John 3:1-7, 12 (NIV) 1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
John 19:38a, 39-40a (NIV) 38aLater, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.40aTaking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.
The power of Jesus is evident all through His ministry. He could take on the questions of the most brilliant minds and win. He challenged a tax collector to clean up his life and the person did it. He could command the storms to be still and the demons to be gone and it was done. Even those who did not know Him or believe in Him as the promised Christ were awed at His power. This kind of power people could understand. But then the power of Jesus took a strange turn when He said things like do not resist one who is evil. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the left cheek also. This is a mystery still. It sounds like weakness, but Jesus claimed it was an act of strength and power.
Nicodemus, whose name means “conqueror of the people,” was puzzled by the power of Jesus. He was a member of the ruling party of the Pharisees and he came to Jesus wondering about His signs of power. Like most powerful people, Nicodemus had difficulty understanding something he could not accomplish by the power of his own strength and intelligence. He can make no sense of what Jesus is saying. His mind has a frozen focus on his own strength and power. He continues to bang his strong head and stubborn heart against the wind of truth, until at some point Jesus gets through to him. For when Jesus died on the Cross in what seemed like humiliating weakness Nicodemus was there to request the body and to help with the burial.
When redeemed by Jesus Christ we use our power to bring fairness to the work place, to oppose those who abuse the power given them, and to help both the powerful and the powerless to serve others. Powerful people, redeemed by Christ, bring us a fresh kind of inspiration. This inspiration has to do with tenderness in the midst of toughness that grabs us with the truth of a heart of love.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 20, 1991
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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