John 3:9-11 9Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.
Nicodemus was still confused but showed interest by continuing his questioning. He was seeking the truth and believed Jesus could help him find it. Jesus’ rhetorical question was not a criticism but an invitation. Nicodemus was the teacher of Israel and had been teaching people for a long time about God’s kingdom. The use of the article with teacher suggests a relatively high position among the people. Nicodemus was highly respected as a teacher of Scripture and Jewish thought. All good teachers are also students. What he said had authority, and people respected his ideas. They went to him for answers, yet here he was seeking the answer to something he could not answer for himself.
Verse 11 gives a series of four first-person plural verbs. The subject of these verbs, the “we,” is not clear. Obviously Jesus is included, but his growing group of disciples were also witnesses. This verse connects John’s Gospel to his ministry. It has a timeless quality, and the voice speaking in verse 11 could be John’s or any other follower of Jesus. There is a certainty of conviction about the truth of the message about new life. John was an eyewitness, and the testimony in his book is the truth. The challenge for the Nicodemus becomes the challenge for the reader: will we believe this testimony? In the context of Jesus’ ministry, many Jewish leaders refused to believe. Nicodemus was at a cross-roads. He now knew the truth, but would he accept it? As the story goes on in this Gospel, he did come to believe (7:45–52; 19:38–42).
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