Today’s Reading: John 2:23 – 3:21; Psalm 36

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. – John 2:23-25

Jesus was able to discern the heart and intentions of each person he came in contact with. He knew when they were trying to trap him, and he knew when they were struggling to understand yet genuinely trying to believe. That means he knew the heart of a Pharisee named Nicodemus when he came to Jesus after dark one evening.

“Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” – John 3:2b

Nicodemus had gathered from the miracles that God was with Jesus and from his teaching that Jesus was sent from God. But Jesus understood the heart of Nicodemus and he knew that he was not ready to step into the light and declare that Jesus was the Son of God.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” – John 3:3-8

While Nicodemus was trying to theologically understand what Jesus was saying, Jesus wanted Nicodemus to go beyond an intellectual reasoning of faith and fully experience the power of the Holy Spirit transforming him. What Jesus was presenting did not seem possible to Nicodemus and, until he fully embraced the truth of who Jesus was, he would never cross the gap between where he was and where he needed to be.

IN ORDER FOR NICODEMUS TO FULLY UNDERSTAND, HE HAD TO FIRST BELIEVE.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” – John 3:16-21

IN ORDER FOR NICODEMUS TO EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT, HE HAD TO STEP OUT OF THE DARKNESS.

John is the only one of the disciples who wrote about Nicodemus, and he mentions him two other times after this interaction. First, the leading priests and Pharisees had sent the Temple guards to arrest Jesus, and they were frustrated when the guards returned empty handed. The guards had been impacted by the teaching of Jesus.

“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!” – John 7:47-49

This was the moment when Nicodemus could have strongly professed faith, but instead he safely asked the question of whether or not it was legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing. The Pharisees did not like Nicodemus’ question. Not knowing that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, they used their knowledge of the Scriptures to argue that Jesus was from Galilee and that no prophet ever comes from Galilee.

We see Nicodemus again after the crucifixion of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea had been a secret disciple of Jesus because of his fear of the Jewish leaders, yet he had boldly asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus’ body off of the cross. Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes, and together these men wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth, as was the Jewish burial custom. Then they laid Jesus in the tomb (John 19:38-42).

I long to believe that this was a turning point in Nicodemus’ life — that he walked away from this sacred moment into a bold faith, declaring that Jesus was in fact the Son of God. I hope he was able to see the risen Christ and experience the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I hope it all finally made sense to Nicodemus how a person could be born of the Spirit because he, too, had experienced it first hand. Imagine the impact of this Pharisee becoming a follower of Christ and actively participating in the early church. Imagine the great loss if he did not.

Lord, I pray this morning for those who are struggling to believe because their need for intellectual understanding has kept them from fully embracing the child-like faith you require. I pray for those who have not yet experienced the transforming work of your Spirit in their lives. May we be a conduit of patience and love to those who are pursuing an understanding of who you are and who you have created them to be. Give us the words to say to help close the gap, and may our lives be an example of what it means to truly be born again. Amen.

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.
For you are the fountain of life,
the light by which we see. – Psalm 36:5-9