That night in another garden

JOHNS GOSPEL: 3

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He comes at night obviously desiring privacy. The painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) depicts a close and personal encounter. 

Nicodemus does not actually ask Jesus a question. He makes a statement, but Jesus replies. Jesus goes straight to the heart of Nicodemus and tells him what is the question lurking there, the question that Jews had been holding their breath to ask for generations – “Is He the one?” Jesus does not answer this directly, but tells him about process.

It is one of the few times that Jesus uses the must word. This word excludes alternatives. You must be born again.  The Son of Man must be lifted up. 

The literal translation of this is “born from the top” see Mathew 27:51 (anothen). This is a  process of regeneration, renewal, which comes from God. This process has been prophesied in Ezekiel 36:25-27.

This process  involves both an external and internal part. The external,  of water, or ritual purification by cleansing with water, is a reference to baptism, which is an external sign of an internal faith. And the spirit is the work of cleansing on the inside, which is done by God. 

John has emphasized this being the work of God many times:

            (Joh_1:13; 1Jo_3:9;1Jo_4:7; 1Jo_5:1,1Jo_5:4, 1Jo_5:8)

Nicodemus is not able to comprehend this and asks a very down to earth question on the exact process of this rebirth.

Jesus tries to lift his eyes up to the working of God by giving the allegory of the wind. 

The word for wind is the pneumos, which is the same word used for the working of the Holy Spirit. We see this word at work in Genesis in the process of creation. Jesus is saying that this spririt of God is still at work in the hearts of men, still about working its ways, albeit the origin and process of it cannot be seen, even like the wind. The effects are seen and are tangible. 

Nicodemus asks a genuine question, at the heart of growing into belief. “How can these things be?”. This question is at the core of the beginning of belief, the kindling to a life of blazing faith. It is wonder expressed and intelligence attempting to understand the workings of an alien kingdom. Education often breeds skepticism, and knowledge can paradoxically insulate from understanding unless we are open to permit this questioning of our private core beliefs. “How can these things be?” is a good place to start. 

Nicodemus is still not able to get it. Then Jesus refers him back to his origin and background and asks him why he cannot get it, when he should be able to. 

Notice that Jesus uses the plural when He says “We” He is probably referring to the trinity at this time speaking about the testimony. Testimony is very important to accept fact in Jewish tradition, and it becomes necessary for two or three witnesses. Hence Jesus now gives Nicodemus the witness of the others involved, the Father and the Spirit. 

He then begins to introduce himself, as the one who has ascended and now is descended on earth, the Messiah himself. And he opens to Nicodemus a passage he would be very familiar with, from Numbers 21:7-9, when Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. 

He then gives Nicodemus the knock down revelation – “Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up”. 

Jesus then opens the way up for all when he says – “ all who believe (pisteoo, = trust, commit, entrust)  will be saved. So this process of salvation is opened up for anyone who believes. The plan for salvation has been revealed. 

And this fact now divides all of humanity into two by their response to this revelation, those who believe and are saved, and those who don’t and stand condemned by their refusal to believe. Refusal to believe is as active as believing. 

Those who love darkness are those who by a process of repetitive choices, choose evil, and choose to stay away from the light. Those who come into the light are those who do precisely that, who move into the light. The word for come is erchomai (the verb, stressing the action rather than the arrival which is hekko).

The word for “do” is prasso (repetitive and habitual action)as contrasted with one action. So it is a process of rehearsing or repeating sin actively which keeps people in the dark, as contrasted with a process of coming into the light, and basically allowing God to tackle it, expose it and for us to live the consequences of these choices. Coming into the light is also a repetitive choice. 

It is also the very thing that happened in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve heard the voice of God in the garden after they had sinned and they hid (Gen 3:8). They had actually removed themselves from the jurisdiction of God and declared independence rebellion, which is the essence of sin. The consequence of this is fear and hiding, a clinging cycle, keeping them out of the grace and freedom that is there in the light, where earlier God was the one responsible for them. Sin is rebellion against God.  Our choices separate us into darkness and light. 

Nicodemus was revealed this. We do not read how he received it. But we do know that he continued to be a Pharisee. We do read that he fought to give Jesus a chance to be heard. We do know he lovingly laid the body of Jesus to rest, following his traditions, in the best way he could. One can only imagine that for Nicodemus that night in the garden, his faith came alive, and the whole of the law that night was suddenly placed in context. His profession and his being was envigoured with a new zeal. We know he returned to being a Pharisee, and one can only imagine that he returned a very different Pharisee. 

We see him later in two subsequent occasions, John 7:50 in which he tries to argue for Jesus to be heard and listened to. We see him also in John 19: 39 where he and Joseph Arimathea ensure a loving burial. He would have lived the truth of Jesus's words that night - " the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life."