Trinity
Sunday.
The
Collect.
A
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal
Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We
beseech thee that thou wouldest keep us stedfast in this faith, and evermore
defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without
end. Amen.
T
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HERE was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi,
we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles
that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a
man be born when he is old? Can he
enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is
born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered
and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and
knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do
know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have
told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell
you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came
down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
(John 3:1-15)
Who was Nicodemus?
There are many
facets of the answer to that question. First of all, Nicodemus was a man of
wealth. He was, too, a member of
the powerful ruling Sanhedrin. He was a curious man who came to satisfy that
curiosity under cover of darkness. These are some of the things that Nicodemus WAS. That which Nicodemus WAS before his encounter with
Christ, and that which he BECAME
afterward are poles apart. It may not be stretching reality to say that
Nicodemus WAS precisely what
you and I WERE; and what
Nicodemus BECAME is precisely
what you and I ARE in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Nicodemus was
obviously a man proud of his station, but he also had a tender place in his
heart for truth and justice. He yearned to know truth. He was a seeker of
truth, and a seeker of God. This characteristic his timidity in coming to Christ.
A wealthy and powerful Pharisee would deign to approach a humble carpenter of
Galilee for enlightenment - and Nicodemus came at night for that Light. He
surely discovered that Light in Christ. Some men of lesser metal and courage
may have slipped away that night unchanged by the Brilliant Light that emanated
from Christ, but not the good man, Nicodemus. Nicodemus was unlike the rich
young ruler of Matthew 19 and Luke 18 who, having heard the cost of the cross,
left sorrowful because he placed riches above the salvation of God. Nicodemus
was fundamentally changed by Christ. In making us into His new Creation, Christ
performs the miracle of the spiritual Creation in a manner not unlike His
genius employed in the physical Creation. By observing the beauty of a sunrise
or sunset, we witness the miracle
of transformation: One looks at the
sunset glories of the sky, the clouds shining in many radiant colors as if a
thousand rainbows had been scattered in fragments along the horizon; and it
seems as if there were the very gate of heaven; he looks at the snowflakes so
pure, so beautiful, and he asks, Whence came these? They came from the salt
waters of the sea: they came from muddy reptile-haunted marsh and fen; they
came from road –side pools. They were raised to the sky by the sun, and are now
glorified by his rays.(Rev. F.N. Peloubet, D.D.)
Can you not see
yourself in the person of the night visitor, Nicodemus? Have you often held
your peace when a subject of vital spiritual importance is raised - preferring
to hide your faith from a scowling crowd? Have you spoken our boldly, as
Stephen, in the face of threatening persecution? Or have you withered as a
dying flower before those who inquire if you were not one of those disciples of
Jesus as did Peter?
The rich young
ruler went away from Christ unchanged, but not the noble Nicodemus. He was
changed forever and never again came to Christ at night. He was forthwith open
in his defense of Christ and growing in his courage.
Nicodemus is
mentioned at three places in the Gospel of St John. The first mention is in the
present text for today. The second appears in John 7:45-51 - 45 Then
came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them,
Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spake
like this man. 47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? 49 But
this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. 50 Nicodemus saith unto
them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) 51 Doth our law
judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? 52 They
answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out
of Galilee ariseth no prophet. 53 And every man went unto his own house.
(John 7:45-53) The Pharisees had been foiled in their plot to catch Christ in
His own Words. Instead, their emissaries had been solidly stumped by the divine
wisdom of our Lord. As they sought a means to arrest Jesus, Nicodemus had the
temerity to speak out in defense of the Lord and was publicly rebuked.
It is noteworthy
that each time the name of Nicodemus is mentioned after this first night-time
rendezvous, the following stipulation is made: (he that came to Jesus by
night, being one of them,) This stipulation is made to contrast the
behavior of Nicodemus in being an open advocate for Christ when he was a
night-stalker in the present text. We are all changed once we come face-to-face
with Christ! The last reference to Nicodemus has him coming openly, in the face
of the Jewish rulers, to claim the body of Christ along with Joseph of Arimathaea.
Please observe the courage required and the lack of any hesitancy whatsoever on
the part of Nicodemus: 38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate
that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came
therefore, and took the body of Jesus. 39 And there came also Nicodemus, which
at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about an hundred pound weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus,
and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to
bury. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and
in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. 42 There
laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the
sepulchre was nigh at hand. (John 19:38-42) Here again, we see the
qualification in the text - which at the first came to Jesus by night.
God is a great economist of Words. He never tells us anything needlessly. He
tells us repeatedly that Nicodemus is the one who stands publicly for God when
he at first came by night.
Are we a Nicodemus
type of Christian, or are we a Rich, Young Ruler type? Do we stand firm and
publicly on our convictions and testimony, or do we slink away at the threat of
lost revenue?
Tradition has it
that Nicodemus was martyred in the 1st century. That would have been only a few
years after the death and resurrection of Christ.
The man who came at
night (as we all do), never again sought Christ in any way other than publicly
and courageously. Have you done so, and do you ALWAYS do so?
Nicodemus was
treated to some of the most beautiful symbolism and metaphor of the Bible. He
was a man of learning and high intellect. Even though he could not understand
all that Christ told him at first, he pout those words of Christ in his heart
and meditated on these things. As a result, Nicodemus had a growing faith and
not a diminishing faith. The Holy Ghost, described to Nicodemus by Christ as
being like the Wind, soothed and comforted Nicodemus in his doubts and nurtured
and fertilized his understanding. Nicodemus never forgot that night-time
encountered, and neither should we.
The Word of God
possesses a mysterious and unseen power to change, fundamentally, our
characters and our hearts. The children of Israel could little understand the
efficacy of beholding the lifted up serpent in the Wilderness; but they heeded
the counsel of Moses and looked to that brazen serpent when bitten by the fiery
serpent - and lived. That brazen serpent of the wilderness was a meager type of
the Christ who, when men look to Him, they shall be healed of the most deadly
of diseases - sin! Will you heed the Words of Scripture today and look to
Christ for every need?
