JohnChapter 3

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¹There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. No one could do the signs you are doing unless God was with him." ³Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."a ⁴"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Can he go back into his mother's womb a second time and be born?" ⁵Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit.b ⁷Don't be surprised that I said, 'You must be born again.' ⁸The wind blows wherever it wants. You hear its sound. But you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit."c ⁹"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus. "And you don't understand these things? ¹¹I tell you the truth, we talk about what we know. We tell about what we have seen. But you people do not accept what we tell you. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has gone up into heaven except the one who came down from heaven. He is the Son of Man. ¹⁴Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness. In the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.d ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty. He sent him to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not judged guilty. But whoever does not believe is already judged guilty. That's because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. ¹⁹And this is the judgment: The Light has come into the world. But people loved the darkness more than the Light, because the things they did were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the Light. He won't come into the Light, because he is afraid his deeds will be seen. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the Light. Then everyone can clearly see that what he has done was done through God." ²²After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the countryside of Judea. He spent some time with them there, and he baptized people. ²³John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People kept coming to be baptized. ²⁴(This was before John was thrown into prison.) ²⁵Then John's disciples began to argue with a Jewish man about washing rituals. ²⁶So John's disciples came to him and said, "Rabbi, look! The man who was with you across the Jordan is baptizing. You told everyone about him. Now everyone is going to him." ²⁷John answered, "A person can only receive what is given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves heard me say, 'I am not the Messiah. I am sent ahead of him.' ²⁹The bride belongs to the groom. The groom's friend stands and listens for him. He is full of joy when he hears the groom's voice. That joy is mine, and now it is full. ³⁰He must become greater. I must become less. ³¹The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth. He talks like someone from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³²He tells what he has seen and heard. Yet no one accepts what he says. ³³Whoever accepts what he says has shown that God is true. ³⁴The one God has sent speaks God's words. For God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵The Father loves the Son. He has put everything into his hands. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever refuses the Son will not see life. Instead, God's anger stays on him."