John 3
3
The New Birth
1Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, 2who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” 3Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified],he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
4Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” 5Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. [Ezek 36:25-27] 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].’ 8The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be possible?” 10Jesus replied, “You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]? 11I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony. 12If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven]. 14Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], [Num 21:9] 15so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].
16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] #3:16 Jesus, God’s only Son, the One who is truly unique, the only one of His kind.only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. 18Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because #3:18 The Greek refers to an unsaved person who has made the decision not to believe in the Son, Jesus Christ, that is, not to accept the salvation offered by the Son and commit to follow Him. Such a person stands condemned by God unless he changes his mind.he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. 19This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the #3:19 See note 1:5.darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. [Is 5:20] 20For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. 21But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”
John’s Last Testimony
22After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the land of Judea, and there He spent time with them and baptized. [John 4:1, 2] 23Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25Therefore there arose a controversy between John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to #3:25 An immersion baptism was one of the requirements for a convert to Judaism, and John the Baptist had most likely taken over the ritual, giving it new meaning in his own ministry. Jewish tradition specified that there had to be enough water to completely cover a person, and that it had to be collected naturally.purification (ceremonial washing). 26So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi (Teacher), the Man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing]—and to whom you have testified—look, He is baptizing too, and everyone is going to Him!” 27John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God]. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, ‘I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ but, ‘I have [only] been sent ahead of Him [as His appointed forerunner and messenger to announce and proclaim His coming].’ [Mal 3:1] 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete. [Song 5:1] 30He must increase [in prominence], but I must decrease. [Is 9:7]
31“He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true]. 33Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal [of approval] to this: God is true [and he knows that God cannot lie]. 34For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father’s own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]! [Deut 18:18] 35The Father loves the Son and has given and entrusted all things into His hand. [Dan 7:14] 36He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.” [Heb 3:18]
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John 3
3
A Conversation with Nicodemus
1Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish council. 2He came to Jesus one night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that God has sent you as a teacher. No one can perform the miracles you perform unless God is with him.”
3Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.” #3:3 Or “born again.”
4Nicodemus asked him, “How can anyone be born when he’s an old man? He can’t go back inside his mother a second time to be born, can he?”
5Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit gives birth to things that are spiritual. 7Don’t be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above. 8The wind #3:8 The Greek word for wind is the same as the Greek word for Spirit. blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it’s going. That’s the way it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus replied, “How can that be?”
10Jesus told Nicodemus, “You’re a well-known teacher of Israel. Can’t you understand this? 11I can guarantee this truth: We know what we’re talking about, and we confirm what we’ve seen. Yet, you don’t accept our message. 12If you don’t believe me when I tell you about things on earth, how will you believe me when I tell you about things in heaven? 13No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven.
14“As Moses lifted up the snake ⌞on a pole⌟ in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. 15Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”
16God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. 18Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son.
19This is why people are condemned: The light came into the world. Yet, people loved the dark rather than the light because their actions were evil. 20People who do what is wrong hate the light and don’t come to the light. They don’t want their actions to be exposed. 21But people who do what is true come to the light so that the things they do for God may be clearly seen.
John the Baptizer Talks about Christ
22Later, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them and baptized people. 23John was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim. Water was plentiful there. (People came to John to be baptized, 24since John had not yet been put in prison.)
25Some of John’s disciples had an argument with a Jew about purification ceremonies. 26So they went to John and asked him, “Rabbi, do you remember the man you spoke so favorably about when he was with you on the other side of the Jordan River? Well, he’s baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”
27John answered, “People can’t receive anything unless it has been given to them from heaven. 28You are witnesses that I said, ‘I’m not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’
29“The groom is the person to whom the bride belongs. The best man, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed when the groom speaks. This is the joy that I feel. 30He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.
31“The person who comes from above is superior to everyone. I, a person from the earth, know nothing but what is on earth, and that’s all I can talk about. The person who comes from heaven is superior to everyone 32and tells what he has seen and heard. Yet, no one accepts what he says. 33I have accepted what that person said, and I have affirmed that God is truthful. 34The man whom God has sent speaks God’s message. After all, God gives him the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his power. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, he will see God’s constant anger.”
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