Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of. We can often discover so much from the Bible with only a

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Joella Dixon
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1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night. We can often discover so much from the Bible with only a few words. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. That means he was a prominent figure, a man of wealth and authority. We know he was a leader of the Jews. So this is a man who would be recognized on the street. He would have trouble stopping in anywhere quickly because people would want to chat. He would have a hard time doing anything in the daylight that everyone would not know about. So Nicodemus comes to Jesus under cover of darkness. He comes at night. He obviously does not want people to see him being in the company of Jesus. He wants to keep it 1

2 hidden. What would people think if they saw him, a leader in the faith, coming to talk to this rebel? But something has drawn him to Jesus. He acknowledges that Jesus comes from God but only because Jesus performs signs that can only come from God. Now signs in John s Gospel do not refer to miracles but as pointers to God. If one witnesses them, they are directed to look to God, similar to the people of Moses looking at the snake on a stick pointing them to God for healing. So Nicodemus has been drawn to Jesus because He points Nicodemus to God, is leading him to God. Nicodemus literally comes out of the darkness of night to be lead to the light which is God. If we read past today s pericope we hear 2

3 Jesus telling Nicodemus that the righteous come to the light and the evil fear the light but retreat back into the darkness. So here we have Nicodemus, one of the original seekers, or in even more modern terms, church shoppers! He has been attracted or drawn to Jesus because he sees something in Jesus that he wants. On another hand, Nicodemus can also be compared to many modern day church goers. They are prominent in society, well educated and have strong social networks. However, like Nicodemus, they want to keep their faith compartmentalized. It is something they do on Sundays but others do not need to know about it. Let s look at the first group to begin with. These are the church shoppers, the seekers. Those who are looking to find something that they are missing. They may be drawn to a 3

4 church because of something they see or hear about it. They may have attended a function at the church and found it caused them to want more. Whatever brings them in the door; it is ultimately the light of God that is attracting them. You may be here today because you felt that pull of God even if you did not recognize it as that. And once in the door, hopefully you felt God s love and the fellowship of believers. Hopefully, you now feel that desire to learn more. And you have stuck around. But, some do not feel the need to go to church. I am sure we have all heard, I don t need to go to church. I can experience God in nature. I believe but don t see why I need to go to a church. Well, Christians, those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, will naturally gravitate toward other Christians and will 4

5 desire to be with them, to learn from them, and to serve them. A person who professes Christ but feels no desire to be among his believing brothers and sisters is not a healthy Christian. As a group of fellow believers, we support each other. We can see examples of others who are leading a Christian life and learn from them. We will have others around who can keep us on the straight and narrow, correcting us with love when the need arises. We can work together to bring the Gospel to the world and to do God s will. We are the body of Christ and that works best when we work together. As we work together we can lose than individualism that is so dangerous. We can see that others are just as important as we are. And finally, when we come together in unity and 5

6 worship God it glorifies God in ways that being alone cannot. Therefore, as true believers, we do need to attend church in order to learn from each other, serve each other and to worship God and further His Gospel. Now on to the second group, the people who come to church, but like Nicodemus, keep it compartmentalized. We have talked about this before, about coming to church Sunday and being a good Christian but then going to work Monday and behaving in other ways. Nicodemus came at night so others could not see him. In later chapters we hear that Nicodemus defended Jesus by asking for a fair trial but is overruled. Here too he does not want to go too far and be identified with Jesus. By the time Jesus is killed, Nicodemus seems to have 6

7 come further as he brings spices to embalm the body of Jesus. However, he still does not fully believe. How many of us are like Nicodemus? We associate with Christians but do not want to take a stand on our faith. We enjoy coming to church but it does not really affect our life. Or maybe like Nicodemus, it takes us a while to develop a deep faith. We do not know what happened to Nicodemus after Jesus rose again but tradition has Nicodemus being martyred sometime in the first century. This leads us to believe that Nicodemus did come to develop a strong faith, strong enough to die for it. Whatever and whoever Nicodemus was, this tale brings us many things to contemplate. May these thoughts and questions gestate in our minds until they develop and are born 7

8 to be held up as signs to those who need to be led into the light of Christ. May this church and this congregation become a beacon for those who are seeking, a true light in the wilderness leading the lost home to Christ. 8

JOHN 3: the kingdom of God unless they are born again." 1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named

JOHN 3: the kingdom of God unless they are born again. 1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named 1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For