Nicodemus and a Well Known Verse
Early in Jesus ministry, there was a genuine curiosity about Jesus among some of the leaders of the Jews. But there was also fear for their standing with their peers. This hasn't changed much with time. How many young people have an interest in God, in Christ, and in Christianity, or at least some desire for something more than they have today, but who are afraid of what their peers would say if they started going to church? How many Christian kids who grow up going to church stop when they get out on their own or just get to high school because they want to fit in with their secular friends?
I wish that more Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit and moving as the disciples did 2,000 years ago. I pray that I could get close enough to God for Him to trust me to work for Him in that capacity. But without the power of God being as visible in the church today, it is easy for many to drift away or choose not to seek out answers in Christ. We need to each pray that God will use us to correct this trajectory that the church is on. The Azusa Street Revival was a pivotal moment in the recent history of the church. But a century has passed, and I find we need another outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And we also need to be doing a better job of spreading the work of God that is against what is physically possible when it happens.
Nicodemus found himself in this position. He'd perhaps heard Christ speak. Maybe he'd witnessed or heard of the miracles that Christ was performing. He had a genuine curiosity, but also a genuine fear of what his friends and fellow leaders would think of him if he turned to Christ. So in the dark of the night, he came to see Jesus. He acknowledged that God must be working through Jesus because miracles that were being performed couldn't happen without God. In John 3:1-21, they have a discussion about what it means to become a Christian.
If you have ever wondered where the expression "born again" comes from, it is from verse 3 where Jesus says that a person must be born again to see the kingdom of God. This confused Nicodemus as he was thinking of physical birth as opposed to spiritual birth. Jesus explains that a person must be born of water (physically) and of the Spirit (spiritually) to enter the kingdom of God. The Spirit birth is spoken of as a mystery like the wind. You can hear the sound of the wind, you can see its effects, but you can't see where any given element of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, or any of the other things that are in our atmosphere go.
Nicodemus is still confused and Jesus is surprised that a master of Jewish faith is having trouble understanding what He is saying. After all, He wasn't saying anything He hadn't been saying to His disciples, and they got it. If Nicodemus couldn't understand what he was seeing with his own eyes, how would he understand anything serious Jesus had to say? He then lays out the essentials of His mission. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so He would be lifted up and would then ascend back to heaven. Anyone who believed on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
And the whole reason for this is summed up in John 3:16-21, which most can quote parts of.
3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Jesus came to provide a sacrifice for sin that was acceptable to God, and to provide a simple way for mankind to be made acceptable to the Father. The process is simple. Believe that Christ's blood will save you. Trust in the promise of the Father. That takes you out of the condemned category. But if you choose to not believe, then you are already condemned because once you've heard about Christ and His work on the cross, you are required to make a choice. If you refuse to believe in Christ, then you are lost. The light, Christ, came into the world to save the world. But men frequently shy away from the light because they prefer a life of sin. Those who do evil hate Christ because they are in darkness and Christ is life. If you choose Christ, the works that you do from then on should move to those of light instead of darkness because you know you will one day stand before God where everything you have done will be put under His light.
I don't know what Nicodemus made of all that. The fact is, he is dead and buried, and his soul has gone on to judgment. There isn't anything I can do about Nicodemus. But if you're reading this, you can still make the right choice. Don't worry about your friends. No matter how hard they make your life, or your relatives make your life, or your co-workers make your life, it is your life on Earth and your eternal life at stake. Make the right choice, and make it now. If you need help, read The Gospel Message for some scriptures and a sample of what you might say in a prayer.
John the Baptist's Work
About this time, various people went and talked to John the Baptist who was still doing his work calling the people to repentance (John 3:22-36). They said both Jesus disciples were baptizing and so was John, but that people were flocking to Jesus. John said the only thing he could. I'm doing the work I was called to do. I can't do more than heaven allows. It isn't my place to outshine Christ, in effect. I've told you I'm not the Christ, just a messenger who came before Him. I am nothing more than the friend of the bridegroom, and I rejoice and have joy in Christ.
He must increase and I must decrease. What humility John the Baptist had! He closes with essentially the same message that Jesus had just told Nicodemus. The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hand to control. Believing on Christ will give you eternal life. Not believing on Christ will cause the person to receive the wrath of God, both on earth and eternally.
It doesn't get much more black and white than that. Darkness and light. That's all there is. There are no shades of grey.