Leaders can give other leaders bad names. So ungodly has been the behaviour of some that many a population has considered their leaders unredeemable.
Of course, it is not fair to condemn every last person – even if the rest might reflect the stereotype.
Of the 70 or so men that made up the Jewish Ruling Council (The Sanhedrin), there were at least two godly men that we know about. One was Nicodemus, and the other was Joseph of Arimathea.
So, it may come as a surprise (given all their deserved bad press in Jesus’ day), that not all Pharisees were bad. In fact, Nicodemus was so honest that he went directly to Jesus to ask him if he was the Messiah.
“Teacher,” he said, “we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless they have God’s help” (Jn.3:2).
Nicodemus had not allowed the hate-filled diatribes of his fellow leaders to blind him to the obvious. The evidence was overwhelming: Jesus’ teachings were backed by convincing miracles. He could see that God had placed His seal of authority on Jesus’ ministry; thus, he must be listened to.
Truth moves everyone! Either it draws you closer to God or drives you further away—no one stands still against its power.
Nicodemus was one of the rich and influential leaders of all of Israel. Being a Pharisee and being in the Sanhedrin it is a given that he was an expert in the Law of Moses. And here he was, in the dead of night, acknowledging an uneducated carpenter-turned-itinerant-preacher from Nazareth as his “Teacher.”
Thirty years earlier, an old prophet named Simeon told Mary and Joseph of the future impact that their baby would have:
“Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Lk.2:34-35).
Jesus had revealed the thoughts of Nicodemus’ heart. Nicodemus knew “A teacher sent from God” when he saw him.
John Staiger
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