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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - John 3:11 - 3:11
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We speak that we do know (ho oidamen laloumen). Jesus simply claims knowledge of what he has tried to make plain to the famous Rabbi without success. John uses laleō some 60 times, half of them by Jesus, very little distinction existing between the use of laleō and legō in John. Originally laleō referred to the chatter of birds. Note John’s frequent use of amēn amēn and legō (double emphasis).
And bear witness of that we have seen (kai ho heōrakamen marturoumen). The same use of neuter singular relative ho as before. Perfect active indicative of horaō. He is not a dreamer, guesser, or speculator. He is bearing witness from personal knowledge, strange as this may seem to Nicodemus.
And ye receive not our witness (kai tēn marturian hēmōn ou lambanete). This is the tragedy of the matter as John has shown (Joh 1:11, Joh 1:26) and as will continue to be true even today. Jesus probably associates here with himself (“we”) those who have personal experience of grace and so are qualified as witnesses. Note the plural in 1Jo 1:1. Bernard thinks that John has here read into the words of Jesus the convictions of a later age, a serious charge to make.