John 3
3
Nicodemus Comes to Jesus
1There was a man named Nicodemus who was one of the Pharisees and an important Jewish leader. 2One night Nicodemus came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know you are a teacher sent from God, because no one can do the miracles you do unless God is with him.”
3Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
4Nicodemus said, “But if a person is already old, how can he be born again? He cannot enter his mother’s womb again. So how can a person be born a second time?”
5But Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born from water and the Spirit, you cannot enter God’s kingdom. 6Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit. 7Don’t be surprised when I tell you, ‘You must all be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wants to and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus asked, “How can this happen?”
10Jesus said, “You are an important teacher in Israel, and you don’t understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we talk about what we know, and we tell about what we have seen, but you don’t accept what we tell you. 12I have told you about things here on earth, and you do not believe me. So you will not believe me if I tell you about things of heaven. 13The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.
14“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. 15So that everyone who believes can have eternal life in him.
16“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son. 19They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. 20All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. 21But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.”
Jesus and John the Baptist
22After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea, where he stayed with his followers and baptized people. 23John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put into prison.)
25Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing. 26So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about so much? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him. 28You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’ 29The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. But the friend who helps the bridegroom stands by and listens to him. He is thrilled that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice. In the same way, I am really happy. 30He must become greater, and I must become less important.
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31“The One who comes from above is greater than all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. 32He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. 33Whoever accepts what he says has proven that God is true. 34The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit fully. 35The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. 36Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.”
Currently Selected:
John 3: NCV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
John 3
3
Jesus and Nicodemus
1There was a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a Jewish leader. 2One night he went to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not work these miracles, unless God were with you.”
3Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above#3.3 from above: Or “in a new way.” The same Greek word is used in verses 7,31. before you can see God's kingdom!”
4Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”
5Jesus answered:
I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7Don't be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. 8Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going.
9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10Jesus replied:
How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? 11I tell you for certain we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. 12#Ws 9.16,17. If you don't believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven?
13 #
Ba 3.29. No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. 14#Nu 21.9; Ws 16.5-7. And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as the metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert.#3.14 just as the metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert: When the Lord punished the people of Israel by sending snakes to bite them, he told Moses to hold a metal snake up on a pole. Everyone who looked at the snake was cured of the snake bites (see Numbers 21.4-9). 15Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.
16God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! 18No one who has faith in God's Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn't have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God's only Son.
19The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light. 20People who do evil hate the light and won't come to the light, because it clearly shows what they have done. 21But everyone who lives by the truth will come to the light, because they want others to know that God is really the one doing what they do.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22Later, Jesus and his disciples went to Judea, where he stayed with them for a while and was baptizing people.
23-24 #
Mt 14.3,4; Mk 6.17,18; Lk 3.19,20. John had not yet been put in jail. He was at Aenon near Salim, where there was a lot of water, and people were coming there for John to baptize them.
25John's followers got into an argument with a Jewish man#3.25 a Jewish man: Some manuscripts have “some Jewish men.” about a ceremony of washing.#3.25 about a ceremony of washing: The Jewish people had many rules about washing themselves and their dishes, in order to make themselves fit to worship God. 26They went to John and said, “Rabbi, you spoke about a man when you were with him east of the Jordan. He is now baptizing people, and everyone is going to him.”
27John replied:
No one can do anything unless God in heaven allows it. 28#Jn 1.19,20. You surely remember how I told you that I am not the Messiah. I am only the one sent ahead of him.
29At a wedding the groom is the one who gets married. The best man is glad just to be there and to hear the groom's voice. That's why I am so glad. 30Jesus must become more important, while I become less important.
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31God's Son comes from heaven and is above all others. Everyone who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all others. 32He speaks about what he has seen and heard, and yet no one believes him. 33But everyone who does believe him has shown that God is truthful. 34The Son was sent to speak God's message, and he has been given the full power of God's Spirit.
35 #
Mt 11.27; Lk 10.22. The Father loves the Son and has given him everything. 36Everyone who has faith in the Son has eternal life. But no one who rejects him will ever share in that life, and God will be angry with them forever.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.