{"id":1627,"date":"2022-03-06T14:18:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T20:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1627"},"modified":"2022-03-06T14:18:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T20:18:21","slug":"nicodemus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/06\/nicodemus\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicodemus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cFor God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.<\/strong>\u201d
John 3:17 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jesus had many personal encounters with different men and women \u2013 some\nwho committed themselves to Him, and Jesus to them; and some, who did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the\nJews<\/strong>\u201d (John 3:1). The Pharisees were a part of the religious leaders of the\nday. Jesus had been teaching in the synagogues and the Temple.\nWhen Nicodemus had a question about Jesus\u2019 teachings, he went to Jesus, Himself,\nby night for the answers. \u201c2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto\nhim, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do\nthese miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3. Jesus answered and\nsaid unto him, Verily,\nverily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom\nof God<\/strong>\u201d (John 3:2\u20133). See that Jesus knew the heart of Nicodemus.\nNicodemus did not come to challenge what Jesus taught (as we know many\nreligious leaders did), but he truly wanted to understand who Jesus was and why\nHe had come. Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter. Unless a man gives\nup his old life, being born again, he cannot \u201csee\nthe <\/strong>kingdom<\/strong> of <\/strong>God<\/strong>.<\/strong>\u201d See the following verse to understand \u201cthe kingdom\n of God\u201d: \u201cNeither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold,\nthe <\/strong>kingdom<\/strong> of <\/strong>God<\/strong> is within you<\/strong>\u201d (Luke 17:21). Within you<\/strong>\nmeans \u201cit is located in your heart and\naffections; not external<\/em>.\u201d The kingdom\n of God cannot be seen with human\neyes. That is one reason we refer to being saved as \u201casking Jesus into one\u2019s\nheart.\u201d Jesus began to explain this to Nicodemus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?\ncan he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5. Jesus\nanswered, Verily,\nverily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of<\/em> the\nSpirit, he cannot enter into the <\/strong>kingdom<\/strong> of <\/strong>God<\/strong>. 6. That which is born of the\nflesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit\u2026 9.\nNicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10. Jesus\nanswered and said unto him, Art thou a master of <\/strong>Israel<\/strong>, and knowest not these things?<\/strong>\u201d (John 3:4-6, 9-10).\nEven when Nicodemus did not understand, Jesus patiently explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus had often taught the people of things they knew, yet often they\nstill did not understand. Nicodemus, a \u201cmaster of <\/strong>Israel<\/strong>\u201d, did\nnot understand. Jesus took him back to the Old Testament Law that Nicodemus\nknew. \u201cAnd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the\nwilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up<\/strong>\u201d (John 3:14). Remember: After the people spoke\nagainst God in the wilderness, fiery snakes bit them. The people were dying\nbecause of snakebites. God told Moses to make a brazen serpent. This serpent\nwas to remind them of their sin against God. Moses held it up, and anyone who\nlooked upon that serpent held high did not die, even though the poisonous snake\nbit them. (Numbers 21:4-9 to remember the events). Because of this faith, they\nwere physically saved. Jesus reminded Nicodemus of that event, for it took the\nsame kind of faith to be saved from sin \u2013 faith in Jesus \u2013 for He would take\nthe sin of man upon Himself as he was hung on the cross to die (see 2\nCorinthians 5:21). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus explained this with the following: \u201c15.\nThat whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten\nSon, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting\nlife. 17. For God sent not his Son into the\nworld to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that\nbelieveth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of\nthe only begotten Son of God<\/strong>\u201d (John 3:15-18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Jesus\nexplained it simply to Nicodemus: Jesus was the teacher from God who came to\nteach the world how to be saved from sin \u2013 to believe in Jesus, God\u2019s Son, for\nby unbelief, they were condemned to eternal death. See John 3:19-21 to\nunderstand that Jesus was the Light who came into the world, and He\nacknowledged that man loved darkness (their sin) more than the Light (Jesus). As\nyou try to understand Jesus as the Light, imagine a very dark room \u2013 with\nabsolutely no light. In that room, one cannot see anything. However, if you\nturn on a flashlight, you can see the area where the light shines, revealing\nwhat was previously hidden. Jesus is just like that \u2013 He reveals what is hidden\n\u201cbecause their deeds were evil.<\/strong>\u201d Jesus\ncame to drive that darkness away, revealing the sin that had to be removed \u2013\nbut only by the Light, Jesus.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We understand that Nicodemus at some point believed in Jesus by the\nfollowing verses: \u201cNicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by\nnight, being one of them)<\/strong>\u201d (John 7:50).\nNicodemus was one of the two that took Jesus\u2019 body and buried it after His\ndeath upon the cross (John 19:38-39).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicodemus\nbecame a Believer of Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you chosen to receive the gift of salvation (life) by believing in Jesus?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
How to be Saved<\/a><\/blockquote>