John 3 - Every Woman's Bible

3:1-21 In Nicodemus’s encounter with Jesus, Jesus used the new birth metaphor (literally “born from above [or again]”; see text note on 3:3) to talk about entering God’s Kingdom. Nicodemus could only understand Jesus’ metaphor in relation to physical birth. But Jesus explained that becoming part of God’s Kingdom must be the Holy Spirit’s work. Although it’s not entirely clear how spiritual birth happens, it is evident when it happens (3:8).

3:29-30 In the Gospels’ wedding metaphor, the bride is often absent. So who is the bride? Prophets in the Old Testament described the people of Israel as the bride of the Lord, and John the Baptist’s illustration echoes this (see Isaiah 62:4-5; Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea 2:16-20). Although marriage represents Christ’s relationship with the future global church, this idea of the church as his bride wasn’t fully developed in Jesus’ teachings. In this instance, “the bride” likely referred to Jesus’ disciples collectively—men and women. John the Baptist clearly understood his role as a friend of the groom, even pointing his own disciples to Jesus (John 1:35-36). As Christ’s followers, we are part of his bride, but individually, we are also Christ’s friends who can rejoice in pointing others to him.