Nicodemus, Quality of a Victor

Quality of a Victor

by Felix Kurnia (Notes) on Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 4:34pm

As I looked for the articles on the life of Nicodemus for a weekend short sermon in my band cell group, I stumbled upon a Greek translation of the name.  The name “Nicodemus” was derived from a Greek name “Νικόδημος” (Nikodemos) which means “victorious among his people”.  Now, it happened that Nicodemus himself has a unique role and stories in which he appeared in three separate occasions so noted by the Gospel of John.  In those three occasions surprisingly, he’s with Jesus.  We’ll find more surprises and awesome messages as we move along.

1. An Open Heart That Paves the Way for Revelations

As we begin the first story and appearance of Nicodemus (John 3:1-21), I believe some of us familiar with the story wouldn’t bother to instantly ask themselves how could a Pharisee like Nicodemus be involved with such warm and inspiring dialogue with Jesus Christ.  For most of us know that along the history many Christians understand the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees as a dysfunctional one.  The Pharisees yelled at Jesus and Jesus yelled back.  But here we have it, a Pharisee, looking at The Son of Man straight in the eye as He proclaimed a historical statement, who He really is and how a person can have access to God in and for eternity.   Not a friendly Galilean fisherman, not a humble Judean merchant or carpenter, but a Pharisee, known for their arrogance and hatred toward Jesus. 

Now, as I open other great and helpful references on Nicodemus, I found out that He’s not just a typical Pharisee; he’s a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of ancient Israel.  With prominent understanding of the Law, God’s Word and teachings of ancient prophets, he said, 

“Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  (John 3:2-NIV)

 

Almost every Pharisees contradict The Law and The Scriptures with Jesus, but not Nicodemus.  An open heart has provided Nicodemus with a right, balanced, and fair mindset and worldview toward Jesus.  And as a result his victory was recorded forever in the Gospel as he went passed all his colleagues, to be a witness of Jesus saying for the first time about the need of a spiritual rebirth and the purpose of His coming.  Only with an open heart can we avoid the deception of the mind and receive a true and clear revelation from God through things we know, otherwise we’d turn against God using our own knowledge.  An open heart paves the way for revelations.

2. Humility Pleases God

The second occasion was in public and not so pleasant.  It was recorded in John 7:43-52 that when the Pharisees was upset by Jesus teachings and of course, popularity, they tried to make an arrest on Jesus based on their knowledge, again.  They insist that Jesus’ background and which at that time somehow led them to assume His origin was a good enough reason to put Jesus behind bars and stop His ministry. 

“Well, He hangs out with Galileans, He start His teachings from Galilee, no prophecy have said about a prophet coming from Galilee, so He’s a Galilean!”  Well, way the go guys  ...

Wow, they didn’t even bother to ask Jesus.   They assumed.  They have their prejudice and they forgot to do what’s right, they forgot to communicate, they crippled their own ability to presume that somebody they’re persecuting might be innocent.

They put themselves and their prejudice on the pedestal and used the Law to serve their agendas.  They forced Jesus inside their box and if He did not fit, He’s not God.  I thought that was understandable, for I myself in my zeal for God and His defense might have done the same.  But once again – my gosh – once again, not Nicodemus!   

Back then they don’t have Miranda rights; they don’t have all those wonderful pacts or treaties on human rights nor the presumption of innocence.  But still, Nicodemus went out victoriously ahead of his colleagues, ahead of his people, even ahead of his civilization, defending Jesus essential need as a person to be tried and questioned.   He did that out of his humility that no one is above the Law.  And with his humility he put Jesus in a proper place.

Of course we know thousands of years later that Jesus in fact wasn’t at all a Galilean.  Of course we know now that He’s in fact as those smart, scripture and verse memorizing clerics said:

“Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” (John 7:42-NIV) – Jesus WAS born in Bethlehem, Jesus WAS from King David’s lineage, and Jesus IS the Messiah.

Nicodemus might have lost a debate, but he won favor in God’s eye.  Although we know that the end of the story was not about successful defense on Jesus’ behalf. Instead, it  is His fall, His sufferings, and finally His death that brings happy ending to all of mankind, and through all that, His resurrection has been bringing life, hope, and victory to us ever since.  After all been said and done Nicodemus proved himself to be a lover of truth and a humble servant of Jehovah, the Almighty God that he served.

We can never be winners if we mistreat God.  Humility enables a person to treat God right. Humility pleases God.

3. Only The Passionate for God Achieve God’s Dreams

It was a gloomy afternoon for all Christ follower, the darkest as dark can be.  There before them lay a dead body of a convict.  Charged of blasphemy and the unproved allegations of coup d’état against the Caesar, a young Jewish preacher was sentenced to death.  It was Jesus Himself, laid there quietly, powerless, lifeless.  Eyes filled with tears stared down as they prepare the burial of their own Hope.  Two of those eyes belonged to Nicodemus.

I can’t even begin to imagine what he must have felt that day.  Sad? Frustrated? Confused?  I guess we’ll never truly know.  But all we can see was a man paying his respect with the best action he know possible to honor a man whom to him was so admiring, loving, and blameless. The act of donating myrrh and aloes for the burial of Jesus reminds me in the event about 30 years before, in which one of the Three Wise men offered myrrh to little baby Jesus, prophetically announce Jesus’ purpose of sacrifice and his death.  Nicodemus unintentionally fulfilled the prophecy and thus confirmed Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah.  A purpose God unmistakably imprints solely in the life of Nicodemus and he fulfils it.    

We might have known exactly what’s been going on in our lives.  But when we move on and maintaining out passion, love and respect toward God, just as Nicodemus did, we can never know what wonderful and great things God has been preparing in store for us to have, experience, and to achieve.

As we move from one season of life to another, we begin to see and realize one truth; that everything comes to pass away.  What would be more meaningful and satisfying than to achieve God’s plan?  Can it ever be compared to whatever we might have or not have in this life?  For nothing brings us closer to God more than His grace, and to be with Him and to do His will is the greatest joy and satisfaction of all.

As we often heard people say “Only the passionate achieves”, Let me say it regarding Nicodemus, the winner, “Only The Passionate for God Achieves God’s Dreams”.

God bless you

Felix Zhao