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Another interested inquirer

Text: John 3:1-21

ANOTHER INTERESTED INQUIRER

John recorded how he and his fellow disciples first came to faith in Jesus. They had been deeply impressed by His teachings. Jesus taught the Scriptures with tremendous authority and power (Cf. John 1).

The author went on to describe how a significant member of the Pharisees came to Jesus one night. He too had been deeply impacted by what he heard and saw in Jesus.

“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night
and said to Him,
‘Rabbi, we know that You are a Teacher come from God;
for no one can do these signs that You do,
unless God is with Him.”
John 3:1-2

John painted a fairly clear picture about Nicodemus with just a few well-chosen phrases. Nicodemus was a Pharisee! However, he was quite different from the other Pharisees who were scathingly rebuked by both John the Baptizer and Jesus Himself.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read these words spoken by John the Baptizer to the Pharisees and Sadducees.

“But when he (John) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them,
‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Therefore bring forth fruits worthy of repentance…”
Matthew 3:7-8

Jesus also had a low regard for the Pharisees whom He rebuked for their hypocrisy.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”
Matthew 23:13, 23, 25, 27, 29

Jesus was not against the sect of the Pharisees. His stout words of rebuke were leveled against the Pharisees who claimed that they taught the Scriptures, but did not practise what they preached (Cf. Matthew 23:1-11).

Nicodemus was a rare exception! He came to Jesus humbly and spoke to Jesus most politely. He was deeply impressed with the teaching skill of Jesus. Whereas the Jews questioned Jesus and demanded a sign from Him, Nicodemus had heard and seen enough. There was no need to rudely demand a sign from Jesus! He must have seen the sign-miracles that Jesus had performed. His logical mind made him come to this conclusion. Jesus must be sent from God. He was indeed worthy to be called “Rabbi”. The signs that He performed, well evidenced in the people He healed, indicated that God was with Him! Nicodemus showed that he was a fair-minded scholar!

FROM ONE TEACHER TO ANOTHER

Much has been said about Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night. It might well be that he was intimidated by the hostility shown by his fellow Pharisees towards Jesus. John noted little details like that, probably because he was there when Nicodemus came to Jesus to speak to Him.

He probably remembered how he and Andrew had come to Jesus one evening at about the tenth hour (John 1:39). That was early evening. The talk they had with Jesus must have lasted through the night!

It is not fair to Nicodemus to read too much into the phrase, “This man came to Jesus by night”. Some have castigated Nicodemus for being cowardly and thus he came to Jesus cloaked in the darkness of night, so that he might not be noticed by his fellow-Pharisees.

It was a well-known practice of scholars to spend evenings discussing deep spiritual things with each other. These discussions were held in the night because the evenings allowed for long and leisurely talks. Perhaps there is some truth that Nicodemus was a little afraid of what his friends might say about him if he openly associated himself with Jesus. But at this point of time, he was merely seeking to know more about Jesus. He had not yet made up his mind concerning who Jesus really was. Yes, he had been impressed and impacted by what Jesus said and did! He was intrigued. He needed to know more. He knew how busy Jesus really was during the day. Perhaps, this Teacher sent from God would give him a bit of His precious time in the night!

It was Nicodemus who opened up the discussion with Jesus. He paid a high compliment to Jesus and extolled Him as a Teacher sent from God. This was his considered opinion as one who was a well-known teacher in Israel! He was also called “a ruler of the Jews” thus signifying that he was probably a member of the powerful ruling religious body called the Sanhedrin Council. This religious body exercised tremendous authority over all religious affairs in Israel!

AN IMPORTANT TOPIC DISCUSSED

The response of Jesus to the greetings of Nicodemus was fascinating to say the least.

“Jesus answered and said to him,
‘Most assuredly, I say to you,
Unless one is born again, he cannot see
The kingdom of God.’ “
John 3:3

Jesus accepted the compliment from Nicodemus, but did not return the compliment. This was not quite the normal practice. The “usual” thing to do when one Rabbi greets another is to exchange pleasantries. Jesus dispensed with all that, and offered to discuss with Nicodemus an important subject!

Did Nicodemus regard Jesus as a Teacher sent from God? Then let this Teacher speak to a teacher of Israel on an important truth! Was Nicodemus “born again”? Had Nicodemus received this “new birth” from God? Unless he was born again, he could not “see the kingdom of God”. How startled Nicodemus must be to hear these words!