John 3
Encyclopedia
John 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of John
in the New Testament
of the Christian
Bible
.
, said to be a member of the ruling council, coming to talk with Jesus
, whom he calls Rabbi
. Jesus' "miraculous signs" have convinced him that Jesus is "...from God
". In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Nicodemus, confused and skeptical, asks, "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus then talks of what it means to be born again and the path to heaven
. "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (5-6) Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man and how belief in him is the path to eternal life. This is summed up in one of the most famous passages from the bible, John 3:16
: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This chapter is intended to show the importance of the belief
in Jesus as the son of God. Jesus is shown here already proclaiming himself the Messiah
and laying out aspects of Christian theology
, in contrast to Mark
for instance, where Jesus seems to try to keep the fact of his divinity secret until his final trip to Jerusalem.
Nicodemus appears here, in chapter 7:50 and is listed in John 19:39, and only John, as helping Joseph of Arimathea
to bury Jesus.
with his disciples and baptizes. John the Baptist
is also baptizing people nearby, at Aenon
. John's disciples tell John that Jesus is also baptizing people, more than John it seems. John replies that "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less." He finishes by saying "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." This passage is meant to show John's acceptance of Jesus's superiority as well as a further emphasis on belief in him as the path to eternal life/heaven.
John was trying to show to his presumably Jewish audience that John himself knew that Jesus was the Messiah and that baptism into Christianity, not John's group, is the true path to God. There is a group still surviving today, the Mandaeans, who claim John as the greatest prophet. Verses 31-36 are largely a restatement of material in the first half. This had led scholars to speculate that this part, and much else in John such as material in chapter 6, 14, 16 and chapter 21 was the work of a redactor who added sections to the original writing to perhaps make it less radical and include material the person thought was left out of the original account.
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Nicodemus
The first part of the chapter begins with NicodemusNicodemus
Saint Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus...
, said to be a member of the ruling council, coming to talk with Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, whom he calls Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. Jesus' "miraculous signs" have convinced him that Jesus is "...from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
". In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Nicodemus, confused and skeptical, asks, "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus then talks of what it means to be born again and the path to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (5-6) Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man and how belief in him is the path to eternal life. This is summed up in one of the most famous passages from the bible, John 3:16
John 3:16
John 3:16 is one of the most widely quoted verses from the Christian Bible, and has been called the most famous Bible verse...
: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This chapter is intended to show the importance of the belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
in Jesus as the son of God. Jesus is shown here already proclaiming himself the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
and laying out aspects of Christian theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, in contrast to Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
for instance, where Jesus seems to try to keep the fact of his divinity secret until his final trip to Jerusalem.
Nicodemus appears here, in chapter 7:50 and is listed in John 19:39, and only John, as helping Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
to bury Jesus.
Jesus baptizes
In the second part of the chapter John contrasts Jesus' talk of being born again with a scene of Jesus baptizing. Jesus goes into JudeaJudea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
with his disciples and baptizes. John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
is also baptizing people nearby, at Aenon
AEnon
Ænon is a Greek word coming from a Hebrew term "ay-yin". It means "spring" or "natural fountain", and was a place near Salem where John the Baptist baptized . Its probable location was near the upper source of the Wadi Far'ah, an open valley extending from Mount Ebal to the Jordan River which is...
. John's disciples tell John that Jesus is also baptizing people, more than John it seems. John replies that "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less." He finishes by saying "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." This passage is meant to show John's acceptance of Jesus's superiority as well as a further emphasis on belief in him as the path to eternal life/heaven.
John was trying to show to his presumably Jewish audience that John himself knew that Jesus was the Messiah and that baptism into Christianity, not John's group, is the true path to God. There is a group still surviving today, the Mandaeans, who claim John as the greatest prophet. Verses 31-36 are largely a restatement of material in the first half. This had led scholars to speculate that this part, and much else in John such as material in chapter 6, 14, 16 and chapter 21 was the work of a redactor who added sections to the original writing to perhaps make it less radical and include material the person thought was left out of the original account.