Book of Common Prayer

¹² Take care, my dear family, that none of you should possess an evil and unbelieving heart, leading you to withdraw from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another every day, as long as it’s called “Today,” so that none of you may become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hold on tight!

¹⁴ We share the life of the Messiah, you see, only if we keep a firm, tight grip on our original confidence, right through to the end. ¹⁵ That’s what it means when it says, “Today, if you hear his voice, don’t make your hearts hard, as in the great bitterness.”

¹⁶ Who was it, after all, who heard and then became bitter? It was all those who went out of Egypt under Moses, wasn’t it? ¹⁷ And who was it that God was angry with for forty years? It was those who sinned, wasn’t it—those whose bodies fell in the desert? ¹⁸ And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who didn’t believe? ¹⁹ So we can see that it was their unbelief that prevented them from entering.

²³ While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, several people came to trust in his name, because they had seen the signs he did. ²⁴ But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them. He knew everything, ²⁵ and had no need for anyone to give him information about people. He himself knew what was inside people.

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a ruler of the Judaeans. ² He came to Jesus by night.

“Rabbi,” he said to him. “We know that you’re a teacher who’s come from God. Nobody can do these signs that you’re doing, unless God is with him.”

³ “Let me tell you the solemn truth,” replied Jesus. “Unless someone has been born from above, they won’t be able to see God’s kingdom.”

⁴ “How can someone possibly be born,” asked Nicodemus, “when they’re old? You’re not telling me they can go back a second time into the mother’s womb and be born, are you?”

⁵ “I’m telling you the solemn truth,” replied Jesus. “Unless someone is born from water and spirit, they can’t enter God’s kingdom. ⁶ Flesh is born from flesh, but spirit is born from spirit. ⁷ Don’t be surprised that I said to you, You must be born from above. ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound it makes; but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going to. That’s what it’s like with someone who is born from the spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be so?” asked Nicodemus.

¹⁰ “Well, well!” replied Jesus. “You’re a teacher of Israel, and yet you don’t know about all this? ¹¹ I’m telling you the solemn truth: we’re talking about things we know about. We’re giving evidence about things we’ve seen. But you won’t admit our evidence. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will it be if I tell you heavenly things? Are you going to believe then? ¹³ And nobody has gone up into heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the son of man.”

The snake and the love of God

¹⁴ “So, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in the same way the son of man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him may share in the life of God’s new age.