John 3:1-21
Jesus
Teaches Nicodemus
3 Now there was a Pharisee, a
man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He
came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has
come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not
with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the
kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus
asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be
born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the
kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh
gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth
to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be
born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its
sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is
with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not
understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of
what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not
accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things
and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly
things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who
came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just
as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be
lifted up,[f] 15 that
everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not
believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the
verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of
light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil
hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will
be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the
light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in
the sight of God.
