John 3:1 NIV

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 3:1-6

3:1-6 There was a man who was one of the Pharisees who was called Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him: "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do the signs which you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him: "This is the truth I tell you--unless a man is reborn from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him: "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter into his mother's womb... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 3:1-6

When John relates conversations that Jesus had with enquirers, he has a way of following a certain scheme. We see that scheme very clearly here. The enquirer says something ( John 3:2 ). Jesus answers in a saying that is hard to understand ( John 3:3 ). That saying is misunderstood by the enquirer ( John 3:4 ). Jesus answers with a saying that is even more difficult to understand ( John 3:5 ). And then there follows a discourse and an explanation. John uses this method in order that we... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 3:1-6

Let us start with the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean? We get our best definition of it from the Lord's Prayer. There are two petitions side by side: Thy Kingdom come: Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. It is characteristic of Jewish style to say things twice, the second way explaining and amplifying the first. Any verse of the Psalms will show us this Jewish habit of what is technically known as parallelism: The Lord of hosts is with us: The God of Jacob is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:1

There was a man of the Pharisees ,.... The Syriac version adds, "there"; that is, at Jerusalem; and who was among those that believed in the name of Christ, upon seeing the miracles he did at the feast of the passover, in that place. This man was not a common and ordinary man, but a man of note and eminence, of dignity and figure; and who was of the sect of the Pharisees, which was the strictest sect for religion and holiness, among the Jews; and which, as corrupt as it was, was also the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:1

Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews - One of the members of the grand Sanhedrin; for such were ordinarily styled rulers among the Jews. A person of the name of Nicodemus, the son of Gorion, is mentioned in the Jewish writings, who lived in the time of Vespasian, and was reputed to be so rich that he could support all the inhabitants of Jerusalem for ten years. But this is said in their usual extravagant mode of talking. 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

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.

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 3:1-6

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 3:1-6

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - John 3:1-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 3:1

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

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1-2

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:1-36

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