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Humble Hero
the Mount of Olives. He waited until the city was hushed in sleep,
and then he went looking for Jesus.
In Christ’s presence, Nicodemus felt strangely timid, and he tried
to conceal this. “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from
God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with
him.” He chose his words to express and to invite confidence, but
they really expressed unbelief. He did not acknowledge Jesus to be
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the Messiah, but only a teacher sent from God.
Jesus gazed at the speaker, as if reading his very soul. He saw
before Him someone who was seeking after truth. Wanting to deepen
the conviction already in His listener’s mind, He came directly to
the point, saying kindly, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the
kingdom of God without being born from above.”
John 3:3
, NRSV.
Nicodemus had come to enter into a discussion, but Jesus laid
open the foundation principles of truth. He said, “You don’t need
to have your curiosity satisfied, but to have a new heart. You must
receive a new life from above before you can appreciate heavenly
things. Until this change takes place, discussing My authority or My
mission with Me will result in no saving good.”
Nicodemus had heard John the Baptist’s preaching about re-
pentance. Yet the heart-searching message of the Baptist had not
brought him to conviction of sin. He was a strict Pharisee and prided
himself on his good works. People thought highly of him for his
acts of kindness, and he felt sure of God’s favor. He was startled at
the thought of a kingdom too pure for him to see in his present state.
The figure of the new birth was not completely new to Nicode-
mus. Converts from heathenism were often compared to children
just born. So he must have understood that Christ’s words were not
literal. But as an Israelite, he felt that he needed no change. This is
why he was surprised and irritated by the Savior’s words. The pride
of the Pharisee was struggling against the honest desire of the seeker
after truth.
Surprised out of his self-composure, he answered in words full of
irony, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Like many others,
he revealed that nothing in the natural heart responds to spiritual
things. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
Raising His hand with quiet dignity, the Savior applied the truth
even more closely and with greater assurance: “Most assuredly, I