194. Nicodemus and Friends

John 7:45-52

Key Verse: "No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.

John 7:46

The temple guards had actually been dispatched by the high priest to arrest Jesus at an earlier time during the feast. (John 7:32) They had obviously been waiting for the right opportunity so as not to ruin the feast with an unnecessary protest. While they waited and watched, they couldn't help but listen and come back empty handed.

Nicodemus must have agreed with the guards. No one had spoken like Jesus before.   We now know that this is because everyone else was only human trying to teach God’s Word.  But Jesus is God revealing God’s Word afresh. Jesus is the original source. No one told Him what to say because He was, and is, the creator of the message.

Nicodemus was one of their own, yet, He knew that there was something different about Jesus. We first met Nicodemus in John 3. He was a member of the religious ruling class, but something in him was drawn to Jesus. At night, away from the crowds, Nicodemus had come to Jesus to talk with Him and learn more. "You must be born again," Jesus had told him.

Now, Nicodemus was encouraging his colleagues to do as he had done, listen. "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" (John 7:51) Nicodemus probably knew the response that was coming.

"Are you from Galilee, too?” (John 7:52A) This was obviously meant to be an insult. Remember Nathanael's comment when Phillip told him about Jesus, "Can anything good come from Galilee?" (John 1:46  Jesus’ message meant nothing to the Jewish leadership. They were closed to whatever He had to say because He didn't fit the template of what Messiah was supposed to be.

I appreciate the example that Nicodemus sets for us here. He has obviously been won over to Jesus. He understands the guards’ hesitation in being willing to create a scene by arresting Jesus during worship. We can see how he is growing in his appreciation for Christ. At first, he came at night so no one would know. Now, however, he has listened and knows enough to use the law to defend Jesus' right to speak. He does not argue, he asks questions. He doesn't storm off in a huff accusing his colleagues of being closed minded, he stays to continue to learn and, perhaps, help the others learn as well. True, perhaps, socially, he couldn't just leave, but just maybe, he didn't want to leave either.

Often, when we come to Christ, if we can, it is good to try to maintain some connection with the friends of our past. We also need to seek out new connections through the Christian community, but if we pull away from the unsaved completely, how will they ever hear the good news that compelled you? However, we also learn from Nicodemus that he did not back down or stay quiet. He took the opportunity that came and the ridicule that came as well. The world doesn't want to know of Christ, but as Jesus shared with Nicodemus, at their first meeting, Jesus is the only hope that the world has. (John 3:16-17) Be like Nicodemus today to your world. Be a true follower of Christ to all you meet, especially to those you meet that you know well. You may be rejected for it. Nicodemus was, in the short term. Who knows what the future will bring?

Hymn: "Lord I Want To Be a Christian"