John 3:1-15

Can you understand the Bible if you don’t know Greek?

You can read the Introduction here
You can read Romans 6 here
You can read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 here

Today: John 3:1-15 This is the third and final passage submitted for this series.

As I’ve been doing, I will only use the English Bible (KJV). This is an excellent choice for this series and the question, Can I understand the Bible if I don’t know Greek? Why? Because there is one part of this passage that you cannot fully understand without the aid of a learned commentary; there are also a couple of Old Testament references that I have marked in orange, that, unless you are familiar with the Old Testament or have help, you might not see. Despite that, I’m confident we can understand what Jesus is saying. Let’s dive in!

1   There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the spiritual leaders of the Jews. Jesus clashed often with the Pharisees and they don’t seem to have liked him. Yet here is Nicodemus visiting Jesus and making quite the confession: “We know you are from God and that God is with you.” We know. He is the only one here, but there were others who had the same opinion of and respect for Jesus. But there is no question. What does Nicodemus want?

3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Ha! Jesus gets right to the point. Nicodemus asks no question, but Jesus gives him the answer.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee – Everything Jesus said was truth. He used verily for emphasis. When he used one he was indicating, “Pay attention, this is important.” When he used two he was saying, “You really need to pay attention to this.”

A note about the KJV. People often laugh at the thees and thous but they are rather helpful. Thee, thou, thy, thine are used to indicate 2nd person singular; ye, you, yours indicate 2nd person plural. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus personally, I say unto thee.

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God – Being born again is an absolute must. Jesus didn’t use the same phrases with everyone, he had this wonderful way of speaking to you in light of your need. In fact, I’m not aware of him telling anyone else they needed to be born again. But he said it to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Jew, the right people; a Pharisee, a religious/observant Jew (Pharisees were considered the best at being Jewish and obeying God); a ruler of the Jews, social distinction and probably wealth. This was a man of standing and respect. And Jesus says to him, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom.

4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
How? How is this supposed to even happen? I’m too old and too big for my mother to birth me again.

5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Again, verily, verily. Jesus ignores his question and states it again in a slightly different way, Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom. As if Jesus said, “Nicodemus, stop! Hear me - you must be born again.”

6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Now Jesus takes up his objection and offers a brief explanation of born again.

that which is born of the flesh is flesh – this is our first birth. Our mother gave us life; she passed on to us human life, personality, and physical characteristics. It is a life fit for living with other people on earth. But it is what I call limited life, it literally wears out and comes to an end. The even bigger problem is flesh life lacks the life of God. Even the best behaved, most educated, wealthiest, most powerful among us lack divine life.

that which is born of the Spirit is spirit – when we are born of the Spirit he gives us life, God’s life, God’s nature. We need to be born of the Spirit so we can have the life of God. That is what it means to be born again.

7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Don’t be shocked or surprised.

Ye must be born again – He has changed from thee to you, everybody needs to be born again.

8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
bloweth where it listeth, that is, where ever it wants to. You can’t see the wind, where it came from or where it’s going.

So is every one that is born of the Spirit – We don’t know who will be born again next.

9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
How? I don’t get it. I don’t follow you.

10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
This is a rebuke. Seems Jesus thought since Nicodemus was a master or teacher of Israel he should have understood this.

11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Again, verily, verily. “I’m just telling you what I know and have seen; remember, you yourself said I was a teacher come from God.” (Don’t know why Jesus said, We.)

ye receive not our witness – not only Nicodemus, but all the Jewish leaders. “I have told y’all what I know and you won’t receive it.”

12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
This is interesting. Does he consider being born again an earthly thing? Since being born again is necessary to entering the kingdom, maybe he is saying the new birth is elementary stuff, and heavenly things the deeper teachings.

13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
What an interesting and intriguing statement. I don’t know what Nicodemus is doing at this point, but if he was befuddled by “except a man be born again”. . . .

Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself was “Son of man.” I’m persuaded he took this from Daniel 7:13-14. This may also be a reference to it. If this is so, he would be saying, “I am Messiah.”

14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Another Old Testament reference. While v 15 is clear enough, you really need either a working knowledge of the Old Testament, a reference Bible, or a friend to consult in order to understand what Jesus is saying. He is referring to Number 21:6-9, where we read, 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. Amen! That’s good news!


This is a very familiar passage, yet a difficult one, with portions that may not be understandable without outside help. Especially, born again and born of water and Spirit. I believe we can get the main idea, but there is information about Jewish beliefs and practices that would make this even clearer, for which you would need a good commentary to learn. You might also need help recognizing and finding the Old Testament references unless you are very familiar with the Old Testament. That being said, I am still persuaded that you can read this in English and get a good idea of what Jesus is saying, good enough to know, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, and whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. So, read your Bible, depending on the Holy Spirit, with the confidence that you can understand what God is saying!