Born Again (34)

John 3:14-15 (C)

The Greek original does not contain devices like quotation marks to indicate when a person begins speaking and when he ceases to speak, and so they are added to the translations. In many of them, the quotation marks suggest that Jesus' speech extends all the way to verse 21, and red-letter Bibles would highlight all of verses 10-21 as the Lord's words. But it appears certain that Jesus has stopped speaking way before the end of verse 21, and that what we have instead is the commentary and reflection of the apostle John.

However, the precise point of transition is an issue of dispute. Some would suggest that Jesus finishes speaking at the end of verse 10. This would make verses 11-21 into a neat parallel to verses 31-36, as this latter passage is also considered the apostle John's words rather than that of John the Baptist. But this is unlikely because, everywhere else, "the Son of Man" seems to be an expression used exclusively by Jesus as a self-designation. Thus it seems safe to conclude that the words of Jesus extend at least to the end of verse 15.

Then, there are several indications that John's commentary begins from verse 16, and that from this point on Jesus is no longer the one speaking. First, at this point the text switches to the past tense, and this is what we would expect if we are reading John's reflection about something that had happened, rather than a quotation from Jesus. Second, verse 16 refers to Jesus as God's "one and only Son" or "only begotten Son" (also v. 18). John is accustomed to using this expression. For example, he uses it in John 1:14, 18 and 1 John 4:9, where we are certain that we are reading John's words instead of quotations of Jesus. Third, verse 19 uses similar expressions to echo something that John has already stated in 1:9-11. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Jesus finishes speaking at the end of verse 15, and that verses 16-21 consist of the commentary and reflection of John the apostle.

That said, nothing can be more important than to remember that we are noting this merely because we would like to know as much as possible about the text, and as accurately as we can – it is not because we are trying to distinguish between words that carry divine authority and words that do not.

The whole Bible is inspired and infallible, and both the words of Jesus and the words of John come from God, and are therefore equally authoritative. Of course, in themselves, Jesus (who is God) is infinitely more authoritative than John, but when we are comparing the words of Jesus and the inspired words of John, we are comparing inspiration with inspiration, or God with God, so that there is no difference. We are not comparing the divine Jesus with the merely human John, since the entire Bible is a product of the Holy Spirit.

So, even if we cannot discover the precise point of transition with complete certainty, it makes no difference where the authority of the text is concerned. And therefore, we must approach verses 16-21 with total reverence and confidence, just as we do the rest of the Bible.

(to be continued)