The Gospel of John: John 3.1-10

Read and meditate on John 3.1, 2.
Nicodemus is a sincere seeker. He wants to understand Jesus, but he will not be able to so long as he insists on fitting Jesus into his frame of thought. He needs a different perspective, and a new Spirit.

¹There was a man, a Pharisee, whose name
was Nicodemus, ²and one night he came 
to Jesus. Now he was a ruler of 
the Jews, and said to Him, “We know, because
of all the signs You do, that You must be
a teacher come from God. I cannot see
how anyone, apart from God, could do
such things.”

- John 3.1, 2

Reflect
1.  The contrast of night and day, darkness and light, is a recurring theme in John’s writings. Should we attach any significance – actual or spiritual – to the fact that John mentions Nicodemus came to Jesus by night? Does any non-believer come to Jesus in any other way? Explain. Complete this prayer: Lord, I remember what it was like to live in the darkness, and now You…

2.  Nicodemus is puzzled about Jesus. He has seen, or at least heard the reports of, His many signs, and he understands that such signs typically accompany men who have been sent by God. But then there was that temple-cleansing incident. Would a prophet do such a thing? Nicodemus is trying to understand Jesus from within his existing framework of thought. And this is leaving him puzzled. Why? Lord, make me sensitive to the unbelievers in my life, since I know…

3.  Nicodemus is trying to figure Jesus out rationally. While reason certainly comes into play in understanding Jesus, knowing Jesus is not a function of reason. Explain. Lord, I know You, and You make perfect sense to me, and this is because…

4.  Meditate on Ephesians 4.17-19. How does Paul describe the mind – and thus, the reasoning powers – of one who is still in the darkness of unbelief? Does this help us to understand Nicodemus’ problem? Does it help us understand why so many people yet remain apart from Christ? Explain. Lord, if my unbelieving friends can’t make sense out of You, then how…

5.  The key to knowing Jesus is not to be found in being able to fit Him into our rational categories, or the categories of our previous experience. Nicodemus was making the mistake many unbelievers do as they consider Jesus. How should understanding this help us in communicating Jesus to the unbelievers in our Personal Mission Fields? Bring together into one the prayers you composed for questions 1-4.

Summary
“This man [Nicodemus] appears also in the middle of the Gospel defending Christ when he says, ‘Our law judges no man before it hears him.’ The Jews in anger replied to him, ‘Search and look, for out of Galilee arises no prophet.’ Again after the crucifixion he bestowed great care upon the burial of the Lord’s body: ‘And there came also Nicodemus,’ says the Evangelist, ‘who first came to the Lord by night and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight.’ And even now he was disposed toward Christ, but not as he should have been, nor did he yet have a proper regard for Jesus, being still entangled in Jewish misunderstanding. This is why he came by night, because he feared to do so by day. Yet our merciful God did not reject or rebuke him for this, or deprive him of his instruction. Rather, with much kindness Jesus talked with him and disclosed to him rather enigmatically some highly exalted doctrines indeed—nevertheless, Jesus still disclosed them.” John Chrysostom (344-407 AD)

This is the first of several private interviews John will present in which Jesus discloses profound truths about Himself and the Gospel. It’s amazing, in each of these interviews, how much Jesus communicates in just a few words. The fewer the words, the more memorable they are. Is there advice for us here in talking with unsaved folk about Jesus?

Closing Prayer
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.

Psalm 72.18, 19

Psalm 72.18-20 (Martyrdom: Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed)
Now bless the God of Israel Who wondrous works performs.
And bless His Name, His glory tell both now and forever more!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.