NICODEMUS EVALUATED

AN EVALUATION OF THE CHARACTER POSITION AND PROMINENCE OF NICODEMUS

           The position and prominence of Nicodemus.

      Two of them are pointed out by John. The third is affirmed by Christ.

Three things are affirmed of Nicodemus in the text. John 3:1, 10. "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews." "Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"

                    

                       As a Pharisee he had religious connections.

                        He belonged to the strictest religious sect in Jewry.
                        Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Essenes.

As a ruler he had Political connections.

           It was no mean distinction to belong to this body.

This was the highest (cf. 7:45-52). "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?" "The officers answered, Never man spake like this man." "Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?" "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?" "But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." "Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)" "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" "They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet."

                       

 As a teacher he had civic connections. John 3:10

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"

            This singles him out from all other teachers in Israel and indicates that he was the most popular teacher in Israel in the sense that he was the most learned.
Yet it was to a man like this that Jesus said "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

The character and integrity of Nicodemus.

            Seven different things appear in the text describing this man.
                    -He was a man of high character. He was not fickle or vain, seeking after the glamorous and the spectacular like the multitude. The conjunction distinguishes him from others
                    - He was a man of deep conviction. He was not carried away with mere appearances or external phenomena. He knew that all that glitters is not gold.
                     -He was a man of clear thinking. He was not drawing conclusions simply because some things seem to go together. He was looking deeper and farther for the proper relation of things. Acts 2:22 point to miracles and wonders and signs as signs of His credentials as Messiah. The crowd was concerned only with the spectacular.
                      -He was a man of wise caution. He came to Jesus by night. His coming by night does not necessarily mean that in fear He was slinking from view by others, though it may indicate caution. His concern was for those who trusted him as a teacher. In such case discretion is the better part of valor.
                      -He was a man of great courage. That it has been the expository habit among preachers to castigate Nicodemus as a coward because he came by night. There is evidence to the contrary. Three times Nicodemus is identified as the one who came to Christ by night (John 3:2; 7:50; 19:39). As a historical fact He came to Jesus by night. It took courage to do what Nicodemus did as recorded in John 7:45-52 and in 19 39f).
                       -He was a man with a sensitive conscience. Such a man must follow the truth where it leads. Jesus would never had unfolded these truth to Nicodemus if He had not recognized in him a man who could be trusted with this sensitive material (Cf. Luke 8:15). To cast pearls before swine is a waste of time.
                        -He was a man of amazing conquest. His name means a conqueror of the people. Why he was given the name Nicodemus  we do not know. But it could well be that a rare quality of conquest was present in him. It is certainly true that he aligned himself with the strictest religious sect. By personal achievement he attained the top in his profession as a teacher. And finally be­cause of some of these rare qualities he was elected to the highest ruling body in Israel.

The prospective Christian existed in this man Nicodemus.
 -Here was a man who was seeking the truth. John 3
      -Here was a man who was defending the truth. John 7
         -Here was a man who was following the truth. John 19.

Nevertheless, Jesus said to him, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."