He came to see Jesus at night... for fear of what others might say or do or think of him. Nicodemus, "a ruler of the Jews" had a lot to lose--his position, not just in the synagogue but with his family, friends, and community, his pride, his safety, his wealth. Surely all could have been jeopardized had the other Pharisees realized that Nicodemus, too, was in danger of following that rabble-rouser, Jesus.
And so he came at night, in secret, with his questions. He had been watching and listening to Jesus, and something obviously was stirring within him. Could this be the Christ? Could this be the long-awaited Messiah? Surely not... but yet, maybe, just maybe?
Surely Nicodemus, as a respected member of the Sanhedrin, the governing body of the Jews, would have known the Scriptures backwards and forwards. He knew the prophecies. He knew the signs and had seen and heard of Jesus' miracles. When almost all of his fellow leaders of the Sanhedrin rejected and hated Jesus and sought for ways to discredit and destroy Him, Nicodemus came and asked and listened intently--seeking, searching, hoping, with a spirit open and obedient to God.
Jesus tells him "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) And a few verses later, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) There it is--clear as day: out of His infinite love, God sent Jesus, that WHOEVER believes in HIM, will be saved and given eternal, abundant life.
More on these astounding verses another day, but right now, I'm thinking about night-time Nicodemus. Can't we all relate to him? So fearful of other's opinions, so uncertain, so careful. He really did have a lot to lose, so I certainly can't blame him. But surely he pondered Jesus' strange and hauntingly piercing words that night for many a night and day in the months to come. He continued to watch and listen and think and remember. He must have had at least one other member of the Sanhedrin who was watching and starting to believe Jesus along with him, for when he came to Jesus that night he said "WE know that you are a teacher come from God..." (John 3:2) Surely they had been discussing it very quietly and secretly among themselves--could this be the Messiah? Should they say something? Should they oppose the mounting tide of criticism and animosity against Jesus by their fellow leaders?
And what about Jesus' mysterious words to Nicodemus that night: "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life." (John 3:13-14) Jesus referred to an occasion hundreds of years earlier when the Israelites were wandering around the wilderness for 40 years. Because of their sin, poisonous snakes were killing the people right and left. God told Moses to make a bronze snake, put it up on a wooden stake and lift it up over the heads of the people. All who would look up to the snake and believe would be saved from the venomous snakes. (Numbers 21:9) Surely Nicodemus turned these words and their meaning over and over in his mind during the following months and wondered and hoped....
Months later, on that terrible Good Friday, did Nicodemus watch this God-man as He carried His cross? Surely he stood at the back of the crowd as they nailed Jesus to the cross, and then slowly, slowly raised Him above the crowd. Nicodemus saw the top of the wooden stake, then the battered, bloody head, then the bruised and torn shoulders and arms as Jesus was raised up high above the people. Could it have been at that moment that it suddenly hit Nicodemus? The very words of Jesus, playing in his mind: "so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life." Lifted up on that wooden stake, like the serpent. The people in the wilderness, the people at the foot of the cross, looking up, believing, and thereby gaining life. Surely then the words of Isaiah and the prophets flooded upon Nicodemus: "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:3-5)
How I wish I could have been there to ask Nicodemus, "What was the moment? When was the moment that you knew, that you believed?" For we know when he acted. He and Joseph of Arimethea, "who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews" went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Nicodemus and Joseph lovingly prepared Jesus' body for burial and placed it in Joseph's own brand new tomb. (John 19:36-42) O how I love this. They had nothing to gain, everything to lose. Jesus was dead. His opponents had seemingly won resoundingly.
And yet now Nicodemus and Joseph came out in the open and declared their loyalty to this One who had died for them. They now feared and loved God far more than they feared their fellow man for they had seen their Messiah beaten and battered and bruised for their sins, lifted high upon a wooden cross, and watched as this sinless One died the death that should have been theirs, and ours. They believed and loved and acted. Perhaps it was too late, but nonetheless, they would express their worship and their love in the only way they knew how: by openly caring for His body and preparing God for burial.
Until the third day. And then, O Joseph, you could have your tomb back, sanctified, glorified by the risen Savior! The Savior you had secretly followed until it was seemingly too late, but with God, it is never too late. It is never to late to go to the foot of the cross in repentance. It is never too late to begin again, by the grace of Almighty God. It is never too late to go to the Lord Jesus, to the One who was lifted up, and ask Him to forgive you and ask Him to be Your Lord and Savior. It is never too late to worship and serve and love greatly because you have been forgiven and loved so infinitely greatly.
It is never too late for you or for me. Go to the Savior. Go to the cross and look up and believe and receive the gift of salvation by "the way, the truth, the life." No matter where you have been, no matter what you have done, it is never ever too late. Come today. Come now. He is waiting. To God be the glory.
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