John 3
New King James Version
The New Birth
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 (A)This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for (B)no one can do these signs that You do unless (C)God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (D)unless one is born [a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, (E)unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is (F)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 (G)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, (H)“How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 (I)Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and (J)you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 (K)No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man [b]who is in heaven. 14 (L)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so (M)must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever (N)believes in Him should [c]not perish but (O)have eternal life. 16 (P)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten (Q)Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 (R)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 (S)“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, (T)that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For (U)everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been (V)done in God.”
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them (W)and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near (X)Salim, because there was much water there. (Y)And they came and were baptized. 24 For (Z)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, (AA)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all (AB)are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, (AC)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (AD)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, (AE)‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 (AF)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but (AG)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 (AH)He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 (AI)He who comes from above (AJ)is above all; (AK)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. (AL)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And (AM)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony (AN)has certified that God is true. 34 (AO)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit (AP)by measure. 35 (AQ)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 (AR)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the (AS)wrath of God abides on him.”
John 3
The Voice
3 Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, a man with some clout among his people. 2 He came to Jesus under the cloak of darkness to question Him.
Nicodemus: Teacher, some of us have been talking. You are obviously a teacher who has come from God. The signs You are doing are proof that God is with You.
At this time, Israel’s Roman occupiers have given a small group of Sadducees and Pharisees limited powers to rule, and Nicodemus is one of the Pharisees. He holds a seat on the ruling council known as the Sanhedrin, and surprisingly Nicodemus is among those who seek Jesus for His teaching. It appears that he believes more about Jesus than he wants others to know, so he comes at night.
Jesus: 3 I tell you the truth: only someone who experiences birth for a second time[a] can hope to see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus: 4 I am a grown man. How can someone be born again when he is old like me? Am I to crawl back into my mother’s womb for a second birth? That’s impossible!
Jesus: 5 I tell you the truth, if someone does not experience water and Spirit birth, there’s no chance he will make it into God’s kingdom. 6 Like from like. Whatever is born from flesh is flesh; whatever is born from Spirit is spirit. 7 Don’t be shocked by My words, but I tell you the truth. Even you, an educated and respected man among your people, must be reborn by the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. 8 The wind[b] blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up. Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God.
Nicodemus: 9 I still do not understand how this can be.
Jesus: 10 Your responsibility is to instruct Israel in matters of faith, but you do not comprehend the necessity of life in the Spirit? 11 I tell you the truth: we speak about the things we know, and we give evidence about the things we have seen, and you choose to reject the truth of our witness. 12 If you do not believe when I talk to you about ordinary, earthly realities, then heavenly realities will certainly elude you. 13 No one has ever journeyed to heaven above except the One who has come down from heaven—the Son of Man, who is of heaven. 14 Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. In the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up; 15 then all those who believe in Him will experience everlasting life.
16 For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. 17 Here’s the point. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.
18 No one who believes in Him has to fear condemnation, yet condemnation is already the reality for everyone who refuses to believe because they reject the name of the only Son of God. 19 Why does God allow for judgment and condemnation? Because the Light, sent from God, pierced through the world’s darkness to expose ill motives, hatred, gossip, greed, violence, and the like. Still some people preferred the darkness over the light because their actions were dark. 20 Some of humankind hated the light. They scampered hurriedly back into the darkness where vices thrive and wickedness flourishes. 21 Those who abandon deceit and embrace what is true, they will enter into the light where it will be clear that all their deeds come from God.
Jesus makes the point clear: stay connected to Him, and have no reason to fear. Jesus doesn’t mean that at the instant someone has faith, fear simply vanishes or only good things happen in that person’s life. In fact, the blessings that come with eternal life often have nothing to do with present or future circumstances, but they have everything to do with the individual’s connections to God and others. That is John’s message to his listeners. God came to earth embodied in flesh, and then He reached His greatest acclaim through a torturous death. If this is all true, then believers will find strength and beauty in places never imagined. Abiding in Jesus the Anointed is the good life, regardless of the external circumstances.
22 Not long after, Jesus and His disciples traveled to the Judean countryside where they could enjoy one another’s company and ritually cleanse new followers through baptism.[c] 23-24 About the same time, Jesus’ cousin John—the wandering prophet who had not yet been imprisoned—was upriver at Aenon near Salim baptizing scores of people in the abundant waters there. 25 John’s activities raised questions about the nature of purification among his followers and a religious leader, 26 so they approached him with their questions.
John’s Followers: Teacher, the One who was with you earlier on the other side of the Jordan, the One whom you have been pointing to, is baptizing[d] the multitudes who are coming to Him.
John the Baptist: 27 Apart from the gifts that come from heaven, no one can receive anything at all. 28 I have said it many times, and you have heard me—I am not the Anointed One; I am the one who comes before Him. 29 If you are confused, consider this: the groom is the one with the bride. The best man takes his place close by and listens for him. When he hears the voice of the groom, he is swept up in the joy of the moment. So hear me. My joy could not be more complete. 30 He, the groom, must take center stage; and I, the best man, must step to His side.
31 If someone comes from heaven above, he ranks above it all and speaks of heavenly things. If someone comes from earth, he speaks of earthly things. The One from the heavens is superior; He is over all. 32 He reveals the mysteries seen and realities heard of the heavens above, but no one below is listening. 33 Those who are listening and accept His witness to these truths have gone on record. They acknowledge the fact that God is true! 34 The One sent from God speaks with the very words of God and abounds with the very Spirit and essence of God. 35 The Father loves the Son and withholds nothing from Him. 36 Those who believe in the Son will bask in eternal life, but those who disobey the Son will never experience life. They will know only God’s lingering wrath.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.