Nicodemus

2023-04-24

There was a man who was a ruler of the Jews and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was presumably a secret disciple of Jesus, who first came to Him by night. He would have had much knowledge of the Old Testament and the religious traditions of the Jews.

“The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him” (John 3:2). But Jesus does not respond to any of this confession. The Lord went straight into the heart of the matter, knowing both the ruler’s motive for coming and what he needed to hear.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). All that knowledge and prestige Nicodemus possessed did not bring him closer to the kingdom or the King. In fact, it sounded like there was nothing he could offer to gain himself entrance to the coming kingdom of heaven. His responses showed that he did not understand what Jesus meant.

Being a sinner, Nicodemus needed a complete start over. He had to be born again of the Spirit. Jesus explained a bit about how He would die for the sins of the world. He explained that by trusting in Him, Nicodemus would have eternal life. Eternal life is a brand-new life.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (John 3:10). There are a lot of religious experts that know nothing about the simple truth of salvation. By believing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus they need to be saved. But they believe and trust in something else.

While the Pharisees were discussing the arrest of Jesus, Nicodemus was there. “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” (John 7:48). Nicodemus did not offer any admission of discipleship, but he did try to defend Jesus. The problem was that any little defense of the Lord was quickly squashed. The secret disciple said, “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (John 7:51-52). That settled the matter; the meeting then adjourned.

Nicodemus publicly exposed his identity with the Lord when he helped Joseph of Arimathaea bury Jesus. “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight” (John 19:39). He came to a point where it did not matter about hiding that he was a Christian. This likely changed his relationship with the religious leaders from that day forward. It may change some of our relationships as well.