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“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.”
When Nicodemus said this, was he speaking for all the Pharisees? What if they recognized that Jesus was from God and still plotted against him? They weren’t just angry because of Jesus’ message, they hated Him because of His power. They set on a course to run God out of Israel so they could set themselves up as gods among their people.
Oh the Pharisees would never say, “bow down and worship me.” They were devout Jews, but the did insist on keeping the rules and making sure everyone else kept the rules–and the rules added to the rules. They emphasized right actions. To them, perhaps just knowing Jesus was from God should have been enough. From this perspective, Jesus’ answer makes a lot more sense.
v. 3 “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Just knowing in your head isn’t all it takes. It’s about yielding your life to the Spirit.
Maybe Nicodemus was sent to deliver a message from the Pharisees, “We know you are from God, now can you lay off with the miracles. You’re making us look bad.” I guess we will never know why Nicodemus came to Jesus that night, but we can be sure that Jesus rocked his world.
v. 9 “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’”
Jesus had caught Nicodemus’ attention by challenging the basic assumption that right actions/head knowledge is enough to please God.
Jesus had some hard reproof to offer. “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” Then they sat down and Jesus shared the heart of God with Nicodemus the Pharisee.
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One quiet night, the Pharisee Nicodemus slipped quietly out his front door. The moonlight softl illuminated the streets. He pulled his robe tight around his arms to ward off the cool spring breeze. Silently, he made his way through the streets to the house where the teacher Jesus was staying.
When Nicodemus found Jesus, he said, “We know that you are a teacher come from god. You couldn’t do what you do and say what you say unless God is with you. Do you have some time tonight that we could talk?”
I have always suspected that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night because he was concerned about what the other Pharisees might think. After a talk with Jesus, did Nicodemus get it when he left? Was his life changed? Did he ever understand?
Even talking face to face with God, Nicodemus was confused about matters of the Spirit. I am glad that the Holy Spirit has patience and is willing to show me the same lesson over and over.
Do I still come to Jesus by night? Am I afraid of what other people will think? Am I willing to listen to what He is trying to teach me and keep asking questions until I understand?
Maybe Nicodemus came by night because it was the only time he had that he could focus on talking to Jesus. As I go through the day, I am bombarded by interruptions. Being able to have more than one thing running in my mind doesn’t help me get quiet and focus on God. At the same time, God created me so that I can do mental multi-tasking. I suspect that when our baby is born, I will not have the luxury of uninterrupted quiet time. There will be some things that are necessary to multi-task on (i.e. praying and minding the kids). On the other hand, there are a lot of distractions running in my mind (like checking e-mail and worrying about today’s to-do list).
Part of my preparation for devotions should be to create an environment with minimal distractions, and my prayer is that I could set down my worries for a few moments and focus on my Savior
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