In John 3:1-21 A Pharisee and leader of the Jews named Nicodemus converses with Jesus about how one can enter the kingdom of God. Jesus speaks to him using parables just as he did in Mark. In Mark, we learned that parables are used to speak to God’s people but to keep those who are not at bay. The Pharisee should be able to understand Jesus but we soon find out that he does not. Jesus states that only a son of God can enter the kingdom of God when he declares “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5). Essentially Jesus tells Nicodemus that in order to know the kingdom of God, he must have faith in God but Nicodemus does not understand. This is surprising because even though Jesus isn’t speaking directly, Nicodemus is “a teacher of Israel, and yet [he] does not understand these things” (John 3:10). Jesus goes on to explain the role of the Son of Man and how he can save the world. He states that the Son of Man, who is Jesus, can save the world if they believe in him but if they don’t then they “are condemned already, because they have not believe in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).
