September 19, 2020
"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: He came to see Jesus by night…" John 3:1
Before we consider the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus, let’s look at the events leading up to the night-time visit.
The book of John begins with a description of Who Jesus IS = “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.
He quickly transitioned into the ministry of John the Baptist, which included repentance and the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins. The religious leaders took offense because even though ritual washing was a Jewish custom, baptism by immersion was used exclusively for the person who had been converted to Judaism. Only after Circumcision and Baptism was a man considered a true son of Israel and allowed full access to the Temple. In other words - there was no need for a Jew to be baptized.
In due course, Jesus came to be baptized and John recognized Him, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”
Following Jesus’ Baptism:
• John pointed 2 of his disciples to Jesus and they began to follow Him.
• Miracle at Cana – Jesus turned water into wine.
• Cleansing of the Temple --- During Passover Jesus went to Jerusalem - 2:14-22
Jesus caught the attention of everyone in Jerusalem INCLUDING the religious leaders:
Leaders: What miraculous sign are you going to show us to prove that you have the authority to do what you’ve just done?
Jesus: Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.
Leaders: Hold on!! It took 46 years to build this Temple and you’re telling us you could raise it again in only 3 days? {they didn’t understand that Jesus was referring to His crucifixion and resurrection}
Jesus left the Temple but stayed in the city performing miracles. Many people believed and our man Nicodemus was paying attention….
Nicodemus was rich, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish Judicial Court. He knew the Law of Moses and he strived to live by that law in every detail. He followed the list of do’s and don’ts religiously because he honestly believed that that was what was required of him in order to inherit eternal life.
Nicodemus was the best that his religion, education, and culture could produce, yet there were gnawing questions about Jesus, this peculiar man who performed miracles and claimed to be the Son of God, because his words and deeds were unlike anything Nicodemus had ever seen. He knew his colleagues believed Jesus to be a sham at best and a dangerous threat to their beloved religious institution at worst – but Nicodemus was a seeker of truth and he had to know more. He was afraid to be seen talking to Jesus…. So, he tiptoed through the deserted streets of Jerusalem until he reached the place where Jesus was staying…. They sat down together:
Nicodemus: Teacher, we know you’re from God because no one can do what you are doing except that God is with him.
Jesus: I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus was arrogant and full of spiritual pride – and he was offended... “I mean, really. Doesn’t this carpenter know who I am?” He tried to show his intellectual superiority by making fun of Jesus:
Nicodemus: How is that possible? You don’t really think an old man can enter his mother’s womb again…. Do you?
Notice the gentleness in Jesus’ response:
Jesus: You’re talking about flesh, but I’m talking about Spirit and what I am telling you is true…. No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he has been born of water and of Spirit. What I am saying should not be a surprise to you. The wind blows and even though you hear it and feel it on your face, you don’t know where it came from – that’s how it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus: I don’t understand!!
Jesus: How is it that you are a religious leader in Israel and yet don’t know what I’m talking about? I tell you the truth – we speak about what we know and have seen, yet you don’t believe. If you don’t believe me when I talk about earthly things how are you going to believe me when I tell you about heavenly things?
Jesus concludes by giving Nicodemus one of the most profound statements encapsulating the Truth regarding Salvation:
Jesus: The Son of Man came from heaven and just like Moses lifted up the snake in the desert {Numbers 21:4-9}, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him. Whoever believes is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he does not believe in the name of God's Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men love darkness because of their evil deeds. Those who do evil hate the light and will avoid it because it will expose their deeds. However, those who live by the truth welcome the light because it reveals plainly that what they do has been done through God.
What a short yet amazing conversation! I don’t know what Nicodemus was hoping to get out of this clandestine meeting, but it seems that Jesus caught him completely off guard.
You have to be born again………..
The story of Nicodemus is about how a person becomes right with God.
• Nicodemus believed in God.
• Nicodemus was a pious Jew
• Nicodemus was a good Pharisee:
o He believed in the validity of Torah {1st 5 Books of the Bible}.
o He believed in Church Doctrine {The Oral Law which was a sort of Commentary on the 10 Commandments}.
o He believed in angels and a literal resurrection.
Nicodemus believed ALL the right things and did ALL the right things, but Jesus was telling him that there was more to it than right thinking and right doing. A right standing with God does not come through correct beliefs or correct moral conduct. The kind of belief that Jesus was after was not a belief that accepts a fact, but the kind of belief that places complete trust in HIS life and death and resurrection.
Jesus not only told Nicodemus that in order to see the Kingdom of Heaven, he must have a new heart, but He also told him how to obtain this new heart = It’s not WHAT you believe in, but WHOM you believe in and whether or not you are TRANSFORMED by that belief.
So, what happened to Nicodemus? Was he converted?
• Ellen White {Letter 54, 1895} - Nicodemus was converted as the result of this interview. In that night conference with Jesus, the convicted man stood before the Savior under the softening, subduing influence of the truth….
Did he immediately give up his position on the Sanhedrin and openly follow Jesus?
• Ellen White {CTr 282.4-5} - …. That night he listened to the most important discourse that ever fell from human lips. The words he heard had penetrated his soul. He had been enlightened by them, but still he had not identified himself with Christ…..
It seems that Nicodemus’ conversion was a slow burn.
We know in John 7 that he defended Jesus before the Sanhedrin and was mocked for doing so {John 7:37-52}.
But it wasn’t until he witnessed the cruel treatment of Jesus by the priests and Jesus’ patient and Godlike bearing, that he finally saw clearly the true character of the religious leaders.
In John 19 {while Jesus’ disciples were hiding in the upper room} Nicodemus, along with Joseph of Arimathea, came boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Christ. They wrapped His body in burial spices and strips of linen and placed him in Joseph’s tomb {John 19:38-42}.
• Ellen White {AA 104-105} - Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin and with others had been stirred by the teaching of Jesus. As he had witnessed Christ's wonderful works, the conviction had fastened itself upon his mind that this was the Sent of God. Too proud openly to acknowledge himself in sympathy with the Galilean Teacher, he had sought a secret interview. In this interview Jesus had unfolded to him the plan of salvation and His mission to the world, yet still Nicodemus had hesitated. He hid the truth in his heart, and for three years there was little apparent fruit. But while Nicodemus had not publicly acknowledged Christ, he had in the Sanhedrin council repeatedly thwarted the schemes of the priests to destroy Him. When at last Christ had been lifted up on the cross, Nicodemus remembered the words that He had spoken to him in the night interview on the Mount of Olives, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up" (John 3:14); and he saw in Jesus the world's Redeemer.
With Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus had borne the expense of the burial of Jesus. The disciples had been afraid to show themselves openly as Christ's followers, but Nicodemus and Joseph had come boldly to their aid. The help of these rich and honored men was greatly needed in that hour of darkness. They had been able to do for their dead Master what it would have been impossible for the poor disciples to do; and their wealth and influence had protected them, in a great measure, from the malice of the priests and rulers.
Now, when the Jews were trying to destroy the infant church, Nicodemus came forward in its defense. No longer cautious and questioning, he encouraged the faith of the disciples and used his wealth in helping to sustain the church at Jerusalem and in advancing the work of the gospel. Those who in other days had paid him reverence, now scorned and persecuted him, and he became poor in this world's goods; yet he faltered not in the defense of his faith…… {which had its beginning in that night conference with Jesus}.
One Encounter With Jesus Can Change Everything!!!
Wrapping Up
Which is easier:
• to believe in the right things, or to have a relationship with God?
• to follow a moral code of rules and duty, or live each day loving God?
• to come to church and hear about God, or to have Him in your life?
Are you depending on your religion to get you into heaven?
Are you hoping that being a good person will get you there?
Are you trusting in your own abilities to earn acceptance with God?
If you were to stand before God today and He asked you, "Why should I let you in?”, what would you tell Him? Would you mention your abilities, your church attendance, your Christian service and good deeds? Or would you say, “I know your Son. We’re friends. I accepted His invitation.”
The truth is we can do all the “churchy” stuff, but religion without a relationship with Christ, will not make you acceptable before the God of the universe.
Your acceptance before God happens solely because of Christ’s sacrifice, your personal acceptance and faith in that sacrifice, and the Transformational results.
• John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
• 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
• Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
• Titus 3:5 - He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.
