The Shift

Today we are going to talk about someone who is a prominent figure, but we actually don’t know that much about him; today we are going to talk about Nicodemus. 

Today’s appearance of Nicodemus is only one of 3 times we encounter him (today’s account, when he defended Jesus to the Sanhedrin, and when he helps Joseph of Arimathea with Christ’s body after the crucifixion).  John’s Gospel is the only Gospel account that makes any mention of Nicodemus. 

Nicodemus is a Pharisee.  This is plainly stated for us.  We also see that he isn’t just a Pharisee, but we see that he is a leader.  This is someone who is set apart.  He was also a member of the Sanhedrin Court or Council, which was a collection of 23 or 71 elders in the Jewish tradition that convened to sit tribunal, given the authority to rule in matters of law (think adjacent to our Supreme Court). 

Nicodemus would have been a highly educated man, having attended the best schools with the best education.  He was respected, revered, and sought after. 

With all Biblical characters, there are some we can easily relate to and others not so easily.  For me, personally, Nicodemus is someone I can easily relate to.  If we were to psychologically profile Nicodemus, he would be someone who would be left brain dominant, preferring finite and measurable tenants (such as law) over more ambiguous matters.  He would be someone who was probably fairly matter of fact, who thought deeply before he spoke, and who chose reason over emotion.  He would have immersed himself in his work and his position and would have taken these things very seriously. 

The law that the Pharisees studied and maintained was, as we know, Mosaic Law; this being the rigid set of laws and guides Moses instituted many years prior.  We are all familiar with these laws as recorded in the Torah, particularly Books 2-5 in our Canonized Bible (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).  It was through this qualitative measure that religion was found.  And we’re all familiar with these laws; these laws taught us how to treat our slaves, how to sacrifice, the disenfranchisement of women and children, what clothing not to wear, how to and not to plant your crops, when you (women, particularly) could and couldn’t come into town or the temple based on cyclical medical conditions.  Not only did the law lay out these terms, it also quantified punishment for violation; what happens if you committed adultery, what happens if you murdered, what happens if you broke a contract, what happens if you steal, etc. 

This law and its adherence was the end sum of their religion.  Following the law meant a happy God; not following the law meant an unhappy God.  And that’s how things had always been…until….

We don’t know when, or where, or how, but Nicodemus has heard of Jesus and his teachings, and has gone in the cover of night to talk to Jesus.  I’m sure the things he had heard, whether first hand or through traveling word, were upsetting to Nicodemus.  Here is a man who claims to have the authority to make a new way; a way not of law but of love.  This is contrary to everything Nicodemus knows and stands for. 

We are all familiar with the conversation that follows.  Nicodemus knows that Christ truly is of God…he believes this based on the signs and miracles Jesus has performed.  While he understands this, he doesn’t understand the next statement from Jesus:  “no one can see the kingdom without being born from above”.  Now, Nicodemus’ response may seem odd to some and logical to others.  We have the benefit of the entire Gospel’s understanding when we read this text, but he did not.  His rebuttal was very literal: how can a grown man physically go back through the birth process again?  But being a very literal man who dealt in the literal interpretation and application of the law, I can totally see why he would have thought that…and if I were in his shoes I’m not sure I wouldn’t have thought the same thing (spoiler alert: I tend to be extremely literal and gullible if you didn’t already know that).  Jesus continues on explaining that this rebirth isn’t physical, it’s of water and the Spirit.  And then we get to probably the most famous text in all of the Bible:  John 3:16.  All of us an quote John 3:26…people who have never read the Bible can quote John 3:16. 

If the law was the end sum of religion as Nicodemus knew it, John 3:16 became the end sum of the new thing God was doing.  And as easy as John 3:16 is to understand, I’m sure Nicodemus struggled with it all the same.  That was, after all, not how they had ever done or understood things before.  And I would imagine that this good news wasn’t good news to Nicodemus at the time.  He had invested a lifetime in ritual holiness.  But at some point, Nicodemus actually got it…he overcame his intellectual and legalistic obligations and opened himself to this new thing that was happening; even if it didn’t make sense.  This was a tremendous leap for Nicodemus, and this is exactly what faith is.  Nicodemus was moving from a system of checks and balances to a system of grace and love. 

We as 21^st Century Christians have never been required to live under this Mosaic Law and a system where God keeps score in this way.  We entered into this relationship with God through Christ knowing John 3:16…but do we realize that?  In our relationships with others, with the church, and with the world, are we living and offering this grace through love, or are we still stick, like poor Nicodemus was, keeping score using an old system of laws that no longer hold value or contextual necessity?  We who are gathered here today…we know that Jesus came because God so loved the world and that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, and we know that to be true for ourselves; is there anyone we think this isn’t true for, because they aren’t worthy?  Because they don’t fulfill the law?  Because they don’t deserve it?  Suddenly, maybe the struggle Nicodemus faced has come into focus and isn’t so foreign after all….

The love God has for us knows no limitations…it’s a love that we struggle to understand, and because of our human limitations probably can’t fully, but I would challenge you today to stop quantifying people based on their actions, their lack of actions…and start offering this grace through love based on the simple qualification of all people being a whosoever.