John 3:1-15 - A Meeting With Nicodemus

¹ Now there was a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, named Nicodemus. ² This man went to Jesus one night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we [i.e., speaking of himself and other Jewish leaders] know that you are a Teacher sent from God, for no one could perform these [miraculous] signs that you are doing unless God were with Him."

³ Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, a person cannot see the kingdom of God [i.e., enter it. See verse 5], unless he is born from above [Note: The words "from above" are also used in verse 31, but in this place they could also mean "again," or "anew" and refer to the source of a person's second birth].

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born [again] after he is [already] old? He cannot enter his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?"

⁵ Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, a person cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he is born out of water and the Holy Spirit. ⁶ Whoever is born from human parents is a human being; and whoever is born from the Holy Spirit is a spiritual being. ⁷ So, do not be surprised that I have said to you, 'You must be born from above." [See note on verse 3]. ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants to, and you can hear the sound of it, without knowing where it came from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born from the Holy Spirit."

⁹ Then Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can these things happen?"

¹⁰ Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of the Israelites and [yet] you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I tell you, we [i.e., Jesus and His disciples] speak about what we know, and testify about what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe [it], how will you believe [it] if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ And no one has gone up to heaven except the One who has come down from heaven, [even] the Son of man. {{Most translations do not contain the added words "who is in heaven"}}. ¹⁴ And [just] like Moses lifted up the snake [on the pole] in the wilderness [Num. 21:9], so the Son of man must be lifted up [on the cross] ¹⁵ so that whoever believes in Him would have never ending life." [Note: Some translations extend Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus through verse 21].