ssessed talents of no ordinary character,
and he was an honored member of the national council. With others,
he had been stirred by the teaching of Jesus. Though rich, learned, and
honored, he had been strangely attracted by the humble Nazarene. The
lessons that had fallen from the Saviour’s lips had greatly impressed
him, and he desired to learn more of these wonderful truths.
Christ’s exercise of authority in the cleansing of the temple had
roused the determined hatred of the priests and rulers. They feared
the power of this stranger. Such boldness on the part of an obscure
Galilean was not to be tolerated. They were bent on putting an end
to His work. But not all were agreed in this purpose. There were
some that feared to oppose One who was so evidently moved upon by
the Spirit of God. They remembered how prophets had been slain for
rebuking the sins of the leaders in Israel. They knew that the bondage
of the Jews to a heathen nation was the result of their stubbornness
in rejecting reproofs from God. They feared that in plotting against
Jesus the priests and rulers were following in the steps of their fathers,
and would bring fresh calamities upon the nation. Nicodemus shared
these feelings. In a council of the Sanhedrin, when the course to be [168]
pursued toward Jesus was considered, Nicodemus advised caution and
moderation. He urged that if Jesus was really invested with authority
from God, it would be perilous to reject His warnings. The priests
dared not disregard this counsel, and for the time they took no open
measures against the Saviour.
Since hearing Jesus, Nicodemus had anxiously studied the prophecies
relating to the Messiah; and the more he searched, the stronger
was his conviction that this was the One who was to come. With many
others in Israel he had been greatly distressed by the profanation of
the temple. He was a witness of the scene when Jesus drove out the
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132 The Desire of Ages
buyers and the sellers; he beheld the wonderful manifestation of divine
power; he saw the Saviour receiving the poor and healing the sick; he
saw their looks of joy, and heard their words of praise; and he could
not doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was the Sent of God.
He greatly desired an interview with Jesus, but shrank from seeking
Him openly. It would be too humiliating for a ruler of the Jews to
acknowledge himself in sympathy with a teacher as yet so little known.
And should his visit come to the knowledge of the Sanhedrin, it would
draw upon him their scorn and denunciation. He resolved upon a
secret interview, excusing this on the ground that if he were to go
openly, others might follow his example. Learning by special inquiry
the Saviour’s place of retirement in the Mount of Olives, he waited
until the city was hushed in slumber, and then sought Him.
In the presence of Christ, Nicodemus felt a strange timidity, which
he endeavored to conceal under an air of composure and dignity.
“Rabbi,” he said, “we know that Thou art a teacher come from God:
for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with
him.” By speaking of Christ’s rare gifts as a teacher, and also of His
wonderful power to perform miracles, he hoped to pave the way for
his interview. His words were designed to express and to invite con-
fidence; but they really expressed unbelief. He did not acknowledge
Jesus to be the Messiah, but only a teacher sent from God.
Instead of recognizing this salutation, Jesus bent His eyes upon
the speaker, as if reading his very soul. In His infinite wisdom He
saw before Him a seeker after truth. He knew the object of this visit,
and with a desire to deepen the conviction already resting upon His
listener’s mind, He came directly to the point, saying solemnly, yet
kindly, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from
[169] above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, margin.
[170]
[171]
Nicodemus had come to the Lord thinking to enter into a discussion
with Him, but Jesus laid bare the foundation principles of truth. He
said to Nicodemus, It is not theoretical knowledge you need so much
as spiritual regeneration. You need not to have your curiosity satisfied,
but to have a new heart. You must receive a new life from above
before you can appreciate heavenly things. Until this change takes
place, making all things new, it will result in no saving good for you
to discuss with Me My authority or My mission.
Nicodemus 133
Nicodemus had heard the preaching of John the Baptist concerning
repentance and baptism, and pointing the people to One who should
baptize with the Holy Spirit. He himself had felt that there was a lack
of spirituality among the Jews, that, to a great degree, they were
controlled by bigotry and worldly ambition. He had hoped for a
better state of things at the Messiah’s coming. Yet the heart-searching
message of the Baptist had failed to work in him conviction of sin. He
was a strict Pharisee, and prided himself on his good works. He was
widely esteemed for his benevolence and his liberality in sustaining
the temple service, and he felt secure of the favor of God. He was
startled at the thought of a kingdom too pure for him to see in his
present state.
The figure of the new birth, which Jesus had used, was not wholly
unfamiliar to Nicodemus. Converts from heathenism to the faith of
Israel were often compared to children just born. Therefore he must
have perceived that the words of Christ were not to be taken in a
literal sense. But by virtue of his birth as an Israelite he regarded
himself as sure of a place in the kingdom of God. He felt that he
needed no change. Hence his surprise at the Saviour’s words. He was
irritated by their close application to himself. The pride of the Pharisee
was struggling against the honest desire of the seeker after truth. He
wondered that Christ should speak to him as He did, not respecting his
position as ruler in Israel.
Surprised out of his self-possession, he answered Christ in words
full of irony, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Like many others
when cutting truth is brought home to the conscience, he revealed
the fact that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God. There is in him nothing that responds to spiritual things; for
spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
But the Saviour did not meet argument with argument. Raising
His hand with solemn, quiet dignity, He pressed the truth home with
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greater assurance, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be [172]
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God.” Nicodemus knew that Christ here referred to water baptism and
the renewing of the heart by the Spirit of God. He was convinced that
he was in the presence of the One whom John the Baptist had foretold.
Jesus continued: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature the heart is evil, and
134 The Desire of Ages
