Church Fathers Commentary John 3:9-12

"Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?" — John 3:9-12 (ASV)

Haymo of Auxerre: Nicodemus cannot grasp the mysteries of the Divine Majesty that our Lord reveals, and therefore asks how this can be. He is not denying the fact or intending any criticism, but is simply wishing to be informed: Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?

St. John Chrysostom: Since he still remains a Jew and, after such clear evidence, persists in a lowly and worldly way of thinking, Christ from now on addresses him with greater severity: Jesus answered and said to him, Are you a master in Israel, and know not these things?

St. Augustine of Hippo: What are we to think? That our Lord wished to insult this master in Israel? He wished him to be born of the Spirit, and no one is born of the Spirit unless he is made humble. For it is this very humility that makes us to be born of the Spirit.

He, however, was puffed up with his prominence as a master and thought himself important because he was a teacher of the Jews. Our Lord, therefore, casts down his pride so that he might be born of the Spirit.

St. John Chrysostom: Nevertheless, He does not charge the man with wickedness, but only with a lack of wisdom and enlightenment. But someone will say, "What connection does this birth, of which Christ speaks, have with Jewish doctrines?" This much: the first man who was made, the woman who was made from his rib, the barren women who gave birth, and the miracles worked by means of water—I mean Elijah’s bringing up the iron from the river, the passage of the Red Sea, and Naaman the Syrian’s purification in the Jordan—were all types and figures of the spiritual birth and of the purification that was to take place through it.

Many passages in the Prophets also have a hidden reference to this birth, such as that in the Psalms, Making you young and lusty as an eagle, and, Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven. Isaac, too, was a type of this birth. Referring to these passages, our Lord says, Are you a master in Israel, and know not these things?

A second time, however, He condescends to his weakness and uses a common argument to make what He has said believable: Verily, verily, I say to you, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our testimony. We consider sight the most certain of all the senses, so that when we say we saw something with our own eyes, we seem to compel people to believe us.

In the same way, Christ, speaking in human terms, does not actually say that He has seen with the bodily eye the mysteries He reveals; rather, it is clear that He means it as the most certain, absolute knowledge. This then, namely, That we do know, He asserts of Himself alone.

Haymo of Auxerre: Why, it is asked, does He speak in the plural, We speak that we do know? Because the speaker is the Only-Begotten Son of God, He wishes to show that the Father is in the Son, the Son is in the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both, indivisibly.

Alcuin of York: Or, the plural may have this meaning: I and those who are born again of the Spirit alone understand what we speak. Having seen the Father in secret, we testify this openly to the world; and you, who are worldly and proud, do not receive our testimony.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This is not said of Nicodemus, but of the Jewish people, who persisted in unbelief to the very end.

St. John Chrysostom: These are words of gentleness, not of anger. They are a lesson to us that when we argue and cannot persuade, we should prove the soundness of our views not with harsh and angry words, but by the absence of anger and shouting (for shouting is the substance of anger).

When entering upon high doctrines, Jesus always checks Himself out of compassion for His hearer's weakness. He does not dwell continuously on the most important truths but turns to more humble ones. From this it follows: If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?

St. Augustine of Hippo: That is: If you do not believe that I can raise up the temple that you have thrown down, how can you believe that people can be regenerated by the Holy Spirit?

St. John Chrysostom: Or, to put it another way: Do not be surprised at His calling baptism "earthly." It is performed on earth, and it is called earthly when compared with that stupendous birth which is from the substance of the Father, since this birth on earth is one of mere grace. And He has rightly said not, You do not understand, but, You do not believe.

For when the understanding cannot grasp certain truths, we attribute it to a natural deficiency or ignorance. But where something that only faith can receive is not accepted, the fault is not a deficiency, but unbelief. These truths, however, were revealed so that future generations might believe and benefit from them, even though the people of that age did not.