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Read John Chapter 3

Up and down arrows move from one verse to the next.

1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

22After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

23And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

24For John was not yet cast into prison.

25Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.

26And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

28Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

30He must increase, but I must decrease.

31He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

32And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

33He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

You are readingKing James Version

Explanation

John 3

In short

A teacher named Nicodemus visits Jesus and asks what it means to enter God's kingdom. Jesus explains that people must be born again through water and Spirit. The chapter then turns to Jesus' purpose: God sent his Son so that anyone who believes will have eternal life, not judgment.

What the text says

Verses 1-9: Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, comes to Jesus at night and says Jesus must be from God because of his miracles. Jesus tells him, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus asks literally how someone can be born twice. Jesus explains in verse 5 that people must be born "of water and of the Spirit." He adds in verse 6 that the flesh and the Spirit produce different things, and in verse 8 he compares the Spirit to wind, which you hear but cannot control or predict.

Verses 11-17: Jesus says people reject his witness. He then speaks of being "lifted up" like the serpent Moses raised in the wilderness. The famous verse 16 states, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Verse 17 adds that God sent his Son to save, not to condemn.

Verses 18-21: Those who believe are not condemned; those who do not believe are condemned already. Verse 19 says light has come, but people loved darkness because their deeds were evil.

Verses 22-36: Jesus and his disciples baptize. Meanwhile John the Baptist, still baptizing elsewhere, hears that Jesus' popularity is growing. John says in verse 30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." He testifies that Jesus speaks God's words and has all things in his hand. Verse 36 concludes: believers have everlasting life, but those who reject the Son will not see life.

Takeaways

  • Becoming part of God's kingdom requires a spiritual birth, not just following rules or being born into the right family.
  • God's gift of his Son comes from love and aims at saving people, not punishing them.
  • The judgment people face depends on what they do with Jesus: whether they come to the light or hide in darkness.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.