(John 3:2)
�The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.�
Nicodemus came to Jesus with a question. The question seems to mirror that asked of John the Baptist in the first chapter of John. Nicodemus wanted to know how it was that Jesus performed the miracles. What was the authority of Jesus in His work?
Nicodemus did acknowledge that Jesus performed the miracles by the power of God. Others of the Pharisee sect did not share this conviction. Some of them argued quite another reason for the working of miracles by Jesus. �But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.� (Matthew 12:24)
We still have this same dichotomy among people in our own day. Some will say that Jesus was a great moral teacher. Others will accuse Him of being the root cause of all the ills that befall society over the past two thousand years. The former are honest enquirers; the latter are simply hate filled antagonists of the things of God.
Both, however, are equally wrong. It is true that Jesus was a great moral teacher. But, that is not Who He is. The many wars fought in the previous centuries in the name of Jesus were not fought in the true Name of the churches He founded. Those wars and hostilities toward individuals were done in the name of either a church or a religious entity which had changed the truth into a lie. (Romans 1:25)
Religion kills because it is a culture of fear. Religion is the concept that God is just waiting for us to step a half an inch over some line; then He pounces upon us with glee. Religion is an attempt to placate a vindictive God of wrath and pain. Religion is a belief system that is built upon the works of man.
Christianity is not religion. Christianity is the understanding that God loves us and desires to see us saved from the fate our sins had foisted upon us. Christianity sees that God is just waiting for us to accept His free offer of salvation so that He might have fellowship in love with us. Christianity is the realization that Jesus Christ went to the Cross of Calvary to take the entire punishment of sin in our place. Christianity is the realization that God desires for us to respond to Him in love.
�We love him, because he first loved us.� (I John 4:19) This is the true picture of Christianity.
In the pages of the New Testament we find many facts about Jesus. One of these facts is that He is never shown as berating a sinner. He comes to the lost in love. He never accepts their sin, of course, but He understands that they need deliverance from this sin. There is only one class of person which Jesus displays any manner of displeasure. Jesus does display righteous anger at the religionists of the day who would keep the sinner from finding peace in Him.
Jesus might also show some annoyance at His disciples who are a little slow, from time to time, to grasp His message.
But, Jesus displays nothing but a concerned love toward the sinner. If we are to call ourselves �Christian�, we must emulate Christ. We cannot �brow beat,� harass, or belittle the unsaved. We are to call them in love to salvation by The One Who died for the souls of men.
The first thing we might notice in this verse is the sneaking. �The same came to Jesus by night��
The first thing we notice in this verse was that it was a visit in darkness. We discussed some of the reasons why Nicodemus might have decided to visit with Jesus under cover of darkness. It may well be that since Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisees he did not want others to know that he had sought a personal interview with Jesus.
It could well be that this was the only time that Nicodemus was able to visit privately with Jesus. It would appear that Nicodemus had some questions to ask of Jesus. Had he gone to see Jesus during the day the crush of the crowd might not have allowed these questions to be asked. Even if asked, the answer might not have been comprehensible to Nicodemus.
It might have been something as simple as the cool of the night being more comfortable than the heat of the day.
The thing we do know is that this fact of the night time visit is mentioned in Scripture. Since we know that the flow of Scripture is very fast, covering four thousand years of Biblical history and at least two thousand years of prophecy about the Age of Grace in the volume of the sixty-six Books, we must assume that there was a reason why God included that bit of information in His inspired and preserved Words.
I think that part of the reason might just be that Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was a man who was well versed in the Scripture. He was a devoutly pious man. Yet, he came to Jesus, The Light of the World, in spiritual darkness.
For all of the religious wisdom of Nicodemus, he had never met the Master. He did not understand what the work and message of Jesus were about.
Folks, we still have many people like that in our day. They have a religious outlook pretty well solidified in their minds. Yet, they have no concept of the truth that Jesus Christ died in time so that they might live in eternity.
�Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.� (Romans 1:22) Everyone seems to be wise in the way of religion. This is true even among those who are Biblically illiterate.
But, even those who have studied theology for many years can miss the facts about Jesus. These studious people often have a head knowledge of the things of God while their heart is completely uneducated about Jesus. Knowing doctrine, understanding the things of spirituality, was part of the error of the Gnostic. They believed that they became worthy for Heaven based on their great understanding.
Sadly, these Gnostics never did seem to understand just Who Jesus is in reality. Neither did they understand His purpose in coming into the world of men. Sometimes people will worship knowledge and allow this to be an idol between them and saving faith.
Nicodemus came at night and engaged Jesus in a conversation in detail. The conversation appears not to have progressed as Nicodemus had imaged it would. It seems that Jesus threw Nicodemus a �curveball� when the demand was made for true repentance and true faith in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Have you ever noticed how easy is generally is to talk of �God?� But, it is hard to speak of �Jesus.� Why is this? I think part of the reason is that �God� is an abstract concept in the minds of most people. �God� could mean anything to many people. There is the Unitarian concept of God as nature. There is the �God� of cults and religious organizations.
We, as human beings, have a general desire to get along with others. Since the concept of God is so ambiguous to most people, it is an easy concept to bridge. In general conversation, �God� is a term that can be modified to anyone�s experience and bias. Speaking of God may mean an appeal to the general culture. It has become a �feel good� word.
�In God we trust.� What does that mean? �It is our national motto. It is on our coins and in our �pledge to our flag.�� Yes. But, what does that mean? �It is a homage to our national history.� And, the meaning is�?
Trusting God means believing that He is. Trusting God means placing our faith in His Power rather than in the expediency of our military or economy. Trusting God means that we honor Him in our daily words and deeds.
Trusting God would mean that we would not refuse to allow mention of Him to be made in public settings. Trusting God would mean that we would not set public policy which is diametrically opposed to His direct teaching. Trusting God would mean that we would not honor those who profane His Name.
Well, maybe we don�t �Trust in God.�
Speaking of God is an exercise in religion. Speaking of Jesus is an exercise in Christianity.
The conversation of Nicodemus with Jesus was quickly turned, by Jesus, into the truth of the need for repentance and regeneration. �Ye must be born again.�
The conversation carried a suggestion on destination. Nicodemus was a pious and religious leader. Yet he was told that he must have a true conversion experience if he were to enter the Holy Heavenly Temple of God.
Religion often is a tool to reach a state of peace. Christianity is a conveyance from point A, lost in our sins on this earth and in time, to point B, a Heavenly Home in eternity and a salvation from the curse of sin.
Christianity is the �New Birth� experience, which leads us to walk with the Savior. We witness of His love and follow Him through the Valley of the Shadow. This we do in confidence that His salvation, based on His Work on the Cross of Calvary, is the only means of peace with God and salvation for our souls.
Christianity is faith in the finished Word of Jesus. He came to this earth with the express purpose of leading us from sin and offering a full salvation, free and clear.
In this conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus we also notice the speaking. ��and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God��
The speaking of Nicodemus began with a polite opening. He even called Jesus �Rabbi.� With this greeting Nicodemus was acknowledging that Jesus was a teacher. Nicodemus was saying that there were things he could learn from Jesus.
This is a very polite greeting. It is also an astounding greeting. This is especially so when one has considered the �official� reaction to the Person of Jesus by the religious elite.
This might help us to set aside our prejudice about other people. We are often ready to judge people by their skin color, or their educational background, or their economic status, or even by their religious affiliation. We sometimes judge them as �unworthy� of our prayers or witness. Too often we judge them as �probably unreachable� to the voice of our witness.
There are two fallacies in this construct. The first is that people are people. They might be members of certain ethnic or intellectual �blocks.� But, first, they are people. As Nicodemus has just illustrated, each individual must be considered as an individual. Even though we prone to judge the �group� to be such and such, the individual stands apart from the group. He is a specific person.
The second problem is that such an ideal on our part is that such a consideration is an attempt to place a limit on the power of God. This is a terrible miscalculation! The convicting power of God can reach across and through social and racial barriers. God is the Creator of all human life. He holds equal love for all humanity in that Jesus died for the sins of all who would come to Him in faith.
Nicodemus also related his own belief that message of Jesus was empowered by God. Nicodemus may have been considering the miracles, but along with this he accepted that the message was of God.
This polite opening of Nicodemus met a response. The response was the perfect oration of Jesus. Jesus didn�t answer with a polite response to the flattering words of Nicodemus.
Jesus understood what was the need of Nicodemus. That need was not intellectual. That need was not in worldly morality. That need was not even tied to the ability of Nicodemus to read and understand the Scripture. The need of Nicodemus was that he needed to be saved from his sin.
Jesus said, in the very next verse, �Ye must be born again.�
Jesus was not interested in rhetorical �give and take.� Jesus was not interested in exposing the flaws of the other. Jesus was not interested in flexing His Own theological muscle and explaining how things should be considered. Jesus was interested in seeing Nicodemus forsake his sin and follow righteousness.
Did you ever stop to watch dogs walking down the street? Sometimes the dogs are walking along sniffing at every object the come across. These dogs are just out taking a morning stroll. They are enjoying themselves by exploring the world about them.
But, some dogs are walking straight to their destination. They are not pulled aside by the scent of another dog. They are not tempted by a squirrel going past them. They are going to a specific place, probably their home, and nothing else really matters to them.
Jesus has the demeanor of that second dog. He, Himself, said, �For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.� (Luke 19:10) Jesus came to this earth for a purpose. That purpose was the salvation of souls.
Jesus came to earth so that He could die on a cross. His mission was that sinners be converted. Here was a man, a Pharisee no less, who was in need of salvation. Nicodemus might not have understood this fact when he approached Jesus. Jesus knew the need even before he met the man.
Jesus wasn�t going to let a �Hi. I�m fine; how are you?� social nicety get in the way of the soul need of Nicodemus. Jesus answered the flowery words of Nicodemus with the remedy for sin. �Ye must be born again.�
Thus, what could have been a very polite �chit chat,� become a very profitable opinion. The opinion was that Nicodemus needed to be born again. This opinion was not something which Jesus kept to Himself. Jesus turned this conversation into a conversion opportunity.
Jesus answered the questions of Nicodemus. Yet, Jesus kept the conversation to return over and again to the soul need of Nicodemus. Ye must be born again.
Nicodemus had approached Jesus with a reasonable speculation. ��for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.�
The greatest miracle of Jesus was when He sacrificed His life on the Cross of Calvary so that He might offer humanity salvation from their sin.
The speculation of Nicodemus was a correct observation. No one could do the miracles of Jesus except God be with him. The main miracle, aside from offering salvation to a lost and spiritually dead world, which was accomplished by the life of Jesus was not, probably, one which was noticed by Nicodemus. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah.
The earthly life of Jesus was a retelling of much of the Old Testament story. The prophecies had declared His birth. The prophecies had declared His life. The prophecies had even declared His atoning death.
A miracle must be tied to the Miracle Book for it to be of God. Satan can, and does, work miracles. He will perform signs and wonders during the Tribulation period. But these will not be tied to The Book.
Scripture is our spiritual guide in this age. We must measure all arguments and claims in the light of the Written Word. The Spirit of God will help us. But, we must be in the Word, conversant with the Message of God, to be able to try the spirits.
The Mormon�s talk of a �burning in the breast� as a certification of their views. Paul warns us of this consideration. �Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.� (I Timothy 4:2)
When we put a piece of meat on a hot iron we might �sear� the meat. This means that the blood vessels on the meat will be burned shut. I had this done to an aneurism once. The doctor found an aneurism in my ear. He �deadened� the area and put an electrode of some sort that sealed off this area. Problem solved. The bleeding stopped.
Folks, we need the Blood of Christ running fully in our spiritual lives. Some have �seared� their conscience to this spiritual life�s Blood. They are not alive to the things of the Lord. Their �feelings� have become untrustworthy as guides to spiritual truth.
If the doctrinal stand is not in this Book, the inspired and preserved Bible, it is not of God. You may be certain that Satan will attempt to guide you into all error. The Spirit of God guides us only as we are in the faith and in the Book. It is this Book that the Spirit uses to illumine our lives to spiritual realities.
Our �feelings� may be attuned to our wants. Our �feelings� may be led astray by the snares of the tempter. Our �feelings� may even be fooled by too much pepperoni pizza late at night.
It is only the Written, Inspired, and Preserved Words of God which will be used of the Spirit to guide us into all truth! We need this Book rather than our feelings.
A correct observation is tied into the complete observation of the Scripture which God has pleased to make available to mankind.
It is in this Word that we can have a certain observation. The single most important observation is that Jesus Christ died in time so that you could live in eternity. �Ye must be born again!�
Have you been born again? Have you ever accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? Now is the perfect time to do so. Come to the Cross and accept Jesus.