John 3
3
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He 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.”
3Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.#3:3 The Greek for again also means from above; also in verse 7.”
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!”
5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit#3:6 Or but spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You#3:7 The Greek is plural. must be born again.’ 8The 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.”#3:8 The Greek for Spirit is the same as that for wind.
9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11Very 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. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.#3:13 Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,#3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted. 15that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”#3:15 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.
16For 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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever 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. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21But 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.
John Testifies Again About Jesus
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.”#3:30 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 36.
31The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God#3:34 Greek he gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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John 3
3
1There was a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came at night to where Jesus was and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God, for nobody could do the miraculous signs you're doing unless God was with him.”
3“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “Unless you are reborn,#3:3. Or “born from above.” you can't experience God's kingdom.”
4“How can you be reborn when you're old?” Nicodemus asked. “You can't go back into your mother's womb and be born a second time!”
5“I tell you the truth, you can't enter God's kingdom unless you are born of water and the Spirit,” Jesus told him. 6“What's born of the body is body, and what's born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7Don't be surprised at my telling you, ‘You must be reborn.’#3:7. The first “you” refers to Nicodemus in the singular. The second “you” is plural, and refers to a wider audience. 8The wind blows wherever it wants, and just as you hear the sound it makes, but don't know where it's coming from or where it's going, that's how it is for everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9“How is this possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10“You're a famous teacher in Israel,#3:10. Literally, “you are the teacher of Israel.” and yet you don't understand such things?” Jesus replied. 11“I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know and give evidence regarding what we have seen, but you refuse to accept our testimony. 12If you don't trust what I say when I tell you about earthly things, how would you ever trust what I say if I were to tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has gone up to heaven, but the Son of man came down from heaven. 14Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,#3:14. See Numbers 21:9. so the Son of man must be lifted up, 15so that everyone who trusts in him will have eternal life.
16For God loved the world, and this is how:#3:16. The word often translated “so” (as in “so loved”) is primarily describing the way or manner in which God loves rather than the extent or intensity of his love. he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who trusts in him shouldn't die, but have eternal life. 17God didn't send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Those who trust in him are not condemned, while those who don't trust in him are condemned#3:18. Or “have condemned themselves.” already because they didn't trust in the one and only Son of God. 19This is how the decision#3:19. Or “judgment.” is made: the light came to the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light, for their actions were evil. 20All those who do evil hate the light and don't come into the light, because they don't want their actions to be exposed. 21But those who do good#3:21. Literally, “doing the truth.” come into the light, so that what God accomplishes in them can be revealed.”
22After this Jesus and his disciples went into Judea and spent some time with the people, baptizing them. 23John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there and people kept coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was imprisoned.) 25An argument developed between John's disciples and a Jew over ceremonial purification. 26They went to John and told him, “Rabbi, the man you were with on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you testified in support of—see, now he's baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”
27“No one receives anything unless they're given it from heaven,” John replied. 28“You yourselves can testify that I declared, ‘I'm not the Messiah. I've been sent to prepare his way.’ 29The bridegroom is the one who has the bride! The best man waits, listening for the bridegroom, and is so happy when he hears the bridegroom's voice—in the same way my happiness is now complete. 30He must become more important, and I must become less important.”
31He who comes from above is greater#3:31. Or “above” in the sense of authority. than all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about earthly things. He who comes from heaven is greater than all. 32He gives evidence about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he has to say. 33Yet anyone who accepts what he says confirms#3:33. Literally, “stamp of approval.” that God is truthful. 34For the one God sent speaks God's words, because God doesn't restrict the Spirit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Anyone who trusts in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to trust the Son will not experience eternal life but remains under God's condemnation.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com