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Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:4

How can a man be born when he is old? - It is probable that Nicodemus was pretty far advanced in age at this time; and from his answer we may plainly perceive that, like the rest of the Jews, and like multitudes of Christians, he rested in the letter, without paying proper attention to the spirit: the shadow, without the thing signified, had hitherto satisfied him. Our Lord knew him to be in this state, and this was the cause of his pointed address to him. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:1

Verse 1 1.Now there was a man of the Pharisees. In the person of Nicodemus the Evangelist now exhibits to our view how vain and fleeting was the faith of those who, having been excited by miracles, suddenly professed to be the disciples of Christ. For since this man was of the order of the Pharisees, and held the rank of a ruler in his nation, he must have been far more excellent than others. The common people, for the most part, are light and unsteady; but who would not have thought that he... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:2

Verse 2 2.He came to Jesus by night. From the circumstance of his coming by night we infer that his timidity was excessive; for his eyes were dazzled, as it were, by the splendor of his own greatness and reputation. (55) Perhaps too he was hindered by shame, for ambitious men think that their reputation is utterly ruined, if they have once descended from the dignity of teachers to the rank of scholars; and he was unquestionably puffed up with a foolish opinion of his knowledge. In short, as he... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:3

Verse 3 3.Verily, verily, I say to thee. The word Verily ( ἀμὴν) is twice repeated, and this is done for the purpose of arousing him to more earnest attention. For when he was about to speak of the most important and weighty of all subjects, he found it necessary to awaken the attention of Nicodemus, who might otherwise have passed by this whole discourse in a light or careless manner. (57) Such, then, is the design of the double affirmation. Though this discourse appears to be far-fetched and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:4

Verse 4 4.How can a man be born when he is old? Though the form of expression which Christ employed was not contained in the Law and the prophets, yet as renewal is frequently mentioned in Scripture, and is one of the first principles of faith, it is evident how imperfectly skilled the Scribes at that time were in the reading of the Scriptures. It certainly was not one man only who was to blame for not knowing what was meant by the grace of regeneration; but as almost all devoted their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1

But there was a man of the Pharisees . Is this narrative introduced, as Baur thinks, to give a specimen of wrongly directed faith, to which Christ did not entrust himself? and was the evangelist busy at once on his great mission of undervaluing the Jewish parties and nation? Certainly not. We have a clear proof that, in the case of the genuine inquirer, Christ did open His very heart; and to a "ruler of Jews," to a "Pharisee," to a "teacher of Israel," he deigned (because he knew what was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1-2

Coming to Jesus by night. I. THE SIMPLE FACT IS STATED . We are left to draw our own inferences. Evidently we are meant to think the worse of Nicodemus for coming by night, and we may draw inferences without making Nicodemus out to be an exceptionally bad character. Just the average man of the world, with a position made for him, having much to lose by taking up boldly with new ways, and therefore feeling he could not be too cautious in his first approach to Jesus. He did not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1-8

The interview of Christ with Nicodemus. This brings before us one of the most important passages in Scripture. I. NICODEMUS APPEARS HERE AS A RELIGIOUS INQUIRER . 1 . He was " a ruler of the Jews. " That is, not a civic magistrate, but a member of the Sanhedrin, which governed the Jewish community in ecclesiastical concerns. 2 . He was a Pharisee. The most popular and influential of the Jewish sects—narrow in its particularism, and with a zeal springing out... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:2

This man came to him £ by night, and said unto him. To suppose, with many commentators, that the night is here symbolic of the mental condition of the man, is far-fetched. Thoma, here intent on his principle of the fabricated character of the Gospel, compares this to King Saul (Paul's ancestor!) going by night to Samuel—a type of Christ! There is more probability that the night of the Last Supper was in the mind of John, and that these two nights, the one at the beginning, the other at... read more

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