3/16/25 - Nicodemus: An Intelligent Man Comes to Christ
A Nocturnal Conversation—John 3:1-19
A Closed-Door Meeting—John 7:50-52
A Public Act of Faith—John 19:38-42
We may suppose that in their early days Joseph and Nicodemus may have pursued the kind of life they did in order to be well thought of. Certainly many do it today. Some seek it through wealth, because the rich are generally courted by the less fortunate. Some seek it through prestigious titles and positions—by being a member of the Sanhedrin or city council or bar or civic organization. But these things fade in time, and perceptive people are eventually disillusioned by the emptiness of human honors. What then? Do they come to their senses and abandon vanity for things that are worthwhile? Sometimes, but not always or even usually. The reason most do not is that fear of what others may think or do deters them. Many who would not fail to confess Christ because of their desire for praise, nevertheless fail to confess him because they think that someone might despise them or laugh them to scorn.
Why is it that in a day when every vice of humanity is coming “out of the closet” and clamoring for recognition as a pure and natural expression of the essentially “good” human spirit, many believers (or alleged believers) fail to come out for Christ? It is fear, fear of what someone may say.
If you do not confess Christ openly and stand with him even in the face of ridicule, I do not see what right you have to consider yourself any different from Pontius Pilate, for it was fear that kept him back from righteousness. Do you respect Christ? So did Pilate. Do you honestly want to do the right thing? So did he. Do you say, “I find no fault in Jesus”? This was Pilate’s testimony. But his fear of Caesar triumphed over his more noble instincts. Be careful that you are not following in his train.
