Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

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

Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh:  and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, ’Ye must be born anew.’  The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

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

Jesus answered and said unto him, “Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?  And no one hath ascended into heaven but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.  He that believeth on him is not judged:  he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved.  But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.”

PREPARATORY PREACHING

JESUS BAPTIZING AND PREACHING.

After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized (although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples).

And John also was baptizing in AEnon near to Salim, because there was much water there:  and they came, and were baptized.  For John was not yet cast into prison.

And Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age.

JOHN’S TRIBUTE TO JESUS.

There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purifying.  And they came unto John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.”