Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)

^<23>While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name. ^<24>But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all. ^<25>He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

Jesus and Nicodemus

(cp. Genesis 22:1–10;
Romans 5:6–11)

^<3:1>Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ^<2>He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

^<3>Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.¹ ”

^<4>“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

^<5>Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ^<6>Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. ^<7>Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You² must be born again.’ ^<8>The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

^<9>“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

^<10>“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? ^<11>Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony.

^<12>If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ^<13>No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.^{3 <14>}Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ^<15>that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.⁴

Word Come Alive
(WCA)
(An extended translation)*

^<23>Many people saw the miraculous signs Jesus performed all the time he was in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. This led them to claim to believe in him.

^<24>Jesus, however, didn’t entrust himself to them since he knew what was really going on in their hearts. ^<25>He didn’t need anyone to tell him, because he knew exactly what people were like on the inside.

John 3

Jesus teaches Nicodemus

^<1>There was a man called Nicodemus who lived in Jerusalem. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jews’ supreme council. ^<2>He came to Jesus at night, maybe because he was afraid of what people would think if they recognised him meeting with Jesus. He said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, we know you’re a teacher who has been sent by God, because it would be impossible for anyone to perform the miraculous signs you’re doing unless God were with him.’

^<3>Jesus could tell what was going on in Nicodemus’ mind, so he answered those hidden thoughts directly, ‘I am telling you the truth, if anyone wants to see God’s kingdom, they must be born again by the Holy Spirit.’

^<4>Nicodemus looked puzzled as he replied, ‘Born again? That’s absurd! How can you be born a second time when you’re already old? You can’t go back inside your mother’s womb and be born a second time!’

^<5>Jesus insisted, ‘I am telling you the truth. The only way to enter God’s kingdom is to be born again. You must receive new, spiritual life from God by the Holy Spirit. ^<6>What is born naturally is only physical, but it’s also vital that you’re born again by the Holy Spirit. You must be washed clean from your sin and be made a completely new person on the inside.

^<7>‘I can see you’re surprised at my saying you have to be born again. Don’t be surprised. ^<8>This new birth isn’t something you do; it is something that has to happen to you. In fact, it’s as mysterious as the blowing of the wind, which you can’t control. Although you don’t know where the wind is coming from or where it’s going to, its presence is still real! You can see its effects as you watch and listen. So it is with the Holy Spirit working in everyone who is born again.’

^<9>Nicodemus remained uncertain. He asked, ‘How is all this possible?’

^<10>Jesus answered him, ‘How can you be one of Israel’s leading teachers and fail to grasp what I’ve been saying? ^<11>I am telling you the truth, we speak about what we know, and we tell the truth about what we have seen, but still you people won’t accept what we say. ^<12>I’ve spoken to you about basic earthly things, but you’ve not accepted them. How then will you believe if I speak about deeper heavenly things? ^<13>No one has ever gone to heaven, except the One who has come from heaven, the Son of Man. Because I am the Son of Man, I can speak with authority about heavenly things.’

^<14>‘When Moses lifted up a snake on a pole in the desert, the people who had been bitten by a poisonous snake looked at it and so didn’t die but were healed. In the same way, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up on a cross. ^<15>Then everyone, whoever they are, who trusts in him may have eternal life.’ That trust is a dependence only on Jesus, just as the Israelites looked only to the bronze snake to be healed.

Study Guide

► What did the people in John 2:23-25 seem to be interested in?

► What did Nicodemus in John 3:1-15 seem to be interested in?

► What does it mean to be “born again”?

► How can someone be “born again”? (More on this HERE.)

Read Numbers 21:4–9. How does this passage help us understand John 3:14-15?

► How does this passage relate to the purpose of the Gospel of John (John 20:31)?

Study Resources