ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter seriesPart 4: Nicodemus, the teacher of religion
"And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes ... as the custom of the Jews is to bury." - John 19:39-40
John is the only Bible writer who mentions this man Nicodemus. He is described as a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, and a leading religious teacher (John 3:1-10). It seems probable that, like Joseph of Arimathaea, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the judicial group in Jerusalem (John 7:50).
As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a religious conservative. Since the Pharisees emphasized the laws of God, they had developed many rituals and traditions designed to help them avoid breaking any of those laws. Ultimately, though, the Scriptures became less important than their traditions.
For example, one time Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, and they started talking about the idea of "new birth." Jesus said being "born again" was absolutely essential, but Nicodemus thought it sounded like such a peculiar concept. So Jesus asked him, "How can you be the teacher in Israel without understanding this?" (John 3:1-21). Nicodemus had an honorable title, yet he didn't really get the meaning of the Scriptures.
However, Nicodemus is always identified as "the one who came at night," which tells us that his nighttime conversation with the Lord must have been a turning point for him. It made him value God's actual words more than the rituals and laws the Pharisees had developed. During Jesus' life, Nicodemus defended Him (John 7:45-51); and then, after His death, Nicodemus joined in honoring Jesus at His burial.
For Nicodemus, traditions had become less important, but his conversation and relationship with Jesus had become more important. Whenever the actual words of the Bible influence us to know Jesus better, the same stone that rolled away from Nicodemus gets a little farther away from us, too.
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