A friend posed the following question to me on facebook:
On "to see"--the verb is οραω which means simply "to see"; it appears 73 times in the Greek of John's gospel, and never means "to enter into" (e.g., John 1:18, 29, 33, 34, 39 [x2], 46, 47, 48, 50, 51; 3:11, 26, 32, 36, etc).
Of course, simply "seeing" the future kingdom of God is not in view here, but how one can become a member, so Jesus is speaking more of simply "seeing" the kingdom of God, but entering it, so one could argue via *subtext* such is in view, but the verb itself does not mean "to enter [into]"; that verb is εισερχομαι which is used in John 3:5 (" . . . except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter [εισερχομαι] the kingdom of God"), which shows that more than simply catching a glimpse of the kingdom is in view with οραω. If the online commentator said it's lexical meaning was "to enter [into]" they are wrong, but if they were arguing it had, based on its context and via subtext, more than physically seeing something, they are correct.
In John 3:3-5, there is a lot of "word plays"; for instance, the term translated in the KJV as "again" in v. 3 also has the meaning of "from above" (ἄνωθεν), showing that one has to be regenerated/born again, but such new life comes from God, not us (cf. 1:13), which is, of course, the role of water baptism (see http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.com/2015/04/baptism-salvation-and-new-testament.html
for a biblical and historical defence of this reading)
On Jesus himself discussing the Kingdom of God, let me quote a very recent commentary that answers this:
[3-5] Jesus response to Nicodemus's affirmation with the first of three sayings in this section introduced by "Amen, amen, I say to you" (3:3, 5, 11). Jesus now speaks, for the first time, of the kingdom of God, twice linking it with the metaphor of new birth. Jesus' words are somewhat puzzling since his assertion about what is required to see the kingdom of God presupposes a question--"How does one see the kingdom of God?"--that Nicodemus has not asked. But Jesus' initially enigmatic reply (3:3) echoes, while rephrasing, his visitor's opening declaration:
No one is able to do signs unless God is with him.
No one is able to enter the kingdom of God unless they are born from above.
Nicodemus believes that the signs give evidence of God's presence with Jesus. But if Nicodemus wants to participate in the fullness of all that God brings through Jesus, to enter into the life of God's kingdom, he must receive the new life given through Jesus by means of God's revivifying Spirit. To truly understand the significance of Jesus' signs--that he brings and embodies God's life--requires a reorientation as drastic as a new birth marking a new life: Nicodemus needs to be "begotten from above," or "born again." (Marianne Meye Thompson, John [New Testament Library; Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2015] 78-79)
1) I find Christ's response to Nicodemus very interesting. Nicodemus didn't even ask a question and Christ starts talking about entering the kingdom of God. It seems a bit out of left field. Is there any thoughts out there (from you or others) of why Christ responded to Nicodemus the way he did?2) in trying to do some research online of this I saw one thing say "to see" the kingdom of God means the same thing as "to enter into". It wasn't clear to me if they were referring to the Greek or just how they interpreted the phrase. Any insight on that?Here is my response; I am reproducing it here in case others will find it of benefit:
On "to see"--the verb is οραω which means simply "to see"; it appears 73 times in the Greek of John's gospel, and never means "to enter into" (e.g., John 1:18, 29, 33, 34, 39 [x2], 46, 47, 48, 50, 51; 3:11, 26, 32, 36, etc).
Of course, simply "seeing" the future kingdom of God is not in view here, but how one can become a member, so Jesus is speaking more of simply "seeing" the kingdom of God, but entering it, so one could argue via *subtext* such is in view, but the verb itself does not mean "to enter [into]"; that verb is εισερχομαι which is used in John 3:5 (" . . . except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter [εισερχομαι] the kingdom of God"), which shows that more than simply catching a glimpse of the kingdom is in view with οραω. If the online commentator said it's lexical meaning was "to enter [into]" they are wrong, but if they were arguing it had, based on its context and via subtext, more than physically seeing something, they are correct.
In John 3:3-5, there is a lot of "word plays"; for instance, the term translated in the KJV as "again" in v. 3 also has the meaning of "from above" (ἄνωθεν), showing that one has to be regenerated/born again, but such new life comes from God, not us (cf. 1:13), which is, of course, the role of water baptism (see http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.com/2015/04/baptism-salvation-and-new-testament.html
for a biblical and historical defence of this reading)
On Jesus himself discussing the Kingdom of God, let me quote a very recent commentary that answers this:
[3-5] Jesus response to Nicodemus's affirmation with the first of three sayings in this section introduced by "Amen, amen, I say to you" (3:3, 5, 11). Jesus now speaks, for the first time, of the kingdom of God, twice linking it with the metaphor of new birth. Jesus' words are somewhat puzzling since his assertion about what is required to see the kingdom of God presupposes a question--"How does one see the kingdom of God?"--that Nicodemus has not asked. But Jesus' initially enigmatic reply (3:3) echoes, while rephrasing, his visitor's opening declaration:
No one is able to do signs unless God is with him.
No one is able to enter the kingdom of God unless they are born from above.
Nicodemus believes that the signs give evidence of God's presence with Jesus. But if Nicodemus wants to participate in the fullness of all that God brings through Jesus, to enter into the life of God's kingdom, he must receive the new life given through Jesus by means of God's revivifying Spirit. To truly understand the significance of Jesus' signs--that he brings and embodies God's life--requires a reorientation as drastic as a new birth marking a new life: Nicodemus needs to be "begotten from above," or "born again." (Marianne Meye Thompson, John [New Testament Library; Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2015] 78-79)