On Line Bible Study - For the Week January 9-15, 2012

Lesson 518

John 3: ³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ The person who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God^[i] gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects [disobeys?] the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Challenges abound with this text. Who is talking? Jesus? John the Baptist? John the Evangelist? And there are a few textual challenges as well, one of which is noted in verse 36 above.

You can consult the commentaries for further discussion of the exegetical intricacies of the passage. For our purposes let’s pull out a parallel theme - that of the distinction between “what belongs to earth” as opposed to that which “comes from heaven”, and the distinction between the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ.

Father Raymond Brown points out that the phrase belongs to the earth here is not to be taken in a derogatory way as much as it indicates certain limitations. The prophets were sent by God; but they were not sent from above as was Jesus. This is true for John the Baptist as well.

Jesus is not only sent by God; he is sent from above. There is nothing on earth that can give the life that only comes by way of the Spirit. Jesus is the one who is both sent by the Spirit and imparts the life-giving Spirit.

For the evangelist (and the redactor, that is, editor, of the gospel), it is essential to make the point that John is the forerunner, not the Christ. John is a powerful instrument of God, but his message is earthly. Jesus is sent from above; his message is heavenly. It is life-giving.

The passage concludes with the notion that “wrath” is already on those who are not receiving what Jesus has to offer. It is not something they begin to experience later; they are living with the burdens of ‘wrath’ in the here and now.

“Life” is in the believing, and it’s what Jesus has to offer.