John 19:38-42 – “Nicodemus comes to faith?”
(Ben Chidester)
John 19:38-42 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
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We first met Nicodemus back in chapter 3 of John’s Gospel account. He came to Jesus at night, which tells us that he, like Joseph of Arimathea, was afraid of his interest in Jesus being known. His conversation with Jesus revealed that there was much he did not understand about Jesus. We were left wondering in chapter 3 if Nicodemus sincerely believed that Jesus is the Messiah.
At this last reference to him, we get a glimpse of evidence that perhaps his faith finally came to fruition. He joined with Joseph, who we are told was indeed a disciple – even if secretly – to properly bury Jesus. That he and Joseph were willing to risk this, all for the sake of properly honoring Jesus’ body, points to a sincere faith. Nicodemus was careful to attend to the proper use of spices, and quite an immense weight of them.
John does not tell us in the end if Nicodemus finally came around, though we as readers hope that he did. In part, I think we hope for Nicodemus, because we see some of him in ourselves. We have all had times when we were afraid to profess faith and to follow Jesus, perhaps because, like Nicodemus, we were afraid of what it could cost us. We have all at some point been perplexed by Jesus and his teaching. We want God to rescue Nicodemus from his doubts and fears because we want God to rescue us too.
Although we do not know in the end what came of him, the story of Nicodemus is truly one of God’s compassion and patience. Although he was admonished by Jesus back in chapter 3, consider that he essentially got to have a Bible study with God himself! Because of his role as a teacher of Israel, Nicodemus deserved the admonition, but on a personal level, Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand the teaching of Scripture, that he might thereby find salvation, and he was willing to spend his valuable earthly time to sit down with him and teach him. That Nicodemus was given such an honor of burying the Lord also reveals God’s heart toward him. Even in this closing moment of his earthly ministry, Jesus was inviting Nicodemus to test his faith and demonstrate it.
Nicodemus does, however, also serve as a warning. God was so patient and compassionate with him, but he did, in this moment, call him out from the sidelines, where he had been sitting throughout the Gospel account. God is patient and compassionate with us and our hard-heartedness, but our days on earth are finite before death comes for us too. He gives us moments, like for Nicodemus here at Jesus’ burial, to step out and test our faith. If we have not yet come to believe the Resurrection, Nicodemus’ story is a call to “come and see” just as he had, to keep pursuing earnestly while there is yet time. On the other hand, if we have put our faith in Christ, may the story of Nicodemus cause us to think of others in our lives who are still on the sidelines and may we pray for them, that the Lord would finally call them to himself.
Weekly Prayer Focus: Spiritual Renewal for Our Congregation
Daily Prayer Request: “Endurance in Prayer.” Last year, after the Praying Church seminar, there was a lot of excitement toward greater prayer focus. That is hard to maintain. It is easy to slip back into patterns of self-reliance. Let’s pray together that we can continue to grow in our dependence on God as we remain steadfast in our commitment to prayer. Yes, let’s pray for our prayer life… (MK)