Nicodemus' Response to the Words of Jesus

Nicodemus’ Response to the Words of Jesus

The “Red-Letter Words” of Jesus

Day 36

 

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”  John 7:45-52 (NKJV)

Before we move on to other “Red-Letter Words” of Jesus, let’s take another look at Nicodemus.

At the conclusion of John 3:1-21, nothing indicates that Nicodemus became a follower of Jesus. However, this isn’t the only place in the book of John we read about Nicodemus.

The above scriptures relate the second time John mentions Nicodemus. Prior to the officers (temple guards) reporting Jesus’ behavior to the religious leaders, they had witnessed Him teaching in the temple during The Feast of Tabernacles. Some of the people believed He was the Christ while others refused to believe since nothing good came out of Galilee. As a result, a commotion arose among the crowd. The officers were supposed to whisk Him away, but they didn’t because they were mesmerized by His words (vs. 10-44).

The frustrated Sanhedrin demanded to know why the officers didn’t bring Jesus to them. They accused the guards of being deceived by Jesus. They challenged the officers by asking the wrong question. “Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?” They didn’t realize the answer to their question was “Yes.” We know of at least two Pharisees who believed in Him…Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:38-40).

Both were covert disciples of Jesus. The passage above which reads, “Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them” (vs. 50) indicates he was a secret follower. He pointed out that his peers broke the law by deeming Him guilty before He had an opportunity to defend Himself (vs. 51).

Nicodemus had a lot to lose if he declared Jesus as the Messiah. Did he ever publicly declare his faith in Him? We do know Nicodemus wasn’t ready to make such a statement in these verses. We’ll continue this discussion in the next devotion.

How about you? Are you a covert Christian or are you willing to declare boldly, “…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15[b]).

Father, may my faith in Jesus be bold and steadfast. May I not hesitate to openly declare He is my Savior and my Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

http://www.biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/john/3

http://www.biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/john/3

http://www.biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/john/3