John 3:4 (D)

One commentator is especially charitable toward Nicodemus, but so charitable that he seems to ignore what is actually in the text. Among other things, he says we cannot believe that Nicodemus, a prominent teacher in Israel, would be so deficient in understanding that not only does he fail to grasp what Jesus is saying, but that he would misunderstand it in the way that his response in verse 4 appears to indicate. But the commentator gives no good reason for this assertion. Moreover, he then tries to force the subsequent verses into conformity with this view, that Nicodemus is not really so void of spiritual understanding.

Before you throw up your hands and say, "Maybe we cannot know what Nicodemus means at all!" let me remind you that all these interpretations come from commentators who refuse to believe that Nicodemus could be really as dull as he appears. What we notice is that not only do they fail to establish that Nicodemus is not as dull as he appears, but that they also fail to provide their own reasonable and coherent interpretation.

Underlying their refusal to believe that Nicodemus could be as dull as he appears is the assumption, sometimes explicitly stated, that it is impossible for a biblical scholar such as he to be so void of spiritual understanding, such that he fails to grasp even a fundamental truth upon which a proper relationship with God must be constructed. But this is what it is – an assumption, and one that has yet to be justified. In fact, from this and other passages found in this Gospel, it is more than likely that one of John's intentions for this text is precisely to challenge this assumption.

Moreover, I will not hesitate to suggest the possibility that these commentators make such an assumption about Nicodemus because they make the same assumption about themselves. Is it possible for biblical scholars like themselves to be so spiritually dull that they would fail to grasp even the most basic and necessary truth? Nevertheless, in the spirit of asserting only that which we may legitimately infer from a text, we will not speculate further about the reasons and motives of these commentators, except to say that it is unbiblical and dangerous to assume that a biblical scholar would automatically understand spiritual truths.

The assumption is sometimes even stronger, so it seems that some commentators would refuse to believe that anyone would be dull enough as to misunderstand what Jesus means. Anyone should have a superior comprehension than what Nicodemus appears to demonstrate in verse 4. But again, this is merely an assumption. Rather than interpreting Scripture based on what we think we know about human nature, we must interpret Scripture based on what Scripture itself teaches about human nature. What is possible or impossible for a man to understand must be defined by the Bible, and not from what we think we know about man apart from the Bible.

(to be continued)

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