Texts in Conversation
In John, Jesus’ language about learning heavenly things echoes the Wisdom of Solomon, which says humans can barely grasp ordinary ideas and need wisdom and spirit from God to know divine truth. Both describe divine knowledge as revealed, not discovered.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 9:16
Deuterocanon
13 For what man will know the counsel of God? Or who will conceive what the Lord wills? 14 For the thoughts of mortals are unstable, and our plans are prone to fail. 15 For a corruptible body weighs down the soul. The earthy tent burdens a mind that is full of cares. 16 We can hardly guess the things that are on earth, and we find the things that are close at hand with labor; but who has traced out the things that are in the heavens? 17 Who gained knowledge of your counsel, unless you gave wisdom, and sent your holy spirit from on high? 18 It was thus that the ways of those who are on earth were corrected, and men were taught the things that are pleasing to you. They were saved through wisdom.”
Date: 50 BCE – 50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
John 3:12
New Testament
10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you people about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
Date: 90–110 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... “Earthly things” might be the analogies of water and wind used earlier in the passage. Only an eyewitness of heaven, such as the Father and the Son, could fully testify about heaven. Wisdom of Solomon 9:16 notes that people can scarcely guess about earthly matters, and thus asks how people could guess about heavenly ones. In the context of John’s allusion to Wisdom of Solomon 9:16 (in John 3:11-12), the next verse may be relevant: no one could learn God’s ways without wisdom and the Spirit sent from above (Wisdom of Solomon 9:17). Jewish literature provides other parallels to John 3:11-13, but the closest are Jewish texts that speak of divine Wisdom coming down from God, seeking to reveal the ways of heaven (God) to people (compare, e.g., Baruch 3:29; Wisdom of Solomon 9:10; God’s powerful “word” descending to slay Egypt’s firstborn in Wisdom of Solomon 18:15) ..."
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014), 256.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,