13. The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is the one who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.
14. “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. It is the same with the Son of Man. He must be lifted up too.
15. Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life.”
16. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.
17. God sent his Son into the world. He did not send him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.
18. People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. But people who do not believe are already judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son.
19. They are judged by this fact: The light has come into the world. But they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things.
20. Everyone who does evil hates the light. They will not come to the light, because the light will show all the bad things they have done.
21. But anyone who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that whatever they have done was done through God.
22. After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea. There he stayed with his followers and baptized people.
23. John was also baptizing people in Aenon, a place near Salim with plenty of water. People were going there to be baptized.
24. This was before John was put in prison.
25. Some of John’s followers had an argument with another Jew about religious washing.
26. Then they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River? He is the one you were telling everyone about. He is also baptizing people, and many are going to him.”
27. John answered, “A person can receive only what God gives.
28. You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only the one God sent to prepare the way for him.’
29. The bride always belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who helps the bridegroom just waits and listens. He is happy just to hear the bridegroom talk. That’s how I feel now. I am so happy that he is here.
30. He must become more and more important, and I must become less important.
31. “The one who comes from above is greater than all others. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth. He talks about things that are on the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all others.
32. He tells what he has seen and heard, but people don’t accept what he says.