John 3:36 Revisited

The Issue

The main issue is how the word “apeithon” is to be translated.  My claim is that its use points beyond mere “unbelief” defined as simple mental assent.  I claim that translations that define apeithon as “disbelieves” or “rejects” are basically trying to stay within the orbit of mere mental assent.  Anything more than mere mental assent is legalistic “works salvation” the claim would go.  I want to further my argument by passing over the use of apeithon here because it is only used once and its meaning cannot thereby be proven without further textual ramping-up.  But it ought to be pointed out that if John wanted to mean mere mental assent, he could have just used “not believing” as in 3:18.  Also, John uses a word for “rejects” (atheton) elsewhere (see 12:48, which I discuss below), a word that occurs in the gospel of Luke 5 times, but that word is not used in 3:36.  Why not?  

“Believing” in John

I want to argue that “belief” and “believing” are not defined by John in terms of mere mental assent.  I briefly mention two facts that are often overlooked.  First, John does not use the noun “faith” (pistis).  The noun “faith” occurs in the rest of the New Testament 243 times but never in John.  Rather, he uses the verb.  This is highly significant, for it is strong evidence that for John “believe” and “believing” are not internal mental states, but involve actions.  Second, John uses the preposition (eis = in[to]) after the verb pisteuein (believe) and that the object is a person (the Father, Jesus or the name of Jesus).  This is evidence that something more is going on when John has believing in[to] someone rather than just believing.  Proof of this claim can be seen in the parallel set up between “coming to” Jesus and “believing”.  Certainly, one does not come to Jesus (itself an action) to merely mentally assent to something.  The parallels are as follows:

·         6:35:  the one coming to me never hungers and the one believing in me will never thirst again.

·         7:37-38:  if anyone thirsts let him come to me and let the one who believes in me drink.

This highlights what is said in John 3:21 (from the chapter under discussion):  “But the one doing the truth comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”  This provides a nice segue to the discussion of 3:16-21, where “belief” figures so importantly.

John 3:16-21

This section states that those who believe in Jesus have eternal life and those who do not believe are judged.  The judgment is then described as the result of meeting the light who came into the world.  It is stated that some preferred darkness.  The reason given for the preference of the darkness is that their “works were evil” (v. 19b).  The person who “practices evil things” does not come to the light (v.20).  The positive result is stated in verse 21 quoted above.  This is clear evidence that “believing” and works are highly associated in the thought of John.  This should be fuel for our fire in interpreting 3:36.

Instructive also is the comparison with 12:46-48:

·         12:46 I a light into the world have come   -----  3:19  the light has come into the world

·         12:46 cont. everyone believing in me may not remain in darkness ----- 3:15, 16 that everyone believing in him may have life eternal… that everyone believing in him may not perish.

·         12:47 I did not come that I may judge the world, but that I may save the world ---- 3:17 God did not send the Son into the world that he might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

·         12:48 the one who rejects me and does not receive my words already has his judge ----- 3:18 the one not believing already has been judged.

What is interesting about this correlation in what is also stated in 12:47: “if anyone who hears my words and does not keep them…”  This clearly describes those not believing.  That “keep” has to do with actions is brought out clearly by a passage in Matthew 7:26:  “everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them…”  Clearly “keep” and “do” are synonymous.  In Mark 10:20 the same word for “keep” is used in the context of doing the Ten commandments.  Also, the “words” of Jesus are synonymous with “commands”.  This is brought out by comparing John 14:15, 21 with John 14:23, 24.

Back to 3:36

Now, when we come to 3:36, we notice the similarities with the discourses at 3:16-21 and 12:46-48.  Regardless of how apeithon is interpreted, it and “believing” are in the present tense.  This is significant, because it signifies on ongoing state of affairs.  If those verbs referred to mere mental ascent as that which saves or that which rejects we would have expected past tenses: those who believed in the Son have eternal life and those who rejected the Son will not see life.  The similarities between 12:50 (“his commandment is eternal life”) also jibe with 3:36 (“believing in Jesus” = eternal life).  This proves that believing for John is on par with obeying commandments.  All this evidence is piling up and points to the translation of apeithon as “disobeys” and not merely “rejects”.