John 3

John 3
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John 16:14-22 on the recto side of Papyrus 5, written about AD 250.
Book	Gospel of John
Bible part	New Testament
Order in the Bible part	4
Category	Gospel

John 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said of this chapter that it is the chapter he would choose "to read to a dying man who did not know the gospel, [as] the most suitable one for such an occasion".

The first part of the chapter begins with Nicodemus, said to be a member of the ruling council, coming at night to talk with Jesus, whom he calls Rabbi. On account of Jesus' "miraculous signs", Nicodemus and others ("we" in John 3:2) have recognized that Jesus is " a teacher come from God". It is not clear for whom Nicodemus speaks - the translation in The Voice adds wording, "Teacher, some of us have been talking ..." - but many commentators infer from the nighttime setting for this meeting that Nicodemus came alone, privately, "through shame, and fear of his brethren of the council", shame possibly arising because, "being a master in Israel, [he would not want] to be looked upon as a scholar going to learn of another". Methodist writer Joseph Benson notes, with support, theologian Daniel Whitby's interpretation, that "the Pharisees and rulers knew Christ to be a teacher come from God".

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above, or born again." The word in Greek: ἄνωθεν may be translated as either "again" or "from above". The King James Version, the English Standard Version and the New International Version all say "born again", whereas the New Revised Standard Version and Young's Literal Translation both have "born from above" in their text with an alternative note "born anew". Nicodemus's reply, "How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” reflects an understanding that Jesus is speaking of a second birth. Jesus then talks of what it means to be born again and the path to heaven. "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (5-6) Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man and how belief in him is the path to eternal life. This is summed up in one of the most famous passages from the bible, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This chapter is intended to show the importance of the belief in Jesus as the son of God. Jesus is shown here already proclaiming himself the Messiah and laying out aspects of Christian theology, in contrast to Mark for instance, where Jesus seems to try to keep the fact of his divinity secret until his final trip to Jerusalem.