Jesus Spoke To Nicodemus in John 3:16
When our boys were little, they each got to read one Bible verse. No matter who picked first, the choice was always John 3:16 because they knew it well. Though it is the most famous verse, not everyone knows that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in John 3:16.
Nicodemus & John 3:16
The Bible does not give us much detail on this meeting. so here is how I portrayed it in my latest novel in The Last Disciple Series. This scene is set at the home of Philip, a fellow disciple of Christ. Philip and John are recounting what happened decades earlier in Jerusalem when the Jewish leader Nicodemus came to visit Jesus.
Excerpt from The Last Disciple Gospel of John
…John turned to Philip. “Do you remember a visitor Jesus received one night, early in his ministry? Nicodemus, one of the Jewish leaders?”
Philip looked away as if staring into the past. “Nicodemus started by being complimentary, you’re right. He mentioned the signs or miracles Jesus performed as demonstrating that God was with him.”
John nodded. “But Jesus was having none of it. His response was so like him. He knew Nicodemus’s heart. He ignored the flattery and later ignored his sarcasm, too.”
“…Jesus often responded to questions without seeming to answer the actual question. He spoke in little parables or proverbs—not exactly responsive to the question we had asked, and it was often confusing to us. One thing he said confused everyone, including Nicodemus: ‘Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.’”
Philip snorted. “Though he was a great man and a leader of the Jews, Nicodemus had nothing on Jesus! That must have annoyed him, for he got a little snippy and said, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?’”
“Philip, did you understand what Jesus meant at the time? Being born in two different forms, first of the flesh and then of the spirit?”
“To be truthful, no. I had no idea what he meant. I felt relieved that a member of the Sanhedrin did not understand either. When Nicodemus did not grasp this, Jesus seemed surprised. He said something that first shocked me and later filled me with joy.— I can’t quite remember it all, but these words of our Lord stayed with me all these years: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.’”
The Last Disciple: Gospel of John, pp. 42-43
Did Nicodemus Believe?
After meeting Jesus during his nighttime visit, Nicodemus must have begun to believe in him. Clearly, he was drawn to Jesus because he later defended him in front of the chief priests and the Pharisees.
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
Of course, we all know that the Pharisees had no idea that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. But that comes as no surprise, does it? They were convinced of their own righteousness and had no desire to look into the matter. And they brooked no opposition from anyone, not even Nicodemus.
They Laid Jesus In The Tomb
Nicodemus finally came out into the open as a follower of Jesus along with another prominent man named Joseph of Arimathea. They waited until the very end, but still came forward:
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus,the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[e] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Nicodemus Grasped The Truth Of Jesus
It took a great deal for Nicodemus to risk his authority and position as a member of the ruling class, yet something caused him to do just that. I believe these famous words began the process of his conversion from skeptic to believer:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Yours in Christ, Kurt
Here is another post on fixing our eyes on Jesus: Nothing But Jesus
