Today we'll look at two more attributes of the man Nicodemus. The first one is that:
He was an Educated Man - Jesus called him “Israel’s
teacher”.
There had been no
direct voice from God in Israel for 400 years, and here was One whose message
carried the stamp of divine authority. So Nicodemus, sought out Christ. In spite of his culture, position and religion, he needed to be born again by
the Spirit of God. His name, meaning “innocent blood,” Nicodemus came to
realize that his salvation was dependent upon the shedding of innocent blood. "“No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son." - John 3:14-16.
He was also a Man
able to receive the truth and believe. Let's look at rest of Nicodemus' story.
"Later, Joseph
of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of
Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission,
he came and took the body away. He
was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.
Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking
Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.
This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At
the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a
new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because
it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid
Jesus there." - John
19:38-42
Here we see that Nicodemus has come fully in to the "light". He believes in Christ as Messiah, and doesn't care who knows. This was a great act of courage, faith, and showing a "born again" life.
May we always stand in and share the light of Christ. Amen?
