Born Again (4)

John 3:2 (A)

Then, John continues, "He came to Jesus at night and said, 'Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.'" With his distinguished background, education, wealth, and power, it is remarkable that he would come to Jesus at all. What is his reason for coming? What is his motive? Does he come to mock Jesus, to test him, to entrap him? From what we read here, it appears that this is not the case, but it seems that he comes to Jesus to inquire of him, to learn more about him and his teaching, to discuss theology with him.

As I mentioned, Nicodemus appears two more times in the Gospel of John, and in both instances he stands on the side of Jesus. We have already read from chapter 19 where he invests his money and effort to give Jesus a proper burial. Previous to that in chapter 7, when his peers are ready to condemn Jesus, Nicodemus warns them against drawing a hasty conclusion, and says, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" (v. 51). So it is natural in chapter 3 to understand that Nicodemus comes to Jesus because he has an interest in what Jesus has to say. And as he is himself a prominent teacher in Israel, surrounded by other prominent teachers and religious leaders, it is remarkable that he would come to Jesus at all.

John says that Nicodemus comes to Jesus "at night." It is common for people to assume that he does so because he is afraid of being seen by others and being associated with Christ. Because of his teachings and his miracles, Jesus has been generating controversy and drawing much attention from the public. Religious leaders who are eager to retain their traditions and their control over the people regard him with suspicious, if not outright malice. So it is suggested that Nicodemus comes at night under the cloak of darkness. Although this is possible, it is by no means clear from the text. John does not say that this is his reason for coming at night, nor is this the necessary implication derived from anything in our passage.

There is another possible explanation. The rabbis think that the best time to study and discuss theology is at night when they could read, think, and converse for hours undisturbed. So for one rabbi to visit another at night is a common practice, and does not demand any deeper reason or motive to explain it. Yet a third possibility is that this is just one of the details that John chooses to include as he recalls this incident. At any rate, whatever the reason, we cannot insist that Nicodemus comes by night for fear of persecution or embarrassment.

(to be continued)