Who will be a witness for my LORD?

Who will be a witness for my LORD?


http://youtu.be/_uMPT7IsVvI - Who will be a witness for my LORD?

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish judicial and administrative council in the first century. During the time of Christ, the Sandhedrin was under Roman rule but had a great deal of influence and authority. This group was made up of 71 members including Pharisees and Sadducees with the Pharisees being the most vocal members. The Sanhedrin was an elite group of godly and righteous men who were committed to knowing and following God's laws with a passion. The chief priest presided over the Sanhedrin. Or at least, that's how they started out.

We don't know much about Nicodemus except that he was a member of this powerful group of 71. And even though the Sanhedrin was greatly opposed to Jesus, we know that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night wanting to know more about him. While many Pharisees approached Jesus with questions, trying to catch him in their trap, Nicodemus seemed to really be seeking truth. Nicodemus, unlike his cohorts, seemed to be drawn to this man who spoke of God with such authority, as if He knew Jehovah personally.

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. He was probably concerned about what the other members of the Sanhedrin would think if they knew he was talking to Jesus, so he went under the cover of night. I can imagine how Jesus yearned for Nicodemus to understand and to accept that He was the Messiah. Jesus taught about being born again. Nicodemus couldn't quite grasp how that could happen, but he wanted to understand. He was not looking for ways to discredit Jesus. I think he knew Jesus just might be the Messiah they were all waiting for. He wanted to know more.

I also think it's interesting to note that probably the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16 was spoken by Jesus to Nicodemus. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The next time we see Nicodemus is in John 7 - Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”

The Sanhedrin wants Jesus arrested so that they can question him in the privacy of their meeting. They see him as a threat and want him dead. But the officers who were expected to make the arrest are a little concerned about arresting Jesus. "No man ever spoke like this Man!" they said. I'm pretty sure it was uncommon for the officers to question the Sanhedrin, but something told those officers that Jesus was more than just a man.

The Pharisees answer the officers by suggesting that they, too, had been deceived by Jesus. "Have any of us believed in Him?" they asked, as if that was a true measure of truth. They mock the officers saying that anyone who believes in Him is uneducated in the Law and under a curse. Apparently, that shut the officers up. But Nicodemus makes a bold move. He asks a question, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" John 7:51 It was just a question. But immediately, Nicodemus is under attack and ridiculed just like the officers had been. "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee." John 7:52 They were referring to the Scriptures that said the Christ would come from David's family and from Bethlehem, David's hometown, certainly, He would not be from such a common area as Galilee.

So Nicodemus shut up. It must have been difficult for him to sit and hear the others plot to kill Jesus.

John 11:47-57 - Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

Without realizing what was happening, Caiaphas, being moved by the Holy Spirit, prophecies that one man, Jesus, would die for all nations. It was better for one man to die so others wouldn't perish:

look at verses 49-57:
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

I assume that Nicodemus was at each meeting of the Sanhedrin:

- When they conspired with Judas to betray Jessu for thirty pieces of silver - Matthew 26:14-16

- When Jesus was arrested and stood before the Sanhedrin - Luke 22:66

- When they used false witnesses to testify against Jesus - Matthew 26:59-60, Mark 14:55-56

- When the Sanhedrin used their political clout to influence Pilate to put Jesus to death - Mark 15:1-15

Nicodemus remained silent - at least as far we know.

It's hard to speak out for what's right when there is a mob of people determined to do what's wrong. If Nicodemus dared to speak, he could have found himself standing right next to Jesus, being accused of blasphemy or heresy. He must have been very afraid for his own safety.

The Sanhedrin won. Or at least, they thought they won.

Actually, Jesus said it perfectly:

John 10:14-18 - I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

It was God's plan all along that Jesus would die on the cross. Remember when Jesus was being arrested and Peter stepped in and cut off the ear of the soldier. Jesus rebuked him:

Matthew 26:51-54 - And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

The arrest, the trial, the crucifixion - all of it - was in God's perfect timing. The Sanhedrin had no power over the Son of God, neither did Pilate. Jesus laid down His own life, just at the right time.

Nicodemus had opportunities to stand up for Christ. But he was afraid of what man could do to him. So he sat quietly and watched the Son of God be condemned to death on the cross.

But Nicodemus couldn't forget how he felt in the presence of Jesus. Oh, how he must have replayed in his mind every single word out of the Rabbi's mouth! "Could he really be the One we have been waiting for? There's something about him..."

After the crucifixion, the disciples scattered in fear of their own lives. After all, if this could happen to Jesus, their Lord, how could they possibly escape? But two men come forward to give Jesus a proper burial. Two men - Joseph of Arimathea (a secret follower of Christ) and our friend, Nicodemus.

John 19:38-41 - Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before.

http://youtu.be/CKRF8UihM5s - I will Rise - Chris Tomlin

I like Nicodemus. I admire him. Even when surrounded by so many "wise" and "godly" men, he still spoke up for truth. He knew Jesus was different. I have no doubt that God was drawing Nicodemus to Himself, softening his heart so that he could see that Jesus was the One.

As I read about Nicodemus, at first, I'm tempted to judge, as if I would have been more vocal, as if I would have taken a stronger stand against the 70 men in the Sanhedrin! But when I think about it, I fail to take a stand for Jesus all the time. I'm just like Nicodemus - just a little too afraid of what others will think.

Nicodemus was a seeker of truth. He didn't do everything exactly perfect, but in the end, it was Nicodemus who made sure that Jesus' body was given a proper Jewish burial. Those 75 pounds of myrr were not inexpensive. Nicodemus lovingly prepared the body of Jesus, and he no longer seemed to be worried about what anyone thought. I like that.

We don't hear anything more about him, but I have a feeling Nicodemus became a powerful witness for Christ. He never stopped seeking after the Messiah. And in the end, he found Him.

I'm sure that Nicodemus had regrets. I can relate to Nicodemus. There are many things in my life that I wished I could "redo"; times I wished I had taken a stand for Christ; times I sat quietly while people did things that dishonored His Name. But I can't change my past. I can only move forward and do better in the future. Thank God for His mercy and grace! Thank You, Father, for loving me inspite of my failures. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to start fresh every day, with my sins covered by the precious blood of Jesus, the Christ!

I remember the words of Jesus:

Matthew 7:7 - “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

http://youtu.be/NI_1YliutzA - The More I Seek You - Kari Jobe

Lord God, help me to learn from Nicodemus. Help me to seek You with all my heart. Help me to be brave, willing to stand up for Jesus and for what's right and good, even if it seems everyone is against me. Help me to remember that I do not have to be afraid of what man can do to me, for You are my strength and power. With You by my side, I can face any army. Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace. Your mercies are new every morning and for that, I'm so very thankful. I'm so sorry for all the times I let You down; all the times I fail to speak up for others who cannot speak for themselves. Guide me, Holy Spirit, help me make choices that honor You. For You alone are my LORD. You alone are worthy of my devotion and praise. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer, I pray all these things. Amen.