The Teacher Who Wanted to Learn
Sermon
Eyes of Faith
Cycle B Gospel Text Sermons for Pentecost First Third
It's about time we stopped being so hard on Nicodemus. For centuries it has been popular to cut this biblical character down to size. It's still possible to run upon highly unfavorable appraisals of his life. Listen to how one writer described this first-century Jewish aristocrat:
"Nicodemus moved at night, like a frightened bird. Too brave for cowardice and too hesitant for heroism, he sought the cover of doubt's darkness whenever God's light threatened him. Nicodemus was the Night Disciple, the apostle of honest questioning and stalemated intellect.
"He once sat with Jesus at midnight, on a Jerusalem housetop, talking of miracles and of being born again. Jesus almost won him there. Nicodemus stood within an inch of the kingdom. Then he backed off into darkness again." So near and yet so far!
"When his Sanhedrin clamored for Jesus' arrest and execution, Nicodemus, unstrung, tried feebly to stop it... Only after the crucifixion did he throw his cloak of fear into the arms of night and step boldly to meet the light. He came with the Arimathean Joseph to take Christ's body down and give it a kingly burial. Too late Nicodemus! Like roses at a funeral, that gesture was an apology for neglected friendship."1
Beautifully and engagingly written, to be sure, but an example of pure prejudice if I ever saw it! When I examine the scriptural references to Nicodemus, this is not the kind of person I see at all.
Nicodemus appears three times in scripture, all in the gospel of John. However, each time he appears, it's a significant appearance. Each time he's mentioned, we're reminded that he's the disciple who once visited Jesus. Twice we're told he came by night. "Was he too brave for cowardice, too hesitant for heroism?" Perhaps. Nicodemus does seem to occupy that dangerous position betwixt and between. If so, it's understandable since he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the governing authority of Judaism at the time. Technically he would not be a scribe but a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. As such, he was also a responsible teacher. Indeed, he was a very famous teacher in Israel. The closest counterpart today might be a Supreme Court Justice. Being in such a prominent position, his actions were highly visible to the public. He always had to take that into consideration. He had to weigh the possible effect that his words and actions might have on others.
His coming by night might smack a bit of cowardice, as commentators have suggested, but it also smacks of responsibility as well. Nicodemus knew there are times when it's best for public officials to work out in private things that might later affect the public. Otherwise, when the public is exposed to the working out as well as the implementation, more than a little chaos can result. We've seen a lot of that recently.
But there's another way of looking at this, and it's considerably more favorable to Nicodemus. His coming to see Jesus at night might have been nothing more than indulging in the common practice of many learned Jews at the time. It was common among Jewish intellectuals to hold their discussions at night. It's not unreasonable to suppose that was all Nicodemus was doing when he came to Jesus. He simply wanted peace and quiet in order to discuss with Jesus the deep things of religion. It might also have been the best, if not only time, for the two of them to get together. That could be all there is to this business of coming by night.
We could perhaps leave it at that, and we might, if it weren't for the fact that John does remind us more than once that Nicodemus came by night. The repetition leads us to be a little more suspect. There's even more reason to be suspicious when we remember that in John's gospel, darkness and night are sinister words.
When we first meet Nicodemus we don't see a coward but a cautious, respectful person, one who's intrigued by this mysterious new teacher who has come to town. Nicodemus seeks Jesus out and says, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God" (John 3:2 NRSV). Immediately, we see that Nicodemus has great respect for Jesus. First of all, he calls Jesus by the professional title of rabbi. Secondly, he attests to the effectiveness of the ministry Jesus is carrying out.
This is the beginning of that well-known dialogue in which Nicodemus, the famous intellect, appears to be in the dark, while Jesus, the mysterious new teacher, is definitely in the light. Nicodemus says: "Yes, we know that you are a teacher of God." Nicodemus rightly perceives, but wrongly misunderstands, what this means. What's surprising is Jesus' reply. Jesus doesn't so much as say, "Thank you," or "Yes, you're right," or "I'm glad you think so." Nothing like that. No, Jesus goes directly into a teaching on the nature of salvation. "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" (John 3:3 NRSV). Nicodemus seemingly catches only the literal meaning of Jesus' words and asks, "How can anyone be born after having grown old?
Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" (John 3:4 NRSV). Rather than put Nicodemus down as stupid, it's more likely that he asked Jesus these questions in a sarcastic or cynical tone. However that may be, Jesus answers them in a straightforward manner.
Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above." The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
-- John 3:5-8 NRSV
Nicodemus is still in the dark. So he replies, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him,
Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
-- John 3:9-12 NRSV
In the middle of this conversation is John 3:16. It's probably the most famous verse in the Bible. It's also one of the best summaries of the gospel there is. Along with the acceptance of the gospel message taught by this verse, many of us have been led to believe that this is precisely the point where Nicodemus rejects Christ. Because he couldn't understand what Jesus was saying at the time, we've been led to believe that Nicodemus rejected Jesus for all time. That's jumping to conclusions much too quickly, if you ask me. When we continue to read on to the end of the chapter, we can come to a different conclusion, especially in light of what happens to Nicodemus later on. At the very least, we should hesitate a moment before we say such things as "Jesus almost won him there; he stood within an inch of the kingdom... So near and yet so far."
You can draw such a conclusion from this first encounter with Jesus if you want to but you don't have to. Personally, I think the facts support a far different conclusion. It's more nearly correct to say that while Nicodemus did not accept Jesus right then and there that night, it does not by any means suggest that he rejected him forever. Just because Nicodemus was not converted that night, doesn't mean that he wasn't on some other occasion. Because someone isn't converted at this revival, doesn't mean they might not be at another. Because someone doesn't join the church this Sunday, doesn't mean they might not the next. The seed was planted that night during the discussion with Jesus, and it was to sprout and flower later on. The next time we see Nicodemus, he meets the test of a true disciple.
The occasion is prior to the arrest and trial of Jesus. The temple police had been charged with arresting Jesus. Yet, they come back to the chief priests and Pharisees without him. The Jewish rulers, of course, want to know "What's the matter?" "Why weren't you able to get Jesus?" The police reply, "We have never heard anyone speak like he speaks." This enrages the Pharisees and they shout, "Have you also been misled? Is there a single one of our rulers who believes in him, or let alone one of the Pharisees? As for this mob, who cares nothing for the Law, a curse be on them." Then, as if to disprove what they've just said, one of their own, Nicodemus, intervenes. "Does our law permit us to pass judgment on a man before we've first given him a hearing and learned the facts?" (paraphrased from John 7:45-51 NRSV). How anyone can dismiss this as a feeble attempt to stop the crucifixion is beyond me! Any person who's ever been in the position of casting the only dissenting vote on a controversial issue knows what Nicodemus did for Jesus when he spoke up for him. It was certainly more than a feeble attempt. It takes tremendous courage to stand up to the rest of the crowd! Whatever you do, don't sell Nicodemus short, or you may sell yourself short as well. That's not the way it works with many of us. It sometimes takes God a long time to get through to some of us.
My question is this: Does someone who's rejected another stand up for them when it would be easier not to? Does anyone risk their own reputation for someone they don't even care about? It's high time that we gave Nicodemus his due. Nicodemus is not one of those people who stands by and lets evil triumph by saying nothing. Nicodemus is not quietly rejecting the truth but boldly standing up for it. He's not guilty of cowardice but of courage, if you can be guilty of such a thing. The truth is that by the time of the trial of Jesus, Nicodemus was about the only friend Jesus had.
Now you could say that he did it solely on the basis of principle. "Every man deserves a fair trial," as we say. Even so, Nicodemus met the test of a true disciple. John 3:19 says: "Here lies the test" (NEB). (Some translations unfortunately use the word judgment here instead of test.) But the New English Bible states it this way:
Here lies the test: the light has come into the world, but men preferred the darkness to light because their deeds were evil. Bad men all hate the light and avoid it, for fear their practices should be shown up. The honest man comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all that he does.
-- John 3:19-21 NEB
Nicodemus is that honest man. He's the one who comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all that he does. The New Revised Standard Version translates this portion better than the New English: "But those who do what is true come to the light..." (John 3:21 NRSV). The one who does what is true is the one who comes to the light. Is that not an apt description of Nicodemus?
Sometimes we get it into our heads that it's pretty easy to turn our backs on Jesus. Do you begin to see why it's not all that easy to reject Christ? What's presented many times as rejection is simply not. Before we go around announcing that so and so has rejected Christ, we'd better know what we're talking about. The best way to find out is to take another look at Nicodemus. Not accepting Jesus is a far cry from rejecting him. Jesus must have had this in the back of his mind when he said: "Whoever is not against us is for us" (Mark 9:40 NRSV). It's not nearly as easy to reject Jesus as we might think. It's been my experience that Jesus will simply not let us off the hook that easily.
What does it mean to reject Christ? Is it simply the failure to apprehend the meaning of his mission? According to the gospel of John rejection is quite specific. It's not simply ignorance; not knowing who Jesus is, isn't enough. Nor is it mischance -- luck has nothing to do with it, as if for some unknown reason some do and some don't. Nor is it caused by the lack of some peculiar mystical intuition. No one rejects Christ simply because he hasn't had a conversion experience. In the gospel of John, the way you reject the Light that has come into the world is by persisting to do evil. People reject Jesus because their works are evil. Rejection of Jesus is the same as doing evil and doing evil is the same as rejecting Jesus. Acceptance of Jesus is the same as doing the truth and doing the truth is the same as accepting Jesus. Rejecting Jesus is not as easy as we sometimes think.
In Nicodemus, we see that honest man who's coming to the truth but he's more than that. He's that honest man who's doing the truth. At his first meeting with Jesus he was seeking the truth; at his second, he was standing up for it. When we see him the third time, we see him doing it. We see him putting into practice what he had learned from his Lord. "... love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:12-13 NRSV).
The last time we hear of Nicodemus is when he joins Joseph of Arimathea in burying the body of Jesus. From the sound of it, they're not just giving Jesus a decent burial but an honorable one. To pass off this beautiful human act as "mere roses at a funeral," "a gesture of apology for neglected friendship" is insensitive to say the least. If the dawning had not yet turned to noonday bright, the darkness had certainly turned into dawning. When we last see Nicodemus, night does not still hold him in her sullen shroud. On the contrary, we leave him in the garden, on the eve of the Jewish Passover at the dawn of Easter morning. It was beginning to dawn upon Nicodemus who Jesus was. Whether or not he ever reached noonday commitment to Christ we simply don't know. The record breaks off here. This much is surely evident: Nicodemus went about seeking it, and far from hiding in the night like a frightened bird, Nicodemus was a beautiful moth attracted to the Light of the World.
A poet has said that we are all such little men when the stars come out. If that could be said of Nicodemus in the beginning, it certainly couldn't at the end. It's not how one begins that counts but how one ends. As far as our lives are concerned, it's not so much how we began but how we're progressing right now. When we look at our own lives, what do we see? How is it going in your developing commitment to Christ? How much are you like Nicodemus, the teacher who wanted to learn? Amen.
__________
1. Frank S. Mead, Who's Who in the Bible (New York: Galahad Books, 1934), 198.
"Nicodemus moved at night, like a frightened bird. Too brave for cowardice and too hesitant for heroism, he sought the cover of doubt's darkness whenever God's light threatened him. Nicodemus was the Night Disciple, the apostle of honest questioning and stalemated intellect.
"He once sat with Jesus at midnight, on a Jerusalem housetop, talking of miracles and of being born again. Jesus almost won him there. Nicodemus stood within an inch of the kingdom. Then he backed off into darkness again." So near and yet so far!
"When his Sanhedrin clamored for Jesus' arrest and execution, Nicodemus, unstrung, tried feebly to stop it... Only after the crucifixion did he throw his cloak of fear into the arms of night and step boldly to meet the light. He came with the Arimathean Joseph to take Christ's body down and give it a kingly burial. Too late Nicodemus! Like roses at a funeral, that gesture was an apology for neglected friendship."1
Beautifully and engagingly written, to be sure, but an example of pure prejudice if I ever saw it! When I examine the scriptural references to Nicodemus, this is not the kind of person I see at all.
Nicodemus appears three times in scripture, all in the gospel of John. However, each time he appears, it's a significant appearance. Each time he's mentioned, we're reminded that he's the disciple who once visited Jesus. Twice we're told he came by night. "Was he too brave for cowardice, too hesitant for heroism?" Perhaps. Nicodemus does seem to occupy that dangerous position betwixt and between. If so, it's understandable since he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the governing authority of Judaism at the time. Technically he would not be a scribe but a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. As such, he was also a responsible teacher. Indeed, he was a very famous teacher in Israel. The closest counterpart today might be a Supreme Court Justice. Being in such a prominent position, his actions were highly visible to the public. He always had to take that into consideration. He had to weigh the possible effect that his words and actions might have on others.
His coming by night might smack a bit of cowardice, as commentators have suggested, but it also smacks of responsibility as well. Nicodemus knew there are times when it's best for public officials to work out in private things that might later affect the public. Otherwise, when the public is exposed to the working out as well as the implementation, more than a little chaos can result. We've seen a lot of that recently.
But there's another way of looking at this, and it's considerably more favorable to Nicodemus. His coming to see Jesus at night might have been nothing more than indulging in the common practice of many learned Jews at the time. It was common among Jewish intellectuals to hold their discussions at night. It's not unreasonable to suppose that was all Nicodemus was doing when he came to Jesus. He simply wanted peace and quiet in order to discuss with Jesus the deep things of religion. It might also have been the best, if not only time, for the two of them to get together. That could be all there is to this business of coming by night.
We could perhaps leave it at that, and we might, if it weren't for the fact that John does remind us more than once that Nicodemus came by night. The repetition leads us to be a little more suspect. There's even more reason to be suspicious when we remember that in John's gospel, darkness and night are sinister words.
When we first meet Nicodemus we don't see a coward but a cautious, respectful person, one who's intrigued by this mysterious new teacher who has come to town. Nicodemus seeks Jesus out and says, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God" (John 3:2 NRSV). Immediately, we see that Nicodemus has great respect for Jesus. First of all, he calls Jesus by the professional title of rabbi. Secondly, he attests to the effectiveness of the ministry Jesus is carrying out.
This is the beginning of that well-known dialogue in which Nicodemus, the famous intellect, appears to be in the dark, while Jesus, the mysterious new teacher, is definitely in the light. Nicodemus says: "Yes, we know that you are a teacher of God." Nicodemus rightly perceives, but wrongly misunderstands, what this means. What's surprising is Jesus' reply. Jesus doesn't so much as say, "Thank you," or "Yes, you're right," or "I'm glad you think so." Nothing like that. No, Jesus goes directly into a teaching on the nature of salvation. "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" (John 3:3 NRSV). Nicodemus seemingly catches only the literal meaning of Jesus' words and asks, "How can anyone be born after having grown old?
Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" (John 3:4 NRSV). Rather than put Nicodemus down as stupid, it's more likely that he asked Jesus these questions in a sarcastic or cynical tone. However that may be, Jesus answers them in a straightforward manner.
Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above." The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
-- John 3:5-8 NRSV
Nicodemus is still in the dark. So he replies, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him,
Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
-- John 3:9-12 NRSV
In the middle of this conversation is John 3:16. It's probably the most famous verse in the Bible. It's also one of the best summaries of the gospel there is. Along with the acceptance of the gospel message taught by this verse, many of us have been led to believe that this is precisely the point where Nicodemus rejects Christ. Because he couldn't understand what Jesus was saying at the time, we've been led to believe that Nicodemus rejected Jesus for all time. That's jumping to conclusions much too quickly, if you ask me. When we continue to read on to the end of the chapter, we can come to a different conclusion, especially in light of what happens to Nicodemus later on. At the very least, we should hesitate a moment before we say such things as "Jesus almost won him there; he stood within an inch of the kingdom... So near and yet so far."
You can draw such a conclusion from this first encounter with Jesus if you want to but you don't have to. Personally, I think the facts support a far different conclusion. It's more nearly correct to say that while Nicodemus did not accept Jesus right then and there that night, it does not by any means suggest that he rejected him forever. Just because Nicodemus was not converted that night, doesn't mean that he wasn't on some other occasion. Because someone isn't converted at this revival, doesn't mean they might not be at another. Because someone doesn't join the church this Sunday, doesn't mean they might not the next. The seed was planted that night during the discussion with Jesus, and it was to sprout and flower later on. The next time we see Nicodemus, he meets the test of a true disciple.
The occasion is prior to the arrest and trial of Jesus. The temple police had been charged with arresting Jesus. Yet, they come back to the chief priests and Pharisees without him. The Jewish rulers, of course, want to know "What's the matter?" "Why weren't you able to get Jesus?" The police reply, "We have never heard anyone speak like he speaks." This enrages the Pharisees and they shout, "Have you also been misled? Is there a single one of our rulers who believes in him, or let alone one of the Pharisees? As for this mob, who cares nothing for the Law, a curse be on them." Then, as if to disprove what they've just said, one of their own, Nicodemus, intervenes. "Does our law permit us to pass judgment on a man before we've first given him a hearing and learned the facts?" (paraphrased from John 7:45-51 NRSV). How anyone can dismiss this as a feeble attempt to stop the crucifixion is beyond me! Any person who's ever been in the position of casting the only dissenting vote on a controversial issue knows what Nicodemus did for Jesus when he spoke up for him. It was certainly more than a feeble attempt. It takes tremendous courage to stand up to the rest of the crowd! Whatever you do, don't sell Nicodemus short, or you may sell yourself short as well. That's not the way it works with many of us. It sometimes takes God a long time to get through to some of us.
My question is this: Does someone who's rejected another stand up for them when it would be easier not to? Does anyone risk their own reputation for someone they don't even care about? It's high time that we gave Nicodemus his due. Nicodemus is not one of those people who stands by and lets evil triumph by saying nothing. Nicodemus is not quietly rejecting the truth but boldly standing up for it. He's not guilty of cowardice but of courage, if you can be guilty of such a thing. The truth is that by the time of the trial of Jesus, Nicodemus was about the only friend Jesus had.
Now you could say that he did it solely on the basis of principle. "Every man deserves a fair trial," as we say. Even so, Nicodemus met the test of a true disciple. John 3:19 says: "Here lies the test" (NEB). (Some translations unfortunately use the word judgment here instead of test.) But the New English Bible states it this way:
Here lies the test: the light has come into the world, but men preferred the darkness to light because their deeds were evil. Bad men all hate the light and avoid it, for fear their practices should be shown up. The honest man comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all that he does.
-- John 3:19-21 NEB
Nicodemus is that honest man. He's the one who comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all that he does. The New Revised Standard Version translates this portion better than the New English: "But those who do what is true come to the light..." (John 3:21 NRSV). The one who does what is true is the one who comes to the light. Is that not an apt description of Nicodemus?
Sometimes we get it into our heads that it's pretty easy to turn our backs on Jesus. Do you begin to see why it's not all that easy to reject Christ? What's presented many times as rejection is simply not. Before we go around announcing that so and so has rejected Christ, we'd better know what we're talking about. The best way to find out is to take another look at Nicodemus. Not accepting Jesus is a far cry from rejecting him. Jesus must have had this in the back of his mind when he said: "Whoever is not against us is for us" (Mark 9:40 NRSV). It's not nearly as easy to reject Jesus as we might think. It's been my experience that Jesus will simply not let us off the hook that easily.
What does it mean to reject Christ? Is it simply the failure to apprehend the meaning of his mission? According to the gospel of John rejection is quite specific. It's not simply ignorance; not knowing who Jesus is, isn't enough. Nor is it mischance -- luck has nothing to do with it, as if for some unknown reason some do and some don't. Nor is it caused by the lack of some peculiar mystical intuition. No one rejects Christ simply because he hasn't had a conversion experience. In the gospel of John, the way you reject the Light that has come into the world is by persisting to do evil. People reject Jesus because their works are evil. Rejection of Jesus is the same as doing evil and doing evil is the same as rejecting Jesus. Acceptance of Jesus is the same as doing the truth and doing the truth is the same as accepting Jesus. Rejecting Jesus is not as easy as we sometimes think.
In Nicodemus, we see that honest man who's coming to the truth but he's more than that. He's that honest man who's doing the truth. At his first meeting with Jesus he was seeking the truth; at his second, he was standing up for it. When we see him the third time, we see him doing it. We see him putting into practice what he had learned from his Lord. "... love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:12-13 NRSV).
The last time we hear of Nicodemus is when he joins Joseph of Arimathea in burying the body of Jesus. From the sound of it, they're not just giving Jesus a decent burial but an honorable one. To pass off this beautiful human act as "mere roses at a funeral," "a gesture of apology for neglected friendship" is insensitive to say the least. If the dawning had not yet turned to noonday bright, the darkness had certainly turned into dawning. When we last see Nicodemus, night does not still hold him in her sullen shroud. On the contrary, we leave him in the garden, on the eve of the Jewish Passover at the dawn of Easter morning. It was beginning to dawn upon Nicodemus who Jesus was. Whether or not he ever reached noonday commitment to Christ we simply don't know. The record breaks off here. This much is surely evident: Nicodemus went about seeking it, and far from hiding in the night like a frightened bird, Nicodemus was a beautiful moth attracted to the Light of the World.
A poet has said that we are all such little men when the stars come out. If that could be said of Nicodemus in the beginning, it certainly couldn't at the end. It's not how one begins that counts but how one ends. As far as our lives are concerned, it's not so much how we began but how we're progressing right now. When we look at our own lives, what do we see? How is it going in your developing commitment to Christ? How much are you like Nicodemus, the teacher who wanted to learn? Amen.
__________
1. Frank S. Mead, Who's Who in the Bible (New York: Galahad Books, 1934), 198.
