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Joshua, reluctantly obeying Moses by handing him a cross-shaped staff to hang the bronze serpent on, remarks: “People will say this is a cruel joke—this doesn’t make sense !” Moses responds, “How do you explain the Red Sea? The manna and the quail? The pillar of fire? Joshua, any Israelite who looks upon this bronze serpent and believes in the power of Adonai will be healed. It’s an act of faith.” Jesus will refer to what happened with this bronze serpent when He speaks to Nicodemus.
Nicodemus says to his wife, Zohara, who questions his frame of mind: “I have never been closer to my senses.”
Quintus, the Roman praetor serving under Pontius Pilate, says about Matthew: “My source has unwavering accuracy and a compulsion for the truth.”
Jesus says to His disciple John: “I want to do the will of My Father, and I want to spread the message of salvation. So yes, I am happy to not stay in one place.” Later He speaks with Mary Magdalene, who tells Him this about Nicodemus and his desire to meet with Jesus: “He was earnest. He wasn’t offended when someone had succeeded where he failed. There was a hunger in his eyes, not fear.” Jesus responds, “Not like the Pharisees at the window yesterday, huh? There was a reason you met this Pharisee.... Send word to Nicodemus I will meet with him.”
Matthew says to his mother: “The things I thought I knew to be true—do you think impossible things could happen that overturn the laws of nature, that cannot be explained?... My whole world, everything I thought I knew—what if it’s wrong?”
Jesus meets at nighttime with Nicodemus, who says he knows Jesus comes from God because of the miracles He does. Jesus says, “And how is that belief going over in the synagogue?” They both laugh. Nicodemus asks, “What have You come here to show us?” “A Kingdom,” answers Jesus. “That is what our rulers are worried about,” says Nicodemus. “No, not that kind,” says Jesus. “Then what?” asks Nicodemus. Jesus answers, “The sort of Kingdom that a person cannot see unless he is born again.” Nicodemus is confused: “Born again? You mean like a new creature, a conversion from Gentile to Jewish?” Jesus answers, “No, that’s not what I’m talking about.... Truly I say to you ‘unless one is born of water and Spirit’ [Ezekiel 36], he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh [touching Nicodemus’s hand], but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [pointing to Nicodemus’s heart]. That part of you—that is what must be reborn to new life.”
Nicodemus, smiling and shaking his head, asks, “How can these things be?” Jesus, gently sighing, responds: “A teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things.” Nicodemus says humbly: “I’m trying, Rabbi.” Jesus says, “I know.... Listen. What do you hear?” “The wind,” answers Nicodemus. Jesus asks, “How do you know?" “Because I can feel it and I hear its sound,” answers Nicodemus. Jesus asks, “Do you know where it comes from and where it is going?” When Nicodemus says no, Jesus explains, “That’s what it is to be born again of the Spirit. The Spirit may work in a way that is a mystery to you, and while you cannot see the Spirit, you can recognize His effect.”
Nicodemus tells Him frankly, “My mind is consumed with what a stir these words would cause among the teachers of the Law.” Jesus acknowledges, “Yes, and I do not expect otherwise. I speak of what I know and have seen, and it has not been received by the religious leaders.” Nicodemus says, “It is hard to receive.” Jesus tells him frankly, “So if I have told you of earthly things and you do not believe, how can I tell you heavenly things?” Nicodemus says, “I believe Your words.” Jesus tells him, “I have come to do more than speak words.... Do you remember when the children of Israel complained against God and against Moses in the wilderness?” Nicodemus answers, “Yes, they wanted to return to Egypt, and they cursed the manna God sent them. They were bitten by serpents and were dying. But God made a way for them to be healed." Jesus explains, “Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the desert, and people only needed to look at it. So will the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” 
Nicodemus responds, “Our people are not dying from snake bites. They’re dying from taxation and oppression.” Jesus says to him, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I did not come to deliver the people from Rome.” “Then from what?” asks Nicodemus. “From sin. From spiritual death," answers Jesus. "God loves the world in this way: that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, Nicodemus. He sent Him to save it through Him. It’s as simple as Moses’s serpent on the pole. Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already.”
Jesus's disciples Andrew and John are both listening intently to this conversation out of sight. Andrew whispers to him, “Have you ever heard anything like this before?” John, who later recorded this conversation in his Gospel, is taking furious notes and shushing Andrew.
Nicodemus is believing what Jesus is saying, but also counting the cost. Jesus, knowing that, tells him, “It’s true: there is a lot you would give up but what you would gain is far greater and more lasting.... I know mysteries aren’t easy for a scholar.” Nicodemus returns to the subject Jesus began with, asking, “Is the Kingdom of God really coming?” Jesus asks him, “What does your heart tell you?” Nicodemus tells Him, “My heart is swollen with fear and wonder and can tell me nothing except that I am standing on holy ground. He kneels, kisses Jesus’s hand, and quotes from Psalm 2): “Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish in the way....”
Jesus raises Nicodemus to his feet and finishes the quotation of Psalm 2's ending: “...Blessed are all those who take refuge in Him.”
The next day Jesus calls Matthew at his tax booth to follow Him. As Matthew starts to do so, his Roman escort, Gaius, says to him: “Have you lost your mind? You have money. Quintus protects you. No Jew lives as good as you. You’re going to throw it all away?” Matthew simply says yes.
Simon says to Jesus, “Whoa, do You have any idea what this guy has done? I don’t get it.” Jesus answers, “You didn’t get it when I chose you, either.” Simon objects, “But this is different!” Jesus says, “Get used to different.”
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