What
he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John 3:32-36
John 3 [22.] After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them, and baptized. John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized. For John was not yet thrown into prison. There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification. They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
John 3 [27.] John answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John 4 [1.] Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself didn’t baptize, but his disciples), he left Judea, and departed into Galilee. He needed to pass through Samaria. So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Meaning:
These verses close the third chapter of John. In the PIB text they continue John the Baptizer's answer to his disciples, following his words “He must increase, but I must decrease” and “He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:30-31). Some readers think the Gospel writer adds his own reflection here; either way, the verses sum up the chapter's message about the Son who comes from heaven and the choice every person faces.
- “What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies”
Jesus speaks from first-hand knowledge of heaven, as he told Nicodemus: “we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen” (John 3:11). Yet “no one receives his witness” describes the general response, much as the prologue says, “those who were his own didn’t receive him” (John 1:11). The next sentence shows that some do receive it.
- “has set his seal to this, that God is true”
A seal confirmed a document as genuine. To believe Jesus is to put one's seal on the statement that God is true, because Jesus speaks God's words. To refuse his witness is, in effect, to say that God is not true.
- “God gives the Spirit without measure”
The prophets received the Spirit for particular tasks. Jesus received the Spirit in full. John the Baptizer had seen the Spirit descend and remain on him (John 1:30-34), as Isaiah foretold: “The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble” (Isaiah 61:1).
- “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand”
The relationship between Father and Son is one of love and complete trust. Before washing his disciples' feet, Jesus knew “that the Father had given all things into his hands” (John 13:3). After rising he said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
- “One who believes in the Son has eternal life”
Eternal life is a present possession, not only a future hope. Jesus said that whoever believes “has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).
- “one who disobeys the Son … the wrath of God remains on him”
As the PIB footnote notes, the word can be translated “disobeys” or “disbelieves”. In the New Testament, unbelief and disobedience go together. God's wrath is his settled opposition to sin. It “remains” on the one who rejects the Son, but Paul calls Jesus the one “who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
The Significance of John 3:32-36
- A clear choice
John's Gospel presents a choice between life and wrath. It does so not to frighten but to urge people to receive the Son, in whom God offers life freely.
- Confidence in Christ's word
Because the Father has given all things into the Son's hand, believers can trust his words fully and rest their lives on him.
Cross-References:
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son,” The love behind the offer of eternal life.
John 5:24: “has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Eternal life as a present gift.
Matthew 28:18: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” All things in the Son's hand.
1 Thessalonians 1:10: “Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Deliverance from wrath through Christ.
Conclusion: John 3:32-36 sums up the chapter's teaching. Jesus speaks the words of God, has the Spirit without measure and holds all things from the Father's hand. Whoever believes in him has eternal life now, while whoever rejects him remains under God's wrath.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible