158 Karl Olav Sandnes suggests that John 3 “contains a scrutiny of religious epistemology and Christology” (13). To Neyrey, John 3 presents Jesus as the revealer of heavenly secrets. The importance of this observation is unquestionable, but vv. 3-8 address a related issue, namely the prerequisite for receiving such revelation. The Christological language of whence and whither is here applied directly (ou{twj ejstivn) to the believer. The exegesis of the dialogue must account for the way Christological terminology occurs in the illustration of a person born a[nwqen (v. 8). 2. Like is known by like We have seen that John 3,3-8 is embedded in an epistemological context in which likeness is foundational. This principle is by no means attested only in John’s Gospel; on the contrary it is found also elsewhere at key points in the New Testament (14). John 3,3-8 has adopted an epistemological conviction of wide currency in Antiquity. It suffices to give some examples to demonstrate this. Sextus Empiricus (2.-3. century A.D.) may serve as a point of departure. In his work Against the Professors, he mentions the principle “like is known by like” (toi'" oJmoivoi" ta; o{moia ginwvskesqai) as fundamental to all knowledge. He calls this principle an old dovgma handed down from Pythagoras, which is found in Plato (15) but stated much earlier by Empedocles (fl. 477-432 B.C.). Sextus quotes Empedocles, who says that earth is “seen” by earth, water by water, air by air, fire by fire, love by love, and hate by hate (16). This principle explains, according to (13) NEYREY, “John III – A Debate over Johannine Epistemology and Christology”, 115. See NICHOLSON, Death as Departure, 104 who says that John 3,1-10 “revolves around the question of who Jesus is and what must happen before a person can adequately understand him”. (14) L.A. JARVIS, “Becoming like God through Christ: Discipleship in Romans”, Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament (ed. R.N. LONGE- NECKER) (Grand Rapids, MI – Cambridge U.K. 1996) 143-162. (15) Sextus probably had in mind Timaeus 45B-D, where Plato says that “seeing” takes place through the principle of o[moion pro;" o[moion, and Protagoras 337C-338A where he speaks metaphorically of the “sanctuary of wisdom” (to; prutaneion th'" sofiva") in which the wise men among the Greeks live since they ' know the nature of things which is to; o[moion tw/' oJmoivw/ fuvsei suggenev" ejstin. (16) This fragment was quite popular in Antiquity; see e.g. Aristotle, Metaphysics 1000b21; Hippolytus, Refutatio 6.11-12 (138.3-9). These references are taken from B. INWOOD, The Poem of Empedocles. A Text and Translation with an Introduction (Toronto – Buffalo – London 1992). He mentions an apophtegm attributed to Empedocles: “To the man who said, ‘I cannot find a wise man’,