The gospel
channel changes suddenly. No time
reference is provided. No setting is
given at this point. Only the pivotal
players in this developing drama are introduced. The first to be mentioned is the
Pharisee. His name is Nicodemus, and he
is an important man in the Jewish community.
Nicodemus is
important for two reasons mentioned in this text. First, he is important because he is a
Pharisee. Despite the rough treatment
given people using the moniker “Pharisee,” these individuals are considered the
faithful of Israel. Their task was to
raise the standards of the Jewish nation in order to usher in the coming of the
Messiah. How can you fault someone
wanting to raise moral standards, purify the culture, and expel sin from the
Jewish nation? As they understood it,
only then, would the Messiah come to deliver his chosen ones from oppression. Nicodemus was a pillar in the religious
community.
But secondly he is
also a member of the Jewish Council, a group of Jewish power-brokers that are
the brain trust of the Jewish nation. This illustrious group is not only the
moral conscience of the people, but also the movers and shakers. In other
words, they are the decision-makers.
Those are his credentials, placed here for maximum contrast with Jesus’
heaven-ordained credentials. From a purely human perspective, there is no
connection between these two. Nicodemus
is a man of renown. Jesus is still an
unknown. But these two very different
people are on a heaven-ordained collision course. God is always at work moving in my heart to
draw me to Him. He is not moved to act
by my credentials; he is seeking those who are seeking Him, whether they know
it or not. The Light of the World is
about to dawn on the life of Nicodemus.
He will never be the same again.
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