Nicodemus

“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus” (John 3:1).

Nicodemus was highly trained, well-educated, and heavily involved in Jewish religion. It was not to the world, nor even to the rank sinner, that Christ chose to introduce what would be a whole new race of people on the face of this earth. The message that Christ was to bring to this man, as well as to the whole world, was not a message of doctrinal points, nor ecclesiastic ideas, not laws, but it was a message of life.

For 1700 years, God had dealt only with Jews through the Law and had proven during that period of time that they could not keep the whole Law and, therefore, could not earn eternal life. Now it was time to tell Israel, as well as the whole world, that the only way human beings can ever fulfill righteousness or even the fullness of God’s plan would be to have another life placed in them – a life which was in total union and obedience to the Father.

“A ruler of the Jews” (John 3:1).

Nicodemus was not only a leader in a local synagogue, but he was also a member of the Sanhedrin, that lofty organization in Judaism which had only 70 members. This organization was the seat of government for religion. For 1700 years, the organization that ruled over Israel had purported the idea that to keep the Law is to be righteous and spiritual and, in the end, to have eternal life. By this deception, Israel had plunged to her lowest spiritual condition. Whenever the Law is kept – any law, for that matter – with the expectation of becoming more godly or more greatly used of God, then the grace of God is being thwarted.

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God – for no man can do these miracles that you do unless God be with him” (John 3:2).

Certainly, Nicodemus had seen the miracles which Christ performed. The doing of miracles is a tremendous stimulation among human beings. The emphasis is on “doing” – do good works, do miracles, do the supernatural, and you will be godly. But Jesus said that in that day there would be many who had performed great miracles and had even done them in His name, yet were not His. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ – and no wonder, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”


“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).

NOW the most awesome message ever to be brought to this world is about to be delivered. It is no time to talk about how Jesus is a teacher, to talk about miracles, to talk about Israel and her needs. The only thing that is going to make a difference in this world is the message which Jesus must bring at this time. It is ordained to be brought to Israel with all her laws and Mosaic trappings, to come to see that the plan of God has been in operation through the Law whose purpose was to bring man to ultimate frustration and to the message Jesus is about to give. Before the world was ever created, before there was any order as we now know it in this universe, there was a God-idea that said, “WHAT I WANT IS CREATURES WHO CHOOSE TO HAVE MY NATURE IN THEM – MY NATURE IN THE PERSON OF MY SON, JESUS.”

It is announced with finality over Moses’ Law, over Judaism, and over all God’s dealings with religious Israel, that the only way anyone can ever please God is to be born again. Up until this time, every birthing that had taken place had required a natural father placing his sperm into a mother’s ovum; by the union of the two, there was produced another person. Every seed had brought forth fruit of its kind. But now, for the first time in the history of the universe, the God-Son has announced to all creatures that in order to fulfill God’s intention, there must be another kind of birthing. This new birthing would have a new father, not of this earth, not of natural men, but solely from spirit and solely from above – God the Father.

What Jesus has announced to Nicodemus, which was misunderstood by him and is still greatly misunderstood by religion, even by many of those who preach being born again, is that another FATHER would be required in order for the creature to have life. That meant that no creature had true life until that birthing took place, for sinners were dead in their sin and were children of Satan (John 8:44).

It was, of course, impossible for Nicodemus to understand this. This was so far above and beyond any knowledge that had ever been granted to human beings on this earth that it was little wonder that Nicodemus could not understand. But the reason for the universe and its creation was to bring about this new creature, this new race of human beings, who by a choice of faith in Christ as Savior and Lord would contain Christ with the nature of God as their only Life.

Jesus has vividly ignored everything in His past conversation to deliver the awesome message, “You must be born again.” He now is not telling men how to live; He begins His greatest message by telling how they can be made ALIVE by God. This implies, of course, that by religion and natural birth, men are not alive to God.

God’s purpose for humans is not a change or improvement in the sinful nature of people, but rather an EXCHANGE of natures.

Paul put it so plainly in my favorite verse of the Bible, Galatians 2:20:
I am crucified with Christ [my old sinful nature has died and been removed by my new birth in Christ], nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me [by my new birth Jesus Christ now lives within me giving me the nature of God], and the life that I live in the flesh [the new Life, the true Life, of Christ within me] I live by the faith of the Son of God [I am now able to resist sin because I don’t have a sin nature anymore (though being influenced by external things of the world I will occasionally still sin)] Who loved me and gave Himself for me. [The whole reason why I am ABLE to be born again with the nature of God is that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins, past, present and future.]

There is no indication that Nicodemus becomes a believer by this meeting with Jesus. Even when Nicodemus pleads Jesus' case before the Sanhedrin, he probably was not a true believer. We might hope that Nicodemus' final act with Jesus of taking His body off the cross and burying Him could have brought about the ultimate of God in Nicodemus - that he was born again.

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