The Paradox Par excellence
It is unfortunate that He does not received a warm welcome in His Father’s house. He did not want to press the issue either. He knows that the earthly temple would fade away; the true temple, where in God dwells, would rise again in glory. For the moment, He limits Himself to proving that He is the Messiah (by the miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the terrestrial temple). Of course, He worked many more miracles than are recorded in the Gospels. He wrought enough to make many believe in Him. Nicodemus admits that all the miracles are authentic. Further, he acknowledges that God had to be with Him to perform these miracles. “There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee” (Jn. 3:1). By all worldly standards, he is a wise man. He is well versed in the Scriptures. Being a Pharisee he is a religious man. They insist upon the minute details of the external rites. True, initially he was timid. Hence, he chose to walk with our Beloved Lord at a time when the mantle of darkness hid him from the eyes of men.
Nicodemus might be qualified as the “nocturnal character” in the gospel. For, we meet him always at night. He is a “saintly” member of the Sanhedrin. For the first time we find him attending it by night. Again, it is at night that we find him defend Our Lord. It is then that he affirms: “No man should be judged before having a hearing. On good friday after the crucifixion, along with Joseph Arimathea, he comes to the crucifixion spot by night. “He brought about 35 kilograms of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes” (Jn. 19:39)
There wherever so many social impediments to discourage Nicodemus to be on Our Lord’s side. Nevertheless, he did come to see Him when He was in Jerusalem for the Passover. He comes to revere the Lord. He quickly realizes that such a reverence was not enough. Hence He tells Jesus: “One evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi, he said, we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you” (Jn. 3:2).
But he is not yet ready to confess the divinity of the Son of God, though he had seen many a miracle. There is something that still holds him back. He still veils his personality under the official “we”. Certainly, Our Lord chides him for still being ignorant of many prophecies. “There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. One evening, he came to speak with Jesus. Rabbi, he said, we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you. Jesus replied, I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit. How are these things possible? Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?(Jn. 3:1-10)
Here our Lord shows Himself the teacher par excellence. But He also proclaims that. He is first and foremost the Redeemer of the world. He affirms that He speaks of the crucifixion, along with the Resurrection.
This rebirth is not of the body, but of the soul. I can be had only through His death. This rebirth is essential to be one with Him. Nicodemus begins by calling the Lord a Teacher. By the end of their meeting Our Lord proclaims Himself Saviour of the world. The cross and the crown (death and resurrection) reflect themselves back over every incident in our Lord’s life. Up to then, the Cross, Crucifixion was considered a curse. Nicodemus now discover that it is the real and lasting source of healing and redemption from sin.
The Redeemer has no hesitation to bade him to relinquish, once and forever, the order of worldliness. “Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, unless you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3)
Spiritual life is not a push from below, but a gift from above. Every person is born from the flesh first. And everyone is heir to the original sin. Through His Death and Resurrection Jesus has redeemed everyone from the original sin. In this process the aspirant has also to die to sin and rise to grace.