John Chapter 3

Conversation with Nicodemus

            ¹ Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, ² came to Jesus at night, “Rabbi, we know you’re a teacher from God. Nobody can do the signs you do unless God’s with him.”

            ³ Jesus answered, “Unless a person has been born again, he can’t see God’s kingdom.”

            ⁴ Nicodemus said^p, “How can you be born when you’re an adult? You can’t get into your mother’s womb a second time and be born, can you?”

            ⁵ Jesus answered,

“Unless you’ve been born of water and spirit, he can’t get into God’s kingdom. ⁶ What’s born out of the physical is physical; what’s born out of the spiritual is spiritual. ⁷ Don’t be surprised that I told you^sg you^pl have to be born again. ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to. You^sg hear it, but you can’t tell where it’s from or where it’s going. That’s how everybody is that’s born out of the spirit.”

            ⁹ Nicodemus responded, “What are you talking about?”

¹⁰ “You’re a teacher in Israel and don’t understand that? ¹¹ I’m telling you^sg, we’re talking about what we know and have seen, and you^pl don’t accept what we’re telling you. ¹² If you^pl don’t believe my earthly illustrations, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly ones? ¹³ Nobody has gone up to heaven except the One that came down from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ As Moses held up the brazen viper in the desert, the Son of Man needs to be held up ¹⁵ so everybody that believes can in him have eternal life.”

¹⁶ God cared about the world so much he gave his only Son so anybody that trusts in him wouldn’t perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God didn’t send his Son to the world to condemn it, but to save it. ¹⁸ Whoever trusts in him is not condemned, but whoever doesn’t, stands condemned for not trusting in God’s only Son. ¹⁹ Here’s the condemnation: light has come into the world, but people like darkness better than light because they do bad things. ²⁰ People that do bad things hate light and don’t come to it; they don’t want their deeds condemned. ²¹ But people that do the truth come to the light to show that they’re doing what God wants.                                                         

Jn 3:1-21

Jesus’ Growing Ministry and

John’s Waning Ministry at Aenon

            ²² After that, Jesus and his disciples went to Judaea, and he stayed there baptizing. ²³ John was baptizing too—at Aenon close to Salem; there was a good supply of water there. ²⁴ (Herod hadn’t put John in prison yet.)

²⁵ A controversy about purification came up between John’s disciples and a Jew. ²⁶ They came to John and said, “Rabbi, the man that was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you vouched for—is baptizing, and everybody’s going to him.”

            ²⁷ John answered,

“A person can’t receive anything unless Heaven lets him. ²⁸ You heard me say I’m not the Messiah; ‘I’ve been sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The groom has the bride, but the best man enjoys listening to him talk. I’m perfectly content, then, with this situation. ³⁰ He needs to increase; I need to decrease.

^{31 “}The One from above is above everything; someone from the earth talks about the earth. ³² The One from above talks about what he’s seen and heard, and people tend not to accept what he says. ³³ Whoever does accept it, is acknowledging that God tells the truth. ³⁴ The One that God sent speaks God’s message; he gives the spirit without measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has turned everything over to him. ³⁶ Whoever trusts in him has eternal life; whoever doesn’t, won’t see life. God’s displeasure rests on him.”                                                                                                                       

Jn 3:22-36