Nicodemus, a highly educated and honored member of the national council, had been stirred by the teaching of Jesus. Though rich and learned, he had been strangely attracted by the humble Nazarene. The lessons that had fallen from the Saviour’s lips had greatly impressed him, and he desired to learn more.
(HLv 105.1)
Christ’s exercise of authority in cleansing the temple had roused the hatred of the priests and rulers. Such boldness on the part of an obscure Galilean was not to be tolerated. But not all were agreed on putting an end to His work. Some feared to oppose One so evidently moved by the Spirit of God. They knew that the bondage of the Jews to a heathen nation was the result of their stubbornness in rejecting reproofs from God. They feared that in plotting against Jesus the priests and rulers were following in the steps of their fathers and would bring fresh calamities on the nation. Nicodemus shared these feelings. In the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus advised caution and moderation. He urged that if Jesus was really invested with authority from God, it would be perilous to reject His warnings. The priests dared not disregard this counsel.
(HLv 105.2)
Nicodemus had anxiously studied the prophecies relating to the Messiah. The more he searched, the stronger was his conviction that this was the One who was to come. He had been distressed by the profanation of the temple. He was a witness when Jesus drove out the buyers and the sellers; he saw the Saviour healing the sick; he saw their looks of joy, and heard their words of praise. He could not doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was the Sent of God.
(HLv 105.3)
He greatly desired an interview with Jesus, but shrank from seeking Him openly. Should his visit come to the knowledge of the Sanhedrin, it would draw upon him scorn and denunciation. He resolved upon a secret interview. Learning by special inquiry the Saviour’s place of retirement in the Mount of Olives, he waited until the city was hushed in slumber, and then sought Him.
(HLv 106.1)
In the presence of Christ, Nicodemus felt a strange timidity, which he endeavored to conceal. “Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” His words were designed to express and to invite confidence; but they really expressed unbelief. He did not acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah, only a teacher sent from God.
(HLv 106.2)
Jesus bent His eyes on the speaker, as if reading his very soul. He saw before Him a seeker after truth. With a desire to deepen the conviction already resting upon His listener’s mind, He came directly to the point, saying kindly, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, margin.
(HLv 106.3)
Nicodemus had come to enter into a discussion, but Jesus laid bare the foundation principles of truth. He said, You don’t need to have your curiosity satisfied, but to have a new heart. You must receive a new life from above before you can appreciate heavenly things. Until this change takes place, it will result in no saving good to discuss with Me My authority or My mission.
(HLv 106.4)
Nicodemus had heard the preaching of John the Baptist concerning repentance. Yet the heart-searching message of the Baptist had failed to work in him conviction of sin. He was a strict Pharisee, and prided himself on his good works. He was widely esteemed for his benevolence and felt secure of the favor of God. He was startled at the thought of a kingdom too pure for him to see in his present state.
(HLv 106.5)
The figure of the new birth was not wholly unfamiliar to Nicodemus. Converts from heathenism were often compared to children just born. Therefore he must have perceived that the words of Christ were not literal. But as an Israelite he felt that he needed no change. Hence his surprise and irritation at the Saviour’s words. The pride of the Pharisee was struggling against the honest desire of the seeker after truth.
(HLv 107.1)
Surprised out of his self-possession, he answered in words full of irony, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Like many others, he revealed that nothing in the natural man responds to spiritual things; spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
(HLv 107.2)
Raising His hand with quiet dignity, the Saviour pressed the truth home with greater assurance, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus knew that Christ here referred to the water baptism and the renewing of the heart by the Spirit of God. He was convinced that he was in the presence of the One whom John the Baptist had foretold.
(HLv 107.3)
Jesus continued: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature the heart is evil. See Job 14:4. No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. “The carnal mind is enmity against God.”“Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Romans 8:7; Matthew 15:19. The fountain of the heart must be purified before the stream can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. The Christian’s life is not a modification of the old, but a transformation of nature, a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether.
(HLv 107.4)
This change can be brought about only by the Holy Spirit.
(HLv 108.4)
Nicodemus was still perplexed, and Jesus used the wind to illustrate His meaning: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
(HLv 108.1)
The wind is heard rustling the leaves and flowers, yet it is invisible. So with the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart. A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place or trace the process of conversion, but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working on the heart. Little by little, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through reading the Scriptures or hearing the Word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders to Jesus. Many call this “sudden conversion,” but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God—a patient, protracted process.
(HLv 108.2)
Wind produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit on the soul will reveal itself in every act of the one who has felt its saving power. The Spirit of God transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds renounced. Love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness. When by faith the soul surrenders to God, that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God. The beginning of redemption we may know here, through personal experience; its results reach through eternal ages.
(HLv 108.3)
While Jesus was speaking, some gleams of truth penetrated the ruler’s mind. Yet he did not fully understand the Saviour’s words. He said wonderingly, “How can these things be?”
(HLv 108.4)
“Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” Jesus asked. Instead of feeling irritated over the plain words of truth, Nicodemus should have had a humble opinion of himself, because of his spiritual ignorance. Yet Christ spoke with such solemn dignity and earnest love, that Nicodemus was not offended.
(HLv 109.1)
But as Jesus explained that His mission was to establish a spiritual instead of a temporal kingdom, His hearer was troubled. Seeing this, Jesus added, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” Not discerning the nature of Christ’s work on earth, Nicodemus could not understand His work in heaven.
(HLv 109.2)
The Jews whom Jesus had driven from the temple were zealous to maintain an appearance of holiness, but neglected holiness of heart. Sticklers for the letter of the law, they were constantly violating its spirit. Their great need was that change which Christ had been explaining to Nicodemus—a new moral birth, a cleansing from sin, and a renewing of holiness.
(HLv 109.3)
There was no excuse for the blindness of Israel in regard to the work of regeneration. David had prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Through Ezekiel the promise had been given, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes.” Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26, 27.
(HLv 109.4)
Nicodemus now began to comprehend the meaning of these scriptures. He saw that the most rigid outward obedience to the mere letter of the law could entitle no man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
(HLv 109.5)
Nicodemus was being drawn to Christ. As the Saviour explained to him the new birth, he longed to have this change in himself. How could it be accomplished? Jesus answered the unspoken question: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
(HLv 109.6)
The symbol of the uplifted serpent made plain to Nicodemus the Saviour’s mission. When the people of Israel were dying from the sting of the fiery serpents, God directed Moses to make a serpent of brass and place it on high in the midst of the congregation. All who would look should live. The serpent was a symbol of Christ. As the image made in the likeness of the destroying serpents was lifted up for their healing, so One made “in the likeness of sinful flesh” was to be their Redeemer. Romans 8:3. God desired to lead the Israelites to the Saviour. Whether for healing of wounds or pardon of sins, they could do nothing for themselves but show their faith in the Gift of God. They were to look and live.
(HLv 110.1)
Those who had been bitten by the serpents might have demanded a scientific explanation. But no explanation was given. To refuse to look was to perish. Nicodemus received the lesson and carried it with him. He searched the Scriptures in a new way, not for discussion but to receive life for the soul. He submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
(HLv 110.2)
Thousands today need to learn the same truth taught to Nicodemus by the uplifted serpent. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold on Christ, the remedy for sin. We cannot even repent without the aid of the Spirit of God. The Scripture says of Christ, “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31. Repentance comes from Christ as truly as does pardon.
(HLv 110.3)
How, then, are we to be saved? “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
(HLv 110.4)
In the interview with Nicodemus, Jesus unfolded the plan of salvation. In none of His subsequent discourses did He explain so fully, step by step, the work necessary to be done in the hearts of all who would inherit the kingdom of heaven. At the very beginning of His ministry He opened the truth to a member of the Sanhedrin, an appointed teacher of the people. But the leaders of Israel did not welcome the light. Nicodemus hid the truth in his heart, and for three years there was little apparent fruit.
(HLv 111.1)
But the words spoken at night in the lonely mountain were not lost. In the Sanhedrin council Nicodemus repeatedly thwarted schemes to destroy Jesus. When at last He was lifted up on the cross, Nicodemus remembered: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” The light from that secret interview illumined the cross upon Calvary, and Nicodemus saw in Jesus the world’s Redeemer.
(HLv 111.2)
After the Lord’s ascension, when the disciples were scattered by persecution, Nicodemus came boldly to the front. He employed his wealth in sustaining the infant church that the Jews had expected to be blotted out at the death of Christ. In the time of peril he who had been so cautious and questioning was firm as a rock, encouraging the faith of the disciples and furnishing means to carry forward the work of the gospel. He became poor in this world’s goods; yet he faltered not in the faith which had its beginning in that night conference with Jesus.
(HLv 111.3)
Nicodemus related to John the story of that interview, and by his pen it was recorded for the instruction of millions. The truths there taught are as important today as they were on that solemn night in the shadowy mountain, when the Jewish ruler came to learn the way of life from the lowly Teacher of Galilee.
(HLv 112.1)