In this chapter we meet a man called Nicodemus who visited Jesus one night to ask questions about what Jesus is teaching. But who was this man? We know he was a religious leader in Jerusalem and a member of the powerful Jewish council – the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish court of justice made up of 71 men and led by the High Priest. At that time, it was made up of mostly Sadducees and a minority of Pharisees. The Sanhedrin could rule about every issue except issuing the death penalty – only the Romans had that right. The Sanhedrin met in the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the temple of Jerusalem.

Nicodemus was also a Pharisee – but who were they? The Pharisees name translates as The Separated Ones. They differed from the Sadducees in that they followed not only the written laws of Moses but also had the oral tradition of telling the laws to their followers and so those laws were passed down through the generations.

At the time of Jesus both groups disliked him for varied reasons, but the Pharisees were offended as Jesus called them hypocrites. They were more concerned that everyone lived by the rules and laws that they had made in addition to the original law of Moses, than they were in conducting Gods law to look after the poor and needy.

Nicodemus was more interested in finding out the truth that Jesus spoke of rather than playing the political games of the Pharisees. He did believe that Jesus had been sent by God and believed the signs and miracles that Jesus performed, so he visited Jesus in the dark of night to avoid being seen by others, to ask questions.

In their conversation Jesus explained that it is not enough to be born a Jew to enter Gods kingdom. You need to be “born again,” you need to make a clean start, you need to follow the light of Jesus and accept him. And, that word is as true today as it was then! Hallelujah!

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Action:

Read Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 to see how Moses instructed Israel to choose God and how to live their lives.

Prayer:

Dear Father in heaven, I thank you that you love me so much that you sent your son Jesus to sacrifice himself to save me from my sins. At times I do not feel worthy as I doubt myself and my decisions, but I thank you that you love me just the way I am. In Jesus’ name – Amen.