Good Morning Friends,
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named
Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and
said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could
perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.’ In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the
truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” (John
3:1-3)
For a Pharisee and a member of the ruling
council, Nicodemus had already come a long way in his attitude toward Jesus. He
was willing to call Jesus “Rabbi,” meaning teacher. He was willing to acknowledge
the miraculous power Jesus had, he did not try to ignore it or explain it away.
He was even willing to say that Jesus was from God. All of those things were
uncommon and bold statements to come from such a person as Nicodemus. Only a
few members of the ruling council would be willing to make those kinds of
statements. Not too many Pharisees would, either. So, I’d have to say Nicodemus
was a pretty good man, with pretty good beliefs.
We could also say more about Nicodemus that
would accrue to the positive side of the account of his life. He was a moral
man and a man who very carefully kept the Law. He had to be or he wouldn’t be a
Pharisee and he certainly would never have become a member of the ruling
council without those qualifications, either. One more thing, Nicodemus would
have known the scriptures very well. It was part of the position he had and
part of what prepared a man for it.
Right beliefs, right living, right knowledge.
Sounds like a pretty right man, don’t you think?
Jesus didn’t! He saw through to Nicodemus’s
heart and knew there was something essential missing. Nicodemus was trusting in
himself. He was trusting in his knowledge, his beliefs, his lifestyle, and
probably several other things that he was responsible for. A relationship with
God is not found in any of those. Salvation isn’t found in any of them.
Nicodemus needed to start all over again with
a radically different life, a life initiated and sustained by trusting in Jesus.
“You must be born again.” That’s what Jesus
saw as the great need of Nicodemus. If we are trusting in ourselves, like
Nicodemus was, it’s our great need, too. It’s where it all starts!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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