The Lord graciously makes Himself known to those who are hungry and thirsty. Jesus told His disciples that those seek, ask, and knock will find Him. Below is a powerful story of a seeker who found Truth!
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:1-8
Nicodemus was not an ordinary Jewish man. He was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jewish people. The Pharisees were a powerful group of people whom others looked up to. He was a scholar of Jewish law and tradition. They were supposed to provide answers and directions to ordinary people. However, at this moment, Nicodemus came to Jesus to seek answers to his questions. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). God does not look down upon those who seek Him regardless of their position or status. As a matter of fact, God is always willing to fill those who hunger after truth and righteousness. Nicodemus was one of those individuals.
It takes much courage to seek the truth when others look to you for truth! It would be as if your pastor or spiritual leader sought answers for the very things that people look to them to find answers for. Once one is in a leadership role, it is very difficult for them to admit that they need answers to their questions. Sadly, some churches do not preach the whole truth, but the leadership seems content to be doing what they are doing. They are not necessarily looking to change their ways or desiring to seek deeper truth than what they know. This was not the case with Nicodemus. He came in the night to find answers about Jesus and the truth He was preaching. There are a few important things we can learn from Nicodemus from the above passage:
First, Nicodemus was not afraid to admit that he was seeking for truth. He was willing to humbly come to Jesus and ask questions. However, at this point, he was not ready to admit this to his fellow Pharisees that is why he did it at night and in private.
Second, Nicodemus was not willing to settle for what he had heard about Jesus. Nicodemus knew that if he wanted to find the truth about Jesus, he had to have his first-hand experience with this man. It is easy to rely on other people’s information about someone and not make the effort to find the facts for ourselves. However, what we hear about someone (especially when they are controversial individuals), could be partial truth laced with much opinion and bias.
Third, he admitted that there was something special about Jesus. He had heard about Jesus and his miracles. He was aware that he and his fellow religious counterparts were not able to do any of the miracles that Jesus had performed among people. Not only, Nicodemus did not question those miracles, but he also considered them from God. Furthermore, because Nicodemus was hungry and thirsty for truth, he did not consider Jesus as a threat to his position. He was looking for fullness that comes from truth rather than being full of himself because of his position in the community.
Fourth, when Jesus told him that he must be born again to see the Kingdom of God, Nicodemus was not offended. He could have been angry about the fact that Jesus was telling him that he had no place in the Kingdom of God despite being a religious leader. Even though being born again was a paradigm shift for Nicodemus’ worldview, he did not reject the truth. Instead, he asked questions to better understand what Jesus was talking about.
You may have grown up in church or religious tradition. You may even have been baptized at some point. However, in order to be born again, we all need to accept Jesus as our Savior by believing that He died for our sins, repenting, and asking for His forgiveness. Please click at the top of this page for Salvation Prayer if you need to become born again Christian.
Once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, then the journey begins. He cleans us from all sin and unrighteousness. The Lord gives us a new nature and seals us with the Holy Spirit to become His child and begin a new life in Him. It is the greatest and most important decision of your life because it is about your eternity and God’s purpose and call in your life. It is a decision that must be followed by obedience and living a life that honors Him.
What did Nicodemus do with the information he received? Did it change him? I will share this in the next devotional.