Then the chief priests of the Jews<n id="1" /> said to Pilate, &#8220;Do not write, &#8216;The king of the Jews,&#8217; but rather, &#8216;This man said, I am king of the Jews.&#8217;&#8221;

Now the Jewish feast of Passover<n id="1" /> was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now a certain man, a Pharisee<n id="1" /> named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council,<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Now a dispute came about between some of John&#8217;s disciples and a certain Jew<n id="1" /> concerning ceremonial washing.<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">After this<n id="1" /> there was a Jewish feast,<n id="2" /> and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now because Jesus was doing these things<n id="1" /> on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders<n id="2" /> began persecuting<n id="3" /> him.

(Now the Jewish feast of the Passover<n id="1" /> was near.)<n id="2" />

Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles<n id="1" /> was near.<n id="2" />

However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders.<n id="1" />p>

Then the Jewish leaders<n id="1" /> were astonished<n id="2" /> and said, &#8220;How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">Another sharp division took place among the Jewish people<n id="1" /> because of these words.

<p class="bodytext">The Jewish leaders<n id="1" /> picked up rocks again to stone him to death.

Thus the people who had come to mourn<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;Look how much he loved him!&#8221;

for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem<n id="1" /> were going away and believing in Jesus.p>

So the Samaritan woman said to him, &#8220;How can you &#8211; a Jew<n id="1" /> &#8211; ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water<n id="2" /> to drink?&#8221; (For Jews use nothing in common<n id="3" /> with Samaritans.)<n id="4" />p>

(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders.<n id="1" /> For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus<n id="2" /> to be the Christ<n id="3" /> would be put out<n id="4" /> of the synagogue.<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">So then the Jewish leaders<n id="1" /> responded,<n id="2" /> &#8220;What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?&#8221;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">So the Jewish leaders<n id="1" /> said to the man who had been healed, &#8220;It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.&#8221;<n id="2" />

The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders<n id="1" /> that Jesus was the one who had made him well.p>

So the Jewish leaders<n id="1" /> were looking for him at the feast, asking, &#8220;Where is he?&#8221;<n id="2" />