Getting Job-ed
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 ESV
Nicodemus is a very interesting character in the book of John. I feel like what most folks take away from John 3 is only verse 3:16, but truly we need to see the address as a whole. This character ends up showing up in two other places in the book of John, and I feel that this is with an intention from the author. What does John want us to walk away with while seeing Nicodemus through the narrative?
Who is Nicodemus and what’s going on in the narrative?
John’s Gospel is the only place where we see him and he is noted as a Pharisee (3:1). He is a teacher of the Jews (3:10), and what’s interesting is that he approaches Jesus at night, more than likely to conceal himself from being seen while coming to talk to Jesus (3:2). So right there, he wants to come to learn from Jesus, but he’s nervous about the association. Nicodemus comes complimenting Jesus by stating no one else can do the signs He does unless He is from God but Jesus cuts right to the point of what He wants to make with Nicodemus- you have to be “born again” to see the Kingdom of God.
This boggles Nicodemus’ mind: how can you be born again? Is this something I can accomplish with my efforts? Jesus rebukes Nicodemus’ status of being a teacher of Israel and by not being able to understand this (3:10). Why does Jesus rebuke Him? Because this notion is all throughout the Old Testament, in that, God will be the acting agent to change the hearts of His people to love Him in the New Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:6, Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 31:33).
So Jesus’ talk with Nicodemus ends after verse 21 and the reader is left with the notion, “what happened with Nicodemus? Does he follow Jesus?” Chapter 4 picks up with a woman from Samaria that responded positively to Jesus’ message, a stark contrast between the Samaritans responding well to the Messianic message and a religious leader (Nicodemus) being perplexed by the long-awaited King.
This is not all we see from Nicodemus
If that was the end of the story, we may have felt that the conversation may have been a waste. However, in John 7, the chief priests and Pharisees are looking to arrest Jesus and Nicodemus is seen back in the narrative saying, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (John 7:51 ESV). This shows something about Nicodemus: the highly influential (and powerful) leaders are looking to kill Jesus and Nicodemus actually stands and says, “we need to listen and learn about what He’s saying before we make a judgment.” The leaders rebuke him in a very cancel culture-ish way in 7:52.
Nicodemus shows up in one more place in the book. John 19:39-40 ESV reads,
Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
The author places him at the cross to care for Jesus’ body and to assist in burying him. The author wants us to remember that this is the same Nicodemus that came at night to approach Jesus out of fear of being seen but now is identifying with the criminal Savior, openly. Where are the disciples at this time? Gone- they’re scared and hiding behind locked doors (John 20:19). Who’s there caring for the body? Nicodemus- a man once afraid to be associated with Jesus is now there. Was this risky for Nicodemus? Yes. Could he have been ostracized and identified as a conspirator by being associated with a wrongly accused false prophet and rebel to Csesaer? Yes.
What does this say about Nicodemus?
Nicodemus went from a man being afraid to even talk to Jesus due to fear of the religious leaders (3:2), to him standing up to the religious leaders (7:51), to then finally, associating with the Savior that was killed (19:39-40). I think we see a real progression here of a man that was afraid and cowardly to a man that is willing to forsake status and safety by identifying with the Messiah. Nicodemus is a progressive character in the Gospel according to John. I think, as Christians, have to also see that we are on a progressive path of sanctification. I think we are in one of two categories: on a path of martyrdom by following the risen Savior or we are falling away from Him. No in-between. Following Jesus is a call to die to everything else other than Him: fame, status, safety, comfort, etc. God Himself is our comfort, safety, and Savior. I think what we see in Nicodemus is a transformation, a regeneration of His heart to something that is unnatural for us: a call to die with the Savior. This only comes from a regenerated heart, the heart Jesus was talking about in John 3:3. This is the only way to accomplish what is talked about in Matthew 16:24-27 ESV,
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
-Austin
