In the Middle of the Night, Who Do You Think He Is?

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, 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. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:1-3

Nicodemus, of course, had to visit Jesus at night. He couldn’t be caught during the light of the day; not as a ruler of the Jews. Nonetheless, he went, and we know from the text that Nicodemus and some others thought that Jesus was a teacher. How do we know that? Well first Nicodemus called Him ‘Rabbi; ’ which means teacher, and then he called Jesus a teacher. He not only acknowledged Jesus as a teacher, but a teacher sent from God. How did Nicodemus know that? Well, because Nicodemus either had directly witnessed or was at least aware of the miracles that Jesus performed. What is implied here is that the working of such miracles attested to Jesus; not being a healer particularly, but a teacher sent from God. For us today and in retrospect, the historical proof of Christ’s miraculous resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith in Christ as our risen Lord and Savior. And it was looking towards His death and resurrection that Jesus told him that unless he was born again he could not see the kingdom of God. However, at that point in time, there was no accompanying miracle for Nicodemus to believe; let alone to understand what Jesus meant by what He said about being born again. As for whether Nicodemus left Jesus that night believing in Him or not is unknown. However, we do know that in a future day of light turned darkness, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea went to prepare Christ’s body for burial; which indicated that Nicodemus was a different man entirely from the man who went to visit Jesus that night.

Such were the days of our Lord’s preparation of His people. What we find with Nicodemus is no different for us. We may go to Him first as a teacher or a healer. We may say that He was a prophet. Whatever it is that we ponder in the middle of the night that leads us to Him, it may lead to that eventual and glorious day of our deliverance when we too, along with Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and the others, recognize Him as Savior and Lord. Of course, there is no assurance of that because many also turned away after witnessing the miracles. For those who turned away, what the teacher taught was too high a price, but still upon hearing, they were prepared, but their preparation was for judgment.

For those who have ears, yes, please God, let them hear.