John 3:1-2 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:… I. AN INQUIRER. Reports had reached the teachers and rulers concerning Christ which startled them. A man not educated in their schools, nor sent forth with their authority, an obscure man of peasant origin, was preaching doctrines not included in their systems, and doing works to which they were not equal. Nicodemus, one of them, came to inquire of Christ personally as to these things. II. A CAUTIOUS MAN. There are some who are carried about with every wind of doctrine. Nothing astonishes us more than the ease with which men take up a new religion except the ease with which they lay it down. Not so with Nicodemus. He knew that Judaism was of God, and that Judaism prophesied a Messiah with which Christ did not seem to correspond. Yet Christ's miracles appeared to authenticate His mission. But before accepting Him he would inquire further. III. AN INTELLIGENT MAN. Education does not always enlarge the mind. Religious education sometimes tends to bigotry. But this man was an independent thinker, and claimed the right of private judgment. His large mental capacity had been cultured to appreciate evidence and to weigh words. Consequently Christ reveals to him more advanced truths. IV. AN EARNEST MAN. He had been occupied with his official duties during the day, and now he treads the lone dark streets uncertain whether Christ would receive him. V. BEING FAITHFUL TO THE LIGHT HE HAD, THE LIGHT WAS TO DEEPEN AND BRIGHTEN. (H. J. Bevis.) Parallel Verses KJV: There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:WEB: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. |
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