Meet Nicodemus
“John 3:5; Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Here is an out take from a well-known incident that led to this statement by Jesus. But more, the incident led to one of the primary purposes of Jesus’ ministry, the message of John 3:16.
Here we are going to look at and sympathize, a bit, with Nicodemus. We have all been in his shoes regarding various issues of life and “religion.” And this is just a cursory look at the meeting and certain things that prompted the manner in which it came about. I begin at the beginning.
“John 3:1-2; (1) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (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 was “. . . a ruler of the Jews . . .” which means he was either or both 1) the headman of a synagogue and/or 2) a member of the Sanhedrin/Sanhedrim council, a theocratic group that interpreted and enforced the laws of Judaism, this second being the more important of the two here.
This council, though, had many were political puppets, with many of the top folks being money hungry, among other things. The head(s) of it at the time, Luke 2:3, was guilty of jealousy, greed and murder, John 11:47-53. His henchmen were the ones that harassed and finally brought about the death of Jesus. But, it is apparent that Nick was not one of these charlatans, but a man truly interested in doing that which the original Sanhedrin was called to do, Numbers 11:16-17.
Nick was not a puppet, John 7:50, but he was fearful of the being seen by the other members talking with Jesus, John 12:42, so he came at night.
And, by the way, it seems to me that by the time of the crucifixion, Nick had become a believer, John 19:39. Whereas there was fear earlier in his being discovered talking with Jesus, he now goes openly to claim the body.
So now that we know a little about Nicodemus, we might better understand his questions? He was confused about being “born again.”
At this time, Nick was firmly ensconced in Judaism and “living” by the Law. His thought processes were in that mode. But Jesus was speaking of the spiritual rebirth of believers, that which takes place when we receive Jesus as prophet, priest and king, and saviour. Nick was thinking in another vain of manmade rules and ceremonies. And this is still a problem today, even among believers.
Judaism has a number of “rebirths” or ways to be born again. They may vary from sect to sect, but not to any great degree. To be born again in Judaism some believed most or all of the following, and there are other spin offs as well not in my list:
- Being circumcised, the 8th day after physical birth.
- Converting to Judaism. At this time, converts could not be rabbis’ or rulers.
- Baptized, Tevillah ceremony. Ritual immersion which was done (daily?) before sunset.
- Repentance, at least once a year, Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
- Bar Mitzvah, the well-known Jewish ceremony of manhood.
- Marriage. The major belief is that the members of the Sanhedrin must be married.
- Head of a synagogue, a rav, a “ruler.”
- Ha Rav, a teacher of rabbi candidates.
- Crowned a Jewish King and out of the house of David.
Any of these could bring “rebirth.”
By Nicodemus comment, it appears he had done all that was possible for him to do as a man. He may have been facetious in asking how he could do more or start over, or he may have been confused. But in either case, he was a good guy looking for answers. And he found them in Jesus. It may have taken a short while to sink in, but as I said above, he had found what he was looking for in Jesus by the time of the crucifixion.
Jesus made it simple for him (and for us), to be saved. A person only need be born once physically by water, that is amniotic water not baptism, and born “again” spiritually by faith. It hasn’t changed.
The implication the baptism is the water would make salvation an action of man. Ephesians puts a stop to that one:
“ Ephesians 2:8-10; (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
There is nothing man can “do” to receive eternal life. Man is saved by “faith” alone. Faith is not an action as man defines it, but a gift given by God.
So we see, once again, the evils of the improper application of the Bible and confusion of the “Law.”
Here in Nicodemus case, the “Law” was a set of man made rules that confused both issues and simple man, such as we. It is still in the rhetoric of Churches today.
But Jesus is above them all and will save any who come searching with a trusting and searching heart.
“Romans 10:4; For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
Why not ask Jesus to come into your life today and save you?
And for those that have already done this, we should reflect on all that we have because of Him and fix what is lacking.