Scripture to Read: John 3:1–2
As God the Holy Spirit led John to write His Word, He made sure that He included Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus. We read in John 3:1–2, Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” We see here in God’s Word that Nicodemus came to Jesus looking for answers. But we also know that he came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus did this because of his fear of the other Pharisees seeing him with Jesus. Nicodemus’ problem was that he was fearful of his peers. If we’re not careful, we can fall into the same trap instead of being bold about who Christ is and what He is doing in our lives. We must guard against fearing man over God (Galatians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:4). We also see that Nicodemus recognized Jesus as coming from God. Still, Nicodemus never says that he knows that Jesus is God. Many today will say that Jesus was a good man, a prophet, a leader, and many other kind things about Him, but they do not see Him as the One True God, King, Creator, Master, and Lord. We, as Christians, know Him as our Lord but we must live that way as well, for even the demons know Him (James 2:19, Mark 1:23–24), but they are not with Him.
Challenge & Application
• What was Nicodemus struggling with that we must guard against at all costs?
• How does your life show others that Christ is the Lord of every area of your life?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!