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Nicodemus was a prominent Pharisee, the squeaky-strict, legalistic
sect of Jews. They feared and resented Jesus as a threat to their
power. They would eventually plot and manipulate events to the point
that they caused Jesus to be crucified. The Pharisees were also
highly active in politics. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin,
the Jewish ruling council. So he was a well-known, respected member
of the community. He would certainly be included in the Jewish
"Who's Who."
The third chapter of John reports Nicodemus' encounter was at
night when he came to Jesus. His coming at night was probably an
attempt to be covert, because if he were discovered conversing with
Jesus, his position as a Pharisee and his place in the Sanhedrin
would be in jeopardy. In this encounter, Nicodemus acknowledges that
Jesus must be from God because of the miracles performed.
The climax to the encounter comes when Jesus lays out the plan of
salvation to Nicodemus so succinctly and powerfully that most of the
Christian world today can quote what Jesus said in the precious
hallmark Scripture, John 3:16. "For God so loved the world… ." As
for its impact on Nicodemus, he would never be the same.
The second mention of Nicodemus comes in chapter 7. The Pharisees
are now inflamed by the people flocking to Jesus and begin to plot
his death. In the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus's voice of moderation is
heard in verse 50:
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus
earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law
condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is
doing?"
Here, Nicodemus is seen defending Jesus, a politically risky
position.
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The final reference to Nicodemus is made in John 19:39-40. At
this point, the Pharisees have been successful at having Jesus
crucified. The question arose as to what to do with the body. A rich
disciple comes forward to ask permission for the body.
38 Later, Joseph of
Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a
disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With
Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who had visited Jesus at
night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about
seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus' body, the
two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.
Nicodemus, the Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin who plotted to
kill Jesus, became the one who removed Jesus from the cross, carried
him to the burial plot, lovingly treated his body with spices and
laid him in the tomb. To do this meant Nicodemus had turned his back
on his career, his position and his entire way of life. An encounter
with Christ and a born-again experience had changed Nicodemus
forever.
Prayer: Change us, oh God, we pray. Change us again and
again and more and more. We refuse, oh God, to accept ourselves the
way we are but commit to press toward the goal of the high calling
in Christ Jesus. Casting aside condemnation about past failures and
refusing to let the uncertainty of tomorrow inhibit us, we humbly
submit all we are or think we are to you and ask for a change in our
hearts… right now. Amen. |
