Once more, we find the author of the Gospel of John bringing into focus for his readers what he just recorded had taken place during the first year of Jesus’ public ministry. Had John the Baptist said the words from John 3:31 to verse 36, he would not have been confused over the path Jesus’ ministry had taken following John’s imprisonment (cp. Matthew 11:1-3). What the author of this Gospel narrative says in John 3:31-36 is far above the theology of John the Baptist who wondered, while he was in prison, if he had erred in believing Jesus was the Messiah. Both in John 3:13-21 and in John 3:31-36, the author of John’s Gospel mentions a heavenly Being who had come to earth (cp. John 1:1, 14), and he spoke of things no one could properly understand, unless he were born again (viz. John 3:3, cp. John 1:18).
Folks couldn’t understand, because those of the earth speak of earthly things (cp. 1Corinthians 2:14), while he who is from above speaks of heavenly things (John 3:31-32). How could men of flesh understand what was impossible for them to perceive (John 3:3; cp. 2Corinthians 12:3-4)? Notice that the author of John’s Gospel claimed he who is from above is above all (John 3:31), meaning, he is God (John 1:1), for God is above all. Then he repeats himself in the same verse for emphasis, saying he who is above all has authority over all (Acts 10:36; Romans 10:12). In other words, the one above all is the Messiah! Think about what the author of this Gospel has just said. The Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16) has authority over all in the Kingdom of God (John 3:3), which Kingdom men are unable to see or locate on a map. In other words, it isn’t a physical kingdom; it’s spiritual. That which comes from the earth is fleshy, but that which comes from above is spiritual (John 3:6, 31), and ordinarily men are unable to understand spiritual matters (John 3:32, cp. 3:4, 9, 11; 1Corinthians 2:14).
On the other hand, there are folks who do understand the heavenly Being: “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true” (John 3:33). Consider what has already been said. First, Nicodemus comes to Jesus saying: “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him” (John 3:2). The problem is not that folks couldn’t understand that Jesus was sent by God (cp. John 2:3; 10:33), the problem lay in the fact that flesh is unable to understand or see the spirit (John 3:3). What Jesus claimed (viz. John 2:19) was nothing but foolishness in the minds of men (cp. John 3:4, 9, 11; 1Corinthians 2:14). Men in authority simply do not put their trust in what they don’t understand. They are the educated, the elite of mankind, who have been brought to naught in the coming of the Kingdom of God, which they reject, because they conclude it is nothing but foolishness (cp. 1Corinthians 1:19, 28; 3:19). The Kingdom of God simply cannot be perceived through more and more education. It must be revealed, and if revealed, accepted as true (John 3:33), before it can be understood (cp. 1Corinthians 2:5-13).
The point is this; if one knows Jesus has been sent by God (John 3:2), that should be enough to receive his testimony as the truth come from God (John 3:33-34), fleshy incompetence notwithstanding (John 3:11, 32). Let God be true, though no one understands (Romans 3:3-4). With the commitment of faith, comes the work of God in bringing to life that which is dead, meaning the believer’s new birth in his spirit (John 3:3; Ephesians 2:4-6), through which they participate in divine nature (2Peter 1:4), because they are given the Holy Spirit, through which spiritual understanding comes (1Corinthians 2:5-13).
If, indeed, Jesus is from God (John 3:2), then it stands to reason that God must have equipped him with things men neither have nor can comprehend by themselves (John 3:34; cp. 3:4, 9, 11; 1Corinthians 2:14). Moreover, If the heavenly Being, who is the Messiah (John 3:13, 31) is really Lord of all (John 3:35; cp. Acts 10:36), then submission is not only commanded but expected (John 3:33), but with that submission comes life, spiritual life from God (John 3:36). Nevertheless, those who reject Jesus, aren’t judged by God, because they are already judged in that their spirits are already dead, meaning they are cut off from God (cp. John 3:18).
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