Born Again (5)

John 3:2 (B)

So Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and says to him, "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." Now let us consider what Nicodemus says in this verse. First, he states, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God." A more literal translation is, "We know that you have come from God as a teacher" (NASB). The reason Nicodemus gives for this belief is, "For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

Because he uses the word "we," some suggest that Nicodemus comes to Jesus as a representative of a number of Pharisees who hold the same generally positive view toward Jesus, and who wish to inquire of him, to know more about his teaching, his mission, and what he has to say about their greatest concerns. We need not speculate about whether there are others among the Pharisees whose thinking are similar to Nicodemus, although this is probably the case, for at this moment we are interested in what we can clearly derive from what he says.

What we notice is that Nicodemus is very different from most of the other Pharisees, who would accuse Jesus of performing miracles by the power of the devil. Of course, Jesus would refute such an accusation when it is brought up (Matthew 12:24-37), but here the important thing is to note that Nicodemus does not hold the same attitude as these malicious Pharisees. He is not out to destroy Jesus, and what he says to Jesus here presents no apparent criticism.

Some commentators think that there is a note of either condescension or flattery, or condescending flattery, in how Nicodemus approaches Jesus. As Nicodemus is a rabbi himself, it seems incredible to these commentators that he would have so much respect for Jesus that he would call him one of his own. But this is what he says to him: "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God." So it seems to them that he must be saying this out of a condescending attitude, or as flattery to disarm Jesus. However, this is an inference from what the commentators assume about Nicodemus, and not an inference from the text itself. The text offers no evidence that would support such an interpretation, and thus it is nothing more than speculation.

(to be continued)