Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-16
RY REV. HUGH r. STEVENSON
Jesus AND NICODEMUS

JESUS AND NICODEMUS.
Golden TeXt-For God so
loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that
whatsoever believeth on Him
should not perish, hut have
eternal life.--JOhn, ILLS.
Scholarship recognized the divine
mission Of Jesus when Nicodemus,
the venerable member OF the san
hedrin. visited the Master. His open
Ing statement shows that he repre-
scented the thought Of others when
he said to Him. "Rabb we know
thou hast come from God as
tea cher" The strict Pharisees passed
over the fact that the young Prophet
Of Nazareth was not graduate or
any recognized school Of religion. be-
cause they saw in His cleansing Of
the Temple and in His miracles
signs that revealed his authority.
| 1t is possible that. Nicodemus may
have represented some Of the
! Phara sale party. who desired 10 join
hands with the Lord in His effort TO
| bring in the Kingdom of God. He
! represented those whom. the proceed
| ing cha pier tells us, Jesus declined to
! trust.
| We owe 10 John the record of the
/ most important and Impressive con
! versa ton of the Christ that has come
down 10 MS. 1t is quite proha bly, that
| he was present when this distin-
| sushed scholar. whom tradition re-
ports was q millionaire from his
ownership of the monopoly OF
! .Ierusalem's water supply. came for
an evening conference with Jesus
concerning His program Of stablish-
| ing the kingdom. He came expecting
that his position in the Sanhedrin
! and descent from Abra ham, according
to the flesh, entitled him to admission
into the Kingdom Of God. Jesus sur
prised the eminent materialistic
teacher by declining 70 form any
alliance with his party and by His
insiStenCe that no one was A. to
participate in the Kingdom of God
unless they were completely made
over morally.
In connection with that converse
tion between The two Masters. we
have the record Of their considering
the deepest questions that men are
called upon ia face. In this concise
story We find packed all the great
central truths Of christa nifty
human guilt. the atonemenf by
Christ. regeneration by The Spirit. tho
doctrine Of the Trinity. Gods love in
rede slption. the need and nature Of
faith and the promise Of heaven =
Not only does the lesson contain the
most important truths of chrstis nifty.
hut IFS golden text is the most i'm
portan1 verse in the Bible II Is the
gospel in miniature
Seeking Light.
Nicodemus was an honest candid
. and critical inquirer in his search for
/ light lie recognized the authority OF
the Master. but he did not Concede
that He was the Messiah In fact. in
seeking more light from the Lord by
means Of A personal conference, II is
quite possible that Nicodemus may
have made this important visit az
IJ"dS suggests. so that he could give
% the inexperienced GsIiIean some
practical advice as To how to pro.
reed in pr"Claiming the kingdom "
God. or q least sound him and IL he
found Him amena bic 10 reaSo enConr.
age Him - proceed and warn Him
against tn" pitfalls that lay in His
par n"
Although \iCodemuS WAS critical
and cautions. he was not a coward.
He Cuura ceouslN dema nded fair treat
ment for Jesus when he faced the San
hedrIn. and later In the dark hour of
! t'hrist's death upon the cross. when
all the Masters disciples. including
Him and fed. Nicodemus proved his
loyalty. The one who dared in that
dark hour to assist Joseph take the
Lords body from the cross nd give
TO 1t a proper burial in A nearby grave
was no craven cowa I'd. He revealed
. in that hour the fruit Of this inter
view with the Prophet of Nazareth
when he Corra ceOusly acknowledged
his friendship and love Of the Christ
The key 10 the understa ndinc Of
the converse ton between the disttn.
. guished Hebrew scholar and the Mas
ter Is found in the insstence by the
Lord that regeneration was neCessa ry.
for even the member of the Sanhedrin
as we'll as all others. to understand
: the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus came to Jesus with the
MeSSianiC hopes OF the restoration of
the political hopes Of his nation along
political and racial lines. He came
seeking light on the Masters program
, and principles. Our Savior made no
exception TO him. demanding from him
the same requirements that He asked
of all. NicodemuS looked with favor
I upon the place of culture In the de-
/ relopment of ones life. while Jesus.
speaking with personal authority. do
marded conversion. The Prophet Of
Nazareth informs the great scholar OF
the Sanhedrin that he did not need
I more light. but life from above
The new birth dema nded by our
Master was not a question Of parent
age. education or moral living. for
Jesus dema nded of NiCodemus. who
! possessed all these. that he must be
born again. 1t was not ba ptism or
any other ritualistic observance. for
John had taught that while he bap-
tized with water. the Messiah would