John 3:31-36

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:31-36

John the Baptist now continues to speak about Jesus.  Jesus is the one who "comes from above" and "who comes from heaven".  What does he say about this person?  This person "is above all".  This is in contrast to he who "is of the earth".  This person who "is of the earth" is one who "belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way".  In light of what John the Baptist says in verse 30, he is probably referring to himself here.  John the Baptist is only someone who is "of the earth", but Jesus "comes from above" and "comes from heaven".  It is clear who is greater, who is superior and why he continue to point to Jesus and away from himself.

Next, John the Baptist gives a sad truth.  Unfortunately, no one receives Jesus' testimony.  Jesus "comes from heaven" and he is talking about what he has seen and heard, but for some reason people don't accept it as true.  Now, when it says "no one", it is probably more accurate to say "few" as NLT translates.  This is because John the Baptist immediately moves on to speak about those who do in fact receives Jesus' testimony.  These few people react by professing "that God is true".  How is it that people jump from Jesus directly to God?  Well, yes, we can do that easily by the fact that Jesus is God and so it's easy to go from there to here.  However, the explanation here doesn't quite do that.  Instead, the reasoning is that Jesus is sent by God and Jesus speaks the words of God.  So, the reason why people come to the conclusion that God is true upon accepting Jesus' testimony is because Jesus is sent by God and speaks the words of God.

Why is it that no one (or few) receive his testimony?  I am reminded once again of verses 19-21.  Jesus coming (the light) is the judgment.  The result is a division of the people.  There are those who loved the darkness and those who do what is true.  There are apparently many who love the darkness and so these are those who do not receive Jesus' testimony.

There is an interesting thing I find at the end of verse 34.  What is meant by "for he gives the Spirit without measure"?  Comparing other translations, it seems that this is referring to God as the giver of the Spirit here in this verse.  However, who is he giving the Spirit to?  Is this referring to giving of the Spirit to Jesus or giving of the Spirit to those who accept his testimony?  This is actually in reference to the giving of the Spirit to Jesus.  How is it that Jesus speaks the words of God?  It is because of God giving of the Spirit without measure to Jesus.  It isn't just the Spirit that is given.  He has given "all things" into his hands.

The last verse ends by moving on to eternal life.  There is a jump from receiving his testimony and professing that God is true to believing in Jesus and having eternal life.  This isn't so much of a jump considering this chapter, but I guess in John the Baptist's case, he hasn't necessarily mentioned it here.  It does echo what Jesus says earlier in this chapter.

One last thing to mention is what is mentioned at the very end.  With regards to those who do not obey the Son, these are ones on whom the wrath of God remains.  First of all, the word "obey" is used instead of "believe".  If what is said in this verse is a contrast, then that means that the opposite of believing in Jesus is to not obey Jesus.  That also means that to believe in Jesus is to obey him.

Okay, so this is the last thing: the wrath of God remains on those who do not obey Jesus.  Once again, the last verse has a contrast in it.  So, if the wrath of God remains on those who do not obey, then that means that those who believe are those who do not have the wrath of God upon them.  What happens to those who are believers and obeyers of Jesus is that the wrath of God is removed from them.  They are due God's wrath and it is upon him, but it is no longer upon them.