HIS PRIDE DID NOT STOP HIM

Nicodemus (Greek for “conqueror of the people”) who made a visit to Jesus in John 3, possessed three outstanding characteristics that made him one of the most impressively religious men alive.

“A man of the Pharisees” (vs 1).  The term Pharisee most likely means “separated one.”  Many trace the roots of the Pharisees to Daniel and his three friends, who refused to partake of their captor’s food (Dan. 1) or to worship the king as a god (Dan. 3) while in exile in Babylon.  Having been taken from the Promised Land and cut off from their temple they clung to the law of Moses as a means of preserving their identity.  But after more than six hundred years, this admirable loyalty to nationalism and devotion to the law had taken on a life of its own.

The Pharisees had become a tight-knit brotherhood, a political and religious party that had earned the respect of their fellow Jews.  They were meticulous expositors of Scripture and worked tirelessly to apply the general principles of the law to everyday life.  The law stated, for example, that every Israelite was to set aside the seventh day of the week for resting the body and refreshing the soul (EX. 20).  So that everyone would know how to apply the law and to “rest” as they should, the Pharisaic rabbis added a long list of prohibitions.  Later, this oral tradition of the Pharisees was preserved in a document called the Mishnah, which contains no less than 24 chapters just on how to keep the Sabbath.  No one rivaled the Pharisees in being religious.

“A ruler of the Jews” (vs 1).  Before the Jews were exiled to Babylon, a king ruled the nation.  After their return, they were subjected to governors placed in authority by foreign countries and so turned to the high priest for leadership.  By the first century, under Roman rule, the high priest presided over a council of 70 experienced statesmen and notable religious figures.  This ruling class of elders, called the Sanhedrin, served as Israel’s Congress and Supreme Court.  Not only was Nicodemus a devoutly religious man, he was a leader of religious men.  He is even called “the teacher of Israel” (vs 10).

With all of this important status and influence on the people… with all the wisdom and potential vanity that comes from a position of leadership, Nicodemus… the conqueror of people doesn’t allow his pride to keep him from coming to Jesus.  Nicodemus came with acknowledgement of the obvious, Jesus must be from God, and began his encounter with the Savior of the world.