He was a man of religious standing . . . a ruler among Jews. He was devout concerning the things of God and regarded highly as an expert in the ways of God. The prestige he enjoyed amongst men he somehow felt he deserved amongst angels. He kept the rules . . . he did what he was supposed to do . . . he rejected that which he was not to do. But, in all his years as a pillar of piety in the community, he had never encountered anyone like Jesus. And while many of his peers summarily rejected the young Rabbi’s teachings despite the signs that accompanied them, Nicodemus couldn’t shake whatever was tugging at his heart concerning the freshness and vitality of this unpretentious Teacher and the electrifying nature of His message. And so, he came . . .

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night . . .   (John 3:1-2a ESV)

Now I suppose there’s a couple of ways to read this depending on where you put the emphasis. You might read that Nicodemus was a bit of a religious wimp because he “came to Jesus BY NIGHT.” Skulking in the shadows, for fear of what others might think, he secretly made His way to the Man from Nazareth. Big man . . . no spine. Praying on the street corners during the day so that all might see his piety . . . tracking down Jesus in the alley on a moonless night so that no one would see his timidity. You could go there . . . that’s where you could place the emphasis . . . but what if the important thing is really that “this man CAME TO JESUS by night?”

He came to Jesus.

Jesus was shaking his world . . . might have been simpler and easier just to retreat into that world . . . to harden his heart to the attraction it was feeling towards this Teacher who seemed to have the light of life about Him . . . to stiffen his neck and keep his eyes focused on the way in which he had been reared and trained . . . to grab more tightly onto the reins of the way he had known his whole life and not let anything upset his apple cart. But Nicodemus didn’t . . . he came.

Though he didn’t recognize the Voice, he was responding to the wooing of the Spirit of God. He didn’t come because he was something special, but he came because God was drawing him (John 6:44) . . . he came because, by the grace of God, he was sincerely seeking the way of God.

And while the things that Nicodemus needed to hear where the things of “The Kingdom 101” . . . the need to be born again . . . the possibility of being re-birthed by the Spirit of God . . . the invitation to believe and receive eternal life . . . I can’t help but wonder what I need to hear.

It’s kind of easy after doing the pilgrim thing for a few decades to get comfortable with a certain way . . . to believe that the path you’ve been on is the only path to go on . . . to perhaps lose perspective that the familiar road might actually be a limiting rut . . . to no longer be stirred by the Word of God because you think you’ve got the Way of God all figured out.

But is it possible that there’s still stuff to learn . . . that there’s still the ways of the Kingdom to be responded to that may upset our stable religious ways? If so, even if it needs to be at night because I’m a bit afraid of going counter-my-culture, shouldn’t I come? Shouldn’t I trust the One I’ve owned as Lord enough to be willing to receive His Word and, by His grace and power, by faith respond to His Word?

Coming isn’t just for those who need to meet Jesus . . . I’m thinking it’s also for those who have known Him.

Come you who are weary (Matt. 11:28) . . . Come you who thirst (John 7:37) . . . Come that you may have life (John 5:40) . . . Come by day . . . Come by night . . . Come just as you are . . .

“O Lamb of God, I come . . . I come . . . “