BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
John 3 — Nicodemus and the New Birth
Jesus tells Nicodemus that entrance into God's kingdom requires being born of water and the Spirit, declares the Son of Man must be lifted up so believers may have eternal life, and John the Baptist testifies that he must decrease while Christ increases.
Scripture
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2the same came unto him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him.
3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4Nicodemus 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?
5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God!
6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born anew.
8The 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.
9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?
11Verily, 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.
12If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.
14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;
15that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
17For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.
18He 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.
19And 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.
20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved.
21But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.
22After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
23And John also was baptizing in Enon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
24For John was not yet cast into prison.
25There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purifying.
26And 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.
27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven.
28Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him.
29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full.
30He must increase, but I must decrease.
31He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness.
33He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true.
34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure.
35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
36He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
What this passage means
The chapter opens with a Jewish ruler, Nicodemus, approaching Jesus by night and acknowledging that the signs he performs indicate a teacher come from God. Jesus answers with the doubled 'Verily, verily' formula, introducing a revelation that goes beyond Nicodemus's question: no one can see the kingdom of God without being born anew. The shift is from observing miracles to receiving a spiritual rebirth.
Jesus expands this to being 'born of water and the Spirit,' pairing flesh and spirit as two distinct orders of existence. The illustration of the wind in verse 8 emphasizes that the Spirit's work is real and observable in its effects, even when its origin and destination remain hidden. Nicodemus's confusion is met with a rebuke: as 'the teacher of Israel,' he should have recognized such a pattern from his own Scriptures. The dialogue then rises from earthly things to heavenly things, and Jesus identifies himself as the one who descended from heaven and remains in heaven, tying revelation directly to his person.
Verses 14 through 21 form a self-contained summary of salvation: the lifted-up serpent in the wilderness prefigures the lifted-up Son of Man; whoever believes has eternal life; God's gift of the only Son is motivated by love, not judgment; and the crisis is not ignorance but love of darkness over light. The chapter closes with Jesus baptizing in Judea, John's parallel baptizing at Aenon, and John's testimony that the bridegroom must increase while the friend of the bridegroom decreases — a recurring Johannine theme of witness pointing away from itself.
Context
Within John's Gospel, chapter 3 sits immediately after Jesus's first temple cleansing (chapter 2) and the statement that many believed in his name when they saw the signs, though Jesus did not entrust himself to them. The night visit of Nicodemus is therefore presented as a contrast: a recognized religious leader comes privately, while the crowds come publicly. The chapter also positions John the Baptist's testimony before his later questioning by delegation (chapter 1) is echoed again, with John now clarifying his role relative to Jesus through the bridegroom image.
The dialogue in verses 1–21 is bracketed by scenes of baptism: Jesus baptizes in Judea (verses 22–23), and John baptizes at Aenon near Salim, with the dispute over purification providing the occasion for John's reply. The chapter ends with two summarizing verses (35–36) that echo the earlier teaching: the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand, and belief brings eternal life while disobedience leaves one under God's wrath.
Key words in the original
- G5330 Φαρισαῖος ('Pharisee') — John labels Nicodemus as belonging to the Pharisees, a group described in the entry as 'a separatist, i.e. exclusively religious; a Jewish sectary.' This places the new-birth teaching within a conversation with a representative of rigorous Jewish observance.
- G3530 Νικόδημος ('Nicodemus') — glossed as 'victorious among his people; Nicodemus, an Israelite.' In this chapter he is introduced as a ruler of the Jews who approaches Jesus by night, and the same Nicodemus reappears later in John's Gospel.
- G4461 Ῥαββεί ('Rabbi') — defined as 'my master, i.e. Rabbi, as an official title of honor.' Nicodemus uses this honorific when addressing Jesus in verse 2, acknowledging him as a teacher come from God.
Related verses
- Romans 5:8 Paul's statement that God commends his love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us parallels John 3:16, where the giving of the Son is presented as the supreme demonstration of divine love for the world.
- 1 John 4:9 1 John 4:9 explicitly states that the sending of the only begotten Son is the manifestation of God's love so that we might live through him, restating the logic of John 3:16 in a confessional form.
- 1 John 4:10 1 John 4:10 reframes the same truth: love is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, matching Jesus' statement that the Son was sent not to judge but to save.
Common questions
Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus by night?
The text states only that he came by night (verse 2). John does not explicitly explain the reason, so readers are left to consider possibilities such as fear of reputation among fellow Pharisees or a desire for an uninterrupted private discussion. The Gospel does not decide between them.
What does being 'born of water and the Spirit' mean?
The text itself pairs flesh with flesh and Spirit with spirit in verse 6 to explain verse 5. Readers within John's Gospel have historically connected 'water' with John's earlier baptism and with the Johannine references to living water, while 'Spirit' denotes the divine source of the new birth. The chapter does not provide a detailed exposition of the two terms separately.
How does chapter 3 connect the Son of Man being lifted up with eternal life?
Verses 14–15 state the connection directly: just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man must be lifted up so that whoever believes may have eternal life. The comparison presents the lifting up as the saving event that makes eternal life available, and verse 16 expands the motive to God's love in giving his only Son.