John 3:1-21

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” 3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person be born when he is old? Can he enter the womb of his mother a second time and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from or where it is going; so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 9In response Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and we testify about what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have spoken to you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. 14Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 16“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20For whoever does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes to the light, so that it may be evident that his works have been done in God.”