John 2 ends on this note: Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man (ESV).
When John 3 starts, it is common to read a now: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The word is translating de, a word that can mean both and and but. So which is it here, and what is the significance?