"Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. No one can do the things you've done without a strong connection to God."

Jesus cared deeply for Nicodemus. He could tell that Nicodemus was struggling to understand all that he had seen Jesus do and heard Jesus say. "Nicodemus," he said, "you're right. God's Kingdom has come near, and I am part of that. But you must understand: no one can see God's Kingdom without being born from above."

"I don't understand. How can anyone be born after growing old? How can anyone go back inside his or her mother and be born again?"

"When you look at a newborn baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person inside that baby's body is formed by something you can't see or touch - God's Spirit. When God's Spirit joins with someone's body, that person becomes a living spirit, too. Being born from above means having God's Holy Spirit within you."

"How does that happen?"

"You're a teacher of Israel, and you don't understand these things?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Nicodemus, listen to me. I am telling you what I know from my own experience with God, not what others have told me. Believe me."

"I want to believe, but it is so confusing."

"God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to the world. Everyone who believes in the Son will have a whole and lasting life. God didn't send the Son into the world to point out how bad it was. God sent the Son to put the world right again."