John 3:1-2a

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night…

We are venturing into the territory of the most famous verse in Scripture: John 3:16. To understand it well, we should anchor it in the larger narrative John supplies. And so we’ll begin with Nicodemus and his entrance onto the stage of John’s story and, indeed, onto the terrain of Christian imagination ever since.

Nicodemus, otherwise not named outside of John, was a Pharisee, which meant that he was a faithful teacher of Torah, a leader of Jewish worship, piety, and tradition.

He comes, rather famously, by night. Does he do this because he is afraid that others will note, and disapprove of, his association with Jesus? Does he come at night because his duties occupy him all day? Does he come at night because he hasn’t been able to sleep ever since he heard Jesus teach and has decided to rise this restless night and seek out the source of his discomforting hope?

It might, in fact, be all of these. But we should also pay attention to the fact that John is a highly symbolic writer, communicating his theology not only through narrative plot and character development, but also through symbolism. And in John, darkness almost always represents disbelief. And so Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night because he is not a believer.

Whether his encounter moves him to faith is something we will need to wait and see.

Prayer: Dear God, bless all who seek faith this day with a word of grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.