Wednesday 29 February 2012

Background

Jesus gathered followers of different kinds. And the incident inthe temple (John 2:13-22) showed he had critics too.

Some of Jesus' followers, like Nicodemus, were not prepared toprofess their discipleship publicly. Some commentators suggest thatNicodemus was part of a small, subversive group of people (amongJesus' critics) who were also followers of Jesus.

Nicodemus is mentioned elsewhere in John's Gospel. He appearsalongside Joseph of Arimathea who was also described as a "discipleof Jesus, though a secret one" (John19:38-42). Elsewhere (John12:42-43) there is reference to "many, even of the authorities"who believed in Jesus.

Nicodemus was also a member of the authorities who sent the templepolice to arrest Jesus (John7:45-52). He tried to defend Jesus but did not publicly confessany kind of allegiance to Jesus.

What kind of a disciple was Nicodemus?

• He addressed Jesus as "a teacher ... from God" (v. 2) and Jesussaw him as "a teacher of Israel" (v. 10).
• They have a high regard for each other, and engage inrespectful dialogue.
• Jesus offers Nicodemus the challenge of a different kind ofdiscipleship centred on "the kingdom of God".

What distinguishes a person born from above/again/anew istheir capacity to "see" the kingdom of God (for example, wherethere is transformation of life (John2:1-12) and prayer (John2:13-22)).

This is a call to discipleship with a capacity to reflect andsee signs of the kingdom of God.

To Ponder

Where do you see the signs of the kingdom ofGod?

Nicodemus was truly a disciple of Jesus, and amember of the Jewish authorities. What are the clues that he hadthe capacity to see the kingdom of God?