We Are All NicodemusSample

Stage 5: Abandon

When last we see Nicodemus, it is at the foot of Jesus’ cross. Israel’s religious leaders, in consort with the governing Roman authorities, had at last succeeded in silencing their would-be Messiah – for three days at any rate – inflicting upon Him the most excruciating and humiliating death sentence imaginable. No doubt Nicodemus was present as Jesus hung there dying, languishing under the bitter taunts of those assembled to witness His crucifixion. 

It is in Christ’s final moments that Nicodemus most assuredly reached the apex of his faith journey: the sense of resolute abandon that comes when believers finally accept Jesus in their hearts and are set free – truly free! In John 19:38-42, we witness Nicodemus break with his fellow Pharisees and the other Jewish leaders in attendance, together with Joseph of Arimathea (a wealthy, secret disciple of our Lord) removing Jesus’ battered and broken body from the Roman cross and preparing it for burial. 

What is significant about this scene is the sheer publicity of it all: Nicodemus, the elite Pharisee – the same Nicodemus who once came to Jesus at night for fear of guilt by association – committing an act of utter compassion and reverence for the crushed Messiah, unabashedly and in broad daylight! The fragranced ointments he brings to prepare Jesus’ body for burial are costly – a fact which would not have gone unnoticed by the Pharisees. Moreover, in making physical contact with Jesus’ body, especially so close to the Sabbath, Nicodemus would have rendered himself ceremonially unclean – a contemplatable act for any Jew, let alone a highly esteemed member of the Sanhedrin! 

As far as Israel’s religious leaders were concerned, these were wanton acts of defiance! But from Nicodemus’ point of view, these were acts of true love. Did they mock Nicodemus for this? Did they jeer at him, threaten him, perhaps shun him thereafter? Almost certainly, yes. None of that mattered to Nicodemus though. Not anymore. Not now that he was a true believer. Not now that he was in Christ. 

Have you reached this final stage of your faith journey? Like Nicodemus, have you abandoned everything you thought you knew, everything you once thought mattered, and embraced the destiny God has for you? If not, don’t lose hope. Everyone’s faith story is different. Some journeys simply take longer than others. All paths leading to Jesus will inevitably converge at the cross. 

You just have to keep going.