Tonight Our Small Group Will Study the Story of When Nicodemus Came to Jesus at Night

So I thought I’d spend a minute this morning and find out what I can about this guy.

I grabbed my trusty but dusty Bible dictionary and looked him up. Here’s what I found. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. We hear a lot about the Pharisees in the Gospels, but apparently there were not that many of them. They were super religious and they carefully followed the Law of Moses and the traditions of the elders. These guys were rule followers. And they had a lot of rules to follow—like six hundred plus. People looked at these guys as spiritual. They had influence. Jesus didn’t have a lot of patience for them, and he reserved his harshest criticisms for them. (See Matthew 23. He calls them “whitewashed tombs” and a “brood of vipers” — yikes!)

Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin which was a ruling council. I’m not super sure about how this council interacted with the Romans, but it seems at the time of Christ that the Sanhedrin had broad authority and power. It was these guys that were most threatened by Jesus’ teachings. These are the ones that conspired with Judas to have Jesus killed.

So Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. That little detail about the time seems important. It’s likely that Nicodemus didn’t want to be seen with Jesus. Maybe he’d be judged by his buddies at all the Pharisee parties, I don’t know. But he does seem sincere. He says it’s clear that Jesus has come from God. I imagine he had many questions. I imagine he was intrigued by the teaching and the signs and wonders. Perhaps he was trying to figure this Jesus-guy out.

Jesus has some compassion for Nicodemus. Although he is firm with him, and has a high expectation of him, Jesus still instructs him. In fact, he gives an incredibly straightforward message of the Gospel in vv. 13-18, including the most famous verse of all, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

We don’t really know if Nicodemus gets it. I wonder what he was thinking as he made his way back home that night. When he looked up at the stars, was he convinced that Jesus was the Son of Man and the way forward?

John gives record of Nicodemus two more times in his biography of Jesus. In John 7, he defends Jesus saying that the leaders should not condemn him before giving him a hearing. And in John 19, he gives a generous gift of spices to anoint Jesus’ body.

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God is using this story to encourage me and warn me. I am encouraged that even leading scholars didn’t fully understand what Jesus was doing. I am encouraged that Jesus took the time to meet with Nicodemus and show him the truth. I am warned too. It seems Nicodemus was incapable of getting it. He was interested enough to seek more information, but it is unlikely he was ever one of the disciples. Perhaps his knowledge about God prevented him from actually knowing God. I don’t want to just be intrigued by Jesus. I don’t want merely some more understanding. I have a need to know him. I need to follow him. I need to believe him.