Jesus and Nick-Epilogue

“And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.  Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”  John 19:39-40

Scripture doesn’t give us Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ declaration.  However, we know from scripture that Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of myrrh, the same compound which the wise men brought as a gift to the child Jesus as a symbol of Jesus’ future death on the cross, and aloes with which to prepare Jesus’ body for burial after the crucifixion.  Also, according to scripture, Luke 23:44-46, Jesus died between the hours of 12 noon and 3 p.m. on the day of His crucifixion.  The Sabbath would have begun in just a few hours, thus it was imperative that His body be anointed with the spices and laid in the tomb quickly.  This tells us that it was still day when Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried.  This is significant as concerning Nicodemus because he came out into the open to bring the myrrh and aloes while it was still daylight indicating that he had no fear to be seen as a man, particularly a Pharisee, who had become one of Jesus’ followers.

I can see Nicodemus in my mind’s eye as he followed and observed Jesus after his encounter with Him, perhaps discreetly before Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, watching as Jesus ministered to the people, performing miracles and teaching the truths of God’s word.  As he observed Jesus, he would have understood that Jesus was much more than a teacher, which was his first impression of Jesus when he called Him, Rabbi (John 3:2).  It could be that during the time between their encounter and when Jesus was crucified, Nicodemus was still not certain about the words that Jesus spoke to him about the new birth, but as he watched Jesus during that time period, I think he began to connect the dots.  Some folks hear the gospel and surrender to Christ immediately while others are not convinced so easily, but after some time in searching the scriptures and learning more about salvation realize that the gospel is true and the only way of salvation.  Then there are others whose lives are in such a mess that they realize that there is nowhere else to turn except to Christ.  It was likely that Nicodemus was in that second group.  He heard Jesus’ words, spent some time examining the truth of what Jesus was saying, and then knew in his heart that he must be born again, just as Jesus said.

Perhaps Nicodemus witnessed Jesus hanging on the cross.  If so, he would have remembered what Jesus said to him about the brass serpent hung atop the pole which, to all who gazed on it would be spared death, was the penalty for murmuring against God.  He would have also remembered that Jesus said that He would also be lifted up.  Nicodemus may have thought, “So this is what Jesus meant”.  But why?  Why would this Man from God be subjected to such torture?”  Even becoming a believer did not answer all the questions.  We might wonder if Nicodemus was one of the 500 who saw Jesus after His resurrection (I Corinthians 15:6).  Even if he didn’t see Him, he surely would have heard about Jesus’ rising from the dead, and he would have been overjoyed.  Nicodemus’ old life of following the burdensome rules and traditions which could never give assurance of God’s acceptance of him were gone.  No more seeking God’s approval by performance and rituals.  That big question mark which asked if this was enough or was that sufficient to appease his Maker no long hung over his head.

I like to think that Nicodemus became a bold witness for Christ.  He was likely dismissed from the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Pharisees, but probably didn’t care.  The amount of myrrh and aloes that he brought to Jesus indicated that he was rather wealthy.  If his wealth was tied to his role as a Pharisee, he may have lost it.  But what he gained was so much more valuable.  The missionary Jim Elliott who lost his life on the mission field wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

We don’t know the age of Nicodemus when he first encountered Jesus on that God-appointed night nor how long he lived after Christ ascended back to His Father in heaven.  I would hope that he spent the rest of his earthly life telling others about his encounter with Christ and how he was born again to a new and purposeful life.  To quote Craig McMillan in his article, “America’s Real Problem: Sickness of the Soul”, he wrote, “Jesus didn’t leave a lot of rules:  Love God, love others as much as you love yourself, and tell others how Jesus made it possible for you to do those two things.”  That is the gospel message “in a nutshell”.

It has been nearly 2,000 years since Nicodemus closed his earthly eyes and opened his heavenly ones to once again encounter the risen Christ, seated at the right hand of God.  I am sure that he is forever grateful for Jesus’ words:  “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).  I know that I am forever grateful.