Tuesday, September 9, 2014

 

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

(Joh 3:5 KJV)
 
The Pharisees in their traditions held to a very high standard of belief and practice. Yet, like the rest of us they had a sense that despite the facade that they exhibited on the outside, on the inside was an abscess of corruption that could not be easily reasoned away. They looked within themselves everyday and perceived something that was totally at variance with the image that they tried to project. They had sin in their lives. They were full of pain and misery that couldn't be covered over with a salve. Their heart like all of ours was full of wickedness. 
 
Nicodemus saw what Jesus was doing and heard the words that He spoke at the feast of those days. There was something about His message that rang true within the old Pharisee. He was undecided about the message he was hearing but he resolved to know more. He came to Him "by night" in order to avoid publicity that potentially could put him a odds with his peers. He just had to go and have a conversation with this man who obviously had so much zeal for the LORD. He had to know just what it was that was there. 
 
All of us are like Nicodemus in that we have a disease inside and it seems as if we are helpless to do anything about it. Here is the bad news for us today, there isn't anything we can do. No matter how much we dress ourselves up on the outside, on the inside there will always remain that icky feeling that we won't be able to shed. Here is where we need to do what Nicodemus did and have a conversation with Jesus. Christ will put us in touch with our pain in that He has endured the very same evil that we are presently dealing with and He came though it unscathed. Christ can drain the puss out of the wounds that we all carry around with us. "He was wounded for our iniquity." He bore our sins on the cross. And now if we will believe, He will help us bear the burden of our own cross.
 
Nicodemus became a disciple of Jesus. Although secretly intially "for fear of the Jews," it would seem that his conversation with Jesus had an impact on him. Those who seek out Christ and sincerely listen to what He says will not be disappointed. Nicodemus stood up for Jesus when the rest of his fellows were conspiring against him (Joh. 7:50), and he helped Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus' body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb at great risk to his safety and reputation. Nicodemus also donated myrrh and aloes to anoint Jesus' body when He died.
 
Nicodemus is a great example to us today. He was a seeker of God and God rewarded his obedience in seeking out his Messiah. Don't shut out what you already know about yourself today. You are right in sensing that there is absolutely nothing you can do for yourself to deal with that void inside. Just go talk to Jesus. He will quiet your conscience and give you rest for your soul. "You must be born again." The road to believing that consists of nothing more than turning from the way you are on and seeking out your King in God's Word today. Just go talk to Him, and rest easily in the knowledge that "whosoever will believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Amen.


No comments:

Post a Comment