S
imilar thoughts molested the trivia in the man’s mind. He belonged to a self-righteous sect called the Pharisees. He also held membership in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council; He had too much seen the disregard for human life of his Roman conquerors. He had seen a gang of unruly soldiers rape his sister. He was fourteen at the time. Repeatedly, one after the other. Again and again. Afterwards, no man wanted her as a wife. She became a hater of men. If they were going to have her body, it would not be without a price. She became a whore. Dear Ruthie! Good God! He had visited too often the leper colony where his mother lay dying. He had known too much abject poverty. He knew too deeply the hypocrisy of his own life. He could not answer these questions. Though a respected teacher, an admired scholar, he did not know what to do with the injustice of human torment. And so he waited. Perhaps this man knew. More than any man he had ever known, perhaps this man was of God. Perhaps. But only perhaps.
Voices. People at the door. Goodbyes. Good wishes. Thank yous. The Pharisee waited in the darkness. As luck would have it, Jesus came his way. They would pass so close they could touch. The moment came. Jesus was alone. A rare moment indeed.
“Master,” said Nicodemus. Jesus stopped and looked at him. There was no fear at being accosted by a stranger at this unusual hour. Just expectancy. Jesus waited.
“Master,” Nicodemus continued just above a whisper, “I am an old man. Just a moment of your time. I intend no inconvenience.”
“It is you who are the ‘master,’ my friend. I remember you from when I was a child,” responded Jesus. “I stood among inquirers in the temple room, you sat upon the dais. I was but a frail youth.”
“Eh?” grunted Nicodemus, “My mind fails me.” For the first time he looked squarely into the face of Jesus. “I - I am sorry. I do not recall.”
“It matters not,” said Jesus. “For what purpose does the teacher of Israel seek the likes of me?”
“You are too modest,” said the old man, “and you honor me more than I deserve. I suffer the curse of most old men, the older I get it seems the less I know and the more useless I become.”
“And the more wise,” said Jesus with heartfelt compassion for the old legalist.
Emboldened by his warm reception, he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, I know you are a teacher who has come from God.” (Better to give him the benefit of any doubt. He had seen with his own eyes what this young man could do.) “For no one could do what you do if God were not with him.” For all of his furtiveness, Nicodemus was personally drawn to Jesus. For the first time in his life perhaps, he was doing something honest.
Jesus did not respond immediately, allowing the question implicit in the old man’s flattery to hang. He seemed thoughtful, pensive, as if sensing genuine honesty. A casual observer to this scene might think that the younger man had a flair for melodrama, for he fixed his gaze on the older man and declared, “Look at me!” Nicodemus locked eyes with him. “Nicodemus. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Jesus was not baiting the old man as much as one might think. He knew that Nicodemus was quite accustomed to argument and theological debate. This was but an invitation to such a discussion. Born again! A curiously delicious concept! Nicodemus rose to the bait. “I don’t understand, how can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb!” The debate was on, good-natured, friendly, a scholar’s way of making friends, of knowing one is accepted. Nicodemus smiled. Let us continue! He was enjoying this now. The only thing missing was a flask of beer.
Jesus felt the camaraderie of intellectual stimulation as well, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” A critical theological distinction. “Flesh” he continued, “gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but can you tell from whence it comes or where it goes? So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus was excited. He had indeed come to the right place. He hadn’t felt this elated, or this close to God, in decades.
Abruptly Jesus’ tone changed. Nicodemus, carried away with repartee he enjoyed only too much, had lost the import of what was being discussed, and more important, oblivious to the significance of the Source from which it came. He was caught short in his euphoria when Jesus said, “You are an eminent and respected teacher and do not understand these things? Let me then speak plainly. I speak what I know. I speak of what I have seen, but you will not hear or accept. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man!
He speaks of himself! The old man was shaken. He did not know whether to rend his clothes or fall to his knees. The crushing weight of his own evil propensities fell upon him. Emotions rushed. He needed to urinate.
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Jesus stopped. He measured the impact of his words on Nicodemus and felt the warm pleasure of resignation and trust coming from pleading eyes. Nicodemus’ head hung in quiet desperation. Jesus reached forth his hand and caressed the old man’s head. A moment of silence and feeling passed.
“God loves the world, old teacher, so much so that he gave his only Son.”
Gave his Son? Thought Nicodemus. As in sacrificed his Son?
“Yes” answering the question, “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but be given eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, Nicodemus. God isn’t like that. God sent his Son to rescue the world. That is the consequence of his love. That is why I am here. Whoever believes is not condemned! Why must people presume that it is God who condemns? God loves! He does not condemn. Those who reject his Son condemn themselves. They are condemned already because they refuse to believe that God could love them this much.
“Here is the nub of it, Nicodemus; and though you may not know it, this is what you want to hear from me — Light has come into the world. I am that Light. But instead of embracing Light, men embrace darkness instead. Evil men embrace dark things. Evil men are afraid of Light. They hate it because Light exposes Evil. But whoever lives in truth moves freely in light, and it is clearly seen that his deeds are of God. There is no ambiguity. No shadows are about such a person. Such a person has a spirit that is born of the Spirit. Such a person is born of God.”
With this, the teacher of Israel received his first taste of eternal firmament.
