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3:1-21
Now there was a man amongst the Pharisees whose name was
Nicodemus. He was a Jewish
ruler. This man came (to Jesus) at night time and said to him "Rabbi, we know that you have come as
a teacher from God. There is no
one who can do the signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him
"Truly truly I tell you, unless someone is born from above he cannot
see the kingdom
of God." Nicodemus says to him "How can
a man be born when he is already old?
He cannot re-enter the womb of his mother to 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. Whatever has been born of the flesh,
is flesh. What has been born of
the Spirit is spirit. Do not
wonder because I told you it behooves you to be born from above. The spirit, like the wind, blows
where it wants to. You hear its
sound but you do not know from where it comes from or where it is
going. So it is with everyone
who has been born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to
him " How can these
things come about?" Jesus
answered and said to him
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not know
these things? Truly truly I tell you. We speak about what we know and we
give witness to what we have seen.
But you have not received our witness. (that of Jesus and disciples?) If I told you about earthly things
and you did not believe are you likely to believe if I tell you about the
things of heaven? No man has
gone up into heaven except the
one who has come down from heaven, that is the son of man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (when told by God to
make a bronze serpent on
standard so people looking on it could be saved from the bites of a
plague of snakes), so it behooves the Son of man to be lifted up. This is so that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life. For God
Continued
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5:25-47
"Truly, truly I tell you
an hour is coming and if
fact is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and
those who hear it will live.
Just as the Father has life in himself so he has given life to the
Son so that he has this within himself. He has given him authority to judge
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this because an hour is coming when all those in
the tombs will hear his voice and those who have done good things will come
forth into a resurrection of life.
Those who have done evil things (on the other hand) will go to a
resurrection of judgment
(instead). I cannot do
anything from myself. I judge
according to what I hear and my judgment is just because I do not seek to
do to what I want but rather (I seek to do) the will of the One who has
sent me. If I give witness
about myself, my witness is not true.
(But) there is another who witnesses concerning me (that is, God)
and I know that the witnesses that he gives concerning me is true. You have sent (people to observe) John
and he has given witness to the truth.
But I do not receive the witness given about me from people. (Rather) I tell you these things so
that you can be saved. That man
(John the Baptist) was a burning and shining lamp and you were willing to
bask for an hour in his light.
But I have a witness who is greater than John. It is the works which the Father has
given me to do and to finish, that give witness concerning me and the fact
that the Father has sent me. It
is the One who has sent me, the Father, who has given witness about
me. (But) you have never heard
his voice and you have never seen his form. His word no longer remains in you
because you do not believe in the one that he has sent. You search the Scriptures because
you think them to have eternal life within them. Yet they (the Scriptures) are what
give witness concerning me.
And, you do not
Continued
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