Voices of Lent: Nicodemus

Many thanks to Edie Guyder for sharing her personal testimony of her experience of the light and grace of Jesus! Thanks also go to Bruce Marine for his powerful portrayal of Nicodemus! And as always, thanks to our worship team for leading us to the throne of grace!

The Gospel of John records the only written account we have of a conversation that took place between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. It took place at night time when Nicodemus sought out the rabbi from Galilee. With curiosity, Nicodemus approaches Jesus and starts to investigate who Jesus really is. His quest for the truth takes the conversation through many turns. We can begin to understand the heart of Jesus by paying careful attention to the different aspects of this amazing dialog.

Some People are outright Looking for a reason to Believe in Jesus.
Nicodemus approached Jesus with genuine curiosity and had an openness to the truth. Nicodemus wasn’t your average Pharisee. He was willing to seek Jesus out and interview him in private where he would be willing to form an accurate opinion of who Jesus was for himself. This stood in sharp contrast to the stereotypical Pharisee who is commonly seen in the gospels trying to publically humiliate and discredit Jesus in the midst of a theological debate. Nicodemus had genuine respect for Jesus and even calls him Rabbi. He starts the conversation by making the statement, “We know you are of God…” With this statement Nicodemus admits he already has a reason to believe Jesus is of God. We need to be looking for ways we can share the truth of who Jesus is with those who are open to hearing about him.

Everyone needs to be born again.
Nicodemus asks Jesus to explain and he delves into an explanation of what it means to be born again. Jesus’ answer seems to reference the Ezekiel passage found in chapter 36 where God states that he will “sprinkle water” and cleanse his people. In this same passage God states he will give his people a new spirit and place his Spirit within them, a reference to Pentecost. Jesus then compares the Spirit of God to the wind and states that no one can control it. This teaching on being born again (of water and Spirit) help us understand that all need to be born again (even Israel) and only the Spirit of God can do it. We cannot manipulate the Spirit and make things happen on our own.

Jesus shares the truth of God’s love.
After Nicodemus seems to be confused about the being born again, and the wind teaching, Jesus lays it all out as he explains the entire message of reconciliation. He states that God provides the needed salvation for Israel and the world and tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world…” probably the most quoted Bible verse in history. So the options are salvation or condemnation. This all depends on our belief in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Light of the World
and unless we step into that light, we will certainly die. The problem is stepping into the light means that our evil deeds, imperfections and flaws are visible. This causes some to hate the light and for this reason they never enter it. The greatest thing about stepping into God’s light is that things are seen plainly and God gets the credit for the miracles that have taken place in us. Once we step into the light, we have that light living within us. God calls us to take that light into all the world and share it with everyone. Won’t you join us as we share the light of Christ with our neighbors during this Easter season?