What is happening in this passage?
Nicodemus, one of the rulers and “teacher” of Israel, is completely lost
- “How can these things be?” (John 3:9) - and
being chastised by Jesus, who he thinks is a street preacher.
Who does “We” in John 3:11 include?
Jesus Himself and potentially the Holy Spirit,
John the Baptist and/or Jesus’ disciples.
Who else is Jesus addressing?
“You” (John 3:7, 11 & 12) is the second person
plural pronoun, so Jesus is also chastising those whom
Nicodemus
represents.
Why does Jesus say “No one has gone up to heaven” (John 3:13)?
Jesus is alluding not to Enoch or Elijah being taken to heaven, but to Moses
going up Mount Sinai in the Old Testament. All Jews, including Nicodemus,
revered Moses as the one through whom they received God's
Ten Commandments. Jesus is telling Nicodemus in terms that this “teacher of Israel” should have grasped that
Moses only went up Mount Sinai to meet God, who came down from heaven
to meet him there, but Jesus came directly “down from
heaven” (John 3:13) and therefore has greater authority than “Moses”
(see
next verse).
It should be noted that while ων (on),
the Greek word
translated “was” (John 3:13), is usually used in the present
tense, it is being used in John 3:13 in the preter imperfect tense, which
refers to something that was taking place or being done at some time in the past
but not then finished (ων is used in this tense also in John
12:17 about the people that “were” with Jesus).
Is Jesus then telling Nicodemus that He is God?
See “Son
of Man” (John 3:13).