John 3.1-21
One man who showed particular interest in Jesus was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. We must remember that the Pharisees, while often the archenemies of Jesus during His earthly ministry, were highly respected among the people. These were men of high regard, men who were committed to upholding the law of God in its finest detail. Many Pharisees, of course, took this commitment to the point of disregarding human needs and even disregarding the God they claimed to serve. But some were honest, thoughtful men seeking to know God’s truth. Such was Nicodemus. Nicodemus would have been highly respected by the people because he was highly respected by the other religious and political leaders of Jerusalem to the degree that he had been appointed to the highest ruling council in the land.
Some have made great claims about Nicodemus’ cowardice due to the fact that he went to Jesus at night, but such claims are far from necessary. The busyness of a man of Nicodemus’ standing and the active ministry of Jesus may have made an evening meeting the best possible time for intimate discourse. We must give Nicodemus credit for seeking Jesus out. He respectfully called Jesus a teacher, or Rabbi, and stated that he and others believed that Jesus had been sent by God. After all, it would take a work of God to perform the kind of miracles Jesus was doing.
Jesus cut to the heart of the matter. He told Nicodemus that, in order to see the kingdom of God, a person must be “reborn" or “born again.” This statement seemingly caught Nicodemus off guard, and he asked Jesus how a person can experience a new birth. Surely this couldn’t be a physically possibility. Jesus went on to explain that being reborn is a spiritual reality. We are born physically to enter into this world, but we must also be born spiritually to enter into God’s kingdom. This spiritual rebirth is a work of the Spirit of God in a person’s heart. It is a work of God that comes by faith. Jesus challenged Nicodemus to reflect on these spiritual realities. He also told Nicodemus that He alone, the Messianic Son of Man, had come from heaven and therefore was uniquely qualified to speak of heavenly truths. Jesus also said that He would one day be lifted up for all to see, speaking of the cross, and that anyone who would believe in Him would have eternal life.
It’s in the context of Nicodemus’ interview with Jesus that we find the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3.16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Faith in Jesus is the key to the new birth. Faith in Jesus is essential to entering into eternal life. Jesus brought spiritual light into a dark world. He shines His spotlight on our sin so that we might look to Him for forgiveness. We must believe in Jesus to be reborn, and we must be born again in order to enter His eternal kingdom. This is the lesson Jesus taught Nicodemus.
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