Micah 4:1-5; 5:2-4

Peace and Security through Obedience (Cp Isa 2.2-4)

4:1 In days to come

the mountain of the LORD's house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be raised up above the hills.

Peoples shall stream to it,

2 and many nations shall come and say:

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths."

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

3 He shall judge between many peoples,

and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more;

4 but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

and no one shall make them afraid;

for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

5 For all the peoples walk,

each in the name of its god,

but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God

forever and ever. (Micah 4:1-5, NRSV)

The Ruler from Bethlehem

2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to rule in Israel,

whose origin is from of old,

from ancient days.

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time

when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return

to the people of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD,

in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth; (Micah 5:2-4, NRSV)

The following comments are based on comments on Micah 3:9-4:5 and 5:1-4, 10-15 from October 10 and 11, 2008 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two), when comments were repeated with some editing from October 13, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two), when comments were repeated with some revision and supplement from October 8, 2004 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 5, Year Two). The following comments are also based on those of December 25, 2007 (Christmas Day, Year Two), when comments were based on comments of October 9, 2004 (Saturday of the week closest to October 5, Year 2), December 1, 2005 (Wednesday of the first week of Advent, Year 2), of December 25, 2005 (Christmas Day, Year Two), and of October 14, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 2, Year Two).

At this point in Micah, we come to a transition, a dramatic turn-around, as it were. The first collection of Micah’s threats of judgment comes to a close, and we come to the glorious promise of a peaceable kingdom, Micah 4:1-5 (vv. 1-3 = Isa. 2:2-4; cf. v. 5 & Is. 2:5; cf. v. 4 & Zech. 3:10). “In days to come,” says the prophet, “the mountain of the LORD’s house / shall be established as the highest of the mountains, / and shall be raised up above the hills” (Mic. 4:1a, b, c, d = Isa. 2:2a, b, c, d). In other words, the Jerusalem temple will become the major worship center of the world, “the highest of the mountains.” “Many nations,” says the prophet, will say “Come, Let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, / to the house of the God of Jacob; / that he may teach us his ways / and that we may walk in his paths” (Mic. 4:2b, c, d, e = Isa. 2:3b, c, d, e). Zion will be a source of instruction, “the word of the LORD” (Mic. 4:2f, g = Isa. 2:3f, g). The LORD “shall judge between many peoples, / and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away,” says the prophet (Mic. 4:3a, b; cf. Isa. 2:4a, b), as he leads into a vision of universal peace. Because of the nearly verbatim relationship between Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4, they are presented together in the following table:

The nearly verbatim relationship between these two passages suggests a common source, but the contexts are clearly different. While both passages follow prophetic judgment for Israel’s sins (cf. Isaiah, chap. 1, and Micah, chaps. 1-3, excluding 2:12-13), after this passage, and the brief invitation to “walk / in the light of the LORD” (Isa. 2:5), judgment continues in Isaiah (2:6-4:1), but promise of restoration continues in Micah (cf. 4:6-6:15). In Isaiah, the passage is introduced as a distinct oracle: “The word (rbADAha, haddāvār) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw (hz!HA, chāzāh) concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:1).

“In days to come,” says the oracle, “the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established (NOkn!, nākôn) as the highest of the mountains, / and shall be raised up above the hills” (Mic. 4:1a, b, c, d = Isa 2:2a, b, c, d). In the Hebrew text, there is a difference in word order: the word “established” (NOkn!, nākôn) comes before “the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be” in Isaiah but after the phrase in Micah. Isaiah emphasizes “established,” coming as it does before the verb, “In days to come established shall be the mountain of the LORD’s house,” that is, the Jerusalem temple. “Peoples Mym09%fa (‘ammîm) shall stream to it,” says Micah, where Isaiah says “all the nations (My98OGha-LKA, kol-haggôyim) shall stream to it” (Mic. 4:1e; Isa. 2:2e). Again, Isaiah’s phrase is emphatic. Different pronouns are used for “to it”: vylAfA (‘ālâw) in Micah, but vylAxe (’ēlâw) in Isaiah. According to William L. Holladay, “’el . . . often represents ‘al ( & vice versa), but may also be interpreted as motion toward” (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. lx,, ’el). In other words, we may say, the Jerusalem temple will become the major worship center of the world, “highest of the mountains.”

The next line in Hebrew begins with the conjunction, the “waw consecutive” (sometimes called, deferring to modern Israeli punctuation, “vav consecutive”), Ukl4hAv4& (w ^ehāl ^ekû), “[And] shall come” (Mic. 4:2a = Isa. 2:3a). In Isaiah, the NRSV ignores the conjunction–which is acceptable as the “waw consecutive”–and begins a new sentence, “Many peoples shall come . . .” (Isa. 2:3a). In Micah, the NRSV includes the conjunction–also acceptable–and includes the previous line in a new sentence, “Peoples shall stream to it, / and many nations shall come . . .” (Mic. 4:2). So, in the NRSV, the sentence break, the period, comes one line earlier in Micah 4:1 than in Isaiah 2:2, where the Hebrew makes no clear difference (cf. TNIV, which has a period after “stream to it” in both passages; so the AV/KJV after “flow unto it” in both passages).

In the next line, the words for “peoples” and “nations” are reversed: “and many nations (My9&OG, gôyim) shall come and say” (Mic. 4:2a); “Many peoples (Mym09%fa, ‘ammîm) shall come and say” (Isa. 2:3a). The inclusion of both terms by both prophets is perhaps significant, but Isaiah’s earlier emphasis stands out (see above). It may be of interest that in later Judaism My9&OG (gôyim) became a term for “gentiles” (i.e., non-Jews). In the continuation, what these “nations/peoples” say is essentially identical, but for a minor spelling difference: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, / to the house of the God of Jacob; / that he may teach us (Unr2Oyv4, w ^eyôrēnû, Micah; Unr2yo, w ^eyōrēnĂû) his ways / and that we may walk in his paths” (Mic. 4:2b, c, d, e = Isa. 2:3b, c, d, e). The difference is the vowel letter for ô (O), as in Micah, but the vowel ō (only the vowel point    o) in what is essentially the same word. And the last two lines, “For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, / and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Mic. 4:2f, g = Isa. 2:3f, g) are identical, both in the Hebrew and the NRSV. Zion will be a source of instruction, “the word of the LORD” (Mic. 4:2f, g = Isa. 2:3f, g).

In the next two lines, the alternation between “peoples” (Mym09%fa, ‘ammîm) and nations (My9&OG, gôyim) continues. “He shall judge between many peoples (Mym09%fa, ‘ammîm), / and shall arbitrate between (-l, l-) strong nations (Mym9cuf3 My9%m09fa, ‘ammîm ‘ ^atsumîm) far away (qOH7r!-dfa, ‘ad-rāchôq)” Mic. 4:3a, b); “He shall judge between the nations (My9OGha, haggôyim), / and shall arbitrate for (-l, l-) many peoples (Mym09%fa, ‘ammîm)” (Isa. 23:4a, b). This time, the same preposition (-l, l-) is translated differently, “between” in Micah, but “for” in Isaiah (NRSV; but see TNIV and NJPS). Micah’s “far away” is lacking in Isaiah’s version. The Jewish translation is “however distant” (Micah 4:3c NJPS). The LORD will judge, arbitrate, between nations, says the prophet, as he leads into a vision of universal peace.

The rest of this verse is the same in the English translations: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, / and their spears into pruning hooks; / nation (yOG, gôy) shall not lift up sword against nation (yOG, gôy), / neither shall they learn war any more” (Mic. 4:3c, d, e, f = Isa. 2:4c, d, e, f). In the Hebrew text there are four minor spelling differences of the kind mentioned above, but the meaning is the same. In one case there may be an indication that Micah’s text is older than Isaiah’s. For “neither shall they learn (NUdm4l4y9, yilm ^edûn, Micah; Udm4l4y9, yilm ^edû, Isaiah) war any more” (Mic. 4:3f; Isa. 2:4f), the verb “shall learn” has what Gesenius calls “Nun paragogicum.” “Instead of the plural forms in U (û) there are, especially in the older books, over 300 forms with the fuller ending NU (ûn) (with Nûn paragogicum), always bearing the tone [i.e., the accent]” (E. Kautzsch, ed., and A. E. Cowley, trans., Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 2^nd English ed., 1910, reprinted 1985, sec. 47 m).

According to Philip J. King, revised by Carol J. Dempsey, “Micah describes a vision of world peace that God as just ruler and judge will bring about in a nonviolent way through arbitration. This vision would fulfill one of the sovereign’s main responsibilities, namely to bring peace and tranquility to all nations (1 Kings 5:4; Isa. 9:7; 11:1-9; Jer. 23.5-6; 33:15-16)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mic. 4:3). At the United Nations garden in New York City, there is a sculpture entitled “Swords into Plowshares.” I’ve asked for permission to link to it here; in the meantime, search the United Nations web site (http://www.un.org) for “Plowshares.” Go to the site, click on “Welcome,” then click on “Search” at the top right of the screen. Enter “Plowshares,” and click on the second entry. (This was accessed again December 24, 2009.) Micah continues with the LORD’s promises, but today’s reading concludes with a vow of loyalty that the prophet puts–or would like to put–on the mouths of the people.

In Micah the text continues:

but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

and no one shall make them afraid;

for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. (Mic. 4:4, NRSV)

The verse is lacking in Isaiah’s version. “To sit under the vine and fig tree ([v.] 4),” says D. Winton Thomas, “was a proverbial expression for rural calm and prosperity (1 Kg. 4:25; Zech. 3:10)” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 553 g, p. 632, on Mic. 4:1-5). In a following verse, the prophet pictures the people as in harmony with God. “For all the peoples walk, / each in the name of its god, / but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God / forever and ever” (Mic. 4:5). In Isaiah’s parallel version, instead of a description of tranquility and vow of faithfulness, he presents a similarly worded admonition. “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!” (Isa. 2:5). Gregory Mobley compares these verses, saying, “like its similarly worded parallel in Isa. 2:5, this verse [Mic. 4:5] may have been read antiphonally, as an ‘Amen’ to the visionary speech of 4:1-4 (= Isa. 2:2-4)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Mic. 4:5).

But in the course of this series of hopeful poems, we come to a problematic situation in Micah 5:1: “Now you are walled around with a wall; / siege is laid against us; / with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel / upon the cheek.” King and Dempsey, with particular reference to the striking of “the ruler of Israel / upon the cheek,” say it is “an act of humiliation expressing contempt for the king,” and that it “may refer to King Hezekiah who, in 701 B.C.E., was cowed by Sennacherib” (op. cit., on Mic. 5:1). So we may say that Micah draws a sharp contrast here between present humiliation, (cf. the “now’ situations of 4:9, 11), and the glorious future, when another king, like David, will come from Bethlehem to rule. “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, / who are one of the little clans of Judah, / from you shall come forth for me / one who is to rule in Israel, / whose origin is from of old, / from ancient days” (Mic. 5:2). This verse is cited by Matthew, clearly with minor differences, “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, / are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; / for from you shall come a ruler / who is to shepherd my people Israel” (Mt. 2:6, citing Mic. 5:2). The “messianic poem” is familiar, of course, from it’s use by Christians at Christmas, and specifically, the quotation of it in Matthew’s narrative of the visit of the Magi. Dennis C. Duling calls this “the second formula quotation [of those discussed at length in yesterday’s comments].” He says it “combines a modified Mic. 5:2 with 2 Sam. 5:2, giving Bethlehem geographic precision, prominence, and relevance” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 2:5b-6). The chief priests and scribes respond to Herod’s question, about where the Messiah was to be born (Mt. 2:4) by saying, “In Bethlehem, in the land of Judea; for so it has been written by (diav, dia, lit. ‘through’) the prophet,” (Mt. 2:5), which serves Matthew as the introductory formula for the quotation. Matthew is careful to say “through” (diav, dia) the prophet, leaving “spoken by (uJpov, hypo)” for God (cf. Mt. 1:22).

Ehud Ben Zvi, who, of course, does not share Matthew’s understanding of this passage as a reference to Christ, nevertheless cites “traditional Jewish interpretations” as messianic. They “tend to focus on comparisons between the birth pangs of a woman and the hardship of Israel prior to the coming of the Messiah” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Mic. 5:2). He refers to “the following text”:

Rab said: The son of David will not come until the [Roman] power enfolds Israel for nine months, as it is written, Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. ‘Ulla said: Let him [The Messiah] come, but let me not see him. Rabbah said likewise. Let him come, but let me not see him . . . Abaye enquired of Rabbah: ‘What is your reason [for not wishing to see him]? Shall we say, because of the birth pangs [preceding the advent] of the Messiah?’ But it has been taught, R. Eleazar’s disciples asked him: ‘What must a man do to be spared the pangs of the Messiah?’ [He answered,] ‘Let him engage in study and benevolence and you Master do both.’ (b. Sanh. 98b [Soncino ET], cited by ibid.)

“Therefore,” says Micah, “he shall give them up until the time / when she who is in labor has brought forth; / then the rest of his kindred shall return / to the people of Israel” (Mic. 5:3). According to Mobley, “Isaiah of Jerusalem, a contemporary of Micah, also described the birth of an ideal king (7:14; 9:6)” (op. cit., on Mic. 5:3). And what Mobley calls “a messianic poem” (ibid., on 5:2-5a) continues.

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD,

in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth;

and he shall be the one of peace. (Mic. 5:4, 5a, NRSV)

This, say King and Dempsey, is “a description, comparable to that in the royal psalms (e.g., Pss. 2; 72), of the ideal shepherd-king, who will bring security and peace” (op. cit., on Mic. 5:4).

1 John 4:7-16

God Is Love (Cp Jn 3.16)

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1 John 4:7-16, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of April 28, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Easter, Year One), when comments were based on those of May 20, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to May 18, Year Two), on comments on 1 John 4:7-16 from December 25, 2008 (Christmas Day, Year One), and earlier comments as noted there.

This passage might be considered as extensive commentary on the verse we call “the gospel in a nutshell” (Jn. 3:16). The key to the Epistle reading–and its Christmas connection–is 1 John 4:9-10: “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” This is the basis for the initial instruction: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God” (v. 7a). John explains, “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (v. 7b). Those who love are “born of God” and know God. Not loving is a sure sign of not knowing God. “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” (v. 8). But we do not initiate such love. “God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (v. 9). “True Christians,” says Pheme Perkins, “imitate the love that God has shown in sending the Son to give life to the world (3:16-22); Jn. 3:16).

“In this is love,” says John, “not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (v. 10). We ought to respond to God’s love by loving one another. “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another” (v. 11). As a reminder, John adds, “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (v. 12). Perkins says, “God’s love has been shown in the death of Jesus (Jn. 13:1). It is the basis for the command to love others (Jn. 15:12-13)” (ibid., on vv. 10-12).

So signs of our relationship to God include our loving one another (vv. 7, 12). Another sign is the presence in our lives of the Holy Spirit. “By this we know that we abide in him,” says John, “because he has given us of his Spirit” (v. 13). And another sign is the witness of the Apostles. “And we have seen and do testify,” says John, “that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world” (v. 14). A correlate–not a “sign” as such–is our confession. “God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God” (v. 15). In review, John says, “So we have known and believe the love that God has for us” (v. 16a). And he epitomizes this relationship. “God is love, and those who abide in love abode in God, and God abides in them” (v. 16b). Of the phrase, “God is love,” David K. Rensberger, revised by Harold W. Attridge, says, “This phrase, and the following language of ‘abiding’ summarizes the core of the Johannine message” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Jn. 4:16).

If we may look ahead a bit (i.e., beyond today’s reading proper, we may note that John Wesley sees the explanation of “if we love one another, God lives in us” (v. 12) in verses 14 to 16, and the explanation of “his love is perfected [‘has its full effect’] in us” (v. 12) in verses 17 to 19. (http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/notes/1John.htm, accessed again December 24, 2009. One may have to copy and paste the URL.). Of verse 14 Wesley says, “And in consequence of this we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son -- These are the foundation and the criteria of our abiding in God and God in us, the communion of the Spirit, and the confession of the Son.” Of verses17 and 18 he says:

Hereby - That is, by this communion with God. Is our love made perfect; that we may - That is, so that we shall have boldness in the day of judgment - When all the stout - hearted shall tremble. Because as he - Christ. Is - All love. So are we - Who are fathers in Christ, even in this world. (ibid., on v. 17)

There is no fear in love - No slavish fear can be where love reigns. But perfect, adult love casteth out slavish fear: because such fear hath torment - And so is inconsistent with the happiness of love. A natural man has neither fear nor love; one that is awakened, fear without love; a babe in Christ, love and fear; a father in Christ, love without fear. (ibid., on v. 18).

Among other things, Wesley finds here a warning about bigotry.

And this commandment have we from him - Both God and Christ. That he who loveth God love his brother - Every one, whatever his opinions or mode of worship be, purely because he is the child, and bears the image, of God. Bigotry is properly the want of this pure and universal love. A bigot only loves those who embrace his opinions, and receive his way of worship; and he loves them for that, and not for Christ's sake. (ibid., on v. 21)

If he only knew how many kinds of bigotry our own times would engender! (But perhaps that’s for another time.)

John 3:31-36

The One Who Comes from Heaven

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34 He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath. (John 3:31-36, NRSV)

On August 9, 2009 (the Sunday closest to August 10, Year One), when the reading was John 3:22-36, comments were repeated from March 6, 2009 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were based on those of March 2, 2007 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Lent, Year One), of August 12, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), of December 14 and 25, 2008 (the Third Sunday of Advent and Christmas Day, Year One), and earlier comments, as noted there. Relevant comments for today’s reading are repeated here:

In John, chapter 3, Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus leads to “the gospel in a nutshell,” verse 16, and related comments differing those who believe in Jesus from those who don’t (vv. 17-21). After a section that compares and contrasts John the Baptist and his work with that of Jesus (vv. 22-30), the Gospel returns to the subject of heavenly, versus earthly, matters (cf. vv. 12, 13).

At this point, the contrast shifts from comparing Jesus and John to comparing Jesus to any mere human being. “The one who comes from above (a[nwqen, anōthen) [i.e. Jesus] is above all; the one who is of the earth (ejk th:V gh:V, ek tēs gēs) belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all” (Jn. 3:31). The language here echoes the earlier discussion of being born a[nwqen (anōthen, vv. 3, 7, “from above” and/or “again,” with the double meaning likely intended here (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. a[nwqen, anōthen), that is, being born “of the spirit” ( ejk tou: pneuvmatoV, ek tou pneumatos, vv. 6, 8, cf. v. 5), as opposed to being born “of water” (v. 5, ejx u{datoV, ex hydatos), that is, “of the flesh” (v. 6, ejk th:V sarkovV, ek tēs sarkos). For “the one who comes from above,” David K. Rensberger, revised by Harold W. Attridge, says, “See 8:23; 18:36; cf. 15:19; 17:14-16” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jn. 3:31). John continues: “He [‘the one who comes from heaven,’ v. 31, i.e., Jesus] testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony” (v. 32; cf. 5:31-38). Accepting Jesus’ testimony has a significant consequence. “Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true” (v. 33).

According to John, “He whom God has sent [that is, Jesus] speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure” (v. 34). God the Father “loves the Son [Jesus] and has placed all things in his hands” (v. 35), so having “eternal life” depends on believing “in the Son,” for “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath” (v. 36). According to John Marsh, the Greek word ‘disbelieve’ [ajpeiqevw, apeitheō] has the meaning of ‘disobey’ [cf. BDAG, s.v. ajpeiqevw, apeitheō ], . . . Belief for John is not a mere matter of intellectual assent. It involves the setting and direction and persistence of a whole life. So the opposite of ‘believing’ (which is to yield oneself up to God in Christ) is disobedience” (Saint John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, p. 198, on Jn. 3:22-36). Marsh also comments on the word “wrath” (ojrghv, orgē):

The wrath of God is not mentioned again in the Gospel, though the alternatives life and death are to reappear throughout. The term wrath is frequent in Paul, and as Dr. Dodd has pointed out, in writing of the apostle to the Gentiles, wrath in the biblical sense is not ‘temper’ in the modern meaning of that word. Indeed at this point of the gospel the evangelist is manifestly putting precisely the same point as he made in 3:18. The wrath of God is the obverse side of his love. Man cannot but deal with God, for God has dealt with man. And in offering man eternal life, God has made rejection both possible and calamitous. Love could not offer life on other terms without forswearing love. (ibid.)

One presumes that Marsh would understand the term “man” here in the generic sense, “humankind,” including men and women. Of this passage Rensberger and Attridge say, “Note the similarities to vv. 1-21 at several points: the superiority of the one who is from above; testimony that is rejected; and eternal life for those who believe in the Son, but condemnation for others. The passage is best construed as a narrator’s summary of the story thus far” (op. cit., on 3:31-36).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net