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Writer's pictureDeborah

Periodt

Series: Always Relevant: God Is



Ecclesiastes 1:9 MSG

John 3 (difficult questions and answers, born of the Spirit)

Genesis 1:26-27 ESV

Hebrews 1:8-9 ESV

Hebrews 1:10-12 ESV

Isaiah 44:6 ESV

Revelation 22:13 ESV

John 7:50-51 ESV

John 19:38-42 ESV


The truth of the periodt is that it’s all done. There’s nothing new to add.


God is the Alpha and the Omega.   


Ecclesiastes 1:9 says,

“What was will be again,    what happened will happen again.There’s nothing new on this earth.”


I am a binge watcher. I love watching a great series and if it’s really really good I’ll watch it over and over again (after some time passes).


I have a list of top ten series that are really good. The Chosen is way high on my list.


Every time I watch it (no matter how many times I’ve seen it) I notice new elements. Even though there’s nothing new that’s been added, something new pops out at me.


This week it was Jesus and Nicodemus.


I had watched the scene many times when Jesus had gathered His disciples to go to Capurnaun. Season 1, Episode 8 when Nicodemus was around the corner we could see that he was broken and weeping because he couldn’t bring himself to leave his wife and his life in order to follow Jesus.


What did scripture say about Nicodemus? We know from scripture that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and he went to Jesus to ask him difficult questions (John 3:4). Nicodemus was seeking truth and he believed Jesus had the answers (John 3:2). We also know Nicodemus did not join Jesus and His followers when they traveled.


We can speculate that not choosing to follow Jesus would have been a very difficult decision.


Earlier Jesus had a frank conversation with Nicodemus. In The Chosen, Season 1, Episode 7, Nicodemus requested a quiet meeting with Jesus at night. They discuss being born again. Jesus told Nicodemus “unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (The Chosen, John 3:5).


Jesus told Nicodemus, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” Nicodemus didn’t understand because he was thinking in human terms. So he responded, “how can this be?” John 3).


After all, Hebrew scripture clearly stated that there’s nothing new on earth.


We know that all of the elements on earth were present at creation. We also know that nothing is a surprise to God. Everything created by God is of God. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”


Notice it says let US make man in his image. US was plural.


In Hebrews 1:8-9 we read, “But of the Son he says,“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed YOU with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”


God the Father anointed the God the Son with the oil of gladness.


Hebrews 1:10-12 goes on to say, “And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”


Jesus, You are the same. Jesus was there when the foundation of the world was laid. Was, is, and is to come.


Isaiah 44:6 prophesied, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel    and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:“I am the first and I am the last;    besides me there is no god.”


Also, Revelation 22:13 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”


Nicodemus knew Old Testament Hebrew scripture, but in Genesis and Isaiah the references do not specifically state that God was being specific about US and the Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts.


It stands to reason that after Nicodemus met Jesus and spoke to Him, his world would have been turned upside down.


He would have been going over every reference in scripture that referred to US or the Redeemer. Nicodemus knew Old Testament Hebrew scripture word for word.


It meant that Nicodemus’ whole world would have been turned upside down. It meant his whole life would change if he fully embraced Jesus as the Son of God. It meant that everything he had believed and had been taught his whole life was now being completed.


It was really really a lot for him to take in all at once.


We don’t know exactly what Nicodemus ultimately decided.


We do know that he isn’t listed as being part of Jesus’ core followers.


We do know from John 7:50–51 that Nicodemus carefully defended Jesus’ rights according to Jewish Law. John wrote, “Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”


The reference, “who was one of them” meant the disciples (John in particular) knew Jesus met with Nicodemus.


Again, Nicodemus was mentioned in John 19:38-42, “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”


In the end, Nicodemus defended Jesus’ right to speak at a trial and Nicodemus with Joseph of Arimathea cared for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. But notice that it says in verse 38 that Joseph of Arimathea (who is thought be have been a man of means) was a disciple of Jesus but he secretly for ‘fear of the Jews’ went to Pilate to ask to be able to take away Jesus’ body.


They were both powerful men who secretly believed in Jesus. As a Pharisee Nicodemus believed in the resurrection. He was also a member of the Sanhedrin (the ruling body of the Jews).


We do not know anything of Nicodemus after the Resurrection of Jesus but in the end, I imagine Nicodemus’ life was never ever the same again. The Resurrection meant Jesus conquered death. In the end after Jesus died on the cross, He arose again! Jesus God had the final word…


Spiritual Practice: In the End


When all is said and done, what does the resurrection of Jesus mean to you?


In God, Deborah


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