1. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He was a man of a very high order and a teacher of the scriptures. (V1)
2. One night Nicodemus comes to meet Jesus with his own enquiries. He had inferred Jesus to be a Teacher came from God and he was moved by the miracles Christ performed. (V2)
3. Jesus replied to him that if a man is not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ( v3)
4. Nicodemus asked Christ how it is possible for a man when he is old to go back into his mother's womb to be born again. (V4)
5. Then Jesus goes a step further and explains that if a person is not born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ( v5)
6. He said what is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is of the spirit. ( v6)
7. He told him not to marvel on what he told about being born again. ( v7)
8. Jesus also said, those who are born of the spirit are like wind that blows, of which we can hear it's sound but do not know where it came from and where it goes. ( v8)
Life Application:
Who was Nicodemus?
1. Nicodemus was a teacher of the Jews. (V1)
2. He was also a ruler of the Jews and was a man of a very honourable position (v1)
3. This is his first encounter with the Lord the night when he met him.
4. He has seen Christ from far... and created his own impressions of him as a great teacher who came from God and as a Miracle worker( v2)
Few thoughts to ponder... what do you think who Christ is?
It depends on how personal you get to know him. God calls us for a closer walk with him. The more closer we get.... The more we come to know about him.
This is what David says,
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalm:34:8
What are your personal impressions about Christ?
Do you create impressions of what other people tell about Christ or have you ever had a personal encounter with him?
We will see below some live examples of people who had a personal encounter with God from the scriptures.
1. Moses' encounter with Christ:
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exodus:3:3
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exodus:3:4
2. Encounter of Gideon with God:
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Judges:6:11
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
Judges:6:12
3. Encounter of Nathaniel with Christ:
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
John:1:48
4. Encounter of zaccheus with Christ:
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
Luke:19:5
Encounter of Saul with Christ:
And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts:22:7
This bible is full of people who had encounters with God. I am sure of one thing, if you are person who had an encounter with the most high God, you can never be the same again.
1. Are you like Moses coming closer to God out of curiosity to know what is there the other side?
2. Are you like Gideon waiting for God to interfere in your hopelessness?
3. Are you like Nathanael waiting for a God to look right through into your heart?
4. Are you like zacchaeus lost in sin, but trying to see if Christ can help You?
5. Are you like saul, who have persecuted the church?
Whoever you may be,
Christ calls you to have a personal encounter with him. After that, I can assure from personal experience and from the Holy Scriptures that you will never be the same.
Now, let me also explain to you how the life of Nicodemus changed after his encounter with Christ.
Nicodemus speaks in public defending Christ after his personal encounter with Christ.
Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
John:7:50
Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
John:7:51
He doesn't stop there. He had a very important role in the burial of CHRIST.
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
John:19:39
Questions to ponder for the day:
Have you ever had a personal encounter with Christ?
How much your life has changed after that incident?
Please feel free to share with me that we can glorify God together.
