John 3:1-2 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Curious Seeker

Pharisees were keepers of the law. They usually were teachers. Unlike the Sadducees, they believed in the Resurrection. They believed in God’s providence. Nicodemus was one of the highest-ranking of his time. No matter his status, look at how he met with Jesus. It was night. Maybe he was scared of officially affiliating with Jesus. Maybe this was the only time they had available to meet. But this looks like a clandestine meeting.

He admitted what was true. He proclaimed Jesus as a teacher who came from God. Nicodemus, a ruler of the teaching party of the temple, didn’t dispute this fact. He could not, because the evidence was overwhelming: Jesus’s teaching and miracles were undisputed. He clearly admitted Jesus was from God. What Nicodemus didn’t understand and wanted to know says volumes about the human condition.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus responded in a way that most would find disarming. He cut straight to the heart of the matter. Unless you are born again, you can’t see Heaven. No ifs, ands, or buts about the matter, Jesus cut straight to the chase. We as humans have to be changed in a way that is impossible without God. This blew my mind when I first heard it; the same happened to Nicodemus.

John 3:4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

This is our problem. We deal with the physical world every second of every day. We touch things, see things, and smell things. Our minds fail to think of the spiritual matters of life. We can see the spiritual, but we can’t touch it. Like Nicodemus, we respond with thoughts about the physical world. How do we overcome this problem?

The first step is to admit that there is something more than the physical. We are born with a longing for eternity. This is why death bothers us so much. What happens after we die? This is always on our minds. The second step is to listen for God’s still and small voice. He is always whispering in our ears, trying to get our attention. Third, after we hear, we need to respond to the call. We will learn more about this next time.