John 3:1














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 want to be compromised.

II. JESUS DID NOT SEND AWAY THE MAN WHO CAME BY NIGHT. He did not stand upon his dignity. He did not say, "Go away again, and come by daylight." Jesus is the most accessible of beings. It is better to come by day than by night, because such a coming indicates a brave, determined mind, bent on getting at the truth, and so much the better placed for reaching the truth, because it has risen above that fear of man which bringeth a snare. But it is better to come by night than not at all; and it matters a great deal to us to know that Jesus did not send this man away because he came by night. Thus we have illustration how Jesus does not break the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax. If weak ones are to make headway in the path of faith and righteousness, they must not he dealt with hardly in the beginning.

III. JESUS HAS THE SAME MESSAGE WHENEVER WE MAY COME. Whatever hour Nicodemus may choose, it is the same truth he will have to hear, the same process he will have to go through. Come at midnight or come at noonday, the announcement is the same, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

IV. CONTRAST THE COMING OF NICODEMUS WITH HIS DEPARTURE. Not that we are told how he departed. He may have succeeded in his immediate desire. His visit to Jesus may have remained unknown to everybody but Jesus and himself, he came in the darkness of physical night, and in the darkness of physical night he probably went away. But nevertheless, uncomfortable consequences must have come to him in ways he did not at all expect, he came in the gross darkness of spiritual ignorance, but he can hardly have gone away without some dim rays of spiritual light upon his path. There must. at all events, have been a disturbing sense of a larger world than he had. been heretofore accustomed to. He had been brought face to face with more searching views of life. You may, perhaps, choose what you will begin and how, but how you will end is beyond your choice. The one thing that everybody now knows about Nicodemus is that he is the man who came to Jesus by night. What a commentary on the vain wisdom and expectations of men! The very means Nicodemus takes to ensure secrecy end in the widest publicity. And yet it is a publicity that does not hurt Nicodemus, and it is for the world's good. It is long, long ago since it could matter in the least to Nicodemus who knew the way of his coming to Jesus. - Y.

There came also Nicodemus (Text and
Each of these passages contains a vivid picture, and together they unfold the progressive spiritual experience of the man portrayed. In the first the night silence is broken by the footsteps of one who steals along, afraid, to the great Teacher. In the second, in the council-chamber of the supreme assembly of the nation, He interposes a trembling word of expostulation at a gross illegality, a word which brings down on its utterer a storm of indignation, but cannot be recalled; it shows that, though amongst His enemies, Nicodemus is at heart a friend of Jesus. In the third, at Calvary. Two men in the garb of rulers appear, and, braving the shame and scorn, advance, and with reverent gentleness take the Body down, and bear it away to the sepulchre. And of those — the two most courageous hearts in all Judaea at that moment — Nicodemus was one.

I. THE RULER'S SECRET APPLICATION TO CHRIST.

1. There was at heart a secret longing for what only Christ could give. No one would have supposed that Nicodemus was unsatisfied; he seems to have had almost every temporal good. But He had hours of anxious wondering, seasons when His thirsty soul turned away from earth as from broken cisterns which could hold no water, and a conviction that somehow what he so much wanted this Teacher sent from God could give. How little we know what is going on in those around us I No one could have thought this of Nicodemus.

2. But the gratification of that longing was opposed by great difficulties. No soul can try to make its way to Christ without finding an enemy there to prevent it; but in the case of some — those whose circle is more or less antagonistic to Christ; whose training has led them to believe that morality is enough — who have taken a position in a contrary direction from which it is hard to recede; the difficulties are almost overwhelming. They are illustrated here. This man was "a Pharisee;" as such he had set ideas on the subject of religion, was one of the council of the LXX. and a doctor of the law. Hardly anything can be more difficult than for a man, perhaps an old man, who has prided himself on his beliefs, to come to say, "Perhaps after all I am wrong, at least I am not satisfied, teach me and let me learn," but when one knows that he must have Christ or perish, he makes short work with these barriers.

3. When these difficulties were broken through, Christ received and taught the applicant. He might have said, "Come to Me by day, I am tired and would rest," or, "Why should I forego repose to listen to a Pharisee?" He might have upbraided him with his fear, or questioned his sincerity. Christ did none of these, "He will not break the bruised reed," &c. How full of help are the words, "The same came to Jesus by night"! Many come by day, and we see them. There are others whom we do not see, and wonder they do not come; perhaps they come to Jesus by night. All who come as he did, are welcomed as he was.

II. THE RULER'S UNCONSCIOUS CONFESSION OF ATTACHMENT TO CHRIST. What was the immediate result of the interview we are left to imagine; but that is not difficult. Christ gave him instruction because He recognized in him a sincere seeker, and we cannot doubt that from that time Nicodemus was at heart a disciple of Jesus. But he makes no stand; months pass; he is in the council-chamber, the hatred of his colleagues to Christ breaks out in a storm, and then in spite of himself he lets fall a word which reveals that secretly he is on the Lord's side. But why secretly? Many here may know what it would cost to stand fearlessly forward as the humble champion of righteousness in the social circle or in public, and they find the answer there. But let me remind you that such a position —

1. Is one of great injustice to Christ. If we were to judge by those whom we see come forward, we should be obliged to say that comparatively few are brought to Christ when early life is passed. I have rarely seen a man of years, and position, and learning take it for the first time; and when then, we ask, Are such men past hope? we think of Nicodemus and believe there are many whose surrender to Christ is the secret of their own soul. Such do not reflect how unjust that secrecy is. We cannot estimate what would have been the consequence if Nicodemus had come boldly out at first; many of the rulers secretly believed, and only wanted a fearless leader. He who has deigned to receive us has a right to expect that we let men know what He has done for us.

2. Involves considerable pain to the man himself. Those months in which this Jewish councillor kept his allegiance to Christ a secret must have been months of great discomfort. He could not listen to debates from which he revolted, nor walk the streets and be regarded as one of those who were against Christ, without a guilty conscience. Let one live below what he knows God requires, and from that moment his happiness is doomed.

3. Is a position of great peril to spiritual hope. "Whoso shall confess Me," &c. Confession of Christ is indispensable to salvation because it is the necessary result of that union with Christ in which salvation consists.

III. THE RULER'S OPEN AVOWAL OF DISCIPLESHIP TO CHRIST. There is a point where the real disciple must emerge from secrecy. Where is it? Where he has a vision of Jesus crucified. We lose our courage because we do not look at the cross. There are mainly three hindrances to confession of Christ, and the cross conquers them all.

1. The cross is a declaration of redemption. That meets the difficulty in uncertainty as to our position. Many a one feels that he cannot acknowledge that he is redeemed because he is not sure of it. But can he look on the Son of God in the agony of an accursed death, and then doubt whether an atonement of such worth has not satisfied the law? If such a price was paid for my redemption it is enough, I am redeemed.

2. The cross is a revelation of Divine love. That meets the difficulty to confessing Christ in coldness of heart. It is because our hearts are cold that we are "disciples secretly." What we want is hearts aglow with love to the Redeemer, and for that we may go to Calvary.

3. The cross is a manifestation of the Divine will. That destroys the difficulty to Christian confession in ignorance of what He would have us do. Lord, what is Thy will about me whom Thou hast redeemed? "Follow Me," He says; and as we look we see Jesus in the crucified One. The cross becomes the symbol of Christian life which, as His people, we dare not and cannot refuse, for "he that taketh not up his cross and cometh after Me cannot be My disciple."

(U. New.)

I. BY THIS SERVICE THE SACRED FORM OF THE CRUCIFIED WAS TAKEN OUT OF THE POWER OF HIS ENEMIES. The Romans had no respect for the sanctity of death. The common expression was, "The crows to the cross." The Jews acted on the old words, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree," and carted the bodies of the executed away to the valley of Hinnom, the great abomination into which were flung things unmentionable, and past imagination, a place thought of as the symbol of hell, and as one of its three doors. When, to satisfy the Jews, orders came that the bodies of the crucified should be instantly made away with, the weeping women were in the distraction, not only of grief, but of helplessness. Just then, when their thoughts were in hopeless entanglement, and the sorrows of a lifetime condensed into one desolating burst, two strangers approached the cross, had the shaft sawn through by workmen, then laid level on the ground, took charge of the body, and set about the observance of the last solemnities. As the watchers looked on the dead weight on their hearts was lifted, the nameless terror was gone.

II. BY THIS UNITED ACTION THE ROYALTY OF THE SAVIOUR WAS RECOGNIZED. In the acute moment when the two newly-revealed disciples bent over the face that was still shadowed by the crown of thorns, only the eyes of their faith could see the marks of royalty there. The text may seem to indicate that nothing more than ordinary was done at the funeral of Jesus, "as the manner of the Jews is to bury." The reference, however, is to the nature, not to the scale of the preparations. It certainly was not the manner of the Jews to use spices at a funeral on such a scale as this. Great quantities were used when it was intended to show high respect. At the funeral of Gamaliel the elder, eighty pounds of spices were burnt; and there were five hundred spice-bearers at that Of King Herod; but such a large use of aromatics in honour of the dead was limited to cases of distinction like these. At the Crucifixion His kingly claims had been treated with mockery. There was mockery of His crown, of His sceptre, of His robe, of a court of ceremonial in the offer of vinegar and gall, of a herald's announcement, in the title written on His cross; and His cross was the mockery of a throne; but now, with a love which broke through all bounds of calculation, these men tried to show some sign of their loyalty, now so penitent because it was so late, and were resolved to treat their crucified Master only as a dead king is treated.

III. THE BURIAL OF JESUS IN THE PARTICULAR TOMB SELECTED WAS OVERRULED TO WORK OUT CERTAIN VITALLY IMPORTANT PURPOSES. The tomb was not a structure of masonry, like most others, but a chamber cut out of the living rock. Few could enjoy such a luxury. There are not probably five hundred in or about Jerusalem, and as that city must, in the days of its prosperity, have possessed a population of from thirty thousand to forty thousand souls, and as there must have been a population on this spot for more than three thousand years the inference will be irresistible that the possession of such a tomb must have been one of the things that marked a man of distinction.

1. This act helped to make the actual death of Christ an unquestionable fact. It was no obscure grave, affording an excuse for doubt; no tomb in Jerusalem could have been more conspicuous; no fact more public than Christ's burial in it.

2. It prepared for, and made possible, complete and unanswerable evidence of His resurrection, which was further illustrated by the grave being in a garden.

3. Crowning all the other services to the Church; there were undesignedly instrumental in fulfilling this ancient prophecy, "He made His grave with the wicked," &c., or, according to the most careful reading, "His grave was appointed with the wicked, but He was with a rich man," i.e., His grave was appointed by men with the wicked — under usual circumstances, only such a grave was thought of for one who died on a cross; but He was with a rich man in His tomb after all. And why? "Because He had done no violence," &c.

IV. THE ACT OF THESE MEN ILLUSTRATES THE FUNCTION OF WEALTH IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, and this is another practical outcome of their profession. The gospel is full of words to comfort and dignify the holy poor; but the gospel creates no class distinctions. "The Church is the poor man's church;" yes, and it is also the rich man's church; for there "the rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the Maker of them all."

(C. Stanford, D. D.)

The mixture here mentioned was probably in the shape of powder. The two ingredients were strongly aromatic and antiseptic. The large quantity brought shows the wealth and the liberal mind of Nicodemus. It also shows his wise forethought. A dead body so torn and lacerated as that of our blessed Lord, would need an unusually large quantity of antiseptics or preservatives, to check the tendency to corruption which such a climate would cause, even at Easter. Considering also that everything must have been done with some haste, the large quantity of spices used was probably meant to compensate for the want of time to do the work slowly and carefully. "Then took they the body," &c. Here we are told the precise manner of the preparation of our Lord's body for burial. As always in that time and country, He was not put into a coffin. He was simply wrapped up in linen cloths, on which the preparation of myrrh and aloes had been laid. Thus the powder would be next to our Lord's body, and interpose between the linen and His skin. How the linen clothes were provided, we are told by St. Mark (John 15:46). Joseph, being a rich man, had no difficulty in supplying funds for this purpose.

Extremes in Christ's history: — Twice was Jesus rich in the days of His poverty. Once immediately after His birth, when the wise men offered Him gold, &c., and now after His ignominious death, when a rich man buries Him, and a distinguished man provides spices to anoint Him. Yea! a rich Joseph has taken the place of that poor Joseph who stood by the manger.

(R. Besser, D. D.)

People
Jesus, John, Nicodemus
Places
Aenon, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Salim
Topics
Council, Jewish, Jews, Member, Named, Nicodemus, Nicode'mus, Pharisees, Ruler, Rulers, Ruling
Outline
1. Jesus teaches Nicodemus the necessity of being born again,
14. of faith in his death,
16. the great love of God toward the world,
18. and the condemnation for unbelief.
22. Jesus baptizes in Judea.
23. The baptism, witness, and doctrine of John concerning Jesus.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 3:1

     7565   Sanhedrin

John 3:1-2

     7552   Pharisees, attitudes to Christ
     8115   discipleship, nature of
     8209   commitment, to Christ

John 3:1-8

     1080   God, living
     3045   Holy Spirit, sovereignty

John 3:1-16

     6698   newness

Library
Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

September 14 Evening
Ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son.--I COR. 1:9. He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.--Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Be ye . . . followers of God, as dear children.--If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. The brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

February 28 Morning
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.--JOHN 3:16. God . . . hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

March 31 Evening
What communion hath light with darkness?--II COR. 6:14. Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.--Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Darkness hath blinded his eyes.--Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.--Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God;
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 26 Evening
The Lord Jesus Christ . . . shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.--PHI. 3:20,21. Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. This was the appearance of the
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

April 8 Evening
They shall see his face.--REV. 22:4. I beseech thee shew me thy glory. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.--No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.--I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

April 29 Evening
That blessed hope, . . . the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.--TIT. 2:13. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil: whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.--Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things.--When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe. The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 18 Evening
I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me.--I KGS. 10:7. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.--We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. My speech and my preaching was . . . in demonstration of the
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

April 2 Morning
If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only.--I SAM. 7:3. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.--Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.--Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. Thou shalt worship no other
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

May 3 Evening
Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.--II COR. 7:1. Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.--Teaching us that denying ungodliness and wordly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.--Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.--Not as though
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 11 Evening
Behold, I make all things new.--REV. 21:5. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.--If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.--Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump.--The new man, which after God is created in righteousness
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 19 Morning
Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.--HEB. 12:14. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.--There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth.--There is no spot in thee. Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.--As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 16 Morning
It pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell.--COL. 1:19. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.--God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.--Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 3 Morning
Neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.--EXO. 13:7. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.--Abhor that which is evil.--Abstain from all appearance of evil.--Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump,
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

December 14 Evening
By nature the children of wrath, even as others.--EPH. 2:3. We ourselves also were sometime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.--Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile: what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.--The Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 14 Evening
[The woman's seed] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.--GEN. 3:15. His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.--He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. This is your hour, and the power of darkness.--Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. The Son of God was manifested, that he might
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

July 3 Morning
If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.--ROM. 8:17. If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.--Thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.--Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Father, I will that
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

April 20 Morning
There shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand.--DEUT. 13:17. Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.--Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.--Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Beloved, now are we the sons of God . . . And it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall see him
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 21 Evening
I sought him, but I could not find him: I called him, but he gave me no answer.--SONG 5:6. O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! and the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, for they have even taken of the accursed thing . . . and they have put it even among their own stuff. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Brazen Serpent
'Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.'--JOHN iii. 14. This is the second of the instances in this Gospel in which our Lord lays His hand upon an institution or incident of the Old Testament, as shadowing forth some aspect of His work. In the first of these instances, under the image of the ladder that Jacob saw, our Lord presented Himself as the sole medium of communication between heaven and earth; here He goes a step further into the heart of His work, and under the image, very eloquent
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Musts
'... Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.'--JOHN iii. 14. I have chosen this text for the sake of one word in it, that solemn 'must' which was so often on our Lord's lips. I have no purpose of dealing with the remainder of this clause, nor indeed with it at all, except as one instance of His use of the expression. But I have felt it might he interesting, and might set old truths in a brighter light, if we gather together the instances in which Christ speaks of the great necessity which dominated
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Lake and the River
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'--JOHN iii. 16. I venture to say that my text shows us a lake, a river, a pitcher, and a draught. 'God so loved the world'--that is the lake. A lake makes a river for itself--'God so loved the world that He gave His... Son.' But the river does not quench any one's thirst unless he has something to lift the water with: 'God so loved the world that He gave His...
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Teacher or Saviour?
'The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.'--JOHN iii. 2. The connection in which the Evangelist introduces the story of Nicodemus throws great light on the aspect under which we are to regard it. He has just been saying that upon our Lord's first visit to Jerusalem at the Passover there was a considerable amount of interest excited, and a kind of imperfect faith
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Wind and Spirit
'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and them hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.'--JOHN iii. 8. Perhaps a gust of night wind swept round the chamber where Nicodemus sat listening to Jesus, and gave occasion for this condensed parable. But there is occasion sufficient for it in the word 'Spirit,' which, both in the language in which our Lord addressed the ruler of the Sanhedrim, and in that which John employed
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

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