John 3:1-13 tells us the beginning of the story of Nicodemus…
And while it is the beginning, it is a wonderful story and one that should be the basis for all of our lives.
What can we learn about Nicodemus from this passage?
He is:
A Pharisee (v. 1)
A member of the Jewish Council (v. 1)
Jewish religious Leader who believed Jesus
A Teacher of Isreal (v. 10)
Nic (I’ll call him Nic for short – takes a lot of time to type Nicodemus…) is a Jewish Pharisee, a member of the council and someone who believes in Jesus.
He has to come to Jesus under the cover of darkness because he can not be seen coming to Jesus or someone might turn him in as a follower and not worthy to be on the council or a Pharisee anymore…
we also know he is a teacher but it seems he still has a lot to learn.
What in particular did Nic not understand about Jesus’ teaching? Jesus said a man must be born again… And Nic had a hard time comprehending this. I wonder if we understand what this means? There is a lot of emphasis put on baptism and faith and being born again, but really what does all of this mean?
Is it necessary to be baptized to enter the kingdom of God? Martin Luther said yes, and so do many in the church today. Yet I ask you were the disciples baptized? There is no biblical witness to them being baptized. And what about the thief on the cross, to whom Jesus says, “Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise.” Was he baptized? We do not know, but Jesus told him he is going to be in paradise.
So what does it mean you have to be born again? Maybe the word is not born again…
The word translated again in the original Greek means of place from above or of future time, indicating repetition anew, again…
So maybe it is You must be born from above, or you must be born anew… It is what we Lutherans like to refer to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever…
Maybe when Jesus says you must be born of water and spirit this is what he is referring. All of us are born of water, there is water involved in our earthly birth and the spirit seals us when God moves in and through our lives with the gift of Faith that manifests itself in the way we live to point others to Jesus. Yet I digress… This is suppose to be about Nic and how he is a model fro us all…
Nic did not understand this, but he questioned and sought to understand. But is chapter 3 of John the last time we see Nic?
No…
Where else is the story of Nic told to us? John 7:50-52 Nic asks a question of the Jewish council trying to arrest and put him to trial. He makes a stand for Jesus in the Jewish Council. He stands up for Jesus publicly. He goes from a person seeking under the cover of darkness to a person who defends Jesus.
And again Nic comes to us in John 19:39-40 Nic with Joseph of Arimathea go and get Jesus’ body from the cross to bury him Here he is risking a lot coming and doing this. He shows a steady growth over the story of his life in the gospel John.
And you see that is what God wants from all of us, to seek him under darkness if we need to, to showing our faith out load in our daily lives, to openly living out our faith and showing the world how much Jesus means to us.
God seeks steady growth and not instant perfection!
aSacredRebel 