John 3:11-17 WEB

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:11

John 3:11. We speak that we do know,— Some have supposed, that, as Christ speaks here in the plural number, he may refer not only to the doctrine which was delivered by himself, but to the testimony which was given to the truth of it by John the Baptist, and to the preaching also of his own disciples, who all concurred in testifying the same things, the certainty of which they were assured of by the teachings of the Spirit, and by their own experience; while it was known to Christ by his... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:12-13

John 3:12-13. If I have told you earthly things,— "If you believe not these obvious truths concerning the spiritual nature of God's kingdom, and the qualifications of his subjects, how shall you believe the more sublime doctrines of religion, which I am come to teach you?" OurLord goes on, "In the mean time, you may safely receive my instructions; for I am vested with an authority, and endued with gifts far superior to all prophets that have ever appeared; No man hath ascended up to heaven,"... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:14-15

John 3:14-15. And as Moses lifted up— Our Lord, by telling Nicodemus that the death of the Messiah was prefigured by types in the law, shewed him, that it was agreeable both to the doctrine of Moses, and to the councils of heaven, that the Messiah should be in a suffering state; consequently he insinuated, that the meanness of his present appearance upon earth was no reason why Nicodemus should doubt of his having come down from heaven. The type that he mentioned as prefiguring his sufferings,... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:16

John 3:16. For God so loved the world,— Our Lord here assures Nicodemus, that men owed the unspeakable happiness spoken of in the preceding verse, to the free and unutterable love of God the Father, who desired their salvation with such ardency, that he sent his only-begotten Son to bestow everlasting life on those who perseveringlybelieve in him; so far washe from sending him to condemn them, as he had reason to fear. This is one of those bright and heart-affecting passages in the gospel,... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:17

John 3:17. For God sent not his Son—to condemn the world;— God is often represented as an avenger in the Old Testament: and as mankind had incurred his wrath by their iniquities, it might be expected that when he sent his Son into the world, it would have been to inflict punishments upon them, as the word rendered condemn also implies; but, on the contrary, the Son of God was sent to save the world and to give life, as the Syriac emphatically renders it. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:11

11-13. We speak that we know, and . . . have seen—that is, by absolute knowledge and immediate vision of God, which "the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father" claims as exclusively His own ( :-). The "we" and "our" are here used, though Himself only is intended, in emphatic contrast, probably, with the opening words of Nicodemus, "Rabbi, we know.", &c. ye receive not, &c.—referring to the class to which Nicodemus belonged, but from which he was beginning to be separated in... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:12

12. earthly things—such as regeneration, the gate of entrance to the kingdom of God on earth, and which Nicodemus should have understood better, as a truth even of that more earthly economy to which he belonged. heavenly things—the things of the new and more heavenly evangelical economy, only to be fully understood after the effusion of the Spirit from heaven through the exalted Saviour. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:13

13. no man hath ascended, &c.—There is something paradoxical in this language—"No one has gone up but He that came down, even He who is at once both up and down." Doubtless it was intended to startle and constrain His auditor to think that there must be mysterious elements in His Person. The old Socinians, to subvert the doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ, seized upon this passage as teaching that the man Jesus was secretly caught up to heaven to receive His instructions, and then... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:14

14-16. And as Moses, c.—Here now we have the "heavenly things," as before the "earthly," but under a veil, for the reason mentioned in :-. The crucifixion of Messiah is twice after this veiled under the same lively term—"uplifting," John 8:28 John 12:32; John 12:33. Here it is still further veiled—though to us who know what it means, rendered vastly more instructive—by reference to the brazen serpent. The venom of the fiery serpents, shooting through the veins of the rebellious Israelites, was... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:16

16. For God so loved, c.—What proclamation of the Gospel has been so oft on the lips of missionaries and preachers in every age since it was first uttered? What has sent such thrilling sensations through millions of mankind? What has been honored to bring such multitudes to the feet of Christ? What to kindle in the cold and selfish breasts of mortals the fires of self-sacrificing love to mankind, as these words of transparent simplicity, yet overpowering majesty? The picture embraces several... read more

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:11

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:12-13

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:14-15

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:16

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - John 3:17

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:11

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:12

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:13

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:14

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - John 3:16

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