Nicodemus in the Daylight
Good Morning Friends,
I really do love the process of birthing these devotionals each day. Putting them out commits me to being a more transparent Christian. Reading and praying over the passage generates seeds of ideas, which brew and stew and take shape and begin to grow. This morning in reading the passage, and looking for ways to make sense of it to all for you I took a journey from skeptical Pharisee to that place of awe at the foot of the cross. I thought about all those polite protestors in Hong Kong and the fate of their actions. My journey was in need of a good night’s sleep, kind of like the character of whom I write…I needed to awake to peaceful change in Hong Kong and a Nicodemus in the Daylight.
Scripture:
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit
gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him 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.
John 3:1-21 (NIV)
Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:39-42 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.”
Luke 12:8 (NIV)
As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
Mark 10:17-22 (NASB)
Message: The Bible tells us little about Nicodemus. But this name “Nicodemus” gives us some insight. You see it is made up of two words, a word which means “to conquer,” and one which means “the common people.” The total word means, “One who conquers the people.” And maybe that is why Nicodemus was so interested in Jesus…this Jesus the Messiah who had captured the attention of the common people engaging with them with their faith heritage to create something new. But what soon becomes evident in the battle for power over the people and of the people is that following Jesus would require a commitment that would cost Nicodemus a great deal….Not unlike the Rich Young Ruler…Nicodemus would be asked to give up everything. It’s true throughout all of Scripture….Following Jesus isn’t something you can do at night where no one notices. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day commitment that will interfere with your life. That’s not the small-print–that’s a bold guarantee.” And here if we claim that we too need to be born again, because of what Jesus said that to Nicodemus, then we might just have to sell everything we have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to the Rich Young Ruler too. I guess we all need to look into our hearts with Jesus to understand what the commitment is going to require of us. Surprisingly, after Jesus’ death, Nicodemus brought close to 100 pounds of spices to the tomb to help Joseph of Arimathea prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Such a large amount of myrrh and aloes would be difficult to conceal, but at that point Nicodemus seemed unafraid for his connection to Jesus to become known. Why, after Jesus had died, would a man of Nicodemus’ standing risk his reputation? The answer is I think that Nicodemus after sleeping on it awoke believing that Jesus was the Messiah.
Pray Jesus looks into our hearts. Pray we get the chance to be born again and give it all away. Pray we are Holy Spirit inspired in our proclamation of the Word. Pray we come to Jesus for an explanation, greater clarity, and knowledge so we can explain to others how God works connecting it all together in a way that makes sense. Pray we wrestle with our stubborn literalism and be led by Jesus into the deep mystery of faith. Pray we receive the challenge to believe in and receive the challenge of God’s love. Pray we realize that we have to be all in for the commitment to bring a Kingdom Transformation.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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