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, “Sir, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not perform 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 that we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. 12If 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?
13No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. 14And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert.#3.14 just as that 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.#Nu 21.9. 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.
23-24John 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.#Mt 14.3; Mk 6.17; Lk 3.19,20.
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. 28Surely you remember how I told you that I am not the Messiah. I am only the one sent ahead of him.#Jn 1.20.
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
John continued:
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.
35The Father loves the Son and has given him everything.#Mt 11.27; Lk 10.22. 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 for ever.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
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