Thursday: The Witness of Nicodemus
Daily Lesson for Thursday 24th of October 2024
Read John 3:1-21. How does the testimony of Nicodemus support the theme of the Gospel of John?
Nicodemus was a respected teacher in Israel and a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin. His testimony plays an important part in John’s Gospel for several reasons. He referred to Jesus as “Rabbi” and pointed to the signs that Jesus performed as evidence of His divine mission. Hence, even before Nicodemus realized what he was doing, he was giving evidence in support of the Messiahship of Jesus.
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Nicodemus viewed the signs themselves as evidence of Jesus’ divine calling but did not see them as pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. So, Nicodemus came with some doubt; he did not yet at this point recognize Jesus as the Christ.
Read John 3:3-21. What did Jesus say to Nicodemus to show that He could see right through him?
Jesus knows the heart of each individual. His response to Nicodemus may seem abrupt, but He goes directly to the issue. Though the Jews believed that Gentiles needed to be converted, many didn’t understand that they, too, the chosen people, needed a conversion experience. No one is born saved, regardless of their nationality or the church that they were raised in.
Without question, the Jews’ wonderful heritage, going back to Abraham, offered them many distinct advantages (see Romans 3:1-2). But, in and of itself, that was not enough. Jesus told Nicodemus the unthinkable—that he, a teacher and ruler in Israel, must be born again from above!
Jesus then confronted Nicodemus with his own spiritual ignorance: “ ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’ ” (John 3:10, NKJV). How could you, an exalted teacher, not know this? The rebuke must have been stunning.
Despite whatever questions he had regarding Jesus then, Nicodemus later took His side with the followers of Jesus (see John 19:39).
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What does it mean to be “born again,” and why would Jesus put such emphasis on it? |
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Have you ever listened to politicians handling journalists. The journalist asks a question and the politician responds, "That is a very good question, but the real question that needs answering is ...". Jesus listened to Nicodemus's introduction and then floored him with the observation:
That surprised Nicodemus so much, that for a moment, he did not see it as a metaphor.
Nicodemus was a teacher well-versed in the Torah and its practice. Yet Jesus told him essentially that he had to start all over again. In other words, he had a lot of unlearning to do.
The author of the lesson has this to say:
I am going to paraphrase it a little:
I cannot rely on the heritage. I must start again! That is a tough message. Maybe we should spend a bit of time visiting that idea.
The rebirth experience in computer terms; "unless you reformat the hard drive, reload a totally new and updated operating system, scan for viruses and malware, then install new software programs, you can't finish the project".🤔😉
Who wants to start all over? No one does. But that is essentially what Jesus told Nicodemus. "You have been thinking and doing it wrong, all along. And Nicodemus, with you being a teacher of Israel, you should have known this".
God didn't want a people to have a relationship with rules and regulations. He wanted a people that would have a love based relationship with Him. The obedience part would be a natural byproduct of that relationship. The rules would be written on their hearts. This is the essence of the difference between the Old and New Covenants. This is what He always wanted, and what the new birth is intended to provide.
Unless a professed Christian is born again, he cannot have a genuine relationship with the Lord and most likely will keep the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law.
An unconverted "Christian" is one who goes through the formalities of Christianity but whose heart is far from the Lord. One who serves out of fear, obligations, or habit.
Such a person has head knowledge, the facts and theories that are understood by the mind, as opposed to heart knowledge, the knowledge that affects a person's emotions and actions.
The love from the heart that is necessary to serve God cannot be generated by head knowledge or from a heart that is "desperately wicked"; it has to come from a new heart that is created in us through the born again experience.
This is a deep rooted explanation of what Jesus is talking about!
"Create within me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me" Psalms 51:10
Jesus ‘Christ’ – Jesus the ‘Anointed One’, the Messiah! To accept Jesus as a teacher or prophet is not the same as accepting Him as the Messiah. Even though Nicodemus was part of the religious ruling class and rich, his heart and mind were still open – unprejudiced –, curious enough to accept more Truth.
I see a ‘prejudiced’ person to be fearful of loosing the ‘feeling’ of safety associated with a firmly held conviction. For a Christian this attitude is never warranted; it is self-destructive. It fosters separation, animosity – allowing a constant state of competition with ones fellow man. When we are born-again, all this angst falls away giving room to acceptance and even love – willing to go the extra mile.
Inge, in her reply to John Herscher’s 10.23. comment, made an interesting observation: “I don’t believe that "perfection" is a quantitative goal to be reached ..., rather it is an attitude, a set of mind.” I see ‘being born again’ in this same light. When we give up ‘judging one another’ by using man-made norms and standards, we start ‘loving one another’; accepting our differences and not feeling threatened by them. To see the Glory of God in each other - this is the aim of being ‘born again’.
The work of the Holy Spirit is to teach and guide us in our relationship with our heavenly Father; to reflect His Glory. This spiritual birth is equivalent to a new-born babe learning all it needs for the body to survive and thrive. Our spiritual re-birth leads to loving God with all our heart and to accept our fellow man for what he/she is - a child made in the Image of God. John 3:3; Matt.22:37-40.
Unless one is born again...being born again is all about listening to the saviors voice, committing to do his divine will.
Been blessed so much by the lesson and the comments. May God lead us as share the lesson tomorrow, Saturday.
Here’s what I love about the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus: v8 the wind blows where it wishes…
Genesis 1:2 The earth came to be formless and void and darkness was on the face of the deep.
Formless, void, darkness and deep; no life and no ability to support life. Formless, empty, dark and deep, these words represent my life before Jesus. So what changed it? The Spirit of God was moving on the waters. Transforming that which was dead into the source of life. This is the first act of the Spirit in creation and re-creation.
With out the Spirit of God and the water of life, there’s only death.
John 3:15 whoever is believing in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life.
I find 2 ways to look at this, as I first believed, it was me believing in Him, but I came to believe that my belief is wrapped up in Him, He is the author or origin of my belief, and He is the one who brings my belief into fruition and maturity, perfecting it, completing it.
I had no desire in me for Him when He found me, I like what it said yesterday that Jesus found Philip, Jesus was looking for Philip, Jesus was looking for me too. When Jesus found me I was formless and void, dark and deep, deep into a relationship with death. When He breathed into me the breath of the Spirit things changed in my life. I wasn’t looking for change, He knew me, He knew my name, and He knew I needed change. He is perfecting His faith in me, and His faith is becoming my faith. My faith is wrapped up in His faith, and my life is wrapped up in His life. By His grace that will never change.
Here’s another verse I love
Revelation 14:12 Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, those guarding the commands of God and the belief of Jesus.
A precious promise to me from Jesus through the author of this Gospel, the faith of Jesus is given to all who submit to the transforming power of the Author of life given by the Spirit of God, the Word of God. Jesus is praying the Father that He will send the Comforter. All the promises of God in Jesus are yes and Amen.
Shabbat Shalom my friends
Joshua BenHur
The story of nicodemus'encounter with Jesus is a lesson to be learned. Nicodemus, though a teacher, had not experienced the new birth. he got the courage to speak with Jesus. while it appears that Jesus rebuked him but his life was transformed when He accepted Jesus as the messiah. We like Nicodemus may have been born in church but not yet know Jesus .May we like Nicodemus accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour when He visits us.