Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:9-21).

In Part 1 of this conversation with Jesus, we introduced Nicodemus and his obvious confusion. We saw that Jesus taught Nicodemus that when it comes to entering the Kingdom of God, mental assent to truths about God is not enough. The new birth is required. Jesus went on to explain the new birth to Nicodemus, who remained confused.

We see Nicodemus’ confusion, and perhaps a bit of frustration, in his question in verse 9: “How can these things be?” Jesus’ reply (vv. 10-12) seems at first glance to be a little harsh: “How can you call yourself a teacher of Israel? I’ve spoken to you of earthly things [concepts easier to understand] and you don’t believe, so how can you believe if I tell you of the truly heavenly concepts?” The reply, however, is meant to serve as a point of entry for Nicodemus to explore more deeply the truths that Jesus is teaching.

Truth #1: The new birth requires faith

The first truth that Jesus explains to Nicodemus is that the new birth reuires faith in Jesus. He says,

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (vv. 14-15).

The phrase lifted up is an obvious reference to His death, as is a parallel saying: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (12:12; compare 8:28). Being born again, and thus entry into the Kingdom, requires that I believe in Jesus, that He died for me.

There’s no equivocation on Jesus’ part here. It’s not enough to believe that He is a teacher sent from God, that He has some great ideas, that He’s a good man. That simply will not do.

Truth #2: The new birth comes out of God’s love

Lest Nicodemus or anyone misunderstand, Jesus makes it clear that God’s goal is not one of condemnation or judgement. He tells Nicodemus,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (vv. 16-17).

God’s motive in this simple: love. When we are tempted to think of God as anything less than utter love, Jesus gives us this reminder.

Further, God didn’t send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but to save His people. The truth is, Jesus has no need to condemn people. Why? Because they stand condemned already. He tells Nicodemus, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (v. 18, emphasis added). So, without faith in Christ, one is already condemned. And that is the position that every human starts from.

Truth #3: The new birth requires coming to the light

The final truth that Jesus makes known to Nicodemus has to do with the fact that real change requires coming into the light. He says,

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God (vv. 19-21).

There can be no true salvation for those who walk in darkness. Even for those of us who have been born again by faith in Jesus are told to remain in the light. If we do not confess our sin, the truth is not in us (1 John 1:5-10). The problem, Jesus says, is that evil men do not want to come into the light. They prefer the darkness, because they do not want God. They want to live life on their terms, not His.

Those who do come into the light, however, will find more than they bargained for. They will find not only cleansing, but life (John 5:40). They will find their hunger and thirst satisfied (John 6:35; 7:37-38). This is the truth that Nicodemus is missing. Salvation is not a way of life–it is life.

Takeaways from This Passage

Unlike some of the other conversations with Jesus that we’ll examine later, we do see Nicodemus again. In John 7, he gives a cautious defense of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51). And we learn in John 19 that he helped Joseph bury the body of Jesus after the crucifixion (John 19:31-42). It’s interesting to note that Joseph is listed as a “secret” disciple, though Nicodemus is not. John is eerily silent on his fate. In any case, it appears that his time with Jesus indeed left a lasting change.

What we learn from this passage are the same truths that Nicodemus learned. We must believe that Jesus was sent from God to die for our sins out of His great love for us. We must be willing to come to Him in the light, casting all we have upon Him. That is the essence of the Gospel.