Nicodemus in the Dark: Meditations on John 3

The engagement of Nicodemus with Jesus in John 3, seems full of mystery and enigma.  He is a teacher of Israel, in so far as he is entrusted with the responsibility to teach the people God’s Word.  And yet, together with the other teachers of Israel in the Sanhedrin, both Pharisees and Sadducees, he cannot come to terms with who Jesus is and what He is saying to the people.  The teacher of Israel is caught in a dilemma, which drives him toward a choice.

Nicodemus, struggling within himself and between his fellow rabbis, chooses to come under the cover of darkness, so that he might talk with Jesus.  This must have been very hard for him to do, since the divisions and distrust burbling up amidst the teachers of Israel could culminate in expulsion from the life of the people… or even from living at all.  Nicodemus avoids the eyes of his brother Pharisees, and comes to Jesus with his questions and troubles.  This is by no means a brave act, fearing for his own social standing more than his desiring of the truth.  But interestingly enough, even this pragmatic, perhaps even cowardly approach, Jesus does not turn back.

Nicodemus reveals the core of his confusion, by declaring that he, together with others, knows Jesus has come from God, for no one could do what Jesus was doing, had God not been with Him.  This simple knowledge appears to torture Nicodemus, since such knowledge can only result in one of two conclusions:  either to believe and follow Jesus, or to reject God in unbelief.  He knew there was no third path.  Once he understood that Jesus came from God, to reject Jesus meant to reject God Himself.  And yet, what Jesus brought from God so stymied the teachers of Israel, that they would eventually seek His death.  It is a painful and miserable place to be, caught between the horns of the divine dilemma:  to believe, or to reject, what is already known in the heart and mind.

In Nicodemus’ tortured state, Jesus speaks to him both Law and Gospel.  There is no view of heaven granted to any man, who is not born from above by water and Spirit.  No one, the teachers of Israel included, would taste of Heaven, unless they were born again by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.  Nicodemus was utterly incapable of giving himself new birth, and he knew it… which sends him back into the bleak contemplation of returning once again to his mother’s womb.  Jesus lifts Nicodemus despairing eyes once again to higher things, and teaches him that what the Spirit does is unfathomable to the human heart, but it is His work, none the less… and those born from above by Him, would reflect His image, ways, and means.

The Gospel that Jesus gives to Nicodemus, is the same He offers to all mankind, regardless of wealth or social status:  whoever believes on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be saved.  Even this belief is brought to the believer, so that they might approach Jesus to receive His grace.  Nicodemus has believed that Jesus came from God, almost as if against his will—but Jesus tells Nicodemus that such knowledge and belief is a gift of God’s Holy Spirit, and all who live by such faith, shall live forever.

To the converse, Jesus tells Nicodemus, that those who reject Him, are condemned already.  Having never been born from above by water and Spirit, rejecting even what they have been made to know is true about the Son of God, they remain dead in their trespasses and sins.  They will remain in their unbelief and rejection of God, which will be manifested in their running away from the light, seeking out rather the cover of darkness, for they know their deeds and hearts are evil.  For those who reject God in the person and work of Jesus Christ, crucified for the sins of the world, there is no hope at all, for they have rejected the only means given under heaven by which any man may be saved.

And so, this short portrait of Nicodemus is left to our contemplation.  Like him, we often seek the darkness of night to hide our evil hearts, full of unbelief and wickedness.  Like him, we often despair, knowing what we should believe and trust, yet torn with the desire to reject the truth in search of our own lusts and idols.  Like him, we are drawn to the light of Christ, but we fear what that holy and divine Light may reveal of us to the world.

But like Nicodemus, the promise of Christ still rings out to us.  For He knows already the darkness that lies within us, and the evil curse of sin that ravages our bodies and souls.  He knows all too well the wages of sin, and the death we have brought upon ourselves.  He knows, and in His divine knowledge, He has done all that is necessary to save us from the fate we have earned.  With His body broken and His blood poured out for the sins of the world, He has done all things you need for the salvation of your crippled body and soul.  He has sent to you His Holy Spirit, that you might believe and live in Him, so that death and sin may no longer reign in your bodies or your hearts.  The Gospel of Salvation comes to us, so that we who sit in darkness, may see His great Light:  for God so loved the world, that He have His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life.

As blessed David concludes his 29^th Psalm, so also we may sing:

¹⁰ The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,
And the Lord sits as King forever.
^{11 Lord will give strength to His people;}The
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Amen.

Commiting our work to God-- Meditations at the beginning of Pentecost

Among the various transitions we find ourselves in during this time of the year, is the one between Easter and Pentecost.  As we read through the Acts of the Apostles, we find that after Jesus’ Ascension, the Disciples are waiting on the Lord’s promise of the Holy Spirit… a power they wouldn’t come to understand until it fell upon them.  As they waited, they lived together in the unity born of Christ’s Word and Sacraments, in love for each other and with a common hope in the Risen Christ.

Not long after, Jesus’ promise fulfilled, a great power descends upon them.  This power from the Holy Spirit gives them gifts of healing, speaking in foreign tongues, and even raising the dead—but most importantly, it gives them power to be witnesses to Christ’s saving work in a dark and dangerous world.  The power given to them is manifested in many ways, but the goal of that power was to speak truth in the darkness of their time, so that many might hear the Gospel, believe, and live in Jesus forever.  The greatest miracle that the Holy Spirit did through the Apostles was nothing other than raising dead sinners unto eternal life, by grace through faith in the Son of God.

This power of the Almighty Holy Spirit, continues to move through the Church today, wherever we find the Word of God preached in its purity, and the Holy Sacraments administered according to Christ’s command.  Where the Holy Spirit moves through the means of grace, people are raised from the deadness of their sin and unbelief, and given new life by faith in Jesus’ vicarious atonement for them.  It is a power awesome to behold, and a mystery before which we tremble—that God should give such gifts and power to be administered by poor, wretched sinners, such as ourselves.  But such is the wisdom of God, that He makes His strength perfect in weakness.

But there is another side to this awesome power, given to the Church, and we must grapple with it as we enter into this season of Pentecost.  Not all who hear, will believe—not all who come face to face with Jesus through His means of grace, will repent and believe the Gospel.  God allows His greatness to be mocked and scorned by the sinful world, and His grace to be trampled under the feet of wicked men.  In God’s great love for the whole world, there is not a single soul for which He has not suffered and died, and yet we know that some people will respond to His love with spite and hatred.  God’s love at work in the world is a sacrificial love which suffers itself to be scorned and wounded, so that by all means, some might be saved.  Such is the immensity of our God’s mercy and love for us.

And for we who are grafted into our Risen Christ, our suffering and rejection will reflect that which is given to our Lord.  Sometimes, even the best of our efforts to love our neighbor, will be rebuffed and spat upon, leaving us wounded and bruised, perhaps even martyred.  Part of carrying our cross in the world, is to bear witness to Christ and His love for mankind, even when mankind refuses to listen—even when they harden their own hearts, plug their own ears, and refuse to be healed by our God who seeks them out.  How are we to respond, when we are spitefully used, abused, and mistreated?

Our answer is found in the Cross of Christ.  When He was ridiculed and scorned, He prayed for those who were in the very act of murdering Him.  Upon His resurrection, He brings peace and blessing to those who abandoned Him in His darkest hour.  To a world which condemned Him, He brought the everlasting Gospel of Salvation.  And to we who are grafted into Him by grace through faith, He gives the power of His Holy Spirit, to endure all things for the love of each soul that the Blood of Christ has been poured out to redeem.

In Christ, we commend to our Lord, all the works of our hands, hearts, and minds.  It is He who has done all, suffered all, and won all for us—and not only for us, but for the whole world.  In Him we work, not by compulsion of the Law, but by the impelling of the Holy Spirit and the divine Love which has been poured into us.  Our works are not our own, and neither is our suffering, nor our joy.  All that we have and are and shall be, is hidden in Christ Jesus our Lord, who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things.  To Him we commend our labors of love, and to Him we send up our groaning and tears, just as we also send up to Him our thanksgiving and rejoicing.

As we enter into the heat of Summer, and the work of the Kingdom of God weighs heavily upon us in the noontime heat, may we always remember the Living Lord who has suffered all for us, and keeps us together with Him for eternity.  When viewed from heaven’s eternal perspective, this short time of our labors comes and goes like the streak of a meteor across the sky—suddenly here, and then in only a few short decades, it is over.  Nevertheless, we are His, and He is ours; our salvation and our hope and our blessedness are guarded in Jesus forever.  Let the world do its worst, and the devil make his schemes.  We belong to Christ, and our work is committed unto Him.  Blessed be the Triune God, now and forevermore.  Amen.