Side by side
John 3
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: A Visitor at NightVerses 1 to 2
It was night in Jerusalem. A man came to see Jesus. His name was Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee and a leader of the Jewish people.
The Bible doesn't say why Nicodemus came at night. But remember, John uses light and darkness as a picture all through his book (1:5). Some readers think Nicodemus wanted a quiet talk. Others think he did not want to be seen.
Nicodemus called Jesus "Rabbi." That means "teacher." He said, "We know you are a teacher from God. No one could do these signs unless God was with him."
Nicodemus spoke with respect. He knew about the signs, and he came to Jesus to talk.
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He 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.”
Scene 2: Born Again?Verses 3 to 4
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (3:3).
"Truly, truly" was Jesus's way of saying, "Listen. This is important." The kingdom of God means God's rule, the way God runs things.
The Greek word for "again" can also mean "from above." Jesus may have meant both. It is a new birth, and it comes from God.
Nicodemus understood the words in the plain, literal way. "How can a man be born when he is old?" he asked. "Can he enter his mother's womb a second time to be born?" (3:4). The womb is where a baby grows before birth.
That was a fair question. People are only born once.
3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 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?”
Scene 3: Water and the SpiritVerses 5 to 8
Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit" (3:5).
Jesus explained that a human birth gives human life. The Spirit gives a new kind of life. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, God's own Spirit.
Jesus told Nicodemus not to be amazed at this. Then Jesus talked about the wind.
"The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going" (3:8).
This is a comparison. You cannot see the wind or control it. But you can hear it and see what it does. The Spirit works like that. People do not make themselves born of the Spirit. God does it.
5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The 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.”
Scene 4: "How Can This Be?"Verses 9 to 13
Nicodemus was still puzzled. "How can this be?" he asked (3:9).
"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and you do not understand these things?" (3:10). Nicodemus was a teacher of the Scriptures. One likely reason for Jesus's question: the prophets had promised that God would give his people a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Jesus said that he spoke about what he knew and had seen. But people did not accept it. Jesus said they did not believe him about earthly things. So it would be even harder for them to believe him about heavenly things.
Then Jesus said that no one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven. That one is the Son of Man. "Son of Man" is a name Jesus used for himself.
9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? 11Truly, 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. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
Scene 5: Lifted UpVerses 14 to 15
Then Jesus spoke of an old story from the time of Moses. You read about it before the story began. Long ago, snakes bit the Israelites in the wilderness. God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People who looked at it lived.
Jesus said, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up" (3:14).
Why? "That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life" (3:15).
Here's what you know that Nicodemus doesn't know yet: Jesus would be lifted up on a cross. Later in John's Gospel, Jesus speaks again about being lifted up. John explains that this pointed to the way Jesus would die (12:32-33).
14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
Scene 6: God So Loved the WorldVerses 16 to 17
Then come the most famous words in this story.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (3:16).
To perish means to die and be lost. Eternal life is life with God that never ends. It starts now and lasts forever.
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" (3:17). To condemn is to judge someone guilty and punish them. God sent Jesus to rescue, not to punish.
16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Scene 7: Light and DarknessVerses 18 to 21
The words go on. They say that people who believe in God's Son are not condemned. People who do not believe are condemned already.
"The Light has come into the world" (3:19). This is a comparison. Jesus is the Light.
But people loved the darkness more than the Light, because their deeds were evil. People who do evil hate the Light. They stay away from it, because they are afraid their deeds will be seen.
The words also say that people who live by the truth come into the Light. Then everyone can see that God was at work in what they did.
Nicodemus had come at night. And he had come to Jesus, the Light.
18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”
Between scenesVerses 22 to 36
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
22After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized. 23Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized. 24(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) 25Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing. 26So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.” 27John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’ 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must increase; I must decrease. 31The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33Whoever accepts His testimony has certified that God is truthful. 34For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
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