Wednesday Night Bible Study
by Mark McCool
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: Bible study
Scripture: John 3:1-6, Matthew 19:16-26, Isaiah 55:8-9, John 3:7-15, John 7:43-52, John 19:38-39

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/mark-mccool--wednesday-night-bible-study-33
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for your giving. Thank you, musicians, for leading us in worship. And greetings and welcome to Wednesday night worship in the word. So good to see every one of you back in the house of the Lord uh this Wednesday evening. It's a another opportunity for us to get into the word. We've stated it before, but we'll say it again. Uh we love our praise and worship time, evangelistic preaching. We like uh uh special times of prayer when we can talk to the Lord. Prayer meeting is a time that we can talk to the Lord. And then Bible study is a time that the Lord can talk to us through his word because it is his written word. Many will make the statement, "I sure would like to hear from the Lord. Well, he he's given you his word and you can hear from him anytime you get into the word. So, it is a privilege to be back in the house of the Lord to study on this Wednesday evening with Bible study. We are beginning a new series of lessons with our spring quarter and by faith Friday morning spring begins. So, this is appropriate time. And by Friday morning, I hope that that uh quick snow showers that we enjoyed on Monday and Tuesday will be out of memory and out of mind and we won't have to worry about those things for another season. It's good to be in a new season. So, we're beginning our spring quarter. And we're going to begin our study tonight with a wonderful wonderful conversation. Our lesson tonight is entitled a conversation with Nicodemus. And then it has the subtitle that says, I will be born again and live as a new creature in Christ. We find our scripture text that we'll study from tonight in the book of St. John the third chapter. And we'll be using that as a narrative as we go through, but uh to begin we're going to read the first six verses of St. John the third chapter. We read, "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night saying to him, "Rabbi we know that thou art a teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him." Jesus answered and said unto him, "Verily, verily, I say unto you unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit." A conversation with Nicodemus. Let's pray. Savior, I love you. I thank you that you have given us another opportunity to study your word and to allow your word to minister to our hearts. Lord, let your word this night give us enlightenment. Let it give us direction. Let it give us the light that we need to shine to a lost world to win others to you. God, we thank you and praise you for this opportunity. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen and amen. Not long after Jesus preached his what we refer to as sermon on the mount he met individually with this elite religious leader named Nicodemus. And he would start to give Nicodemus an introduction to the new covenant that was taking place, the transition that was taking place from blood sacrifice to the supreme sacrifice that Jesus himself would make to bring about a new dispensation of grace. And despite humanity's rebellious nature God still wanted to covenant with man as he wants to covenant with us today. He revealed this new covenant to Nicodemus about being born of water and of spirit. And we still have that opportunity today. You see, if you were here Sunday morning we baptized four precious souls in the name of Jesus. They were fulfilling the same covenant that Jesus was referring to, a new covenant that would be the act of repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Ghost as a new covenant connection between mankind and God. So, our study tonight deals with this conversation that Jesus would have with Nicodemus. So, LET'S FIRST TALK ABOUT EXACTLY who Nicodemus was. Verse one of chapter three gives us some uh pretty definitive insight. It said that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. He was a Pharisee but he was not just any Pharisee. He was a leader. He was a ruler. And we find Nicodemus slipping through the darkness of night to meet up with Jesus and have a conversation with Jesus. I heard one fellow say he was the original Nick at Night. Well, I don't know about that, but Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Likely he was walking in physical darkness but he also was walking in spiritual darkness. But to his credit he was searching for enlightenment and he was going to the right place. When you go to Jesus to get enlightenment, you're going to the right place. Likely as a Pharisee, especially a ruler of the Jews Nicodemus had spent many hours of studying the law. He had been in intensive study for years and years to rise to the position of a ruler of the Jews. Yet in all of that study yet in all of that preparation that he had made he did not yet realize who Jesus was and who he was really talking to. The beautiful thing that we find is that he was not like the other Pharisees. Nicodemus was searching for enlightenment. And Nicodemus was even willing to risk his own reputation to go outside all of the traditions that he had been taught to go to Jesus. Now he wasn't out front at first for in origin it was a secretive meeting. He didn't want anybody to see him. He had decided to uh to find out because he knew there was something different about Jesus. And when he began to address Jesus, I want you to notice the manner in which Nicodemus first addressed Jesus. Verse two said, "The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi." He gave him reverence. "We know that thou art a teacher come from God." He knew there was something special about Jesus. He just didn't know how special. And he had already reasoned it out. He said, "For no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him." Well, he was getting close. There was a little more than God being with him. He was God manifest in flesh. But Nicodemus didn't understand it quite yet. So he began to speak to Jesus and I want you to notice for it's a great example to us. We're supposed to be witnesses and examples. We're supposed to have Jesus living in us, the power of the Holy Ghost directing us and we're supposed to be witnesses. Witnesses are very wise in the way they witness and Jesus gives a beautiful example of how to witness to someone in his interaction with Nicodemus. He spoke to Nicodemus on Nicodemus' intellectual level. And he engaged Nicodemus to cause Nicodemus to question Jesus' very premise when Jesus said, "You must be born again." He got Nicodemus' attention. He made A STATEMENT THAT NICODEMUS SAID, "SIR, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS. I I'VE STUDIED. I I KNOW THE word up to this point. I I've been to all of the the classes and I've studied under the great leaders and now I've I've risen to this point of being A RULER, BUT HOW CAN A MAN be born again? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb?" Let's pause here before we see how Jesus would respond and look at the mechanics of what Jesus has just done. Jesus in his humanity knew how to engage an honest-hearted individual on an intellectual level that would cultivate a discussion that would bring revelation. Now, think about that just a minute. Jesus was a teacher, all right? In fact, he was the master teacher. And Nicodemus identified him in such, he said, "We know that thou art a teacher come from God." You know what a good teacher is able to do? A good teacher What's the way they say it? Knows the room? A good teacher knows how to engage those he is teaching or that she is teaching. A good instructor will do more than regurgitate facts. They will enlighten the individual that they are teaching by engaging them. Jesus was the master at this as he was with everything. If you'll recall when he was choosing his disciples he spoke to them about things that were of their interest. When he talked to fishermen, he said, "I'll make you fishers of men." He knew this was A STATEMENT THAT THEY WOULD relate to. JESUS WAS THE MASTER OF THIS. HE KNEW HIS AUDIENCE. YOU SEE, THIS IS A GOOD INSIGHT for all of us that we must know as witnesses. When we have the opportunity to witness to someone, we must engage them in a manner that causes them to be interested, not to turn them away. There was a gentleman well-being many years ago now here in the city of Knoxville that you would see riding a bicycle around the city. You have to maybe have white hair or have lost a lot of hair like me to have remembered this cuz it's been a while. But, he would ride the downtown area and the Five Points area and those Happy Hollow area in the city of Knoxville. I'm really dating myself. But, he had a bicycle and he had made handmade signs. He had a placard on the front and even had one time I remember he had put a plastic window in the front of the placard and he had SIGNS ON THE BACK and signs on THE SIDE. AND ALL it said was Acts 2:38 or hell. Well, it got folks' attention. But, it was not engaging to the point to lead most to Christ. I heard the wisdom and I repeat it that our bishop said frankly, Acts 2:38 and hell don't need to be in the same sentence. Acts 2:38 and heaven ought to be what we're looking for. We need to be able to present and witness AND ENGAGE THE LOST IN A MANNER THAT MAKES THEM WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS. I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS JESUS THAT YOU'VE BEEN SPEAKING OF. JESUS ENGAGED NICODEMUS. He whetted his appetite for more knowledge. Jesus was a master at this. I as I studied this, I couldn't help but uh recall another time that Jesus was questioned over Matthew the 19th chapter. There was a young man who was asking questions but he didn't have a pure motive. The young man was asking questions frankly, so he could elevate his own status with Jesus. You know, leading questions he wanted Jesus to answer so he could look good. In Matthew 19:16, it says, "And behold, one came and said unto him, 'GOOD MASTER, WHAT GOOD THING SHALL I do that I may have eternal life?'" And he said unto him, "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. But, if thou will enter into life, keep the commandments." He would have been better off to accept that answer from Jesus and gone on. But, he didn't find the satisfaction he was looking for because it was all about him. He was different than Nicodemus. Nicodemus wanted enlightenment. This man, this young man wanted self-adulation. He wanted everybody to see that he could talk to Jesus and and Jesus could give him direction that made him look good. Jesus said, "All you got to do is keep the commandments." Young man couldn't stop there. He said, "Which commandments?" Jesus said, "Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother. And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." I can imagine the young man nearly popped his buttons. He said, "I've done all of that." Look at me. Jesus just told me what I need to do and I'VE DONE IT ALL. BUT, HE COULDN'T STOP THERE. Young man said unto him, "All these things have I kept from my youth. Is there anything else? What do I lack?" Jesus said unto him, "If thou will be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasures in heaven and come and follow me. Become a disciple. Become a follower." He asked enough questions to realize he wasn't where he should be. He was not yet a follower. He was an obeyer of the law, but he was not a follower of Christ. For scripture says, "But, when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful." For he had great possessions. The cost was too great to become a follower. He could obey law but he couldn't become a follower of Christ. Too many find themselves in that exact position nowadays. Oh, I will obey the letter of the law but don't expect me to be a follower that sacrifices all and puts Christ first. And when this happened, Jesus' disciples were nearby and Jesus, the master teacher, saw a teaching moment. Then said Jesus unto his unto his disciples, "Verily, I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." He said, "This is where the problem lies with wealth. Wealth in of in and of itself is not the problem. But, if the wealth is before being a follower, there's few that can put Jesus first. And again, I say unto you, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed saying, "Who then can be saved?" But, Jesus beheld them and said unto them, "With men, this is impossible. But, with God, all things are possible." Now, there have been theologians who have tried to naturalize this statement that Jesus made that Jesus Jesus was actually referring to a narrow passageway in the Jaffa Gate going in Jerusalem that uh camels had to be taught to kneel to go through that passageway. But, the real truth that most real scholars have come to realize that Jesus was not making an analogy and that was just man's ideology. The real truth was someone who values their wealth more than than Christ, it's literally MORE DIFFICULT TO TAKE A GREAT big ugly slobbering hump on his back camel and get him threaded through the eye of a needle than for him to get to heaven. Jesus meant what he said and he said what he meant. He engaged those that he taught. When he talked to fishermen, he said, "I'll make you fishers of men." When he talked to a young man WITH AN AGENDA, HE IDENTIFIED IT. WHEN HE SPOKE TO THE COMMON FOLKS, MANY OF WHOM whom were shepherds in that day, he talked about sheep sheep and being a shepherd and about all of the attributes of sheep. You know, we as witnesses, we as teachers should learn from Jesus' example. A good witness, a good teacher, a good communicator knows how to reach their audience on a level that they relate to. They know how to reach their students on a level that they relate to. I have a vivid memory of attending the University of Tennessee. I had many good instructors, but I have a vivid memory and I've told this to some of you before, I'm sure. But I took a night class in geography. It was one of the things I was required to take in my major and it was during winter quarter. Back then we were on quarters instead of semesters. So it was on a winter quarter when it was cold and blustery and chilly and it was a night class and I'll never forget it was scheduled on my schedule from 6:30 to 9:20. And the instructor was the author of the textbook. And one would think that the author of the textbook would have special enlightenment and great stories. Now, understand that those of you who love to look at maps and globes, I'm sure geography is really interesting to many folks. I really was looking for a grade in geography. And to my chagrin, we walked in the first night and he was literally at the door making sure at 6:30 he would close the door and we were going to go till 9:20 with one 15-minute break in the middle. And he literally read in a monotone voice from his textbook. Imagine the joy that I had when that semester that quarter was over. With steam heat in the middle of winter and a monotone voice reading about geography. I say all that to say this, we must present the gospel. We don't change the gospel, but it needs to be something joyous, not something monotone, not something old hat. It needs to be fresh and new. JESUS WAS THE EXAMPLE. HE STARTED ENGAGING NICODEMUS. And when he engaged Nicodemus, Nicodemus had recognized that Jesus was something special already for he had acknowledged his miracles and he knew that was something from God, but the thing that had him puzzled was here he was a member of these well-studied, law-abiding Pharisees and none of them could perform miracles. Jesus had something different. There needs to be SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE GOSPEL WHEN WE PRESENT IT. Folks should be saying there's something different about those folks. There's something different about the way THEY WALK, THE DISCIPLINES OF THEIR LIFE, EVERYTHING THEY DO. THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THEM. LONG BEFORE HE HEARD THE MESSAGE OF BEING BORN AGAIN, HE REALIZED THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT JESUS. Jesus could perform miracles. The Pharisees could not. They obeyed the letter of the law, but they could not accomplish what Jesus was accomplishing. This is why we, to be good witnesses, should study the word and know the word that when we engage an honest-hearted individual who is really seeking more truth and a deeper walk with God, we're prepared to preach the message and teach the message to them. You see, Jesus knew he was not addressing a individual who was not knowledgeable of the word. He was addressing an honest-hearted person who was devout walking in all truth of that they knew at that point, but this person was seeking more truth. Now, this is where we find a an understanding of different and diverse callings to be important in our lives. In the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ and our oneness organizations in general, we have world missions departments, global missions departments and we have uh then we have uh missions America and home missions. And I've oft noticed the challenges are completely different for global and world missions missionaries and home missions and missions America pastors. For many times the missionaries to foreign lands are dealing with unchurched folks who have no concept of who Jesus is and they can start with talking about the love and the grace of God and and and so many times those who have never experienced anything else, THEY WILL JUST READILY ACCEPT IT. BUT THE CHALLENGE HERE in our own nation is IT'S HARD TO FIND a sinner anywhere. Now, THERE ARE MANY WHO ARE JUST AS ENLIGHTENED AS NICODEMUS WAS, but they don't HAVE THE WHOLE TRUTH. I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE YOU this example from a personal experience. Several years ago when we lived over on Deerfield across from my mom and dad, we had a uh a couple of trees in our yard. One had uh had rotted out and and was about to fall, so we we got that tree cut down and all the wood in that tree, it was a cedar tree and nearby there was a sassafras tree and that sassafras tree had had broken as well and so we got both of those trees cut down, the cedar tree and the sassafras tree. And when they cut the wood, they just stacked the wood out in front of my house. Well, we had a gas fireplace and it didn't we didn't need any wood, so we put up a sign, free firewood. And and just a little bit, there was a fellow came by in a pickup truck and he said, "Are you serious? Is this wood free?" Absolutely. Make yourself at home. Well, he started loading that firewood. And in just a few minutes as he loaded that firewood, I noticed he would load and then he was laying some aside, wasn't going to take it and then he'd load more and then he'd lay some aside and and I got to looking, he was taking all of the cedar, but he didn't want the sassafras. And uh my question it just my interest got the best of me and I said uh "Sir, well, why are you not taking that?" And oh, I have to tell you at that point I had a very observant or {slash} nosy neighbor who lived next door and she had come out in the edge and she was watching what was going on. And uh he said, "Oh." He said, "I I won't burn sassafras because our Lord was crucified on a sassafras tree." I didn't tell him I was a minister. I did not remember reading anywhere in in the book of imaginations or anything where Jesus was crucified on a sassafras tree. I found out later on the real truth was that if you burn sassafras, it pops and cracks and they don't like that in the fireplace and it and it will spit out sparks out of your fireplace. It doesn't burn good, but oh, the cedar burned well and smelled good and all that good stuff. So, he loaded up all the cedar and carried it off. Well, as soon as he loaded up and left, my dear sweet neighbor, she stepped across the property line. She said, "Preacher, do you believe that?" She said, "Everybody knows that the Bible says that our Lord was crucified on a dogwood tree." Well, I hadn't read that one either. I've I've seen the lore. I've seen the the cute little poems that have been written that that the the dogwood is too large now to be a but that's not Bible. It's not scripture. It's lore. My point is Nicodemus had some preconceived ideas that were not true. We're going to run INTO FOLKS. CHECK OUT THE OBITUARY. It's you're hard-pressed to find in the city of Knoxville anybody wouldn't a church member that died. But the real truth is THERE ARE HONEST-HEARTED FOLKS THAT ARE LOOKING for more enlightenment. They know there's more than what THEY'VE GOT AND SOMETIMES IF WE don't know the word, YOU CANNOT ADDRESS as Jesus did to let HIM UNDERSTAND. JESUS GAVE HIM AN EXAMPLE THAT WAS WAS SO STARTLING TO HIS WAY OF THINKING. HE SAID, "YOU GOT TO BE BORN AGAIN." IT ENGAGED HIM. It challenged his preconceived preconceptions about God. You see, we've got to understand Isaiah said it this way in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways sayeth the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts THAN YOUR THOUGHTS." AND YET WE MUST study the word and submit ourselves to it rather than relying on preconceived ideas. I heard Bishop tell a similar story of knowledge of two fellows were on the front porch rocking having a discussion and one of them said, "I'll bet you $10 you cannot recite the Lord's Prayer." He said, "You got it. Show me your money." Said he got money and laid it out on the the desk beside him. He said, "All right, let me hear you recite the Lord's Prayer." The guy said, "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." Said the fellow reached up and gave him the $10 bill and said, "I didn't think you could do it." FORGET ABOUT THE PRECONCEIVED IDEAS. FORGET ABOUT THOSE THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE. THE BIBLE DON'T SAY YOU CAN GET SALVATION BETWEEN THE SADDLE STIRRUP AND THE GROUND. BUT IT DOES SAY YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN. YOU MUST BE BORN OF THE WATER AND BORN OF THE SPIRIT. DON'T DON'T LET SOME DENOMINATIONAL IDEOLOGY THAT HAS BEEN TAUGHT CONVINCE YOU NOT TO FOLLOW WHAT THE WORD of the LORD SAYS. ARE YOU WILLING TO BE LIKE NICODEMUS? Are you willing to say, "Lord, I want MORE ENLIGHTENMENT. I ALREADY SEE THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE." SO WHEN he began to teach, he asked the question, "How can a man enter in his mother's womb the second time when he's old?" Jesus begin to define it to him. He said, "What's born of flesh is flesh. What's born of spirit is spirit." Now, some have tried to misinterpret and say when he spoke of water and of spirit that he was speaking of natural birth and spiritual birth. Absolutely not. He went on to differentiate between flesh and spirit, but he first said water and spirit. That lets me know there's an essentiality TO BEING BAPTIZED, GOING DOWN IN THE WATER IN THE NAME OF JESUS AND COMING UP WITH YOUR SINS REMITTED TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST. And you see, Jesus would continue to work on Nicodemus' intellectual level and even give an some insight to his crucifixion and his resurrection. For if you go on in St. John the 3rd chapter verse 5, Jesus answered and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. That which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you, you must be born again." Then he said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth. And thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it come, whether it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the spirit." Nicodemus answered and said TO HIM, "HOW CAN these things be?" He said, "I'm confused HERE. GIVE ME MORE ENLIGHTENMENT." JESUS answered and said unto him, "Art thou a master OF ISRAEL? NOW, YOU'RE SUPPOSED to be a JEWISH LEADER. UH DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THIS? AND KNOW IT'S not these things? I'm giving you some revelation HERE." HE'S NOT CONDEMNING NICODEMUS, but he's letting Nicodemus know there's more for you. There's enlightenment COMING. HE SAID, "VERILY, VERILY, I SAY unto thee, we speak that we that we do know and testify that we have seen and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up into heaven." LOOK AT NOW. HE'S STARTING TO GIVE HIM SOME INSIGHT, SOME ENLIGHTENMENT. HE'S STARTING TO GIVE NICODEMUS WHO WHO'S HAD ALL OF THIS JEWISH LAW TEACHING. HE SAID, "NO MAN hath ascended up into heaven but he that came down from heaven." Who came down from heaven? Jesus came down from heaven. He couldn't ascend up TILL HE CAME DOWN. "EVEN THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." He also has given enlightenment that this wasn't a third of God, this wasn't Jehovah Jr., but this was God manifest in flesh that he was speaking to. And then he reached to Nicodemus' intellectual studies in history of law. He said it and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, EVEN SO MUST THE SON OF man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. Now, again he's appealing. He knows his audience. He knows his student. He's not just regurgitating meaningless statements. He knows that Nicodemus is aware of the history of the Jewish people and how when Moses was leading the people because of their sin and disobedience that God at one point allowed fiery serpents to attack the people and then he instructed Moses to make a brazen serpent and lift it up and all who looked upon that and believed they were healed. He gave that example. He said, "So must the Son of man be lifted up." This was a prophetic statement letting Nicodemus know that there would be a day that Jesus would be lifted up and all who would believe and be obedient to his word would have eternal life in this new dispensation, this new covenant would begin. So, we're talking about the conversation with Nicodemus. What happened to Nicodemus? What would evolve for while I personally wish John would have recorded Nicodemus' immediate response, scripture does not give us that. Nicodemus goes his way and disappears. And we do not hear of Nicodemus again for several chapters. But when you get to the 7th chapter of the book of St. John, you'll find that Jesus' popularity as well as his disdained detractors begin to all grow. In St. John the 7th chapter verse 43, we read so there was a division among the people because of him. You see, you can't ride the fence with serving Jesus. Either you're going to serve him or you're not. There will come a time you're going to have to make a decision whether you're going to be a follower of Jesus or you're going to be a detractor and reject him. Verse 44 said, "And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him." The the murmuring, the religious leaders who his new birth ideology would threaten were now becoming emboldened and they were desiring his mouth to be closed. Then came the officers to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they said unto them, "Have you not brought him?" They were trying to encourage the civil law to take Jesus. And the officers answered, "Never man spake like this man." Then answered them the Pharisees, "Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who KNOWETH NOT THE LAW ARE CURSED." YOU SEE THE CONFLICT THAT'S being created here? And look who shows up. Verse 50. Nicodemus said unto them, And if you look at it in scripture, in parentheses, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them. John 3 did not record what Nicodemus response was in his conversation with Jesus. But we're starting to see the picture refocus that it had a lasting effect on Nicodemus. He had been pondering it. He had been thinking about this being born again. He'd been thinking about this prophetic statement that he had made about Moses. AND AND SUDDENLY, NICODEMUS FINDS HIMSELF IN THE MIDST OF THIS CONTROVERSY FOR WITHOUT TRIAL, WITHOUT OBEYING THE LAW, THOSE WHO HAD BEEN SO ADAMANT ABOUT YOU FOLLOW THE LAW, THEY'RE NOW SAYING, "WITHOUT A TRIAL, WITHOUT ANYTHING, WE JUST WANT HIM ARRESTED. WE WANT HIS MOUTH CLOSED." AND NICODEMUS SAITH unto them, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, "Doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?" Nicodemus was where he should be, when he should be. Because that conversation had had a lasting effect on him. And he would take the very law that he'd been taught and say, "It's unfair for us to have Jesus arrested and to judge him without hearing him." And you know what happened when he made that statement? Verse 52. They answered and said unto him, "Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." They begin to ridicule Nicodemus because suddenly it was more than a a conversation with Jesus by night. Suddenly, he had reached a point that he had to stand up for what he knew was right. How ironic it is that the Pharisees who claimed to want nothing more than to uphold the law were belittling Nicodemus, this esteemed rabbi, for reminding them of exactly what the law said. Nicodemus, who had once been had come to Jesus under the cover of night for fear of being seen, begin to place his own reputation and position at risk among the elite of that day. But still, there's one more reference of Nicodemus that I would bring to your mind to complete our study of him tonight. Because once again, after this, Nicodemus disappears from the scriptures. We hear no more of this controversy of him specifically. But the next time he reappears, there's a total change has taken place in Nicodemus. The next time he appears, we find in St. John the 19th chapter, verse 38. And after this, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for the fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus. Jesus has now been crucified. He's to be put in a borrowed tomb. Nicodemus started out in secrecy. He revealed at least a willingness to have law protect Jesus, but now the cause has been too great by his enemies and Jesus has been crucified. Joseph of Arimathaea begs for his body. Verse 39 says, "And there came also Nicodemus, which at first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, about a hundred pounds weight. Then took they the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with spice, as the manner of the Jews is to bury him." Jesus now had seen the Son of Man lifted up, just as Jesus had prophesied at their first meeting. And now he was a full-fledged follower. He was publicly stepping out of the darkness that he had walked in into complete light. A Pharisee of high authority would now personally assist in the burial of Jesus. By his very actions, he was declaring himself a disciple of Jesus. This act of love likely angered his fellow Pharisees and religious leaders. How could a man of law possibly assist in the burial of the one that had been put to death for violating the law? Yet he refused to remain anonymous and secret any longer. He came out of the shadows. So, I conclude tonight with this thought. We have the opportunity, and those of you in this house who have been enlightened to know the covenant that we have with Christ, that there was a resurrection that would take place for all of our sins to be remitted. I have to think, even though it would be centuries later, that these words and this tune would be penned in Nicodemus' mind, as he was preparing the body of Christ to be buried. Befo- because he couldn't be resurrected until he was buried. But I just wonder if some form of Nicodemus' mind was saying, "I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back." Would you stand with me? You see, it matters not where you've come from. It matters not what denominational ideology may you may have been taught. It's just as simple as this. Jesus stated it. Peter gave the directions in Acts, the second chapter. You must be born again. And you must make a decision to be a follower of Christ. I want to be like Nicodemus. I want to be out in the open, unashamed, that I'm following Christ. Let's pray. Savior, I love you. God, I thank you for your word and the examples that your word gives us. And Lord, I pray that we go from this place with a fresh understanding of being a witness, the opportunities that you afford us, the doors you open for us, and Lord, the example that you have become to us, that we never present your gospel in a manner that would besmirch the precious and blessed truths that we have been revealed that have been revealed to us. Now God, I pray that in the days to come, you would open doors for us and let us speak to others as Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. Lord, if there's one in this house who has not yet fulfilled the covenant promise to repent of their sins, to be baptized in your name, to be filled with your spirit. Lord, I pray that you would convict their heart. Let your word tonight reach their heart and give them direction and guidance. Open their hearts to acting and obeying to be a follower of you. For all this, we're grateful and thankful. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen and amen. Lord bless you. Remember all the announcements. District Youth Retreat starts tomorrow night. We'll see you Sunday morning here. You're dismissed in Jesus' name.