03/20 – John 3:1-2; 7:50-51; 19:39 – Nicodemus: The Silent Believer

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity. I will give you my promise, and I will give you very many descendants.” Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again God spoke to him, “My promise is still with you.

You will become the father of many nations. So your name will no longer be Abram [meaning: Exalted Father], but Abraham [meaning: Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations. I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you. I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.

Romans 5:1-11

Now that we have God’s approval by faith, we have peace with God because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. Through Christ we can approach God through faith and stand in his favor. So we rejoice because of our confidence that we will receive glory from God. That is not all. We also rejoice when we are suffering. We know that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. We’re not ashamed to have this hope, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for ungodly people. Finding someone who would die for a godly person is rare. Maybe someone would have the courage to die for a good person, but Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.

Since Christ’s blood has now given us God’s approval we are even more certain that Christ will save us from God’s anger. If the death of his Son restored our relationship with God while we were still his enemies, we are even more certain that, because of this restored relationship, the life of his Son will save us. In addition, our Lord Jesus Christ lets us continue to rejoice in God. After all, it is through Christ we now have this restored relationship with God.

John 3:1-21

Nicodemus {nick-oh-DEE-mus} was a Pharisee {FARE-ah-see} and a member of the Jewish council. He came to Jesus one night and said to him, “Teacher, we know that God has sent you as a teacher. No one can perform the miracles you perform unless God is with him.”

Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.”

Nicodemus asked him, “How can anyone be born when he’s an old man? Can he return to his mother’s womb to be born a second time?”

Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I can guarantee this truth: No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit. Flesh and blood give birth to flesh, and the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Do not be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it goes. That is the way it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus replied, “How can that be?”

Jesus told Nicodemus, “You’re the teacher of Israel. Can you not understand this? I can guarantee this truth: We know what we are talking about, and we confirm what we’ve seen. Yet you do not accept our message. If you don’t believe me when I tell you about things on earth, how will you believe me when I tell you about things in heaven? No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven.

“As Moses lifted up the snake on a pole in the desert so the Son of Man must be lifted up. Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in him will not be condemned, but those who do not believe are already condemned because they do not believe in God’s only Son.

This is judgment: The light came into the world, but people loved the dark rather than the light because their actions were evil. People who do what is wrong hate the light and don’t come to the light. They don’t want their actions to be exposed. People who do what is true come to the light so that the things they do for God may be clearly seen.