The Jews then said to Him, What sign do you show us for doing this? Jesus answered, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said, It took forty-six years to build this temple and you will raise it up again in three days? But Jesus spoke of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said and they recalled the scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.
When He was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name when they saw the things He did. But Jesus did not commit or trust Himself to them.
3. There was a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to Him, We know that you are from God because no man can do the miracles that you do unless God is with Him. Jesus answered, I tell you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus asked, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb again and be born?
Jesus answered, Unless one is born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said, You must be born again. The wind blows and you hear the sound but cannot tell from where it comes or to where it goes. So it is with those born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus said, How can these things be? Jesus answered, Art thou a master of Israel and do not know these things? Verily, I say to you, We speak what we know, testify that we have seen, and you do not accept our witness. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
No man has ascended up to heaven except He that came down from heaven, the Son of man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but, that the world, through Him, might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned.
He who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation: light came into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come into the light lest his deeds be exposed. But whoever lives the truth, comes to the light that his deeds may be shown as a reflection of God.
After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the land of
Judaea. He stayed with them and baptized. John was also baptizing in
Aenon, near Salim. There was an abundance of water, so many people came
to be baptized. This was before John was cast into prison.
A question arose between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. They went to John and said, Rabbi, He that was with you beyond Jordan, of whom you testified, baptizes and all men come to Him. John answered, A man can receive nothing unless it is granted him from heaven. You, yourselves, bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ but that I have been sent before Him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So, my joy is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.