13 And no man hath ascended 14 And as Moses lifted up the up to heaven, but he that came serpent in the wilderness, even down from heaven, even the Son of so must the Son of man be lifted man which is in heaven. up; a Ep.4.9,10. corruption of our hearts, that the plainest doctrines of religion are so little understood by us. 3d. There is before us a vast immensity; there are profound wonders of God's government, to be the study of the righteous, and to be seen and admired for ever and ever. 13. And no man hath ascended into heaven. No man, therefore, is qualified to sneak of heavenly things. Ver. 12. To speak of those things requires intimacy with them; demands that we have seen them; and as no one hath ascended into heaven and returned, so no one is qualified to speak of them but he who came down from heaven. This does not mean that no one had gone to heaven, or been saved, for Enoch and Elijah had been borne there (Gen. v. 24. Compare Heb. xi. 5. 2 Kings ii. 11.); and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and others, were there. But it means that no one had ascended and returned, so as to be qualified to speak of the things there. But he that came down, &c. The Lord Jesus. He is represented as coming down, because, being equal with God, he took upon himself our nature. John i. 14. Phil. ii. 6. 7. He is represented as sent by the Father. John iii. 17, 34. Gal. iv. 4. 1 John iv. 9, 10. The Son of man.Called thus from his being a man; from his interest in man; and as expressive of his regard for man. It is a favorite title which the Lord Jesus gives to himself. Which is in heaven. This is a very remarkable expression. Jesus, the Son of man, was then bodily on earth conversing with Nicodemus. Yet he declares, that he is at the same time in heaven. This can be understood only as referring to the fact that he had two natures-that his divine nature was in heaven, and his human nature on earth. Our Saviour is frequently spoken of in this manner. Compare John vi. 62; xvii. 5. 2 Cor. viii. 9. As Jesus was in heaven; as his proper abode was there, he was fitted to speak of heavenly things, and declare the will of God to man. And we b Nu.21.9. may learn, 1st. That the truth abou the deep things of God is not to be learned of men. No one has ascended there; and no infidel, or mere man, or prophet, is qualified of himself to speak of them. 2d. That all the light which we are to expect on those subjects is to be sought in the scriptures. It is only Jesus and his inspired apostles and evangelists, that can speak of those things. 3d. It is not wonderful that some things in the scriptures are mysterious. They are about things which we have not seen, and we must receive them on the testimony of him who has seen them the Lord Jesus Christ. 4th. The Lord Jesus is divine. He was in heaven while on earth. He had, therefore, a nature far above the hu man, and is equal with the Father. Ch. i. 1. 14. And as Moses. Jesus proceeds in this and the following verses to state the reason why he came into the world, And in order to this he illustrates his design, and the efficacy of his coming, by a reference to the case of the brazen serpent, recorded in Num. xxi. 8, 9. The people were bitten by flying, fiery serpents. There was no cure for the bite. Moses was directed to make an image of the serpent, and place it in sight of the people, that they might look on it and be healed. There is no evidence that this was intended to be a type of the Messiah; but it is used by Jesus as strikingly illustrating his work. Men are sinners. There is no cure by human means for the maladies of the soul. And as the people who were bitten might look on the image of the serpent, and be healed-so may sinners look to the Saviour, and be cured of all the moral maladies of our nature.— Lifted up. Erected on a pole. Placed on high so that it might be seen by the people. The serpent. The image of a serpent made of brass. In the wilderness. Near the land of Edom. In the desert and desolate country to the south of mount Hor Num. xxi 4 Even so. In a similar manner, and with a similar design. He here refers. doubtless, to his deatn. Compare John xii. 32; viii. 28. The points of resemblance between his being lifted up, and that of the brazen serpent, seem to be these: 1st. In both cases, those who are to be benefited can be aided in no other way. The bite of the serpent was deadly, and could be healed only by looking on the brazen serpent; and sin is deadly in its nature, and can be removed only by looking on the cross. 2d. The mode of their being lifted up. The brazen serpent was in the sight of the people. So Jesus was exalted from the earth; raised on a tree, or cross. 3d. The design was similar. The one was to save the life: the other the soul. The one to save from temporal, the other from eternal, death. 4th. The manner of the cure was similar. The people of Israel were to look on the serpent and be healed-and so sinners are to look on the Lord Jesus, that they may be saved. Must. It is proper; necessary; indispensable if men are saved. Compare Luke xxiv. 26; xxii. 42. The Son of man. The Messiah. 15. That whosoever. This shows the fulness and freeness of the gospel. All may come and be saved. Believeth in him. Whosoever puts confidence in him as able and willing to save. All who feel that they are sinners; that they have no righteousness of their own, and are willing to look to him as their only Saviour. Should not perish. They are in danger, by nature, of perishing that is, of sinking down to the pains of hell; of being punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thess. i. 9. All who believe on Jesus, shall be saved from this condemnation, and be raised up to eternal life. And from this we learn, 1st. That there is salvation in no other. 2d. That salvation is here full, and free for all who will come. 3d. That it is easy. What was more easy for a poor, wounded, dying Israelite, bitten by a poisonous serpent, than to look up to a brazen serpent? So with the poor, lost, dying sinner. And what more oolsh, than for such a wounded, dying 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him b 1 Jno.4.9. man to refuse to look on a remedy so easy and effectual? So nothing is more foolish than for a lost and dying sinner, to refuse to look on God's only Son, exalted on a cross, to die for the sins of men, and able to save, to the uttermost, all who come to God by him. 16. For God so loved. This does not mean that God approved the conduct of men, but had benevolent feelings towards them; was so earnestly desirous of their happiness. God hates wickedness, but still desires the happiness of those who are sinful. A parent may love his child, and desire his welfare, and yet be strongly opposed to the conduct of that child. When we approve the conduct of another, this is the love of complacency; when we desire simply their happiness, this is the love of bene volence. The world. All mankind. It does not mean any particular part of the world, but man as man―the race that had rebelled and that deserved to die. See John vi. 33; xvii. 21. His love for the world, or for all mankind, in giving his Son, was shown by these circumstances: 1st. All the world was in ruin, and exposed to the wrath of God. 2d. They were in a hopeless condition. 3d. God gave his Son.Man had no claim on him. It was a gift-an undeserved gift. 4th. He gave him up to extreme sufferings-even the bitter pains of death on the cross. 5th. It was for all the world. He tasted "death for every man." Heb. ii. 9. He "died for all." 2 Cor. v. 15. "He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world." 1 John ii. 2. That he gave. It was a free gift, unmerited. Man had no claim; and when there was no eye to pity, or arm to save, it pleased God to give his Son into the hands of men to die in their stead. Gal. i. 4. Rom. viii. 32. Luke xxii. 19. It was the mere movement of his love: the expression of his eternal compassion, and his desire that sinners should not perish for ever. His only-begotten Son. See Note on John i. 14. This is the high est expression of love of which we can conceive. A parent who should give should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For a God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. not condemned: but he that believ eth not is condemned already, be cause he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, C 18 He that believeth on him is that light is come into the world a Lu.9.56. b c.6.4),47 up his only son to die-if this cc uld, or might, be done-would show higher ove than could be manifested in any other way. So it shows the depth of the love of God, that he was willing o give his only Son into the hands of sinful men, that he might be slain, and thus redeem them from eternal sor row. 17. To condemn the world. Not to judge, or pronounce sen ence on mankind. God might have sent him justly for this. Man deserved condemnation, and it would have been right then to have pronounced it. But God was willing that there should be an offer of pardon, and the sentence of condemnation was delayed. Though Jesus did not come then to condemn mankind, yet the time is coming when he will return to judge the living and the dead. Acts xvii. 31. 2 Cor. v. 10. Matt. xxv. 31-46. 18. He that believeth. He that has confidence in him; relies on him; and trusts to his merits and promises for salvation. To believe on him, is to feel and act according to truth; that is, to go as lost sinners, and act towards him as a Saviour from sins; relying on him, and looking to him only for salvation. See Notes on Mark xvi. 16. ¶ Is not condemned. Because believing on him. God pardons sin, and delivers us from deserved punishment. Jesus died in our stead. He suffered for us. And by his sufferings God is satisfied; our sins are expiated; and it is consistent for him to forgive. When a sinner, therefore, believes on Jesus, he trusts in him as having died in his place, and God haying accepted the offering which Christ made in our stead, as being an equivalent for our sufferings in hell, there is now no further condemnation. Rom. vii. 1. He that believeth not. All who do not believe, whether the gospel has come to them or not. All men by nature. Is condemned already. By conscience; by law; and in the judgment of God. God disapproves of their cha c c.1.4,9-11. racter; and this feeling of disapproba tion, and the expression of it, is the condemnation. There is no condemna. tion so terrible as this, that God disapproves our conduct, and will express his disapprobation. He will judge according to truth, and wo to that man whose conduct God cannot approve. ¶ Be cause. This word does not imply that the ground, or reason of their condemnation is, that they have not believed, or, that they are condemned because they do not believe on him-for there are millions of sinners who have never heard of him. But the meaning is this. There is but one way by which men can be freed from condemnation. All men without the gospel are condemned.They who do not believe are still under this condemnation-not having embraced the only way by which they can be delivered from it. The verse may be thus paraphrased: All men are by nature condemned. There is but one way of being free from this state-by believ ing on the Son of God. They who do not believe-remain in that state- are still condemned, FOR they have not em braced the only way in which they can be freed from it.' Nevertheless, those to whom the gospel comes, greatly heighten their guilt and condemnation by rejecting the offers of mercy, and trampling under foot the blood of the Son of God. Luke xii. 47. Matt. xi. 23. Heb. x. 29. Prov. i. 24-30. And there are thousands going to eternity under this double condemnation. 1st. For posi tive, open sin; and 2d. For rejecting God's mercy, and despising the gospel of his Son. This it is which will make the doom of sinners in Christian lands so terrible. 19. This is the condemnation. This is the cause of condemnation; or this is the reason why men are, punished That light is come. Light often denotes instruction, teaching, doctrine, as that by which we see clearly the path of duty. All the instruction that Gor and men loved darkness rather than | the light, lest his deeds should 'te ight, because their deeds were reproved. evil. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought c in God. ledge sin here, and seek for pardon. gives us by conscience, reason, or reve-is disposed to come to the daylight and lation, may thus be called light. But do his deeds of wickedness there. 3d. this word is used peculiarly to denote The reason why the gospel is hated is the Messiah, or the Christ, who is often that men are sinners. "Christ is hated spoken of as the light. See Isa. lx. 1; because sin is loved." 4th. The sinix. 2. Compare Matt. iv. 16. Also Note ner must be convicted. If it be not in on John i. 4. It was doubtless this light this world, it will be in the next. There to which Jesus had particular reference is no escape for him; and the only way here. Men loved darkness. Darkness to avoid condemnation in the world to is the emblem of iniquity, error, super-come, is to come humbly and acknowstition: whatever is opposite to truth and piety. Men are said to love darkness more than they do light, when they are better pleased with error than truth; with sin than holiness; with Belial than Christ. ¶ Because their deeds are evil. Men who commit crime, commonly choose to do it in the night so as to escape detection. So men who are wicked, prefer false doctrine and error to the truth. Thus the Pharisees cloaked their crimes under the errors of their system; and amidst their false doctrines and superstitions, they attempted to convince hers that they had great zeal for God. 1 Deeds. Works; actions. 20. That doth evil. Every wicked man. ¶ Hateth the light. This is true of all wicked men. They choose to practise their deeds of wickedness in darkness. They are afraid of the light because they could be easily detected. Hence most crimes are committed in the night. So with the sinner against God. He hates the gospel, for it condemns his conduct, and his conscience would trouble him if it were enlightened. His deeds should be reproved. To reprove here means not only to detect, or make manifest, but also includes the idea of condemnation when they are detected. The gospel would make his wickedness manifest, and his conscience would conlemn him. We learn from this verse, ist. That one design of the gospel is to reprove men. It convicts them of sin in order that it may afford consolation. 2d. That men by nature hate the gospel. No man who is a sinner loves it. And no man by nature is disposed to come to , any more than an adulterer, or thief, VOL. II. - 19 21. He that doeth truth. He who does right; or, he that obeys the truth. Truth here is opposed to error and to evil. The sinner acts from falsehood and error. The good man acts according to truth. The sinner believes a lie that God will not punish; or that there is no God; or that there is no eternity, or no hell. The Christian believes all these, and acts as if they were true. This is the difference between a Christian and a sinner. ¶ Cometh to the light. Loves the truth and seeks it more and more. By prayer, and searching the scriptures, he endeavors to ascertain the truth, and yield his mind to it. May be made manifest. May be made clear or plain; or that it may be made plain that his deeds are wrought in God. He searches for truth and light that he may have evidence that his actions are right. Wrought in God. That they are performed according to the will of God; or perhaps by the assistance of God, and are such as God will approve. The actions of good men are performed by the influ ence and aid of God. Phil. ii. 12. Of course if they are performed by his aid, they are such as he will approve. Here is presented the character of a good man, and a sincere Christian. We learn respecting that character, 1st. He does truth. He loves it; seeks it; follows it. 2d. He comes to the light. He does not attempt to deceive himself or others. 3d. He is willing to know himself, and aims to do it. He desires to know the true state of his heart before God. 4th. An especial object of his efforts is, that his deeds may be wrought in God. [Ta 22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and a baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing a c.4.2. b 1 Sa.9.4. desires to be a good man; to receive continual aid from God, and to perform such actions as he will approve. in Enon, near to Saliin, because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized: 24 For John d was not yet cast into prison. c Matt.3.5,6. d Matt.14.3. baptizing, he selected a spot that was well-watered, probably with springs and rivulets. Whether the ordinance This is the close of our Lord's dis- of baptism was performed by immer course with Nicodemus—a discourse sion, or in any other mode, the selec condensing the gospel; giving the most tion of a place well-watered was prope striking exhibition and illustration of and necessary. The mention of the truth; and representing especially the fact that there was much water there, fundamental doctrine of regeneration, and that John selected that as a conve and the evidence of the change. It is nient place to perform his office as a clear that the Saviour regarded this as baptizer, proves nothing in regard to lying at the foundation of religion. the mode in which the ordinance was Without it we cannot possibly be administered-since he would naturally saved. And now it becomes every select such a place whatever was the reader, as in the presence of God, and mode. Where numbers of people came in view of the judgment-seat of Christ, together to remain any time, it was ne solemnly to ask himself whether he cessary to select such a place whatever has experienced this change? Whe- was their employment. An encamp ther he knows by experience what it is ment of soldiers is made on the same to be born of that Spirit? If he does, principles, and in every camp-meeting he will be saved. If not, he is in the that I have ever seen, a place is selectgall of bitterness, and in the bond of ini-ed where there is a good supply of waquity, and should give no sleep to his eyes till he has made his peace with God. 22. Land of Judea. The region round about Jerusalem. And baptized. Jesus did not himself administer the ordinance of baptism, but his disciples did it by his direction and authority. John iv. 2. 23. In Enon. This place is probably in the plain of Jordan a little south of Bethshean, and in the tribes of Ephraim and Gad. It was situated on the west side of the Jordan. ¶ Near to Salim. Salim was a few miles west of Enon, and a little south of mount Hermon. These places are about twenty-five miles north of Bethabara, where Jesus was baptized. ¶ Because there was much water there. John's preaching attracted multitudes. It appears that they remained with him, probably many days In many parts of that country, particu❘ larly in the hilly region near where John preached, it was difficult to find water to accommodate the necessity of the people, and perhaps also of the tamels, with which those from a disance would come. To meet their necessities, as well as for the purpose of ter-though not one person should be immersed during the whole services. As all the facts in the case are fully met by the supposition that John might have baptized in some other way besides immersion; and as it is easy to conceive another reason that is sufficient to account for the fact that such a place was selected, this passage certainly should not be adduced to prove that he performed baptisin only in that manner. 24. For John was not yet cast into prison. See Luke iii. 20. The mention of this shows that John was not imprisoned till some time after our Lord entered on his ministry. The design of John was to call men to repentance, and prepare them for the Messiah; and this he continued to do after our Saviour commenced his work. It shows that a minister of religion should be in dustrious to the day of his death. John still toiled in his work, not the less be cause the Messiah had come. So min. isters should not labor less when Christ appears by his Spirit, and takes the work into his own hands, and turn many to himself. |