“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night.” (John 3:1-2)
For the next week or so, we’ll spend a little time eavesdropping on a late night meeting between one of the most influential spiritual and political leaders in Israel and a controversial young rabbi named Jesus.
Nicodemus was a teacher and a Pharisee and one of just 70 Very Important Guys on the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin. He was a big deal. But he didn’t let that stop him from being one of very few religious leaders to reach out to Jesus. He wanted to know what Jesus was all about.
Why come at night? Maybe he was scared of being seen with Jesus, a man despised by most of the other VIGs on the Sanhedrin. Or maybe all the crowds following Jesus made it impossible to get any serious time with him during the day. We don’t know. The point is that Nicodemus respected Jesus’ godly power enough to show up.
Think: How many of the Very Important People in our culture do you think would make the effort to have a conversation with Jesus late at night because they believed in his power? Why do you think so few VIGs seem to take Jesus seriously?
Pray: Ask God to help you understand Jesus’ mission on earth better as you listen to his conversation with Nicodemus over the next few days.
Do: Read ahead a little if you’d like to; check out the rest of John 3 to get ready for our study this week.