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1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:1-5, NASB)
Nicodemus, a man who was part of a sect populary known as the Pharisee, a group that were composed of learned men. They knew the law thoroughly . They were people who had most of the law in their minds. Nicodemus happened to be one of these people. Just as history tells us about Paul, that he was a man of great scriptural knowledge, the same was Nicodemus. In fact,in those days, in order to be qualified to be a Pharisee, one had to complete a course on the law. The law must be on ones finger tips. Paul describes himself as a Pharisee when he wrote to the church in Philipi, he said "...circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; (Philippians 3:5, NASB)"
Let's take notice of the expression, as to the Law, a Pharisee. It's very clear from this expression that the Pharisees were people who were very strict when it comes to the knowledge of the law and how the law is applied. This sect had a scorlarly programmed mind that was contrary to the New Testament Spirit worship . All their doings were about how they can practice the law outwardly as the law demanded. They were known to be people of self-righteousness and some too had twisted the scriptures to become a tradition. Because of their principles they couldn't accept Jesus, since they thought the Savior will be a Person who will hate sinners. The thought that the Savior would obey the traditions of His ancestors. But Jesus happened to dissapoint them. He was born in a poor family in Bethlehem, He dinned with sinners (Luke 15:2). He didn't obey their traditions (Mark 7:4-6). This attitude of Jesus Christ lead the Pharisees to hate Him. And so in this passage, one of the true and sincere leaders of the Pharisees sneaked out and came to Jesus in the night.
Here, I would like us to consider some of the striking qualities of this noble man that is worth following and learning as a believer.
Nicodemus allowed himself to be subdued my the power of the Holy Spirit. It appears to me that this is the most striking character of this rabbi. He humbled himself to be taught by the Greatest Teacher. He humbled himself and became obedient to the New Testament Spirit worship. The Bible didn't record the number of the Pharisees that surrendered to Christ's teachings but at least we know that this man didn't allow himself to be caged by the tradition of his sect.
He didn't follow the crowd . Another important thing we can learn from this honorable man is that he could sequester himself from his fellow Pharisees and tap from the 'Enemy' of their sect. As Christians we mustn't become worried about finding few people on the 'narrow way' . That's how the right way is; it has few people (Matthew 7:14). Although we might be alone on our pursuit of biblical truth, we must be encouraged by our Lord's words
'Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God' (Isaiah 40:1) for He had also said in Hebrews that 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee'( Hebrews 13:5). So with these comforts from our Savior Jesus Christ Himself in mind, let's press forward , strive harder and attain the crown of righteousness our Savior has placed in heaven for us. And this must also encourage us as Christians to work hard to fulfill our purpose on earth to the glory of our Father.
"We must learn from people" . Despite his colossal brain on the law, he still humbled himself, overcame pride, and submitted to Jesus Christ. The rest of the prideful Pharisees would sit and rot in their sins and despair other than to go to the Fountain of grace. They were consumed with pride that they couldn't see their God in the flesh. As Christians, we must become lowly, and suck from the brains of others. Knowing that the church is for the edification of others, let's submit to the teachings and ministrations of our fellow Saints. One of my favourite old puritan writters, Charles Haddon Spurgeon gave a taught on this better than I could and he said;
"the man who never reads will never be read:he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.'
But little did Nicodemus know that He was approaching the Man in whom lies all Wisdom, the Man from whom Solomon pled and received his overwhelming wisdom. The Man who created the world without the councel of anyone. How great it is to humble ourselves and learn from our Master! .
Amen.
Thank you and God bless you for taking your time to read this posts.
