John 3:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But some had become so changed and weakened for the struggles of virtue that they wished to remain in evil until their last breath. They never intended to depart from it. Christ has such people in view and rebukes them.

Christianity requires both Orthodox doctrine and a good life. But they, Christ says, fear to turn to us precisely because they do not want to show a good life.

No one will rebuke a man living in paganism. Having such gods and such feasts, shameful and worthy of ridicule like the gods themselves, he shows deeds worthy of his doctrine.

But worshippers of God, if they live carelessly, have everyone as their accuser and reprover. So venerable is the truth, even to its enemies.

Notice with what precision Christ expresses what He says. He did not say, "He who has done evil does not come to the light," but, "he who does evil," that is, he who does it continually.

Whoever always wants to wallow in the mire of sin does not want to subject himself to My laws. Outside them, he fearlessly commits fornication and does everything else that is forbidden.

But when he comes to Me, he becomes visible, like a thief in the light. For this reason he avoids My authority.

Indeed, even now one may hear many pagans say that they cannot turn to our faith because they cannot abandon drunkenness, fornication, and similar vices.

What then, you will say? Are there no Christians who act wickedly, and no pagans who live philosophically? I know that there are Christians who live wickedly. But whether there are pagans who live virtuously, I do not yet know with certainty.

Do not point me to people who are humble and honorable by nature. That is not virtue. Show me a man who, while undergoing the strong pull of passions, remains philosophical. You will not find such a man in paganism.

If the promise of the Kingdom, the threat of Gehenna, and such things barely keep people in virtue, still less can those who are persuaded of none of these things prosper in virtue.

If some of them display the appearance of virtue, they do it for glory. And one who does it for glory, whenever he can hide himself, will not refuse to satisfy his evil desires.

But lest we seem to anyone contentious, let us agree that among pagans there are people who live well. This does not contradict our words at all. I am speaking of what happens often, not of what occurs rarely.

But see how Christ also deprives them of every excuse from another side. He says that "the light has come into the world." Did they seek it? Did they labor and take care to find it?

The Light Himself came to them, yet even then they did not hasten to Him. If some among Christians also live wickedly, let us note this concerning them.

Christ is not speaking of those who became Christians from birth and received the faith from their ancestors, though they too have often departed from right doctrine by a corrupt life.

It seems that He is not speaking of them here, but of those who had to turn from Judaism or paganism to the right faith.

Christ shows that no one who is in error will wish to turn to the faith unless he first prescribes for himself a good life. No one remains in unbelief unless he first resolves to remain evil forever.

Do not tell me that such a man is chaste and yet does not believe. Virtue does not consist only in this. What profit is there in having these qualities, while being a slave of vain rumor?

What profit is there in remaining in error through fear of shame before one's friends? This is not living virtuously. A slave of vainglory is no better than a fornicator.

Indeed, he commits far greater and more grievous sins than the fornicator. Show me someone among the pagans who is free from all passions and shares in no vice. You cannot show me such a man.

Even those among them who became famous for great deeds, and who are said to have despised wealth and luxury, were especially enslaved to human glory. This is the cause of all evils.

The Jews also remained in this condition. Therefore Christ accused them and said, "How can you believe, who receive glory from one another?" (Jn 5:44).

Why, then, did Christ not converse and speak at length about this with Nathanael, to whom He bore witness to the truth? Because Nathanael did not come to Christ with such zeal as Nicodemus did.

Nicodemus considered this his duty and used for hearing the conversation a time when others were resting. Nathanael came at another's persuasion.

Yet Christ did not neglect him either. He said to him, "From now on you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending" (Jn 1:51).

To Nicodemus He said nothing of the kind. Instead, He spoke with him about the ordering of our salvation and about eternal life. He used different speech according to each person's disposition of soul.

For Nathanael, who knew the prophecies and was not so fearful, it was enough to hear this alone. But since Nicodemus was still fearful, Christ did not reveal everything clearly to him.

Instead, He shook his soul, in order to destroy fear by fear. He said that the unbeliever is condemned, and that unbelief comes from a corrupt conscience.

Nicodemus valued human glory greatly and thought of it more than punishment. It is written, "Many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him" (Jn 12:42).

Christ reproaches him for this and shows that one who does not believe in Him fails to believe for no other reason than that he leads an impure life.

Later He says, "I am the light of the world" (Jn 8:12). Here He says, "the light has come into the world." Thus at first He spoke more veiledly, and afterward more clearly.

Meanwhile, Nicodemus was held back by the glory of the people. For this reason he could not have as much boldness as he ought.

Let us flee vainglory. This passion is stronger than all passions. From it come covetousness and love of money. From it come hatred, enmity, and strife.

The one who desires more can stop at nothing. He desires more because he loves vain glory.

Tell me, why do many surround themselves with many eunuchs, a crowd of servants, and such splendor? Not from necessity, but so that those who meet them may witness this inappropriate splendor.

Therefore, if we cut off this passion, we shall destroy with the head the other members of this evil. Then nothing will hinder us from living on earth as in heaven.

Vainglory not only drags its captives toward evil, but also slips into virtues. If it cannot deprive us of them, it does great harm to us in virtue itself. It forces us to endure the labors while depriving us of the fruits.

One infected with vainglory, whether he fasts, prays, or gives alms, is deprived of his reward.

What misfortune could be greater than this? A man exhausts himself in vain and to no purpose, becomes subject to ridicule, and is deprived of the glory above.

It is impossible for one who desires both kinds of glory to obtain both together. It is true that one can attain both kinds of glory, but only if we desire not both, but one alone, the heavenly glory.

But he who thirsts for both cannot obtain both together. Therefore, if we want to attain glory, let us flee human glory and desire that one glory alone which comes from God.

In this way we may acquire both kinds of glory. May we all be counted worthy of this, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him and with Him be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

If some seemed good, they did everything for the sake of glory. The one who acts for glory, and not for the good itself, will gladly surrender to evil desire when he finds the opportunity.

For if even among us the threat of Gehenna, every other care, and the examples of countless saints scarcely hold people in virtue, then the myths and abominations of the Gentiles will hold them in the good still less.

It is much if they do not make them completely evil.

What does it mean to "do the truth"? You do not soothe yourself, do not lie to yourself, do not flatter yourself, and do not say, "I am righteous," when you are a sinner. Then you begin to do the truth.

But you come to the light so that your works may be made manifest, because they are done in God. For even the very sin that displeased you could not displease you unless God had enlightened you.

Nor could it displease you unless His truth had pointed it out to you.

But the one who, even after admonition, loves his sins hates the admonishing light and flees from it. He does this so that his evil works, which he loves, may not be exposed.

A multitude of small sins, if neglected, kills. Small are the drops that fill rivers. Small are grains of sand, but if much sand is poured out, it crushes and oppresses.

So also, if water is not bailed out from the bottom of a ship, it acts like a violent storm. It leaks in little by little, but if it leaks for long and is not bailed out, it sinks the ship.

What does it mean to bail out, if not to resist the pressure of sin by good works, by sighing, fasting, rendering good, and forgiving?

Judgment consists in the separation of the good from the evil. This separation takes place of itself when the Light appears in the world. Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed, because they are evil. But he who acts according to the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, because they have been wrought in God.

The essence of all that Jesus said to Nicodemus may be expressed in these words: "You await the Messiah as a conquering king, who will subdue all the nations of the earth to you. You expect to enter His kingdom simply because you are Jews, descendants of Abraham. But you are mistaken. The Kingdom of the Messiah is the Kingdom of God. Therefore it is not carnal, but spiritual, and unlike the kingdoms of this world. It is intended not for Jews alone, but for all men who desire to enter it.

To prepare men to meet the Messiah, John calls them to repentance and baptizes with water those who repent. But this is not enough for entrance into the Kingdom of the Messiah. One must also be baptized with the Spirit. One must be spiritually born anew. One must not only recognize one's sins and repent of them, but also restrain oneself from sins with all the powers of the soul. One must love God and men, and always, in everything, fulfill the will of God. One must submit one's will to the will of God so fully that it becomes one with it.

Such a union of one's own will with the will of God so changes a man's inner world and so renews him that he becomes as though another man, born again. Without such spiritual rebirth, accomplished with God's help, and without such baptism with the Spirit, no one can enter the Kingdom of the Messiah.

You marvel at this, and thereby show complete ignorance of what you, as a teacher of Israel, ought to know. But if you and those like you do not know this, why do you not believe Me? I speak to you of what I know from God and what I have seen with Him. For no one has ascended to Him except the Son of Man, who came from Him and abides with Him.

If you do not understand Me when I speak of what men must do here on earth to enter the Kingdom of the Messiah, will you understand Me if I say that, to open the Kingdom of the Messiah, He Himself must be lifted up on the Cross? This, of course, will seem incomprehensible to you. Yet it is necessary for the salvation of men, in order to open to them the entrance into the Kingdom of the Messiah.

Such is the will of the Heavenly Father: that His Only-begotten Son should suffer, and that those who believe in Him should not only constitute the Kingdom of the Messiah, but also inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. God sent His Son to save men, not to judge or punish them. And why judge? The time has come when every man pronounces judgment upon himself. He who believes in the Son of Man is justified and is not subject to judgment. He who does not believe is already condemned by his unbelief.

Yes, the coming of the Son of Man divides men like a ray of light suddenly shining forth. Those who live according to truth and love the light go toward this Light that has illumined them. But those who live by falsehood fear the disclosure of their evil deeds. They have so loved their darkness, which covers their deeds, and so hate the light that exposes them, that they will hate the Son of Man also. They will not come out of their darkness. Therefore they will not enter the Kingdom of the Messiah, even though they count Abraham himself as their ancestor."

The Evangelist does not explain what impression this conversation made on Nicodemus. It must be supposed that, if Nicodemus did come to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, it was much later, after many new miracles performed by Him. Evidently he did not dare to join himself openly to Christ's disciples. Nor was he among the secret disciples, to whom Joseph of Arimathea belonged. He appeared as one who honored Jesus only at His burial (see Jn 19:38-39).

In any case, Nicodemus was so struck by the wholly unexpected outcome of his conversation with the Teacher who had come from God that he could scarcely have kept silent about it. He probably related the substance of the conversation at least to his closest like-minded men among the Pharisees.

This significant conversation gives some occasion to draw incorrect conclusions from it. Many think that, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, it is enough to be baptized and to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. But they forget the exact meaning of the words of Jesus Christ. Rebirth of water and the Spirit, and faith in Him, are only the condition for entering the Kingdom of God. They do not guarantee entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Christ Himself said: Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven (Mt 7:21). The first interpreter of this saying, the Apostle James, says in his catholic epistle: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe, and tremble. But do you wish to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? (Jas 2:14, 19-20).

The light of Christ's true teaching exposes. It makes a man's inner dispositions visible from his deeds, showing whether they correspond, or fail to correspond, to the law of God.

Therefore one who loves darkness and does evil, that is, one possessed by evil inclinations of heart, corrupt motives of will, and false reasonings of mind, does not come to the light.

All this is expressed in his works. He fears spiritual enlightenment and hates it as the accuser of his deeds.

By contrast, the one who acts according to truth means a man with a good state of soul. He comes to the light and thirsts for enlightenment.

One who strives toward truth and virtue desires ever greater enlightenment by the light of truth. He wants his works to be made manifest, because they are wrought in God, in accordance with God's will and law.

At first glance, from the Savior's words one might conclude that a sinner cannot come to the light, which contradicts the teaching of the New Testament.

"What then do His words mean? He is speaking of those who have resolved to remain in evil forever" (Chrysostom).

In relation to the ideas of Nicodemus, this whole speech of the Savior about judgment had the following meaning. Participation in the Messiah's Kingdom and in all the blessings it grants its members, as well as alienation from that participation, depend on faith.

Salvation and perdition, life and death, do not depend on any earthly and human rights or privileges. They do not depend, for example, on descent from Abraham according to the flesh.

They depend solely on faith in the Only-begotten Son of God. He came to save the whole world. Yet if, despite this, some perish and will perish, they themselves are the cause of their perdition.

With this, the Savior's conversation with Nicodemus ends in the Gospel. The Savior revealed to him the true teaching about the person and Kingdom of the Messiah in all its essential features.

He did this in opposition to the distorted ideas about them held by the Jews and by Nicodemus himself.

The evangelist does not mention here what effect this whole conversation produced on him. Later, Nicodemus spoke before the Pharisees in defense of Christ (Jn 7:50).

After the Savior's death, together with Joseph of Arimathea, he came for His burial (Jn 19:39). Evidently he was a secret follower of the Lord.

Tradition says that afterward he truly became a Christian.

3. When Nicodemus was perplexed, the demonstration of the necessity of spiritual rebirth, verses 4-8. 4. The rebuke of Nicodemus for not understanding what was known, verses 9-12.

5. The purposes of the appearance of the Son of God on earth, verses 13-17. 6. Why some perish, verses 18-21.

Then comes the final testimony of the Forerunner, 3:22-36.

In describing the Forerunner's final testimony concerning Jesus, the evangelist shows: 1. The occasion for this testimony, verses 22-26. 2. The testimony itself.

First, that Jesus is a special envoy of God, while John is His servant, verses 27-30. Second, that Jesus transmits what He has heard from the Father, and therefore unbelief in Him is perdition, verses 31-36.

Those turn away from the light who, in their self-deception, set themselves above others. Among them alike are those who exalt human reason above all and deny every religion, and the Jewish Pharisees, who made gods of themselves and their ritual righteousness. They abandoned the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith (Mt 23:23).

In verses 20 and 21 it is observed that two different expressions are used to express the fact of doing good and evil: to do and to make. "He who does evil," ό φαῦλα πράσσων. "He who makes the truth," ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν.

The latter verb, ποιεῖν, to make, has a more exalted meaning than the verb πρὰττειν. The latter embraces the whole range of ordinary, human, earthly deeds. To make the truth means to create something that has eternal significance. It means to clothe the abstract ideal thought of eternal good in real form.

These deeds of good bear the imprint of the source of every good, the will of God. They are manifestations of the eternal light shining in the darkness, the God of revelation. The man who manifests such deeds is "he who makes the truth." According to his strength, he helps create and establish truth in the world. He is the Lord's laborer in His vineyard.

The Lord does not need the raising of a majestic and unshakable building of truth in the world. It is needed for the happiness of mankind. Until it is raised upon the cornerstone, which is Christ, mankind cannot taste the happiness and joy in which every man would share.

But this building of truth is built from all human good deeds. Its Architect and Foundation is God, incarnate as the Word and giving life by His Holy Spirit.

Not many in Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and Syria yet knew the Lord Jesus. But among the corrupt Jewish people there were men who desired good. Therefore they hastened toward the light when He shone among "the people sitting in darkness" (Is 9:1; Mt 4:16).

This desire for light at once separated those who hastened to Him from those who hated Him, for "their deeds were evil." Those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness had preserved in their hearts the light of the revelation of the Old Testament. To this still incomplete moral wealth, increased by these men, the Lord added the great riches of the covenant of His goodness. He opened to them the joy of salvation and eternal life.

But from the worthless servant who hid the entrusted wealth in the ground, there was taken away what he did not know how to use. For "to him who has, more will be given. But from him who does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him" (Mt 25; see the whole parable, 14-30).

Such is the meaning of this all-embracing parable in relation to the Jewish people, and especially to the Pharisees and scribes. They "took away the key of knowledge; they did not enter in themselves, and those who were entering they hindered" (Lk 11:52).

"He who makes the truth," who thirsts for good and does it according to his strength, "comes to the light." Sometimes he comes as yet unconsciously. But the good living in his soul will surely lead him to the light and to our Lord Jesus.

Such were all those honest and good souls whom the Lord called to the apostleship and who surrounded the Lord as His disciples. Such, finally, were those crowds of people who were like sheep without a shepherd, and who listened to Him with delight (Mt 9:36; Mk 12:37).

The apostles and disciples of the Lord were only illumined by Him with the eternal light. But the Lord chose and called them because, before their election and calling, they had been striving toward good and thirsting for light and truth.