Jesus in Jerusalem: Nicodemus

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Saturday June 08, 2024}

John 3:1-24

Father, I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I believe that, when I die, I will be declared innocent, pure, holy, and righteous because Jesus washed away all of my sin and corruption. Help me to now live an obedient life in thanksgiving for the gift of eternal life I have received. Amen.
Father, Nicodemus was an influential man in Jerusalem, a Pharisee, and a member of the Jewish ruling council, otherwise known as the Sanhedrin (what we might call the “city council” today).

1. He was searching for truth. His soul could not rest in the evening until he had answers about who Jesus really was and what Jesus meant to him. He had to meet with Jesus right away, even though it was nighttime.
2. He had “fear of man” issues. His visit to Jesus in the night enabled him to go unnoticed by other political and religious leaders in the community who would have given him a hard time for talking with Jesus.

We don’t know what time of night Nicodemus came knocking on Jesus’ door. Was it just after dark or during the early morning hours when everyone was sleeping? In either case, Jesus was either staying at someone’s home or He was staying at an inn of some kind. Regardless of where Jesus was, He apparently welcomed the interruption of Nicodemus. Father, this same Jesus is listening 24/7 for the prayers of the penitent. He never sleeps (Psalm 121:4) and His throne of grace is always open (1 Peter 3:12).

The text doesn’t record the entire conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. It is safe to assume that there was a greeting of some kind, some small talk that warmed up the conversation, and a conclusion and farewell. However, at some point Jesus must have asked Nicodemus why he had come to visit Him. The conversation may have gone something like this :

Nicodemus - “A few of us have been talking, Jesus, and we have decided that You are from God. A man like You could not do the signs (miracles) that You do unless God was with him.”

Jesus - “You are right. I have been sent from God to save people from their sin and to lead people to repentance.”

Nicodemus - “Well, I do good works. I am a Jew. I’m sure I have good standing with God.”

Jesus - “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Nicodemus - “What? That’s crazy. ‘How can someone be born when they are old? Surely, they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’”

Jesus - “Nicodemus, I am referring to spiritual rebirth (born from above). You cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you confess your sins (born of water) and receive the Holy Spirit (born of the Spirit), giving you a new heart that wants to obey Him. You don’t actually see the Holy Spirit for He cannot be seen with the eyes. He is like the wind: you can tell it is there by the sound it makes but you cannot see it. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit does as He pleases.”

Nicodemus - “I don’t understand this, Jesus. I am descendent of Abraham. Therefore, my eternal destiny is secure merely because I am a Jew. God has returned our people from exile. He has given us new commands (Pharisaical oral tradition). All we are waiting for is a political Messiah who will restore the Jewish nation to this land.”

Jesus - “I don’t understand why you don’t understand this, Nicodemus. Aren’t you one of the most influential teachers in Israel? Don’t you know the words of the prophets? We aren’t making this up. We share what we have witnessed, and we have seen the evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit. I am attempting to explain this to you in ways that you should understand (such as the metaphor of the wind). If you can’t make sense of it, I don’t know how I can explain to you the thoughts of my Father in heaven.”

Jesus - “I, the Son of David, am the only one who has ever gone into heaven (John 1:1-2). However, just like when the people of Israel were saved when Moses lifted up the snake on a pole (Numbers 21:4-9), many people will be welcomed into heaven because they looked upon Me and believed that I am their risen Savior.”

Jesus - “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him (Me) shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son (Me) into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (Me). Whoever believes in Him (Me) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (NIV)”

We learn the following points from Jesus’ words to Nicodemus.

1. God the Father loves the people of this world so much that He would sacrifice the most precious thing He has – His Son Jesus Christ. The sins of this world are so serious in God’s eyes that they require nothing less than the death of the Son of God to pay the penalty for them.
2. This world of sin, evil, and corruption is a world of darkness. People love to be in the dark so that their evil deeds will be hidden. However, Jesus is God’s gift of light and those who believe in Him, motivated to please and honor Him, step into the light to have their deeds seen by God.
3. It is not God’s desire to condemn anyone to hell. It is His desire to save people from hell. This is why He has sent His Son to save all who will believe in Him.
4. Anyone who believes that Jesus has died for their sins, and that He has risen from the dead, will not be sent to hell. They are no longer condemned of their sin. Their destiny is to enjoy eternal life with Jesus.
5. All of the other things people do in their life, both good and evil, are irrelevant. There is only one determinant of the eternal destiny of each soul. Does the person believe that Jesus died for their sins, and that He has risen from the dead?
1. Yes, they do? They are no longer condemned of their sin. They will enjoy eternal life.
2. No, they don’t? They are already condemned of their sin. Their destiny is hell.

That’s it. We don’t have any further information about their meeting that night. We don’t know if Nicodemus accepted Jesus as His Savior; though we can be quite sure Jesus invited Him to do so. However, we do get a hint of what happened in two other verses in the book of John:

1. John 7:50 says that Nicodemus “had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number.” Nicodemus was one of the disciples of Jesus, though not one of the twelve. Therefore, we can conclude that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was the Son of God.
2. John 19:39 tells us that Nicodemus assisted Joseph of Arimathea in the burial of Jesus. He brought about 75 lbs. of myrrh and aloes and wrapped Jesus in strips of linen. We can conclude that Jesus’ body was precious to Nicodemus, suggesting that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was his Savior.

Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and headed into the Judean countryside to baptize people. The text tells us that Jesus “spent time with them and baptized” (NIV). Father, what can we learn from this seemingly insignificant text:

1. Effective ministry requires building relationships with people. Relationships are built by spending time with them. Those who want to touch lives for Christ should expect to spend time with the lost, even if their lives are quite messy.
2. The key milestone in ministry to an unbeliever is their eventual public profession of Christ. Effective ministry perseveres with an individual until, at the very least, they make that public profession.

Amen.