Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same 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 the miraculous signs that you do, unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born who is old? He cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time.”

Jesus answered, ““Truly, truly, I tell you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t be shocked that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wishes, but you don’t hear its sound. You can’t tell where it comes from or where it’s going. Everyone born of the Spirit is like that.”

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

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and don’t know these things?  Truly, truly, I tell you, what we know, we proclaim; and what we have seen, we report. But you don’t accept our account.

“If you don’t believe what I’ve told you about earthly things, how will you accept the heavenly things I share? No man has gone up into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man. But, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so too must the Son of Man be lifted up, that everyone believing in him may have life eternal.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that everyone believing in him would not perish, but gain everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. The individual who believes in him is not judged, but the one who does not believe in him has been judged already, because he does not trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, because what they do is evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light nor do they come to the light. Otherwise, their words will be criticized. But the one acting truthfully comes to the light, so that what he has done is obviously caused by God.