July 25th (words 679)
We might have asked the disciples: “What was it like to sit
next to the creator of the universe?”
You’re sitting there, face to face with Jesus just after the realization
that he is the Messiah, the chosen one of God, God in the flesh in fact. What do you say? What kind of conversation partner was Jesus
when he walked the earth?
A couple great looks of this come from the story of Nicodemus
and the Woman at Samaria. These two
examples come early in the book of John - before Jesus becomes a celebrity that
people come to for healing and a new teaching.
It also comes before there is the full realization of who Jesus is. We’ll look at the conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus.
Nicodemus meets with Jesus at night – possibly to protect his
image as a Pharisee. He opens the
conversation with a compliment that shows he has his eyes open. He takes a side that is pro-Jesus – saying he
is from God, not from the enemy. I can
imagine that he was waiting for Jesus to thank him for his compliment. “Thank-you Nicodemus – you are a perceptive
observer, you have rightly grasped who I am, I tip my hat to your intelligence.” What was Nicodemus expecting from Jesus? Perhaps he wasn’t looking for any sort of
compliment – but a teaching. Perhaps he
complimented Jesus in order to get more teaching for his hungry heart.
He says: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from
God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Let’s pick this apart. First Nicodemus isn’t alone in his assessment
– he says: “we know.” Jesus divided the crowds and the different
Jewish communities – people loved him and the things he could do for them or they
hated him.
Second, they know Jesus is a teacher. He is one who teachers. Crowds, thousands would come to hear Jesus
teach. Not only did he have new
teaching, he taught in a new way – as one with authority.
Third, Nicodemus points out that Jesus is a teacher come from
God. Nicodemus interprets the miracles
as a way to support his teaching – He is not just a dispenser of spiritual
medicine that heals. The miracles are
actually signs from God which gives strength and power to the words he says.
There was a lot that could have been praised in the words of Nicodemus. But Jesus doesn’t give a word of praise for
Nicodemus. Instead, in verse 3 it says, “Jesus
answered him…” When you read what Jesus
says it doesn’t look like much of an answer to me. He pitches Nicodemus a curveball that was
hard for him to catch – let alone hit.
We need to adjust our understanding of the little compliment
Nicodemus gives Jesus so that the response he gets answers his unasked question. We must read between the lines to find the question
his words are indirectly asking.
It becomes clear that Nicodemus wasn’t fishing for a
compliment – he was paying a compliment to a teacher so that he could hear more
teaching. His unasked question, lying in
the look of his eyes, asks Jesus for more.
“Teach me!” Nicodemus asks.
For me, this small detail re-orients the whole context of
this discussion. Instead of Jesus
ignoring the words of Nicodemus in order to disorient him… he answers the question lying in the hungry
heart of Nicodemus. He gives him what he
is hungry for but it gives him indigestion – because he doesn’t know how to
take it! This is powerful – because Nicodemus
can’t simply add to what he already knows.
He needs to have a reorientation, a transformation, a metamorphosis,
from here to there.
He needs to start with Jesus and go from there… It starts
with a new birth. It starts with
becoming like a little child – accepting by faith. If you accept Jesus as a teacher – whose
teaching is supported by signs from God – then he reorients your understanding.
Let him be your kindergarten teacher!
