F. John’s Second Testimony (3:22-36)

Jesus and John were engaged simultaneously in ministries involving baptism (but cf. 4:2). Jesus was at work somewhere in the Judean countryside (v.22), and John at Aenon near Salim (v.23), whose precise location is not now known. A dispute between John’s disciples and a certain Jew about ceremonial washing (v.25), stimulated no doubt by John’s ministry, led to a pointed reference to Jesus' baptism and popularity (v.26).

But John felt neither threat nor jealousy. The honor that both were receiving was decreed in heaven, that is, by God (v.27), and God’s arrangements were not to be disputed. In any case, John was not the Christ but only the forerunner (v.28; cf. 1:20, 23). Jesus was the Christ (implied). Now that he was present, John must diminish (v.30).

John 3:31-36 is probably a commentary on the Baptist’s words rather than part of the quotation itself. They reiterate Jesus' heavenly origin over against John’s earthly origin (vv.31-32). Indeed, the unlimited bestowal of the Spirit on Jesus guarantees that what he has to say is straight from God (v.34). Refusal to accept his testimony (v.32) leads to disaster, but whoever believes in him receives eternal life (v.36). In this passage Jesus is spoken of as the one whom God has sent and as the Son of the Father; both are modes of expression characteristic of this gospel.