John 3:1–21

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.”^a

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^bblows 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.