Yohanes 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ²  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Yohanes 4:36

4:36 The one who reaps receives pay ³  and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together.

Yohanes 6:44

6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, ⁴  and I will raise him up at the last day.

Yohanes 10:28

10:28 I give ⁵  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ⁶  no one will snatch ⁷  them from my hand.

[3:5]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ² tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[3:5]  sn Jesus’ somewhat enigmatic statement points to the necessity of being born “from above,” because water and wind/spirit/Spirit come from above. Isaiah 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are pertinent examples of water and wind as life-giving symbols of the Spirit of God in his work among people. Both occur in contexts that deal with the future restoration of Israel as a nation prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It is therefore particularly appropriate that Jesus should introduce them in a conversation about entering the kingdom of God. Note that the Greek word πνεύματος is anarthrous (has no article) in v. 5. This does not mean that spirit in the verse should be read as a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, but that both water and wind are figures (based on passages in the OT, which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel should have known) that represent the regenerating work of the Spirit in the lives of men and women.

[4:36]  ³ tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.

[6:44]  ⁴ tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).

[6:44]  sn The Father who sent me draws him. The author never specifically explains what this “drawing” consists of. It is evidently some kind of attraction; whether it is binding and irresistible or not is not mentioned. But there does seem to be a parallel with 6:65, where Jesus says that no one is able to come to him unless the Father has allowed it. This apparently parallels the use of Isaiah by John to reflect the spiritual blindness of the Jewish leaders (see the quotations from Isaiah in John 9:41 and 12:39-40).

[10:28]  ⁵ tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ⁶ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ⁷ tn Or “no one will seize.”