Born Again (7)

John 3:2 (D)

Putting all of this together, the implication is that these miracles were bursting forth from Jesus in such a concentrated fashion that they were constantly happening, one after another, or even many at the same time. His ministry was characterized by miracles on top of miracles. It seems legitimate to infer that he must have performed tens of thousands of miracles during his ministry. The exact number is unimportant, but what is important is to realize that there were so many miracles coming from Jesus that these miracles were happening left and right, and literally spilling forth all over the place around him. This explains why his miraculous power had become one of his distinguishing marks even at the earliest point of his ministry.

Nicodemus perceives the significance of these miracles, and says, "For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." Nevertheless, we must recall how John concludes the second chapter of his Gospel: "Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." So we cannot infer too much about the spiritual condition of Nicodemus from 3:2.

His statement implies a generally positive view about Jesus, but in itself, it falls far short of a full appreciation for who Jesus is, and it fails to reflect an understanding of the heart of his mission. At least Nicodemus could infer that the magnitude and the abundance of miracles that Jesus is performing imply that he has come from God. However, what he says does not tell us how much he understands about spiritual operations. At the most, it tells us that he is aware of the outward effects of spiritual power in the ministry of Christ, and to him this means that Jesus has come from God as a teacher.

From what John says at the end of chapter 2, we can be certain that Jesus knows exactly what is in the heart of Nicodemus, his concerns and motives, what he lacks and what he needs. So the exact condition of Nicodemus remains to be seen from how Jesus interacts with him, from what is coming up in this conversation.

(to be continued)