Journey Through God's Word

¹Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews,

²who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, "Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him."

³Jesus answered him, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God."

⁴Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?"

⁵Jesus answered, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.

⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷Do not be surprised that I have told you, 'You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].'

⁸The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

⁹Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be possible?"

¹⁰Jesus replied, "You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]?

¹¹I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony.

¹²If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things?

¹³No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven].

¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross],

¹⁵so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

¹⁶"For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.

¹⁸Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].

¹⁹This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

²⁰For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned.

²¹But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence on Him]."

²²After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the land of Judea, and there He spent time with them and baptized.

²³Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—

²⁴for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵Therefore there arose a controversy between John's disciples and a Jew in regard to purification (ceremonial washing).

²⁶So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi (Teacher), the Man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing]—and to whom you have testified—look, He is baptizing too, and everyone is going to Him!"

²⁷John replied, "A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God].

²⁸You yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, 'I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),' but, 'I have [only] been sent ahead of Him [as His appointed forerunner and messenger to announce and proclaim His coming].'

²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.

³⁰He must increase [in prominence], but I must decrease.

³¹"He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all.

³²What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true].

³³Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal [of approval] to this: God is true [and he knows that God cannot lie].

³⁴For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father's own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]!

³⁵The Father loves the Son and has given and entrusted all things into His hand.

³⁶He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually."

¹"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber.

²But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [the protector and provider].

³The doorkeeper opens [the gate] for this man, and the sheep hear his voice and pay attention to it. And [knowing that they listen] he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [to pasture].

⁴When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call.

⁵They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about.

⁷So Jesus said again, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep [leading to life].

⁸All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them.

⁹I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security).

¹⁰The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

¹¹ I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His [own] life for the sheep.

¹²But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.

¹³The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep.

¹⁴I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]—

¹⁵even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep.

¹⁶I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.

¹⁷For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back.

¹⁸No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father."

¹⁹A division [of opinion] occurred again among the Jews because of these words [of His].

²⁰Many of them said, "He has a demon and He is mad [insane—He raves and rambles]. Why listen to Him?"

²¹Others were saying, "These are not the words and thoughts of one possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

²²At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem.

²³It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple [area] in Solomon's portico.

²⁴So the Jews surrounded Him and began saying to Him, "How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are [really] the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), tell us so plainly and openly."

²⁵Jesus answered them, "I have told you so, yet you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name testify concerning Me [they are My credentials and the evidence declaring who I am].

²⁶But you do not believe Me [so you do not trust and follow Me] because you are not My sheep.

²⁷The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand.

²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

³⁰I and the Father are One [in essence and nature]."

³¹Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.

³²Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works [and many acts of mercy] from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

³³The Jews answered Him, "We are not going to stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere man, make Yourself out to be God."

³⁴Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]'?

³⁵If He called them gods, men to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be undone or annulled or broken),

³⁶[if that is true] then do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

³⁷If I do not do the works of My Father [that is, the miracles that only God could perform], then do not believe Me.

³⁸But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works [that I do—admit that they are the works of God], so that you may know and keep on knowing [clearly—without any doubt] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [that is, I am One with Him]."

³⁹So they tried again to seize Him, but He eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰He went back again across the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.

⁴¹Many came to Him, and they were saying, "John did not perform a single sign (attesting miracle), but everything John said about this Man was true and accurate."

⁴²And many there believed and confidently trusted in Him [accepting Him as Savior, and following His teaching].

¹"Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.

²In My Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.

³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.

⁴And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way."

⁵Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?"

⁶Jesus said to him, " I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

⁷If you had [really] known Me, you would also have known My Father. From now on you know Him, and have seen Him."

⁸Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied."

⁹Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father?'

¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].

¹¹Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed].

¹²I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father.

¹³And I will do whatever you ask in My name [ as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son.

¹⁴If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.

¹⁵"If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—

¹⁷the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.

¹⁸"I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you.

¹⁹After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

²⁰On that day [when that time comes] you will know for yourselves that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

²¹The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him]."

²²Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, "Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?"

²³Jesus answered, "If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him.

²⁴One who does not [really] love Me does not keep My words. And the word (teaching) which you hear is not Mine, but is the Father's who sent Me.

²⁵"I have told you these things while I am still with you.

²⁶But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.

²⁷Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

²⁸You heard Me tell you, 'I am going away, and I am coming back to you.' If you [really] loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going [back] to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

²⁹I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does take place, you may believe and have faith [in Me].

³⁰I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of the world (Satan) is coming. And he has no claim on Me [no power over Me nor anything that he can use against Me];

³¹but so that the world may know [without any doubt] that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me [and act in full agreement with Him]. Get up, let us go from here.