Evening star., 1924-08-23
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.

Scholarship paid tribute to Jesus
when Nicodemus sought an interview
with the Master. The member of
the Sanhedrin revealed that he was a
spiritual minded man by his recogni-
tion of the Lords divine commi ssion.
He recognized the evidence of His
relationship with God by the zeal
Christ had manifested in seeking to
institute spiritual reformation of
the affairs of the temple when He
antagonized the vested interests by
His attack upon the traders and
money changers, who had CONNER
cialized religion by turning the place
of prayer into a market place. The
gospel implies that Jesus had wrought
other significant deeds which won for
Him popular favor and recognition
from Nicodemus, who was a promi-
nent spiritual leader and a recognized
authority in all religious matters.
Although many of the Passover
crowd were convinced by the Lord s
activities and messages that He was
probably the Messiah, we have the
record of only one who had the cour-
age of his convictions to personally
investigate the Masters claims. He
probably sought the interview in the
evening because IT was the most con-
venient time. No man can accuse
NicodemuS of being coward when
they note that he defended the Lord
before the Sanhedrin, demanding a
square deal for the Prophet of Naza- =
reth six months before the death of
Christ and that he openly took the
Masters body from the cross and pre-
pared His remains for the tomb with
the assistance of Joseph of Arimathea
He was cautious. critical and cour-
ageous when he approached Jesus
seeking to encourage Him in His
efforts for a spiritual faith and
service. Evidently Nicodemus, being
rooted and grounded in the faith of
| his fathers, failed to grasp some OF
the fundamental truths taught by the
| Lord because they appeared antagon-
istic to the old concepts of his re-
ligion.
The Masters Teachings.
Jesus welcomed the sincere in
| quirer after truth. In the brief rec
| ord of the interview that took place
upon the house tops, where in the
| cool of the evening the family and
| friends were accustomed to meet for
| fellowship and worship, there has
| been given to the world some of the
most striking statements of the Scrip
| lures. Nicodemus had recognized that
! Jesus possessed some authority; the
/ Master tacltly assumed more. BaC X
Of His Verify, verify. / say unto you
is a claim that He is the final author
| ity upon all matters.
| The eminent Jewish ruler came
| seeking light and Jesus met IT by a
| demand of life. The key to under
| standing their conversation is the
| Masters requirement of the new birth
| or regeneration as a universal neces-
| sity for one to understand the king
| dom of God. Christ appreciated spir-
| itual values, but in His efforts to win
| NiCodemuS the Lord Jesus did not
! compromise with the eminent scholar
| He pointed out to the seeker for light
| the necessity for him to possess the
new birth, which did not come to one
| through parentage, position or ma
| tionality. Nicodemus possessed al
| these and had lived high moral anC
| religious life and was ranked among
| the leading educated men and think
ers of his time, yet Christ insisted
! that he must "be born again"
| He revealed to the member of the
| Sanhedrin that the new birth could
not be obtained by baptism or any
| other ritualistic observance. Jesus
| cited the fact that John, who haC
baptized with water, had taught thai