Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends. It’s the weekend and I hope you find some refreshment from the busyness of your life this weekend. I wonder what might be the most significant conversation you’ll have this weekend? Might it be a conversation that could affect the rest of your life?
We’re on a 40 day journey with Jesus toward Easter and we’ve spent the past three days eavesdropping on a conversation held one night between Jesus and one of the most important religious leaders of his day, Nicodemus. It’s recorded for us in John 3 and the words spoken by Jesus in this conversation have changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people through these past 2000 years.
Jesus had the rare ability to engage conversation with almost anyone and He used words or phrases that would touch their heart at their most distinctive place. For Nicodemus his status in Jerusalem defined him. He was highly regarded and the robes he wore, the walking stick of authority, the head covering on his head, all proclaimed his importance as a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus’ life was all about debating deep scholarly wisdom and ruling verdicts in complicated cases brought before his council. So when he approached Jesus at night for a private but profoundly important conversation, Jesus engaged scholar Nicodemus with some of the deepest religious scholarly thoughts he’d ever heard. Nicodemus had met his match in scholarly debate with Jesus!
But then Jesus used a word that acknowledged Nicodemus’ most prized role… as a member of the ruling council. What word? “Verdict“! Jesus said to Nicodemus: “This is the verdict…” Look at Nicodemus! His head just snapped back a bit, he took a deep breath and puffed up his chest, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth. Jesus is talking his language now… Verdict! Oh how Nicodemus loved issuing verdicts on cases brought before him. He felt so intelligent, so important, so authoritative when he stood to pronounce a verdict before the court! Nicodemus wondered what experience Jesus had in courtrooms, what verdicts He might have issued? It troubled Nicodemus deeply that this Jesus simply seemed to show up on the public stage from nowhere. No one knew really anything about Him, yet the things Jesus was saying and doing were drawing large crowds and amazing the people. He couldn’t be ignored. But who was He??
Jesus continued in His conversation with Nicodemus: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their evil deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done through God.“ (John 3:19-21)
Nicodemus smiled… oh my, Jesus had just spoken with very wise truth! Yes, all people are deceitful, and yes deceitful people much prefer to do their deceitful work in the dark or behind closed doors rather than out in the light for all to see. Nicodemus was dealing with cover-ups or secret dealings or secret sins all the time. He loved it when a witness would come forward and shed the light of truth on deception and then Nicodemus could pronounce the deceiver guilty and justice would be served. Nicodemus was confident God was proud of his good work in shedding the light of truth on deceivers, liars, cheats, and scoundrels.
I’m confident there wasn’t even a tiny shred of conviction in his heart that maybe Jesus was talking about Nicodemus or his fellow Pharisees… oh no, it could not be possible that there was anything other than full embracing of the light of truth in his heart and all those on the ruling council. But then a little thought fled through Nicodemus’ mind… then why had Nicodemus sought a night time audience for this conversation with Jesus? Why not during the daytime, in full view of everyone? Mmmm? Verdict! Nicodemus pondered… what did Jesus know about him, his past, his role on the ruling council? John doesn’t give us any more insight into this particular conversation, but it’s safe for us to assume it troubled Nicodemus deeply and he reflected on it often.
Some time later Jesus revisited this topic of light in a dark world. I don’t know if Mr. Nicodemus was present when Jesus said to the people: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Jews in the crowd would have remembered one of the Old Testament Scriptures most revered by the scholars: “Your Word, O God, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path… The unfolding of Your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple… Direct me in the path of Your commands, O God, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward Your statutes; and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word.” (Psalm 119:105, 130,35-37)
Jesus was declaring Himself to be the living representative of God’s Word here on earth. Jesus was calling people to understand if they followed HIM and learned from His teaching, they would learn how to understand God’s Word and live in the full light of its truth. Jesus could help God’s truth come alive in a person, guide that person, and drive the darkness of the evil kingdom away from that person! Now ponder that friends… have you experienced the truth and power of what Jesus was promising? Do you still walk in the darkness, the confusion, the evil of our world, or do you consistently walk in God’s Truth, following Jesus? There is a dramatic difference between those two paths, can you discern anytime your path begins walking away from God’s Truth light and toward Satan’s darkness deceit?
On that same day as Jesus was talking about Himself being God’s light and that those who followed Him would not walk in the darkness, Jesus went on to say this: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on My own but I speak just what the Father has taught Me. The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” (John 8:28-30) While they didn’t fully grasp it, Jesus was again predicting the people would reject Him and raise Him up on a cross and that it would be both in His atonement death and particularly His resurrection that the people would finally see Jesus was who He claimed to be… the Son of God. Do you see Jesus was calling the people to recognize He had been sent to earth from God and by God the Father, and He was the living representative of God, speaking to the people only that which the Father had sent Him to say!! They were staggered by these powerful statements from Jesus. But Jesus wasn’t finished yet!
John records that “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.“ (John 8:31,32) If Nicodemus happened to be in the crowd that day, listening to Jesus speak, it sure sounded a lot like what he and Jesus had talked about in that evening conversation. Jesus was both claiming to speak only God’s truth, and that God’s truth will set people free. Free from what? Free from the domination of doubt or deceit or slander or lies. God’s truth will set people free from the strong appeal of life in the darkness … things like envy, jealousy, greed, dishonesty, deceitful business practices and the things that destroy reputations of integrity and trustworthiness. Oh how the people, including leaders like Nicodemus longed to be set free from the stranglehold of the darkness all around them, the darkness of Roman domination, the darkness of corrupt political leadership, the corruption of sin deep in each of their lives!
So, my friends, this weekend let’s ponder what those people were pondering that day as they listened to Jesus. What is your reliable source of life truth? If not God and His Word the Bible, then where do you search for truth? How much of your life are things of the darkness that are eroding your character, undermining your integrity, and what aspects of your life are things of the light of honesty, holiness and truth? What priority do you place on DAILY intake of Gods’ Truth into your heart and mind? How, when and where do you engage in that process? How much of God’s Truth have you memorized and buried deeply in your life so it guides you like Psalm 119:105?
Sometimes, truth spoken or sung by children can be very powerful… I’ve found a song that really challenges me, and I share it with you now:
Today’s Scripture is John 3:19-21.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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