Remembering Verse 17

"When I see Jesus Christ, I simply want to be what He wants me to be."—Oswald Chambers

They argued, “Oh, so now you’re an advocate for this Galilean! Search the Scriptures, Nicodemus, and you’ll see that there’s no mention of a prophet coming out of Galilee!"

(John 7:52, Passion Translation)

You have to wonder…maybe Nicodemus had done just that. Maybe he did search. Maybe that’s exactly why he was a tender heart among a group of tough and hardened religious peers, why he had the courage to risk respect and friendship by throwing down the challenge: “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” (John 7:51)

Maybe this same Nicodemus, the one who had come to Jesus by night several chapters earlier to basically, genuinely, perhaps with a bit of trepidation, try to determine for himself, “Who, in Heaven’s name, are you?,” had already felt the seed of belief begin to stir.

Perhaps he had searched the scriptures, just like his peers sneered, and when he came upon Isaiah 9:1-2 about good news coming from the land of Galilee, it gave him pause. Significant pause.

Perhaps he asked questions, lots of questions, about Jesus’ background from those who knew Him best. Maybe His parents and siblings, even. And despite every argument and deeply-entrenched belief held by his peers, perhaps the seed of belief within Nicodemus began to sprout when he learned that Jesus was not born in Nazareth after all, but in Bethlehem—just as the scriptures foretold concerning the coming of the Messiah.

And maybe that seed really began to take root, before the eyes of shocked peers and countrymen, when he joined a fellow seed carrier—Joseph of Arimathea—in taking the body of the crucified Messiah off of the cross, wrapping it in spices and linen, and giving it a burial of deep respect…perhaps, even, of deep love.

That’s the last we hear of Nicodemus. It would be good to know how his life turned out. Why does the Bible do that?

Maybe, it’s to show us that Nicodemus’ slow progress toward seed-sprouting belief is the norm and not the exception. In many ways, it is our own story. While some people do seem to have an instantaneous full-blown harvest of belief, it’s good to know that when we carry the Light that’s within us around someone we meet or know or love, it might very well be met at first with lots of curiosity and questions but little else that hints at an eventual seed-sprouting.

This is not failing at being a witness. This is normal. Stay faithful. Keep at it. And hold on to the truth that what first aroused Nicodemus’ curiosity and planted that first seed that led to full-blown belief sometime later was not Jesus’ ability to debate the deep things of theology, or His eloquence of speech, or His looking the part, but how His actions and lifestyle seemed to line up with the words of Love that came out of His mouth...

"You are the light of the world… In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

—Matthew 5:14,16

...There isn’t anyone who is a Christ-one who hasn’t had the desire to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, to live and love and serve all kinds of all-over-the-map people, like Nicodemus, the way that He did and still does. While it’s good to remember the most famous Nicodemus verse of them all—John 3:16—it’s just as important to remember that, as we follow imperfectly in Jesus' footsteps, that we hang our hat, our words, our actions, our very Walk, on the verse that comes next:

“God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

—John 3:17, Message

Selah.