⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual^[a] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

The Wisdom of God

¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,^[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁵³ So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”