Nicodemus

1There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee. He was a leader of the Jews.

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

NotePharisees were Jews who tried very hard to keep every rule God gave. Nicodemus was also a leader. He helped make decisions for the Jewish people.

2He came to Jesus at night. He said, "Rabbi, that means teacher, we know you are a teacher who came from God. No one could do the wonderful things you do unless God was with him."

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.

NoteRabbi was what people called a teacher. It was a word of respect. He came at night, when it was quiet and no crowd was watching.

3Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

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.

Note"Verily, verily" is an old way of saying "this is really true." The kingdom of God means everywhere God is king. The words for "born again" can also mean "born from above," born from God.

4Nicodemus said, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he go back inside his mother and be born a second time?"

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?

NoteThe womb is the safe place inside a mother where a baby grows.

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and of the Spirit.

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.

NoteThe Spirit means God's own Spirit. Water made the first listeners think of washing clean.

6What is born from the flesh is flesh. What is born from the Spirit is spirit.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

NoteFlesh means our body, the part of us we can touch.

7Do not be surprised that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Note"Marvel not" is old English for "do not be surprised."

8The wind blows wherever it wants to go. You hear the sound of it. But you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. That is how it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

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.

Note"Where it listeth" means "where it wants to go." In the language Jesus spoke, the word for wind was also the word for Spirit.

9Nicodemus answered him, "How can these things be?"

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things?"

Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

Note"Master of Israel" means a teacher of Israel. Israel was the name for God's people, the Jews.

11I tell you the truth. We speak about what we know. We tell what we have seen. But you do not accept what we say.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

NoteTo testify means to tell what you really saw. A witness is a person who saw it happen.

12I have told you about things on earth, and you do not believe. So how will you believe if I tell you about things in heaven?

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13No one has gone up into heaven. Only the one who came down from heaven has, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Note"Son of man" was a name Jesus used for himself. "Ascended" means went up.

14Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. In the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

NoteLong ago God's people walked through the desert. Snakes bit them and they got very sick. God told Moses to make a snake out of metal. Moses put it up high on a pole. Anyone who looked at it got well again.

15Then everyone who believes in him will not perish. They will have life that never ends.

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

NoteTo perish means to be lost and to die.

16God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. Then everyone who believes in him will not perish. They will have life that never ends.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Note"Only begotten" means his one and only Son, his very own. "The world" means all the people in it.

17God did not send his Son into the world to say the world is guilty. He sent him so the world could be saved through him.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

NoteTo condemn someone means to say he is guilty and must be punished.

18Whoever believes in him is not found guilty. Whoever does not believe is found guilty already. That is because he has not believed in the name of God's only Son.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

NoteA person's name here means the person himself. Believing in his name means trusting him.

19Here is why they are found guilty. Light has come into the world. But people loved the dark more than the light, because the things they did were bad.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

NoteLight and dark here are word pictures. Light means what is good and true. Dark means hiding what is wrong.

20Everyone who does bad things hates the light. He will not come to the light, or his deeds would be shown to be wrong.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Note"Reproved" means shown to be wrong.

21But the one who does what is true comes to the light. Then his deeds can be seen plainly. They were done in God.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Note"Made manifest" means shown clearly, where everyone can see. "Wrought" means done.

45The guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees. They asked, "Why didn't you bring him?"

Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?

46The guards answered, "No one has ever spoken the way this man speaks."

The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

47The Pharisees said to them, "Has he fooled you too?

Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

48Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him?

Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

49But this crowd knows nothing about God's rules. A curse is on them."

But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

NoteThe leaders were saying that God was against the crowd. It was a mean and unkind thing to say.

50Then Nicodemus spoke up. He was one of them, and he had come to see Jesus at night.

Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

NoteNicodemus was one of the leaders himself. He came to talk with Jesus at night, when nobody would see. That story is in John chapter 3.

51He said, "Our law does not judge a man before it hears him. First we find out what he did."

Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

52They answered, "Are you from Galilee too? Look it up. No prophet comes from Galilee."

They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

NoteGalilee was in the north, far from Jerusalem. Leaders in the city thought people from there did not matter much.

53Then everyone went home.

And every man went unto his own house.

38After this, Joseph from the town of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph followed Jesus, but he kept it secret because he was afraid of the leaders. Pilate said yes, so Joseph came and took the body away.

And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

39Nicodemus came too. He was the man who had first come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes, which are sweet-smelling spices.

And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

NoteThe King James Bible says "an hundred pound." A Roman pound was smaller than ours, about three quarters as heavy. So it was about seventy-five of our pounds. That is very heavy to carry. Sweet-smelling spices were put with a body when someone was buried.

40They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in strips of linen cloth with the spices. That was the Jewish way of burying someone.

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

NoteLinen is cloth made from a plant called flax. It is light and smooth, like a thin sheet.

41There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified. In the garden was a new tomb. No one had ever been laid there.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

NoteA tomb was not a hole in the ground. It was a small room cut into a rock hillside. A big round stone was rolled across the door to close it.

42It was the Jewish day to get ready, and the tomb was close by. So they laid Jesus there.

There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.