John 3:11
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
It was spoken to Nicodemus, a ruler and teacher in Israel who came to Jesus by night to learn of His mission and the way of salvation. Jesus declares that He speaks from direct, firsthand knowledge and sight of heavenly truth, having come from the Father and being one with God. The we joins Him with all who bear His testimony from what they themselves know and have seen, yet Nicodemus and others addressed did not receive that witness. What He so certainly testifies is that a person must be born again of water and of the Spirit to see and enter the kingdom of God, a change no learning, religious office, or outwardly correct life can replace. Mere knowledge about His mission cannot save without faith, a new heart, and renouncing self-righteousness to depend wholly on Christ, for refusing His witness to these earthly things leaves people unable to believe heavenly things.
Night Conversation Setting
John 3:11 was spoken in Jesus' private, nighttime conversation with Nicodemus. It belongs to a secret interview in which He explained His mission and the plan of salvation and taught vital truths about the way of life that remain important. The setting shows precious instruction given through personal contact to an individual recognized as receptive.
Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night. He was a master and teacher in Israel, an honored rabbi entrusted with the religious interests of the people.
He sought Jesus after seeing His works and searching the prophecies that pointed to Him as the Messiah. He recognized Jesus as sent by God and was convinced He was the promised One, so that His warnings carried divine authority. His desire to learn was stirred by truths he had heard from Jesus but had not yet fully accepted.
The leaders of Israel did not welcome the light Jesus revealed in that conversation and rejected His warnings, risking repetition of their fathers' rejection of God's messengers. Nicodemus by contrast kept the teaching in his heart and received the lesson. He later came to recognize Jesus as the world's Redeemer and became a true believer, speaking against the effort to condemn Jesus by asking that a person be heard before being judged.
Certain Knowledge Witness
Jesus speaks what He knows and testifies what He has seen from direct, firsthand knowledge and sight, answering Nicodemus about how a man can be born again. His declaration is certain knowledge and firsthand testimony about being born of water and of the Spirit in order to see and enter the kingdom of God. That witness is grounded in what He knows and has seen, yet those addressed do not receive it, even though Nicodemus is a learned teacher in Israel whose failure shows learning alone does not ensure belief. His words are true because He comes from God and reveals heavenly truth.
The “we” joins Jesus with those who bear His testimony, who likewise speak from what they know and have seen from certain knowledge and firsthand experience. His witness is true and trustworthy because He came from the Father to reveal Him, is one with God and speaks from divine knowledge, and as the greatest Teacher can reveal heavenly knowledge beyond every human discovery. He gave this witness with solemn dignity and earnest love in look and tone, so that Nicodemus realizes his humiliating position without being offended. His teaching was direct, sympathetic, practical and suited to hearers, reaching them in ordinary circumstances to meet needs and hopes and form character.
His speaking what He knows was part of deliberately working to reach the rich as well as the poor, seeking the acquaintance of the wealthy and cultured Pharisee in order to gain access to his heart and reveal imperishable riches. For this work He accepts invitations, attends feasts, and makes Himself familiar with the interests and occupations of the rich, including the Jewish nobleman and the Roman ruler. Nicodemus and others do not receive that witness, and the verse rebukes that refusal and charges them with not receiving it.
New Birth Teaching
Jesus answers the question how a person can be born again with certain knowledge and firsthand testimony about being born of water and of the Spirit in order to see and enter the kingdom of God, charging failure to receive that witness. A person must be born again and converted to see and discern the kingdom of heaven, for without this conversion the kingdom cannot be discerned. If His testimony to these earthly things about the new birth is not believed, His testimony about heavenly things will not be believed.
The whole passage from John 3:1-16 definitely points out the way to heaven, what conversion is, and what must be done to be saved. It strikes directly at surface religion and against the idea that a person can become a child of God without any particular or decided change. Where the truth of God has found a place in the heart it works a decided change, with sanctifying power upon life and character, producing fruits of righteousness and a course of action that testifies of having learned of Christ. That same teaching told beforehand that He would be lifted up on the cross as the hope of Israel, which could not be understood until after the resurrection, when hope and faith were resurrected and those who had learned in His school the living connection of the soul with God went forth with great boldness speaking of the Lord of life and glory taken by wicked hands and crucified and risen, with living faith laying hold upon the merits of the blood of the crucified and risen Saviour as righteousness.
Knowing facts about His divine mission is not enough when the heart remains unchanged, for the needed response is faith and a new heart. What is needed is not learning nor controversy but truth and a new heart. Until the heart is changed, reasoning upon points of difference produces no saving results but strengthens the spirit of resistance.
Even a learned teacher and master in Israel, a ruler entrusted with the religious interests of the people who should not be ignorant of the condition of entrance into the kingdom, may fail to understand the new birth and remain spiritually ignorant. Education and religious responsibility cannot replace receiving the truth, and learning alone does not ensure belief in His testimony. Outwardly correct moral character likewise cannot replace humbling self before God and receiving plain truth about the need for a new heart. That plain exposure of humiliating lack calls for a humble opinion of self rather than irritation, irony, offense, or rejection, for difficulty understanding the work of grace in the heart leaves a person unable to grasp heavenly things.
Rejecting His witness to earthly things about the new birth and God’s kingdom leaves people unable to believe what He teaches about heavenly things. The lesson was not fully grasped at first, but later events made its mystery plain. His words are true because He comes from God and reveals heavenly truth, yet they are rejected.
The verse belongs to definite instruction on the nature of true higher education, which together with the first chapter of John defines the only education that is of saving value. That instruction is only feebly comprehended, no one can understand its full import until he is born again, and it can only be received through sanctification of the Spirit of God.
Links to Other Testimony
The testimony given to Nicodemus corresponds to the Baptist's declaration that He who comes from above is above all and testifies what He has seen and heard, yet His testimony is not received. The two utterances are almost the counterpart of each other, the one spoken in the secret interview and the other proclaiming Christ as come from heaven. Both bear witness to the truth about Christ from direct knowledge and sight, and both meet with rejection. They agree together because the same Spirit that actuated Jesus controlled John.
The vital truths taught to Nicodemus about the way of life remain important. What began as a secret nighttime conversation was afterward put by Nicodemus himself into John's Gospel for the instruction of many. In that same surrounding teaching Christ told Nicodemus beforehand that He would be lifted up on the cross as the hope of Israel. The disciples could not understand this until after the resurrection, when their hope and faith were resurrected. Then they went forth with great boldness speaking the words of life about the Lord of life and glory taken by wicked hands and crucified and risen, because they had learned in His school the living connection of the soul with God and the living faith essential for salvation that lays hold upon the merits of the blood of the crucified and risen Saviour as righteousness.
Call and Application
The chapter to which this testimony belongs is to be read carefully by all who have not been born again, and then they are to humble themselves under God. Those who have light are to walk in the light, as Christ does. The lesson given to Nicodemus lays out the terms of salvation and serves as a guide to the soul. Those who counsel others or deal with human minds need its truth as a light and must diligently search God's Word for knowledge.
When Nicodemus asked how these things could be, he was met with the rebuke that a master of Israel did not know these things, and with firm affirmative testimony to what was known and had been seen, though men did not receive the witness. That example gives the pattern for God's workers to hold truth and testify positively rather than to debate. What is needed is not learning nor controversy but truth and a new heart, for until the heart is changed, reasoning upon points of difference produces no saving results but strengthens the spirit of resistance. Wisdom is shown by not going away from the great questions involved and not allowing opponents to lead into controversy on false theories, but by presenting new light and practical points that bring contact with all light, in the work in Los Angeles and in other places afterward.
Nicodemus was of outwardly correct moral character and believed his life and character were upright, yet this did not remove his need to humble himself before God. Like him, everyone, even one who considers himself morally upright, must enter life by renouncing personal righteousness and depending wholly on Christ for imputed righteousness, strength, and salvation. The light of Christ reveals the impurity, selfish motives, and opposition to God hidden in the human heart, showing that self-righteousness cannot cleanse sin. The blood of Christ alone can cleanse and renew the heart, and salvation comes through divine grace, not personal merit.
A witness speaks with assurance what is known and has been personally experienced and seen, rather than merely repeating what has been heard, even when hearers do not accept it. That principle grounds firsthand testimony about a grievous offense among professedly Christian young people, namely treating their early vows of consecration to God with levity or contempt. It likewise grounds testimony about accusations as asserted from direct knowledge, in the words, I testify the things I do know. It also marks a warning spoken from the Lord God of heaven as knowledge, not worldly policy or false methods.