published by Bill Mounce on Tue, 01/08/2008 - 01:40
John 2 ends on this note: "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man"(ESV).
When John 3 starts, it is common to read a "now": "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews." The word is translating de, a word that can mean both "and" and "but." So which is it here, and what is the significance?
The significance is whether Nicodemus is one of the "people" of chapter 2, or whether he is in contrast to them. Was he antagonistic or sympathetic toward Jesus? Specifically, how do you read v 4. "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" Is that a serious or mocking response?
