1 Now 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.”
What the Lord is Saying: Chapter 2 was a fairly short chapter of 25 verses; Chapter 1 had 51 verses. Chapter 2 had 2 main divisions - The Wedding at Cana and Jesus Cleansing the Temple at Passover. At the end of Chapter 2 is the understanding that many were coming to hear and believe in Jesus, but Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, meaning He was not giving Himself to them or they did not have real faith.
Message: Nicodemus Comes to Jesus
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: Chapter 2 was a fairly short chapter of 25 verses; Chapter 1 had 51 verses. Chapter 2 had 2 main divisions - The Wedding at Cana and Jesus Cleansing the Temple at Passover. At the end of Chapter 2 is the understanding that many were coming to hear and believe in Jesus, but Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, meaning He was not giving Himself to them or they did not have real faith.
But here in John 3 is the record of "Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews." He mentions the signs that Jesus had been doing (2:23 "many....observing His signs which He was doing") and Nicodemus believes that no one can do these signs unless one is from God.
Pharisees would be the primary basis for Rabbinic Judaism following the destruction of the temple in AD 70. They were a strict Jewish sect that believed that God created the world, chose Israel as His people, and rewarded and punished them according to the law or their observance of the Law. And the Pharisees were opponents of Jesus or known to be the one's often questioning Him.
The passage states that "this man came to Jesus by night." It could be that since Jesus was an opponent that he wanted to come to Jesus under the cover of darkness, not to be seen. Or it could simply be that he came to Jesus after the day's activities.
Nicodemus also approaches him with a safe word for him - "Rabbi, Teacher." But even in this pronouncement is an acknowledgement that Jesus must be from God. And again, the reason - he saw miracles he had been doing. In this book, I have only seen a miracle of turning water into wine, but it must be that there were other miracles that John did not speak of directly.
Summary: Nicodemus, observing the signs Jesus was doing, comes to Jesus to remark him as a Rabbi and that He must be sent from God.
Promise: Anyone can come to Jesus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the message of Your word today and the privilege to continue to hear your Words spoken and taught. Holy Spirit, continue to speak and to remind us to be your faithful witnesses as we walk in this world, helping me grab hold of opportunities to share the truth of Your gospel to others.
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