John 3:17-36

17God did not send his Son into the world because he wanted to punish people. He sent his Son to save the people in the world from punishment.

18God will not punish anyone who believes in his Son. But if people refuse to believe in the Son, God has already decided that he must punish them. They have not believed in God's one and only Son.

19God's Son has brought light into the world. But some people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing evil things. That is why God has decided to punish those people.

20Everyone who does evil things hates the light. A person like that will not come to the light because he is afraid. He does not want the bad things that he has done to show clearly.

21But anyone who does what is true will come to the light. The light will show clearly that he has been doing what is right. Everyone can see that he has been obeying God.

22After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the country places in Judea. Jesus stayed there with his disciples for some time, and they baptized people there.

23John was also baptizing people. He was at a place called Aenon, near Salim, because there was a lot of water there. People were coming to him and John was baptizing them.

24(This happened before the rulers put John in prison.)

25John's disciples began to argue with a certain Jew about some Jewish rules. Those rules told people how they should wash properly.

26The disciples then came to John. They said to him, ‘Teacher, remember the man, Jesus, that you spoke to us about. He was with you on the other side of the Jordan River. Now he is baptizing people and everyone is going to him.’

27John replied, ‘A man can receive only what God gives to him, nothing else.

28You yourselves will remember that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but God sent me to prepare things for the Messiah.”

29When a man marries a wife, she belongs to him. The man's special friend listens carefully. He wants to know when the man will arrive. That friend is very happy when he hears the man's voice. I am like that friend, so I am completely happy now.

30Jesus must become greater, but I must become less important.

31The one who comes from above is greater than all things. A person who comes from the earth belongs to the earth. A person like that speaks only about things that belong to the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all things.

32He tells people about the things that he has seen. He tells about what he has heard. But people do not believe his message.

33Anyone who does believe his message agrees that God is true.

34The one that God has sent speaks God's words. God has given his Spirit to fill that person completely.

35The Father loves the Son. He has given his Son authority over all things.

36Anyone who believes in the Son has life with God for ever. But anyone who refuses to obey the Son will never have life with God. God will continue to be angry with people like that.’