John 3: 1-15

1Now there was a man from the Pharisees, a leader of the Jews, whose name was Nicodemus. 2He came to Jesusa at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”

3Jesus replied to him, “Truly, truly I tell you, unless a person is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He can't go back into his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?”

5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I tell you, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Don't be astonished that I said to you, ‘All of youe must be born from above.’c 8The windf blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9Nicodemus said to him, “How can that be?”

10Jesus answered him, “You're the teacher of Israel, and you can't understand this? 11Truly, truly I tell you, we know what we're talking about, and we testify about what we've seen. Yet you peopleg do not accept our testimony. 12If I have told you people about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

13“No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down 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 may have eternal life.