Naso Commentary
Quick Thoughts on Parashat Naso
John 3-4
We don’t have time to even scratch the surface of this week’s parashat. What we will do is briefly look at a broad overview of the John’s perspective, his purpose of writing his Gospel account, and his primary message, found in this week’s parashat.
John the Mystic
John the Mystic—traditionally thought to be the youngest disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth—appears to be one of the deepest spiritual thinkers of the New Testament, notwithstanding the Apostle Paul. In our parashah we will attempt to gain insights into John’s unique presentation of the Gospel narrative.
We must keep in mind several things about John. Here is a brief breakdown of things to keep in mind as we approach John and his Gospel account.
John the Beloved?
A common assumption about John is that he is, in fact, John. Although the author of “The Gospel of John” is commonly understood to be the youngest of Yeshua’s disciples, there is supporting evidence that this person may be yet another follower of Yeshua who chose to remain anonymous to his audience at large, possibly due to his seeming narcissism within the Gospel account. The earliest sources that claim John “the Beloved” as the author of the text are Irenaeus and Tertullian.
John the Gnostic?
A common misconception of John is that he was heavily influenced by Gnosticism1, through his tendency to use Gnostic-styled vocabulary. However, we must remember that the writer of the Gospel account was very Semitic in his understanding and his approach to the transmission of Yeshua’s life and teaching. Although the author may have been immersed into the Hellenistic Judaism of his day, instead of looking toward Plato and Philo, we must look towards the authors of the Tanakh for our interpretation of the concepts he presents.
John the anti-Semite?
Another misconception about “John” is that he was anti-Semitic. Through his polemical use of the term “the Jews” during many of Yeshua’s run-ins with the religious leaders while in the “South” (of Israel), many have accused John of anti-Semitic rhetoric. However, we must keep in mind that when John uses this vocabulary, he does so, in fact, to distinguish between Yeshua’s encounters with Galileans (hometown boys) verses Judeans (city slickers). John simply shortens the term to the colloquial “Jews” when referring to the “Judeans” (with whom Yeshua had much disagreement).
John the Historian?
Lastly, we must remember that John is not as much concerned about recording history, as he is concerned about transmitting gnosis2 (hence the Gnostic connection). This does not nullify his historical credibility, but we must give proper weight to his esoteric insights into the purpose and ministry of Yeshua. John is first and foremost an intellectual mystic “who testifies to these things and who wrote them down” (21:24) in order that we “may believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).
Here are some of his “mystical” sayings:
John 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”John 1:4, 5
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”John 1:10
“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”John 1:14
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”John 1:18
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared”
These are deep, spiritual insights for which John has spent a considerable amount of time to ponder and discern. Yet we make bumper stickers of them. Go figure.
Before we get even into our parashah, we need to clear John from one more accusation. There seems to be a problematic verse in the very first chapter of John’s Gospel that those who would seek to abolish Torah use to pit the giving of Torah against the revelation of Messiah. Let’s look at it together:
John 1:17
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
In this verse the revelation of the Torah through Moshe seems to be contrasted to the revelation of “grace and truth” through Yeshua. Most assume this is the case from a cursory reading of the English text. This is an unfortunate bias that has been passed down from the translators of the King James Bible. If you will notice, the conjunction “but” is in italics. This is in order to show the reader that this word is not actually contained in the original manuscript, but has been added by the translators in order to “clarify” the text. However, in doing so they have not “clarified” the text, but “abolished” it (see Matthew 5:17). Subsequent translations have corrected the reading, but have not been able to change the stigma attached to the text. The actual text reads slightly different without the conjunction:
“For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Let’s see if we can quickly resolve this problem, and get into John’s mind a little to understand his reasoning behind this statement.
One clue to I have come across is found in the Tanakh. I first began by translating the phrase into Hebrew in order to help find a link between John’s understanding of these terms and the Tanakh. In Hebrew, “grace and truth” is חסד ואמת, which is transliterated to “chesed v’emet.” This phrase appears numberous times in the Tanakh, but the first time stands out. It is found in parashah Vayechi:
Genesis 47:29
“And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly (חסד ואמת) with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.”
Although we don’t see the English words “grace and truth,” the Hebrew behind “kindly and truly” are the equivalent of “grace and truth.” This immediately tells us that the Hebrew understanding of these terms may be a little different than our English understanding. The NIV makes it even clearer:
“When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt.’ ”
The meaning of Israel’s words becomes clear when we understand the context, and some of the modern translations capture this faithfully.
It is also interesting that the notes of the NIV Study Bible for John 1:14 (but not vs. 17!) state the following:
Grace and truth. The corresponding Hebrew terms are often translated “(unfailing) love and faithfulness…”3
Wow! That puts a whole new reading into our text. John, as we stated previously, was very Semitic in his thinking. Surely he would have had a concept more along these lines when he penned this passage. Let’s look at it again with our new understanding, and plug in “Torah” for “law” and see how different our perception changes:
“For the Torah was given by Moses; unfailing love and faithfulness came by Jesus Christ.”
This carried an entirely different message than the KJV’s antinomian translation. Let’s look at the entire thought in context:
John 1:14-18
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of love and faithfulness; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, ‘This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’’) And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace [or ‘love upon love’]. For the Torah was given through Moses; unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.”
This changes our entire understanding of what John is trying to communicate. Instead of thinking that John is trying to show the supremacy of “grace and truth” over God’s law (Torah)—which wouldn’t make sense, because Torah is Truth—John is telling us that God has sent Yeshua as the Word (Torah)-Made-Flesh, full of love (John 3:16ff) and faithfulness (John 10:11-18; 12:23-28). Could John had Psalm 85 in mind when he penned his understanding of what it meant to have the advent of the Word who was made Flesh?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. LORD, thou wast favorable to thy land; thou didst restore the fortunes of Jacob. Thou didst forgive the iniquity of thy people; thou didst pardon all their sin. Selah. Thou didst withdraw all thy wrath; thou didst turn from thy hot anger. Restore us again, O God of our salvation [Yeshua], and put away thy indignation toward us! Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou prolong thy anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation [Yeshua].
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation [Yeshua] is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness (חסד ואמת) will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. Yea, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way.
Hopefully this introduction will illuminate John and his message. Now, let’s get into our actual parashah.
John 3-4
Yeshua’s Encounter with Nakdimon (Nicodemus)
In Yeshua’s encounter with this famous Pharisee, Nakdimon most likely arranged for a private meeting with Yeshua at night in order that he may exercise discretion and not be seen publicly with Yeshua. Although it is full moon (if we are to assume these events directly follow the preceding chapter regarding Pesach), and there would be plenty of light by the moon to see clearly one another in their meeting, it is nonetheless nighttime and dark. Please keep this fact in mind as we read Yeshua’s statements about the “light” a little later. As we read the encounter between the two great leaders of Israel, it is immediately a “meeting of the minds.” Nakdimon skips the formalities and says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.”
Yeshua replies, “Thank you, Nakdimon. You are very wise in your discernment,” right? No. Yeshua has a way of understanding the “words behind the words,” and begins to address the core issue, rather than what shows on the surface. He understands that Nakdimon has come to find out if he is merely a prophet, or the Awaited One—Messiah. And as was the common messianic expectation of the first century, Nakdimon would surely anticipate his rallying of the Jews to overthrow Roman rule.4
Yeshua sees his anticipation and responds with, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He uses the terminology of the “kingdom of God” as a segue from Nakdimon’s thoughts of Yeshua’s restoration of the physical “kingdom” of Israel, to the spiritual truth by which Yeshua will present his challenge.
Here we have, for the first time in Scripture, the concept of being “born anew” or “born again.” Throughout the ages, it was thought that the phrase “born again” originated with Yeshua. This, however, is not the case. He is using terminology that Nakdimon would have understood in order to drive home a spiritual point. Let’s briefly look at this phrase as Nakdimon would have understood it.
“Born Again” Jew
There are numerous references to the phrase “born again” in Rabbinic literature, but for brevity, let’s take Edersheim’s summation of how this terminology works:
The waters of baptism were to him [the proselyte to Judaism] in very truth…the “bath of regeneration” (Titus iii.5). As he stepped out of these waters, he was considered as “born anew”—in the language of the Rabbis, as if he were “a little child just born” (Yeb 22 a; 48 b; 97 b), as “a child o one day” (Masa Ger. C. ii.).5
A gentile who was converting to Judaism was said to be “born anew” or “born again” upon his conversion baptism. This shed’s light on Nakdimon’s conundrum: How can one who is already Jewish go through a conversion process to become Jewish? His natural response was, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Yeshua was talking apples. Nakdimon was talking oranges. Nakdimon was speaking of a conversion of the flesh. Yeshua was speaking of a transformation of the spirit. Yeshua explains by saying, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” In most translations he then states, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” However, this may be a parenthetical note by John, who likes to plug in clarifying information for the sake of the reader. If we understand it this way it would read:
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.)”
If we read it this way, it could easily be a commentary on what Yeshua is explaining to Nakdimon, where being born of the water is equated to a work of man, but spiritual rebirth is equated to a greater work of God.
Yeshua then continues, “You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind (Hebrew: רוח, “ruach”) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (Hebrew: רוח, “ruach”).”
Clearly John is bringing to mind the events of Shavuot (Pentecost) in Acts 2 with Yeshua’s terminology of the “wind” and the “Spirit.” Yeshua’s plain message, however, is that the work of the Spirit is like the wind. Although you can hear the wind, and sometimes feel it, you do not know “where it comes from or where it is going.” Again, Yeshua is contrasting a “conversion” done by the hands of men, with the “conversion” done by the Spirit of the Almighty. Where a physical conversion by the hands of man is a definable event with observable demarcations, the work of the Spirit is a little less tangible. When did the Spirit actually begin working in one’s life? Did a certain event trigger it, or has it been working on us long before the event?
Nakdimon doesn’t catch on right away and Yeshua both chastises him for his lack of spiritual understanding, and further expounds on his message with his saying, “I have spoken to you of earthly [basic] things and you do not believe [understand]; how then will you believe [understand] if I speak of heavenly things?” (vs. 12). He challenges Nakdimon in his understanding, and calls for a radical transformation in his spiritual journey.
Lastly, whether Yeshua’s words continue or the voice of John picks up (starting in verse 16), a reference, coupled with a challenge, is made:
John 3:19-21
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
Whether Yeshua actually spoke these words to Nakdimon, or they were commentary inserted by John, Nakdimon took the challenge, and each of the following times we see him in Scripture he takes a more bold step “into the light” than before. He is last seen as the one with whom Joseph of Arimathea prepares the body of Yeshua for burial (John 19:38-42), and is specifically mentioned as the one “who had at first come to him by night” (vs. 39) in order to contrast his first, “secret” meeting with Yeshua to his public receiving of Yeshua’s body—a public declaration of the spiritual transformation which had taken place within him.
Endnotes:
1. Gnos·ti·cism n – A pre-Christian and early Christian religious movement teaching that salvation comes by learning esoteric spiritual truths that free humanity from the material world, believed in this movement to be evil. (Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.) back
2. Knowledge of spiritual truths. back
3. As noted in the NIV Study Bible introductory notes to the Book of John. back
4. Even Yeshua’s disciples, with whom he had spent three years had this same concept—even after the resurrection. See Acts 1:6. back
5. Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (One Volume), Book V, Appendix XII, p. 746. back
