 18:15, &c., about whom they seem not to have been agreed whether he were the same with the Messiah or no.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
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KJV Study Commentary
'But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.' The contrast is complete: evil-doers flee light; truth-doers come to it. The phrase 'doeth truth' combines action and truth—genuine living, not mere profession. Such people welcome exposure because their deeds are 'wrought in God'—accomplished through divine enablement. They're not sin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **He that doeth truth** is opposed to “him that practiseth evil.” With fixed purpose he doeth not that which is evil or worthless, but that which, when every veil by which it is hidden from himself or others is removed, remains morally true. Regarding truth as the work of life, he cometh to the light, and though for him too it will be a revelation of sins and errors, and deeds of shame, he ha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
Christ's discourse with Nicodemus.(1-21)
The baptism of John of Christ John's testimony.(22-36)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginni...
Read full commentary →John the Baptist Exalts Christ
After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
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KJV Study Commentary
John notes Jesus' movement to Judean countryside where He baptized alongside disciples. This indicates a period of parallel ministry with John the Baptist. Jesus' early ministry included baptism—likely disciples performing the ritual (John 4:2). This geographical and chronological note shows Jesus' ministry gradually expanding while still overlapping with John's. The transition from preparation to...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **After these things.**—Not implying that He left Jerusalem at once. The “land of Judæa” is the province as distinct from the capital. This verse points to a work in Judæa of which we know nothing more. It was probably not confined to one place. We have to think of Christ as continuing His teaching, of large numbers influenced by it (John 3:26), and of these as being baptised by the disciples...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
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KJV Study Commentary
John's concurrent ministry at Aenon demonstrates that God's work through different servants can overlap without competition. The detail 'much water' (Greek: hydata polla) indicates John's baptismal practice required immersion. The Reformed tradition sees baptism's mode as significant but subordinate to its spiritual reality of union with Christ.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Ænon** **near to Salim.**—The latter place was clearly well known at the time, and regarded as fixing the locality of the former. It has been usual to follow Jerome and Eusebius, who fix the place in the valley of the Jordan, eight miles south from Bethshan, or Scythopolis. (See quotation from the *Onomasticon,* in Caspari, *Chron. and Geogr. Introd.,* Eng. Trans., p. 122.) The objection to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →For John was not yet cast into prison.
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KJV Study Commentary
This parenthetical note anticipates John's imprisonment (recorded in the Synoptics), creating dramatic irony. John's faithful witness will soon lead to suffering, illustrating the cost of prophetic ministry. The Reformed tradition affirms that suffering for Christ is normative, not exceptional, in the Christian life.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Was not yet cast into prison.**—This Judæan ministry, then, preceded the Galilean ministry of the earlier Gospels. (See John 4:3, and Note on Matthew 4:12.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. Why baptizest thou, if not, &c.--**Thinking he disclaimed any special connection with Messiah's kingdom, they demand his right to gather disciples by baptism.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
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KJV Study Commentary
A dispute about purification between John's disciples and 'a Jew' (some manuscripts read 'Jews') reveals ongoing debate about ritual cleanliness and baptism's significance. Such controversies often arise when human traditions clash with divine innovation. The Reformed principle is that ceremonies matter only as they point to spiritual realities, not as ends in themselves.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Then there arose a question.**—For “the Jews,” the reading of the better MSS. is, *a Jew.* The question arose on the side of John’s disciples. What the exact nature of it was we do not know, and have no means of judging. It was one of the questions which in every age has arisen about external rites, and has too often been accompanied by a neglect of inner principles. This arose in some way ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. there standeth--**This must have been spoken after the baptism of Christ, and possibly just after His temptation (see on Joh 1:29).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
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KJV Study Commentary
John's disciples report with concern: 'Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.' They see Jesus as competitor—someone John endorsed now surpassing him. The phrase 'all men come to him' expresses exaggeration born of jealousy. John's disciples haven't grasped their teacher's purpose: to decrease while Christ increa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan.**—John’s disciples, with a natural attachment to their master, and without the knowledge of what that master’s work really was, are jealous of what seems to them the rival work of Jesus. He had been with John; the Baptist had borne witness to Him. Now He seems to usurp his work, and the throngs which had crowded to the Forerunner go to Him. (Comp....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. receive: or, take unto himself
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KJV Study Commentary
John's response begins with theological foundation: 'A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.' All ministry is divine gift, not human achievement. If Jesus is gaining followers, heaven has given it. John's perspective eliminates jealousy by eliminating ownership. He never possessed disciples to lose; they were always heaven's gift temporarily entrusted. This theology of gift ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **A man can receive nothing . . .**—Do these words apply to the Baptist himself, or to Christ? Do they mean “I cannot assume this higher position which you wish to give me, because it is not given me by heaven;” or, “His work, with its influence over men, ought to convince you that His mission is divine “? Expositors have given, now this, now that answer. The immediate connection with John 3:...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. Bethabara--**Rather, "Bethany" (according to nearly all the best and most ancient manuscripts); not the Bethany of Lazarus, but another of the same name, and distinguished from it as lying "beyond Jordan," on the east.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
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KJV Study Commentary
John reminds his disciples of his own teaching: 'Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.' They should have known this—John had consistently denied being Messiah and defined himself as forerunner. He references his earlier public declarations. True teachers remind students of fundamental truths that prevent confusion. John's identity was alway...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Ye yourselves bear me witness.**—They remembered (John 3:26) that John had borne witness to Jesus. Did they not remember too what he had said? He had from the first known his own work, and the greater work. Some of his disciples had known it also, and had gone from him to Jesus. This which they see was the necessary result of the truth he had ever declared.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29. seeth Jesus--**fresh, probably, from the scene of the temptation.
**coming unto him--**as to congenial company (Ac 4:23), and to receive from him His first greeting.
**and saith--**catching a sublime inspiration at the sight of Him approaching.
**the Lamb of God--**the one God-ordained, God-gifted sacrificial offering.
**that taketh away--**taketh up and taketh away. The word signifi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
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KJV Study Commentary
John uses wedding imagery: 'He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.' John is the 'friend'—the best man—whose role is to serve the bridegroom's purposes. The bride belongs to Jesus; John's joy is hearing the bridegroom's voice and seeing the we...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **He that hath the bride is the bridegroom.**—This is the only instance in this Gospel where the familiar imagery of an Eastern marriage meets us. (See Note on Matthew 9:15, where we have the same imagery in the answer of our Lord to these same disciples of John, then taking sides with the Pharisees, on the question of fasting.) The “friend of the bridegroom”—called by the Hebrews “Shōshbēn,”...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →He must increase, but I must decrease.
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KJV Study Commentary
John the Baptist's famous declaration 'He must increase, but I must decrease' epitomizes humble ministry. The divine necessity 'must' indicates God's sovereign plan; the present tense suggests ongoing process. This is true discipleship—Christ exalted, self diminished. John models what every believer should pursue: making much of Jesus, little of ourselves. The contrasting verbs (increase/decrease)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **He must increase, but I must decrease.**—The office of the paranymph ceases to exist when the marriage is accomplished. It must be so. So too in the interpretation. His own work was well-nigh done, but he is filled with the joy of having done his work, not with disappointment that it pales before the brightness of the work which is to follow. This is the text of the Forerunner’s life. Well ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31-34. knew him not--**Living mostly apart, the one at Nazareth, the other in the Judean desert--to prevent all appearance of collusion, John only knew that at a definite time after his own call, his Master would show Himself. As He drew near for baptism one day, the last of all the crowd, the spirit of the Baptist heaving under a divine presentiment that the moment had at length arrived, and an...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
John contrasts his earthly origin with Christ's heavenly: '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.' Origin determines authority. Earthly prophets (including John) speak earthly perspectives; the One from heaven possesses absolute authority. This isn't self-deprecation but theological clarity. Je...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **He that cometh from above.**—Comp. Note on John 3:13, and John 8:23. It is expressed in another form in the last clause of the verse.
**Is above all**—*i.e.,* above all persons, and, as the context limits the sense, specially above all teachers.
**He that is of the earth is earthly.**—This is the right sense, but the force of the words is lessened by not preserving the three-fold “of the ea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31-34. knew him not--**Living mostly apart, the one at Nazareth, the other in the Judean desert--to prevent all appearance of collusion, John only knew that at a definite time after his own call, his Master would show Himself. As He drew near for baptism one day, the last of all the crowd, the spirit of the Baptist heaving under a divine presentiment that the moment had at length arrived, and an...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
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KJV Study Commentary
A sobering observation: 'And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.' Jesus testifies from firsthand heavenly knowledge—He's seen and heard divine realities. Yet 'no man receiveth his testimony.' This hyperbole expresses the tragic reality of widespread rejection. Few receive; many reject. The one qualified to speak is ignored by those most needing His ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **And what he hath seen and heard.**—This is the opposite of the third point, the speaking of the earth in the last verse. Divine in origin, divine in nature, He is divine in teaching. That teaching, too, is a witness of things seen and heard. (Comp. Notes on John 6:11-12.) It was a message from the Father’s home, brought by the Son Himself. His own message was but that of a servant who did n...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31-34. knew him not--**Living mostly apart, the one at Nazareth, the other in the Judean desert--to prevent all appearance of collusion, John only knew that at a definite time after his own call, his Master would show Himself. As He drew near for baptism one day, the last of all the crowd, the spirit of the Baptist heaving under a divine presentiment that the moment had at length arrived, and an...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.' Those who do receive Christ's testimony thereby confirm God's truthfulness. Receiving Christ is a double affirmation—of Christ's identity and God's faithfulness in sending Him. The 'seal' imagery suggests authentication, commitment, and ownership. To believe Christ is to seal one's conviction that God keeps His promises.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **He that hath received.**—Better, *he that* *received.* “Hath set to his seal,” better, *set his seal.* It had been so. Earlier disciples, as Andrew and John (John 1:40), had passed from the Forerunner to the Great Teacher, and had heard in His words that which went to the divine in their own spirits, and had come from the short first meeting with the conviction, “We have found the Messias.”...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31-34. knew him not--**Living mostly apart, the one at Nazareth, the other in the Judean desert--to prevent all appearance of collusion, John only knew that at a definite time after his own call, his Master would show Himself. As He drew near for baptism one day, the last of all the crowd, the spirit of the Baptist heaving under a divine presentiment that the moment had at length arrived, and an...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
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KJV Study Commentary
'For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.' Jesus speaks God's words because He possesses the Spirit without measure. Other prophets received partial, temporary Spirit empowerment; Jesus is permanently, fully anointed. His teaching carries complete divine authority because the Spirit's fullness is His. This unlimited anointing grounds u...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **For he whom God hath sent.**—Better, *he whom God sent.* The acceptance of the witness of things seen and heard is the attestation by the human spirit of the truthfulness of God, for Jesus is as one sent from God to declare Him. It is the divine image in man which recognises divinity. Every human faculty finds its true work, and true satisfaction, and the true object of its being, in Him; a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. John stood--**"was standing," at his accustomed place.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
'The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.' Divine love grounds divine authority. Because the Father loves the Son, all things are entrusted to Him. This verse reveals intra-Trinitarian relationship and its expression in the Son's universal authority. 'All things' includes creation, judgment, and redemption. Nothing falls outside Christ's authorized domain. Love and sover...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **The Father loveth the Son.**—Comp. Note on Matthew 11:27, which is remarkable as an instance of what we call distinctly Johannine thought and diction in the earlier Gospels. We shall meet the words again in John 5:20.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36. looking--**having fixed his eyes, with significant gaze, on Jesus.
**as he walked--**but not now to him. To have done this once (see on Joh 1:29) was humility enough [Bengel].
**Behold, &c.--**The repetition of that wonderful proclamation, in identical terms and without another word, could only have been meant as a gentle hint to go after Him--as they did.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.' The chapter concludes with the starkest contrast possible. Belief brings present possession of eternal life; unbelief means never seeing life while God's wrath 'abides'—continues to remain—upon the unbeliever. This isn't mere future consequence but presen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) Here too we have, in the words of John, thoughts which we have found already (John 3:15-16), and shall find again (John 5:24), in the words of Christ Himself.
**He that believeth not the Son.**—Better, *he that obeyeth not the Son.* The word, which occurs only here in the Gospels, is not the same as that at the beginning of the verse, and shows that the faith there intended is the subjection ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-36**
John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak ab...
Read full commentary →