From time to time we all meet devout people whose religion consists of a list of do’s and don’ts – with the emphasis on the don’ts. They have a litmus test for everything, which they apply to the actions of other people more than to themselves. Some religious legalists live by a long and comprehensive list designed to cover every eventuality in life. Other people have a much shorter checklist to allow more leeway. Such lists, whether long or short, come with the authority of divine imperatives.
Then there is another type of legalist, who simply draws up his or her own list representing their personal prejudices and moral code. Such legalists hear the message of Jesus as a threat rather than Good News. The grace of God presents a powerful charge that demolishes the edifice of legalism.

The story of the Pharisee who came to Jesus by night makes an instructive case study. Anyone who has become a Christ-follower after living under the burden of a religion of dos and don’ts is in the best position to appreciate how Jesus dealt with Nicodemus, the big-time Pharisee who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He had made it right to the top of his 6,000 member religious party, with public recognition of his law-based righteousness, his encyclopedic knowledge and his ability to judge the rights and wrongs of people’s actions. He had to master 613 commandments, with the negatives outweighing the positives 365 to 248, which is typical of this kind of religion. The Pharisees were the moral police, who were especially watchful on the Sabbath, when there were 39 special rules in operation with which they could clobber you.
Their powerful influence was not only religious and political but also economic. For they represented the rich land-owning class, whose wealth also controlled much of the business in the city. Ordinary people ran fowl of them at their peril. They could have you thrown out of the synagogue, which meant more than being excommunicated from church. It also resulted in being cold-shouldered by society.
Having painted something of Nicodemus’ background we can better appreciate what a tough challenge he presented–a far bigger challenge than most of us will ever have to face in our attempts to make known the love of Christ. We don’t know why Nicodemus waited until after dark to visit Jesus, or what prompted his call. People were reluctant to venture out because cities were not safe places after nightfall. So, in all likelihood he chose this time in order to avoid being seen. We are also left guessing whether he was acting on his own initiative, or was sent by the Council to question Jesus, with a view to obtaining statements to be used against him when the time came to take legal action.
Nicodemus showed his diplomatic skills by acknowledging Jesus as a ‘rabbi’, a revered teacher, sent by God. He also recognized that Jesus’ authority was reinforced by his miracles that attested to the fact that the power of God was channeled through him. Was he sincere in making these statements? Did his opening gambit represent the council’s strategy or was it the private opinion of Nicodemus who said “we” in order to hide behind the council he was representing?
Whatever the verbal maneuvering, Jesus cut to the heart of the matter. “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” That phrase “born again” has over the course of centuries become so familiar, been so abused and made the butt of jokes to the point where it is difficult for us to appreciate just how startling and penetrating it was on Jesus lips. We need to step back in time to try and appreciate what it meant for Nicodemus. By so doing we will come to understand its significance for all those who are religious legalists, including those of our own day.
Jesus knew how to play the word game of the world of political diplomacy. I believe that Nicodemus understood what Jesus was getting at when he said, “You must be born again,” and then reinforced it by saying, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Nicodemus had spent his whole life ensuring that he fulfilled the requirements of the law as expounded by its revered teachers, and did all in his power to ensure that everyone else measured up. For until that happened, the Messiah would not come to save Israel from her oppressors and establish his Kingdom on earth.
In his probing reply Jesus was in fact addressing Nicodemus’ opening statement. He knew full well that the Council he represented rejected him as an authentic rabbi, and that they attributed his miracles not to God but to the devil. He also knew that in the coming days their attitude would further harden. Nicodemus, as a representative of that Council, and as a member of the Pharisaic party, had to face the fact that that he was not a front runner on the road that led to the coming of God’s Kingdom, but was at the end of a cul-de-sac. There was no way forward. His whole approach was mistaken. He had to go back to day one to start all over again on a different basis. Jesus got his attention with the startling assertion he made. “Nicodemus you must be born again,” a term that can also be translated “born from above.” The double meaning is intentional and significant.
I believe that Nicodemus understood what Jesus was getting at when he replied, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely, he cannot enter a second time into his mothers womb to be born!” If we unpack that statement, we can see that he was telling Jesus, “What you are suggesting is unrealistic. It is absurd! At my time of life and in my position in society I cannot go back to day one. The cost would be too great.”
Religious legalists have a lot of baggage to deal with. Their burdensome traditionalism and the demands they have placed on other people, which they have found so hard to live with themselves, have ensnared them. Living with double standards reinforces denial and builds walls of self-justification. They cling to their religion of good works that they have observed in order to build up spiritual capital with which to earn their salvation. It is tough to be told that such an approach is worthless in the sight of God. The price of salvation is far too high for any human being to afford out of his or her own resources.
But Jesus presses home the point by making it clear to Nicodemus that he has no choice but to face the issue. Becoming a newborn baby means that you have to recognize your utter helplessness. Also, for the Jew, it meant to go back to the time in life when you had no rights before the law. It means becoming the little child again. The idea of being “born again” signifies being “born of water”–once again there is a play on words. It is the nearest thing to a real birth with the breaking of the mother’s waters, but also it is a ritual washing, signifying the need for cleansing. John the Baptizer had practiced a baptism of repentance by which Jews confessed their sins and signified their repentance in preparation for God’s Kingdom that was at hand. He also needed to be born of God’s Spirit, which John’s baptism could not convey. That could only take place when the individual placed their lives into Jesus’ hands.
Nicodemus, the Pharisee and Council Member, who controlled the lives of so many people because of his social position, had to yield control. Jesus left him to ponder the fact that, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” He opened his eyes to the possibility that the Spirit of God had already begun his unpredictable and unseen work. “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
As Israel’s teacher he should have been familiar with Ezekiel’s teaching in chapters 36 and 36, in which the Lord promises to give his people a responsive heart and to bring life back to dry bones.
There is no closure to this interview. Put too much pressure on legalists and you will lose them by driving them into increasingly strident self-justification. It is hard to decide where Jesus’ conversation ends and John’s commentary begins. Nicodemus comes out of the night, but there is no mention of his going back into the night. At the conclusion of the interview Jesus himself sounds a note of hope for Nicodemus, for “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light.” Intriguingly, Nicodemus is mentioned briefly two further times by John. On each of those occasions it is evident that the Spirit of God is still blowing through his life. He defends Jesus before the Council, and then goes with Joseph of Arimethea to the Roman authorities to ask for Jesus’ body to take it for burial. Was that day of Jesus’ death the day of Nicodemus’ new birth? I would like to think so.